Charles, Barbie and Taylor were among the most popular dog names of 2023, according to a new report by dog-walking company Rover.
Ken, Albus Dumblepaws, and Alan are also surging in popularity while Meghan and ‘H’ are both on their way out.
Thanks to the searching success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie ‘Dolly’ and Sasha were popular too.
Ken has soared in popularity by a staggering 79 per cent, while Barbie was up a whopping 1079 per cent.
The coronation too seemed to have an effect on pet names, as those naming their dog Charles is up by 90 per cent, following his Coronation.
Pictured is a festive family having fun on Christmas Day, clutching onto their small white dog (stock image)
The release of Harry’s memoir Spare may be responsible for his nickname H trending downwards by 62 per cent, and Meghan down by a significant 117 per cent.
Research from Rover revealed that just over half (51 per cent) of pet parents have a pup with a gender-neutral name, with a further 70 per cent revealing they chose their dogs’ names before they even knew the gender of their dog.
With Taylor Swift’s sell-out global tour The Eras, it’s no surprise she was trending up by 123 per cent, along with Swift (up 29 per cent).
Taylor’s love life not only inspires via songwriting, but pets too, with new beau Travis predicted to rocket in 2024 thanks to Taylor putting him on the map.
With the Lionesses narrowly missing out in the World Cup final to Spain, they still have the nation’s backing – perhaps even more so than the men this year.
National treasures Jill (Scott), (Alessia) Russo, and Rachel (Daly) all topped the trending list of names from the team, trending upwards by a whopping up 579 per cent, up 191 per cent, and up 129 per cent respectively.
And following Man City’s incredible treble triumph in the summer, John (Stones) (up 106 per cent), and Kevin (De Bruyne) (up 80 per cent) were indeed both up, although not nearly as high as the girls, with other Man City stars Jack (Grealish) and Phil (Foden) trending down.
With the Lionesses therefore in the lead, it seems it’s all to play for at the men’s Euros next summer to turn this score around in 2024.
Taylor Swift performs during The Eras Tour on May 5, 2023, at Nissan Stadium in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. Rover found her name was trending in their annual pet names report
It was the year of the nepo baby, with the world outing young, baby-faced celebs for using their famous families to climb the social ladder.
This served as a source of inspiration not just for style, but for our pet names too. Maya (Hawke), Miley (Cyrus), and Gigi (Hadid) were among the most popular, along with Kaia (Gerber) – up by a whopping up 112 per cent.
Brooklyn was also trending upwards (up 93 per cent) – and is predicted to soar through the ranks even more next year following his parent’s wildly popular ‘Beckham’ Netflix documentary.
Some odder entries included the likes of Freddo ( up 1179 per cent), Hovis ( up 1079 per cent), Lotta (up 1079 per cent), and Deefer ( up 1079 per cent).
Despite some of these sounding more like a child’s first word than a dog’s name, only 29 per cent claimed they chose their dog’s name at random – but more than a quarter (28 per cent) admitted to letting their children choose the family dog’s name.
And eight per cent of pet parents have actually named their pups after themselves, even adding ‘junior’ to the end.
Infused with nostalgia, some examples even included naming their dog after their old street name.
Popular names this year included Albus Dumblepaws, Bark-A-Lot, Billy Boo Boo, Chugsley Chugglesworth, and King Arthur Slobbergob.
Rover predicts that we’ll see a huge rise in pet parents using AI to help them name their dog in 2024.
Thanks to the viral Roman Empire trend that took TikTok by storm, Rover foresees as a surge of ‘Roman Empire inspired names’ next year, such as Roman, Julius and Ceasar.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following his coronation at Westminster Abbey. The name Charles is on the up among dogs
Set to take place in the French capital, the 2024 Olympics are less than a year away – and names such as Paris, Olympus, Goldie are expected to soar through the ranks.
Next year will also see Kung Fu Panda 4 make its return to the big screen after eight years, meaning Po, Panda, and Shifu could climb their way up the tables.
Rover’s canine behaviourist Adem Fehmi said: ‘Finding the perfect name for your pooch can sometimes be a difficult task, especially if a name doesn’t immediately spring to mind – or when you’re set on naming them something unique to the rest.
‘And whilst it’s wonderful to see pet parents getting creative and thinking outside the box when it comes to naming their pup, remember, you’re the one that has to be comfortable shouting this across the park!
‘So, whilst I encourage pet parents to have fun with naming their pups when they first get them, think about some potential repercussions if they are totally out of the blue’.
Tinsel is the top trending Christmas name in the UK, seeing a whopping 578 per cent increase from last year.
Meanwhile, the biblical-inspired Jesus joins the ranks of trendiest names for the first time as Rover’s newest entry in their annual pet name report.
Festive shrubbery also motivated dog owners to name their pets Holly (+3 per cent) and Ivy (+2 per cent).
However, some festive favourites suffered a grave decline in popularity.
These include Rudolph (-41 per cent), Jolly (-71 per cent), Star (-25 per cent) and Snowy (-18 per cent).
And there was also no room at the inn for Mary (-17 per cent) or Joseph (-61 per cent).
