Top Pet Names for 2012

**By Dr. Becker**

> Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) has released its annual list of most popular pet names for 2012. Using a database of almost 500,000 insured pets, VPI determined "Bella" was the most popular name for dogs and cats, and the third most popular for birds and exotic pets.
>
> Interestingly, the top five dog and cat names were also among the most popular names for babies during 2012.
>
>> _"The popularity of people names doubling as pet names is a testament to the bigger trend of pet owners viewing their pets as members of the family,"_ says Curtis Steinhoff, director of corporate communications at VPI. _"It's now just as common for a pet to be named Oliver or Chloe as it is for a child."_

## Most Popular Pet Names of 2012

> **Dogs**
> **Cats**
> **Birds and Exotics**
>
> 1.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder; Bella
> 1.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Bella
> 1.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Charlie
>
> 2.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Bailey
> 2.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Max
> 2.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Buddy
>
> 3.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Max
> 3.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Chloe
> 3.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Bella
>
> 4.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Lucy
> 4.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Oliver
> 4.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Max
>
> 5.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Molly
> 5.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Lucy
> 5.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Angel
>
> 6.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Buddy
> 6.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Smokey
> 6.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Baby
>
> 7.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Daisy
> 7.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Shadow
> 7.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Coco
>
> 8.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Maggie
> 8.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Tiger
> 8.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Rocky
>
> 9.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Charlie
> 9.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Charlie
> 9.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Bandit
>
> 10.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Sophie
> 10.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Tigger
> 10.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Sunny

## Most Popular Male and Female Puppy Names of 2012

> Vetstreet pulled the following most popular male and female puppy names from a database of 1.26 million puppies born last year.
>
> **Males**
> **Females**
>
> 1.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Max
> 1.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Bella
>
> 2.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Buddy
> 2.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Daisy
>
> 3.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Charlie
> 3.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Lucy
>
> 4.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Rocky
> 4.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Molly
>
> 5.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Cooper
> 5.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Lola
>
> 6.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Bear
> 6.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Sophie
>
> 7.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Bentley
> 7.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Sadie
>
> 8.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Duke
> 8.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Chloe
>
> 9.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Jack
> 9.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Coco
>
> 10.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Toby
> 10.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Maggie

## Dog Names Trending Up … and Names on Their Way Out

> Vetstreet also came up with a list of the top 10 trendiest names of 2012 for both male and female dogs, as well as names that have fallen in popularity since 2003:
>
> **Trending Up**
> **Trending Down**
>
> **Males**
> **Females**
> **Males**
> **Females**
>
> 1.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Dexter
> 1.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Luna
> 1.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Scooter
> 1.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Brandy
>
> 2.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Thor
> 2.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Layla
> 2.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Dakota
> 2.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Holly
>
> 3.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Gunner
> 3.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Piper
> 3.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Rudy
> 3.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Misty
>
> 4.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Bentley
> 4.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Nala
> 4.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Spike
> 4.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Katie
>
> 5.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Jax
> 5.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Stella
> 5.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Joey
> 5.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Lucky
>
> 6.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Ace
> 6.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Willow
> 6.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Rusty
> 6.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Heidi
>
> 7.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Leo
> 7.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Maya
> 7.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Scooby
> 7.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Casey
>
> 8.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;King
> 8.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Athena
> 8.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Luke
> 8.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Sheba
>
> 9.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Simba
> 9.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Charlie
> 9.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Smokey
> 9.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Madison
>
> 10.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Milo
> 10.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Ella
> 10.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Sammy
> 10.&nbsp_place_holder;&nbsp_place_holder;Shadow

Sources:

* [dvm360 January 11, 2012](http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Veterinary+news/Bella-tops-the-charts-of-most-popular-pet-names/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/802405?contextCategoryId=378&ref=25)
* [Vetstreet December 4, 2012](http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/most-popular-puppy-names-of-2012)


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