242 Unique Dog Names

By
Tom Mattinson
-
91
unique dog names - for black labs and other dogs

Unique dog names are memorable and special! Giving your pooch a rare dog name will help them stand out from the crowd, but finding a puppy name when you are up against scarcity and rarety, can be challenging!
Fear not! Our collections of rare names will help you find a perfect and meaningful name for your unique puppy

Contents

Not all pups can be called Rex, Rover or even Harry Potter. Inspiration for unique dog names can sometimes be found in your new dog’s origins, characteristics or markings. Your own family interests, hobbies, favorite food, historical or fictional characters can also be a great source of original and unusual names. Looking at pop culture, your ancestry and places that mean something special to you, can also work well.

Creating Unique Dog Names

To create some truly unique dog names, we’re going to come up with names using pictures in your head! It’s easier than you think. You’re going to need a pen and paper or whiteboard. Because we’re not typing a list, we’re brainstorming. You need to be free to write fast and randomly. That will help you think sideways and make you more creative!

Don’t worry, we’ll give you plenty of inspiration as we go, but it’s best if this process is unique to you. So go and grab that pen. We’ll start with something really simple. Let’s take a a food store. Picture the rows of shelves. Picture the inside of a shop and focus on one shelf. It could be cookies for example. Or candy. Immediately you have some potential names:

  • Oreo
  • Hershey

Get Creative

A unique dog name is anything the is different to the usual. Let’s go and stand in a parking lot. Not a real one – this one’s in your head! Try picturing a parking lot with some really nice vehicles in. This could give you some unique boy dog names such as:

  • Buick
  • Cadillac
  • Jeep
  • Bentley
  • Dodge
  • Tesla

Now think of a painting – a rural scene – there may be forests, think:

  • Cedar
  • Birch
  • Willow

Inspired By Travel

But those are pretty girl dog names, but also quite tame. Let’s travel somewhere exotic and look at their tree names:

  • Socotra (the Dragon Tree from Yemen)
  • Kauri (New Zealand)
  • Areca (India)
  • Yoshini (Japan)

One of the great things about names taken from nature is that they will often serve as unique girl dog names but work equally well for boys too! Okay, now we’re off to the beach:

  • Pebble
  • Pearl
  • Ripple
  • Coral

Look Around The Home

And now back home again. Let’s get more unusual! Look in your refrigerator. Are there any cute brand names in there? Or just fun food names.

  • Ketchup
  • Apple
  • Mustard
  • Zuccini

Now just open any household cupboard, or drawer. In my kitchen a garlic press gives me Crusher and a knife gives me Blade. Try changing one letter, or adding a Y on the end. Or both. So fork becomes Cork or Corky. Label becomes Mabel. And whisk becomes Whisky. Now head for your closet, look closely at the clothes inside. You’ll find inspiration in the detail there too.

  • Button
  • Sneaker
  • Zipper, Zippy
  • Cotton
  • Boot

Check out your cosmetics or the beauty shelves at the mall too, you’ll find names like Dior, Dove, Spice, Evelyn and Layali.

Brainstorming Ideas

Make a list of places to visit in your head and brainstorm names. Take an imaginary walk around your block, imagine back yards & buildings (Gravel, Slate), shops, or a park. Head off to an art gallery and look at some famous paintings. Then off to the countryside (Creek, River) or the open prairie or mountains. (Canyon, Rocky). Thinking about the weather in your chosen location will give you more names (Breeze, Storm).

TOP TIP: Don’t try to pick a name while you play this game. Brainstorm as many names as you can. Even if they don’t make sense to begin with – spread them randomly across a big sheet of paper, or a whiteboard, and some of them will start to jump out at you.

But hey, we don’t have to stay in the present day. History can give us some great names too. Most people just don’t go far enough back to dig up the really unusual.

Unique Dog Names From History

Try looking for a specific century – the 13th century brings up names like Ida and Isolda for girls, Warin and Edric for boys. Think about the clothes that medieval people wore and the food they ate including ancient herbs and spices.

