Would you name your baby Rover or Fido?
Perhaps not, but baby name consultant Colleen Slagen says that in general, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using dog names for your baby ... and in fact, a lot of so-called 'dog names' are trending for humans.
"Dog names are in, OK?" she said on a TikTok video she posted on Sept. 24. "That's a compliment now."
"There are a lot of people who think that labeling something as a 'dog name' is an insult, a critique, or a reason that you shouldn't use a name, and that doesn't phase me at all," Slagen tells TODAY.com.
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In fact, when Slagen was considering the name Jane for her daughter, she ran into a doodle named Jane. It didn't stop her from also giving the name to her daughter.
“Dogs deserve good names too," she says.
Here are the commonalities Slagen sees between dog and baby names:
- Cutesy names like Charlie, Daisy, Sophie, Ruby, Sadie, Archie
- Short and sweet names like Leo, Max, Chloe, Luna
- True dog names like Bear, Banjo, Blue
- Cool, edgy names like Cooper, Maverick, Duke
Take a look at the American Kennel Club's list of top names for dogs in 2024 and you'll spy a lot of familiar names: Stella, Lucy, Daisy, Milo, Tucker and Finn. In fact, every one of their 20 most popular dog names is perfectly appropriate for a human.
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"When we were growing up, there weren't dogs named Jessica and Ashley and Amanda, and probably not for our parents either," Slagan says. She suspects that there has been a shift to giving dogs people names — while at the same time parents have been moving away from more formal baby names and embracing names that are shorter, sweeter and more pet-like.
"They're just giving their kid the name that they want to call them, so just Daisy, not Margaret, or just Rosie, not Rose with the nickname Rosie," she explains.
Culture has changed. First names no longer have to pass the "CEO test" or be "resume-worthy." If your child has a full name that sounds more like a nickname, "it's not that big of a deal," says Slagan. "After all, we're wearing athleisure to work."
Slagen does have a word of caution for pet parents who don't yet have human children: don't use your absolute favorite baby name for your pet.
"Many people regret using their favorite name on their dog," she says, citing Charlie and Benji as real-life examples. "They didn't have the foresight that baby name is probably harder than they imagine to agree on."
But on the other hand, if your mother-in-law already has a dog named Teddy, which just so happens to be your top baby name, Slagen asks with a wink, "How old is Teddy? Pets unfortunately don't last forever."
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