Dare To Be Different With Truly Unique Dog Names

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unique dog names - for black labs and other dogs

You are unique, and so is your new puppy. Originality isn’t an impossible dream, and you can come up with a truly creative dog name for your furry friend with a splash of eccentric inspiration.

The only way to truly individually name your pet is to start from a premise that other people haven’t yet explored.

Sure, foodie dog names inspired by cute candy bars feel a bit different to your classic human names for puppies. But when you meet your seventh Hershey in the dog park the doubts about divergence from the norm inevitably start to creep in.

Unique dog names that you won’t find anywhere else!

Today you’re going to go somewhere else on your dog naming journey. Jumping off from our lists of ideas that don’t match your typical dog names lists at all.

unique dog names

Excessive Syllables

You want to keep your new dog’s name short. It’s easier for your puppy to learn their name as a recall command when it is brief. Long vowel sounds and harsh consonants also make for clearer more recognizable dog names.

But if you want to whistle train the recall command, then it doesn’t matter if your dog is called Sir Timothy Gladis The Eighteenth, if that’s what floats your boat.

Unique Female Dog Names

A unique dog name is one that no one else has used before. Diving into the past, picking an usual flower, or instrument, or extending the tempo of a normal name can really get you there. These girl’s names for dogs have interesting meanings.

  • Anastasia (resurrection)
  • Peony
  • Evangelica (gospel)
  • Angelica (aromatic plant)
  • Elizabetta (promised to God)
  • Alexandrina (man’s defender)
  • Lonicera (honeysuckle)
  • Artemisia (a herb with feathery leaves)
  • Orchid
  • Demetria (follower of Demeter, goddess of corn)
  • Tilia (lime tree)
  • Gloriana (shining glory)
  • Alessandra
  • Casseopeia
  • Henrietta
  • Azalea
  • Octavia (eighth child)
  • Stephanie (crown or garland)
  • Magdelena (woman of Magdala)
  • Philadelphia
  • Violetta (purple flower)
  • Serendipity
  • Alicia (noble)
  • Mandolin
  • Rosalinda
  • Louisiana
  • January
  • Annabella (loving or lovable)
  • Calathea
  • Wilhelmina

Unique Dog Names For Boys

Some of these rare male dog names have more than your average number of syllables for a pet name. Most can be abbreviated very nicely (think Bart, Zac, and Vinny). And again, you can turn to music, nature, and literature for your inspiration.

  • Emiliano (eager)
  • Banjo
  • Archimedes (ancient Greek Scientist)
  • Benjamin (son of the right hand)
  • Zither
  • Octavius (eighth child)
  • Oboe
  • Valentino (strength, health)
  • Flute
  • Bartholomew (son of furrows)
  • Vincenzio (the conqueror)
  • Zacarius (God remembers)
  • Montgomery (man power)
  • Horatio (timekeeper)
  • Gibson (guitar)
  • Giovanni (gift from God)
  • Harman (guitar)
  • Constantine (steadfast)
  • Lute (instrument)
  • Fransisco (free man)
  • Crataegus (hawthorn)
  • Augustine (magnificent)
  • Meadow
  • Maximilian (the greatest)
  • Randolph (wolf shield)
  • Fender
  • Leonardo
  • Trumpet
  • Ferdinand (the traveler)
  • Humphrey (peaceful warrior)
  • Salix (willow)
  • Archibald (brave one)
  • Cello (instrument)
  • Remington

Latin Names for Everyday Things

Scientific or Latin names for familiar objects, and even animals, can be a really fun way to think of your most distinctive dog names.

  • Metum – Goal
  • Gloria – Glory
  • Arma – Weaponry
  • Ilex – Holly
  • Main – Morning
  • Natura – Nature
  • Nox – Night
  • Aureus – Golden
  • Angelus – Angel
  • Canis – Dog
  • Barba – Beard
  • Aranea – Spider Web
  • Mons – Mountain
  • Anser – Goose
  • Ligna – Wood
  • Lacus – Lake
  • Bovis – Cattle
  • Cuprum – Copper
  • Aqua – Water
  • Accipiter – Bird of prey

Periodic Dog Names

If you come from a science background like me, you’ll have numerous rhymes for remembering the periodic table drilled into your brain. And although they’ve been little to no use to you since you left college, they still remind you of their existence from time to time. And funnily enough, you’ll agree that these weird words make cool dog names too!

  • Boron
  • Carbon
  • Neon
  • Iron
  • Nickel
  • Copper
  • Silver
  • Tin
  • Iodine
  • Xenon
  • Gold
  • Mercury
  • Lead
  • Radon

Color Inspiration

Have you considered diving into your favorite color palettes to get pet name inspiration? The words are familiar yet out of context. So although they can be a unique way of naming your dog, they aren’t jarring in that unfamiliar way some of your more unusual pet names can be.

