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125 of the Best Classic Dog Names of All Time

Dogs and mankind hooked up approximately 15,000 years ago.  Over the ages, certain names have stood the test of time.  These one hundred and fifty dog names have been memorialized in comics, literature, film as well as our national consciousness. Many of these names are unisex, referring to markings or beneficial attributes.
classic dog names for males and females

Classic Dog Names From Literature and Music

Argos: Faithful dog of Odysseus
Blue: William Faulkner's Sound and the Fury. 
Buck: Call  of the Wild's central character, Buck is a sled dog in the Klondike.
Cujo: Stephen King's title character, Cujo, once a beloved family dog, turns into a rabid killer thanks to a bat bite.
Fang - Hagrid's dog in Harry Potter, as well as White Fang by Jack London.
Jip - David Copperfield's wife's dog and one of Dr. Dolittle's animal companions.
Lassie - Title character of Lassie Come Home.
Nipper - The dog listening to the gramophone with the quote, "His master's voice."
Sasha - Orphaned wolf pup who helps Hallie adjust to a new, isolated life in Montana, from the novel Sasha, My Friend.
Spot - Dick and Jane's dog, in childrens' readers.
White Fang: Jack London's title character, tells the tale of the domestication of a wild wolfdog.

Top 55 Best Classic Dog Names Over the Last 100 Years


Alice
Archie
Bailey
Bandit
Banjo
 Bella
Ben
Bingo
Brandy
Buddy
 Bullet
Buster
Cap
 Chanel
Clyde
 Coco
Daisy
Dixie
Duke
Earl
Fido - Latin, meaning faithful
Fly
Lady
Lily
 Lucky
Luna
Maggie
Maisie
 Martha
Max
Molly
Nell or Nellie
Otis
Peg
 Penny
Petey
Princess
Rex
 Rover
Ruby
Rufus
 Sadie 
Scamp
Scout
Snowball
 Sparky
Spike
Spot
 Sunny
Toby
Wiley
Winston
Wishbone
Wyatt

Classic Canine Monikers from Comics and Cartoons


Astro: The Jetson's Dog.
Auggie: Auggie Doggy cartoon.
Brian: Family Guy's sauve, talking family dog.
Mumbly: The Mumbly Cartoon Show.
Odi: Garfield's buddy.
Perdita: Mother dalmation in 101 Dalmations.
Pluto: Disney character of myriad films.
Pongo: Father dalmation in 101 Dalmations.
Ruff: Dennis the Menace's dog.
Sandy: Lil Orphan Annie's dog.
Scubi: Scubi Do crime solvers companion who frequently solves the crime just by being goofy.
Snoopy: Charles Schultz's canine companion aka "Joe Cool."

Famous Television and Film Dog Names



  • Beethoven: St. Bernard main character of film of the same name.
  • Chiffon: Name of the Old English Sheep Dog in The Shaggy Dog.
  • Daisy: Labrador Retriever of Downton Abbey fame.
  • Lucky: Dr. Doolittle's Dog,
  • Marley: Title character of Marley and Me.
  • Moses: Family dog in Meet the Fockers.
  • Pal: Collie in Lassie Come Home.
  • Petey: Pit bull friend of The Little Rascals.
  • Rin Tin Tin: German Shepherd Dog from movies and a eponymous TV series.
  • Sugar-Pie: Anna Nicole Smith's dog that starred in her reality TV series.
  • Sounder: Southern sharecroppers family dog.
  • Toto: Dorothy's dog in The Wizard of Oz.
  • Verdell: Brussels Griffon that creates a bond between the main characters played by Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt and Greg Kinnear in  As Good As It Gets.

Classic Dog Names From History


  • Ashley: Ashley Whippet, the first disc dog and canine star athlete of the 1970s.
  • Balto: Alaskan Husky and lead sled team dog that in 1925 brought serum to save a population from diptheria.
  • Buddy: The Clinton's family dog.
  • Checkers: The Nixon family dog whose name was lent to an important turnaround speech by Richard Nixon.
  • Chips: The most decorated war dog of World War II.
  • Dodo: Winston Churchill's bulldog's name.
  • Higgins: Star of Benji and Petticoat Junction.
  • Jock: Winston Churchill's red cat's name.
  • Laika: Russian pup who was the first dog in space.
  • Rufus: Winston Churchill's poodle's name.
  • Sully: George Bush's service dog.
  • Willie: Formally known as William the Conqueror, Willie was General George Patton's bull terrier. 
  • Zeus: Great Dane who holds the world record for world's tallest dog.


Classic Dog Names from Mascot and Advertising

  • Bamse:  Famous St. Bernard, who was a mascot to the Royal Norwegian Navy .
  • Banjo: Stroh’s beer mascot in advertising.
  • Butler Blue: Butler University bulldog Mascot from 2000 on.
  • Bullseye:  Bull terrier known as the mascot of the Target Corporation
  • Bully: The Bulldog who is the Mississippi State University mascot.
  • Chesty:  The name of the official mascot of the United States Marine Corps.
  • Gidget: Taco Bell’s Chihuahua.
  • Goldie: a female Golden Retriever is the official "canine ambassador" of the University of Tulsa.
  • Handsome Dan: Yale University’s bulldog mascot.
  • Hank: The unofficial mascot of the Milwaukee Brewers.
  • Jack: Georgetown University’s bulldog mascot.
  • Jonathan: Husky, the University of Connecticut's mascot.
  • Moonie: AKA Bruiser in the film Legally Blonde.
  • Nipper: The gramophone dog, “His master’s voice.”
  • Paddington: Golden retriever who promotes Bush’s Bake Beans. .
  • Porterhouse: Drake University’s English bulldog, is the live mascot.
  • Reveille: The mascot for Texas A&M University
  • Scotty:  Scottish terrier mascot of Carnegie Mellon University
  • Smokey: Mascot of the University of Tennessee
  • Spike: a bulldog, is the mascot of Gonzaga University.
  • Uga: The University of Georgia Bulldogs’ mascot..
  • Zeke the Wonder Dog: Michigan State University’s Labrador retriever, mascot. 
Nipper Runs Amok!!

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