  • Angelic
  • Betony
  • Anise
  • Fennel
  • Taragon

TOP TIP: Focus on an object, time or place, and make a google search around that topic. Write down anything that’s unusual and pretty or thought provoking. When you are done, it’s time to choose!

Once you have a sheet of paper with 50 to 100 names you can start to make shortlist and pick the best unique dog name for your new friend.

The Best Unique Dog Names

Most of us consider dogs as an addition to our family. We take time to consider the name we’ll give them, and whether it will suit them. Dog names, unique or otherwise, are important to all new owners. So you’ll want to make sure you put the right amount of thought and time in before coming to a decision.

The best dog names are those that show your own taste and personality. While at the same time reflecting your dog’s character and attributes too. Ultimately, the best name for your dog is the one you’re happy with. And if a unique dog name appeals to you, then a unique dog name is what you need. If you still need more inspiration, here are some lists for you to consider!

Unusual Female Dog Names

Many people choose to give their pets human names, especially when it comes to dogs. This can make our bond and connection with them stronger. You’ll to be sure to stand out with any of these unique girl dog names!

  • Moana
  • Ophelia
  • Pebble
  • Saskia
  • Cricket
  • Tahiti
  • Pearl
  • Kendall
  • Sappho
  • Etta
  • Avalon

When we’re looking at human names, we can draw a great deal from popular culture. Referencing a character from film or TV can be a great way to make a name both unique and recognizable. History is a great source of inspiration too; Sappho was one of the first known female writers. When it comes to unique names, female figures can give meaning and real depth. Continuing with human names, let’s look at some male dogs.

Uncommon Male Dog Names

If you choose to give your male dog a human name, you’ll want it to suit him and be individual. With so many male dog names already commonplace it can be hard to find something unique. As earlier, we can look to popular culture for ideas. This will give us some unique boy dog names that still feel familiar.

  • Arlo
  • Conan
  • Damon
  • Finn
  • Fletcher
  • Reese
  • Wes
  • Ainsley
  • Bertram
  • Hunter
  • Parker
  • Beauregard
  • Xander
  • Watson

Dogs are often called “mans best friend.” Sidekicks in film, TV and literature can give us great names. Sherlock Holmes’ right hand man James Watson is a cool example. Now, inspired by our lovely yellow labs, let’s look at some quirky options for yellow dogs.

Yellow Dog Names

Yellow fur from cream to golden, calls to mind a whole host of images. Farmyards, blonde hair, cheese, egg yolks … and this is the kind of imagery that yields some truly unique names. Here’s our list of unique names for yellow labs!

  • Harvest
  • Sepia
  • Ochre
  • Straw
  • Thor
  • Shea
  • Sedge
  • Ziv
  • Vanilla
  • Prairie
  • Moon
  • Cheddar
  • Lemon
  • Barley
  • Blondie
  • Autumn
  • Daffodil

Brown Dogs

Chocolate colored dogs are usually photogenic. Their striking brown fur makes a basis for some excellent unique names. Chocolate dogs are often named after our favorite chocolate bars! There’s a lot of natural materials and foods we can use for name ideas in this section. These sort of things make excellent and memorable dog names. Here are some different ideas:

  • Kodiak
  • Mocha
  • Chestnut
  • Cinnamon
  • Copper
  • Mahogany
  • Walnut
  • Muddy
  • Coffee
  • Nutmeg
  • Earth
  • Manilla
  • Raisin
  • Sparrow
  • Cacao
  • Umber

unique dog names for brown dogs like this chocolate labOriginal Black Dog Names

Black dogs are a fixture in homes the world over, they cut a sharp contrast with their surroundings. Unique names for dogs always work great when they play into such an obvious feature. Black dogs’ coloration remind us of the night, and a whole host of animals. Here is a list of suggestions for unique dog names for black dogs.

