There’s a wide range of names people give to their dogs, from “Maximus” to “Kevin.”
But there’s one dog name that rules them all in the state of Pennsylvania.
According to U.S. News & World Report, Bella is the most popular dog name in the Keystone State, same as it was in 2023 and 2024. New York and Texas also showed an affinity for naming their pooches Bella above anything else.
But Bella — which means “beautiful” or “pretty” in both Spanish and Italian — is only the second most popular dog name nationwide. In first in this regard was the name Luna; Charlie rounded out the top three names in third place.
“Luna and Bella are representative of ‘Harry Potter’ fans still going strong, with both being names of female characters in the series,” the study adds, most likely referring to Bellatrix Lestrange with the latter.
As for the number three seed, “Charlie is the name of the main canine character in 1989’s ‘All Dogs Go to Heaven,’” an animated film that traumatized many a millennial.
U.S. News & World Report managed to form this study after analyzing about 80,000 data points from a third-party pet insurance industry partner. This data contained both dog names and the state in which they lived.
There were a couple of states that had more unique choices in what they deemed their four-legged friends: Hawaii, for one, was the only state that had “Buddy” as its top choice. Ditto for North Dakota and the name “Cooper” while those in neighboring Montana preferred “Otter.”