  • Cherry
  • Vermillion
  • Rust
  • Oyster
  • Sangria
  • Ruddy
  • Garnet
  • Mulberry
  • Emerald
  • Jam
  • Flax
  • Marmalade
  • Cobolt
  • Blush
  • Pickle
  • Yam
  • Khaki
  • Brick
  • Rosewood
  • Heliotrope
  • Azure
  • Tangelo
  • Bubblegum
  • Jade

Dare To Be Different

When you are looking for original pet naming ideas, you should bounce off topics you are fond of. It’s a great way to create quirky names that aren’t just different, but meaningful to you.

Why not write your favorite hobby in the center of a piece of paper, and then scatter related words around it in a splatter diagram. Then you can circle your favorites!

The Labrador Handbook by Pippa Mattinson(paid link)

Odd dog names don’t have to be jarring or weird, they can be really beautiful. And searching for a topic that touches your heart is a great way to get there.

The Labrador Site Founder

Pippa Mattinson is the best selling author of The Happy Puppy Handbook, the Labrador Handbook, Choosing The Perfect Puppy, and Total Recall.

She is also the founder of the Gundog Trust and the Dogsnet Online Training Program 

Pippa's online training courses were launched in 2019 and you can find the latest course dates on the Dogsnet website

91 COMMENTS

  1. I have a black mountain cur mix dog.
    His name is Scooby-Doo. And he is very comical and likes to push me with his nose to herd me to the door and on to the car. He loves riding.

  2. We’ve had aChina, General, Teddy. Currently have Mishka, looking to name a puppy we’re getting in two weeks! Possibly Remy, Chai, Rogue, Novi, Sigmund, Niko, Seni, Sergi, Zino or Serik.

  3. We had a female Rottweiler named Ursula (means Little Bear)and a male named Hans, a sweet Dachshund named Truffle (my favorite name EVER!); other doxies named Strudel and Lucia (after the movie The Ghost and Mrs. Muir). My daughter has dachshunds named Rockford Wee Von Yawn (he was tiny and yawned a lot), Otto and Brida (German names for German dogs).

  4. My daughter has a beautiful, yet funny & goofy Golden Retriever. His name is Gronk, After Rob Gronkowski (football player). My granddaughter has an Australian Shepherd with one Blueeye and one brown eye. That was her dream dog so she named her Dream. Both dogs have Instagram pages with about 1500 followers. LOL

  5. I have 3 dogs. Suzette being a female Black Mountain Cur w/ brindle fur, A male German Shepherd about 10 weeks old (we got him today) w/ currently no name. Last but not least a male Border Collie, Australian Shepherd, and Bernese mix also a 10 week old pup (we got him 2 weeks ago) w/ still no name

  6. WOW! I was just completing a tex & it just let the entire tex erased! So now I will just list their names so others may use & enjoy one or more. Thank You 🙏🏼.
    Crispin, Molly, Rupert, Heffer, Becky, Sara, Munchkin, Oliver, Talulha & Olivia. Hopefully someone will love ❤️ them as much as I have. (I only have my Talulha left!🙏🏼). Enjoy! Oh five were boys & five girls. All but one was shuzi-seu & one Yorker (tea cup 😁) all nothing but great Love ❤️ & Joy 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩.
    I just miss them so much! Can’t wait to be reunited at the Rainbow Bridge!!.

  7. We have had 6 dogs in all. 3 are still with us. Our first two Penda and Modoc lived till 16. Our 2nd two sisters were Lab/Golden both black named Lakota and Raven. (15 and 12) Last three we have now are Lab/Golden Shasta named after Mt Shasta in Calif. Choc lab rescue named Sierra (for Sierra Madre) and Juneau a Labbie mix. Have not met too many dogs with these names except for Raven.

  8. BARNABAS, Kenai, TIVA, ZOBA, ZEV AND KIRA
    Barnabas is a one year old blind chihuahua
    Kenai was my heart my service animal he passed away on December 11th 2020
    Tiva and Zoba are sisters and are aprox six months old, Kira and Zev are the goats 🐐

  9. I had a dalmatian that was almost covered in black spots, I named her Shazbot(mork from ork term) also had a Red MinPin with an attitude, I named her Reba (after Reba McIntyre)

  10. My dogs name is Luna and she’s a German Shepherd and Rottweiler mix. She’s black and brown and only 2 years old. She is really strong and sometimes we have trouble getting her not to bite, but when she’s around 5 yr olds and lower, you can tell she’s going easy on them. 228 pounds and she can pull me across our whole house but when she’s playing tug of war with little kids you can tell she’s being gentle and not using her full strength. She’s smart to, she sits on chairs and jumps up to get in on the hug when 2 people are hugging. She was pretty easy to train to. And she can easily sense when we’re nervous and will defend us. I love her so much but she still nips at everyone and she has very sharp teeth, they hurt really bad. She and our 2 older dogs love playing but sometimes we need to remind her to stay off the older girl’s hips because they have bad hips and she could really hurt anyone and anything. But shes my baby girl and I love her.

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