  • Coal
  • Onyx
  • Ebony
  • Emery
  • Stealth
  • Raven
  • Ink
  • Vantablack (vanta)
  • Sable
  • Obsidian
  • Shadow
  • Panther
  • Ash
  • Granite
  • Cinder
  • Eclipse
  • Morticia
  • Cerberus
  • Liquorice
  • Sirius
  • Presley

Red Dog Names

Fox red Labradors are becoming more and more popular and there are some other wonderful red dog breeds. So, it’s becoming more necessary to stand out from the crowd with unique dog names. But I think many of us agree that their aesthetic is deserving of a category of their own. The fire and earth theme is pretty self explanatory with these orange dogs, and works really well! Here are some ideas for naming orange or red colored dogs.

  • Amber
  • Brick
  • Sienna
  • Inferno
  • Crimson
  • Ginger
  • Scarlet
  • Apricot
  • Henna
  • Sorrel
  • Vixen
  • Blaze
  • Fox
  • Phoenix
  • Pumpkin
  • Copper
Unique dog names for red and orange colored dogs

Cute Dog Names

Chances are, you think your dog’s pretty cute. Most people probably agree! You might want to give your adorable pet an adorable name. There are plenty of options for unique dog names with a more cutsy feel.

  • Africa
  • Kai
  • River
  • Bubble
  • Muffin
  • Bagel
  • India
  • Button
  • Baobab
  • Peanut
  • Paws
  • Bounce
  • Scruff
  • Sniff
  • Flynn

Cool Dog Names

We’d all like to give our pets cool names. The kind of names that make people say ‘why didn’t I think of that’. A cool name will make showing your dog off to you friends even more fun. You’ll stand out regardless with a unique name. That being said, not all names are equal. Here are some ideas for ‘cool’ unique dog names.

The Labrador Handbook by Pippa Mattinson
  • Bear
  • Zeus
  • Ocean
  • Orion
  • Sabre
  • Neo
  • Ajay
  • Alba
  • Dzuwa
  • Spectre
  • Knight
  • Eastwood
  • Jackal
  • Wolfgang
  • Shasta

Finding Your Own Unique Dog Names

To come up with more unique dog names it can help to make lists of names from different topics We’ve focused quite a bit on color based names here, but you can expand your search to include your own hobbies and interest. For example: if you are interested in fencing, you could call your dog Parry. If you are a dancer try Plie or Pirouet

  • Like fishing? Try Ledger or Spinner. Into sailing? How about Spinnaker?
  • Love to cook? Try Flambe or Omlet

Many of our ideas for unique dog names are taken from different aspects of the environment and you can take inspiration from your own surroundings. If the names you come up with don’t seem original enough, try browsing a thesaurus!

You can also look at interesting characters from your favorite novels, and at some of our more quirky celebrities, or sporting heros for ideas. For hundreds more unique and original ideas for naming your dog check out these articles

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

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

91 COMMENTS

  1. A few names that may/may not be on these lists:
    * Calypso “Callie”
    * Halo
    * Jacey/Jaycee/Jaycie
    * Jalyn/Jalen/Jaylen/Jaylon
    * Eden; Evie/Evee
    * Winston
    * Jax/Jaxon
    * Jessalyn/Jesslyn/Jezzlyn
    * Nixon
    * Khalessi

  3. I love the name Nala for a girl Frenchie, OR Copper for a boy Golden Retriever. Both of these names suit them for their breeds, and their type of gender as well! 🙂

  4. I like the name “Shay.”
    It’s simply nice, soft and easy.
    I think it’s a girl’s name; I’m going to check it out bc if it is unisex, I might call my new boy Yorky “Shay.”

  5. I am getting female puppy cross Aussie Shepherd and Lab want to name her Tika my daughter doe not want me to name that.
    Where does the name Tika come from?
    A user from Texas, U.S. says the name Tika is of Native American origin and means “Shine”.
    What is a Tika in Nepal?
    Tika is one of the important auguring good luck items in the religious and cultural rituals of Nepal especially in Hindu families. People offer this power to honor gods and apply in return in their forehead as red dot after visiting temples. … The tika also symbolizes good luck, bravery, auspicious and many more.
    Any opinion

  6. my pup supposed to be a labradoodle but ended up 80% lab and 15% poodle. He is all Yellow except his right ear it’s dark Black. He weighs over 100 lbs. We settled on Mr. MaGoo, kids and moms love him and MaGoo loves back, I feel like the Good Humor Man!

  7. My daughters were huge Harry Potter book fans. So we named our a new puppy, Snidget, which was the original golden snitch used in the game of Quidditch. We loved her name!

  8. I have a puppy 10 weeks old I’m planning on naming it holly, what do you think? I got it near Christmas so I thought it would be fun!

  11. i had my dog for three years and she is so happy. 3 years ago they told us that they named her klitter but we wanted to shorten the name to klitt and that has been her name since

  14. I am about to buy a shih tzu puppy that will be brown and white or black and white and the name i have thought is snickers…. Please tell me if you guys have other name suggestions..

  15. I like the names Ozzy and Franklin for a dog beacuse they are the names of my two dogs i have now, and Jack was my old dog. Can you put those three on the list too please? They are all male doggies.

  17. We got a dog when our son was 4. He was starting to learn to read. When we visited the breeder he was so excited. He was sitting on the floor and one of the puppies came over and sat in his lap. He looked up at me with the biggest smile and said “D for dog!” really fast, hence our puppy, the one that away in his lap was named Dfordog, shortened to Dfer. Dfer was his shadow and friend for 16 years.

  20. My English bulldog cross Jack Russell is Wiggles. When I went to get her I told.my friend I didn’t know what I would.call her,she replied don’t worry she will name herself. When we got there they handed her to me and she was so excited she nearly wiggled.right out of my arms,hence she became Wiggles.She is almost 2 years and.she still lives up to her name

  27. Apart from India and Africa, I liked all names. But this names for a dog sounds very low. I think you should remove them as they are the name of place where the this names are kept sacred. So it may gonna be embarrassing in front of people from respective nations.

  29. I can think of many unique male names but I can’t find the one I love for a female rott that I’m getting in a few days. I don’t want one that is long cuz they answer better to shorter names. I don’t want a sissy name either.

  32. When I was a teenager my mother had a friend who had two dogs. One was a female black lab , her name was Easy. The other was a male dog , not sure what kind dog he was but when they were trying to name him the dog wouldn’t listen for nothing , till one day she said Damnit come here!!!! The dog came to her fast. So that became his name Damnit .

  34. We have a blood hound named Jimmy Dean and my brother’s pit is names Elby my favorite dog name has been dishes though, just some suggestions

  35. My nine-year old chihuahua’s name is Tammy Tabita. She also responds to the names Poho, Chihua, Chiwi, and more. My sister wants a siberian husky for her birthday and we are looking for an original name for it. Please give us suggestions if you have. She likes star names.

  37. I have had my pit mix since she was 8 weeks old. She is smaller 53lbs and the most loveable pup ive ever encountered. I named her Sadiqaa (sah-day-ka). I am part Lebanese and in arabic sadiqaa means “my friend”. So when i call her “come here Sadiqaa” im really saying “come here my friend”. Its my own original idea and it’s a very meaningful thing to me.

  38. I have a tri-colored Chiweenie. I named him Tripp (triple – 3rd) also means traveler. I get comments on his name all the time. Unique and different.

  39. We adopted an Akita (brindled) someone at the humane society caller her Ingrid, we tried on other names but the only one she noticed was Lady our beloved and sorely missed Lab/Boarder Collie. Her face looks like a bear I suggested Berri or bear for short but she answers to Ingrid so that our unusual dogs name.

  44. I’m fostering 3 puppy’s and we get to name then we chose penny for a girl,Scooter for a boy,and Dexter for another boy dog.I hope these Pitbull and Boxer mixed puppies love their names.

  49. More unique dog names…our female Alaskan Malamute’s name was Cheekah (short for Checotah, an Alaskan tribe). Our Golden’s name was Bacchus (pronounced bock’-us, the roman god of wine). Our Duck Tolling Retrievers are Nash (male), adopted name was Dash. Didnt want to change it too much. We like Nashville. Nova is our female. Like the definition of a super nova.

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