Girl Puppy Names

The process of naming a puppy may not be invested with the same weighty stakes as, say, naming a child-after all, there are no binding legal documents, potential playground ridicule, or future job prospects to worry about-but it’s an important first step in a long relationship, and it’s a decision that should ideally be made only once. Changing a puppy’s name multiple times can be confusing for both of you, and it’s better to avoid the lingering, not-so-terrible-but-not-especially-pleasant affliction known as “puppy namer’s remorse”. Successful puppy naming means choosing the right name the first time and never looking back.

Naming a puppy can take some time and thought, but it may be one of the most enjoyable challenges any of us ever face, and girl puppy names are so plentiful and varied that there’s no need to settle for anything less than perfection. The following tips can help you narrow down your list of girl puppy names to the one that works for you and also for her.

Girl Puppy Names: Business

Before you begin to draft a list of potential girl puppy names, it’s a good idea to address practical matters related to safety and discipline. According to most professional dog trainers and breeders who deal with working dogs and service animals, a dog’s name should possess a few nonnegotiable qualities. Both boy and girl puppy names should be:

Clear and serviceable
Not too long
Not easily confused with important commands, like “down”, “come”, or “stay”.A clear, simple, unmistakable name with sharp, crisp syllables will be one that your puppy will recognize quickly as her own. She’ll understand early on that this word is used only in reference to her, especially if you make an effort to say it clearly before addressing her with praise, reprimands, or commands. The speed with which your puppy learns her name and its significance can become a safety issue. “Princess Buttercup” may seem cute, but when your puppy has slipped from her collar is running toward the highway, a short, clear name will arrest her attention more effectively than a long string of confusing syllables.
In the interest of clarity, it’s also a good idea to choose names that can’t be confused with commands. Don’t choose names that rhyme with common training words, and before you settle on a name, test it out aloud. Pair it with “come”, “sit”, “down”, “stay”, and “no”, as in “Sally, sit!”. Listen to how the pairings sound. If they confuse you, they’re almost guaranteed to cause problems for her.
Start drafting a list of all the potential candidates that fit these criteria. If a potential name is safe, clear, and easy to for a puppy to recognize and accept as her own, feel free to add it to the list. Once you’ve gathered a long list of options, you can start narrowing them down. At this point, choosing girl puppy names becomes an exercise in a kind of poetry.

Girl Puppy Names: Art

Girl puppy names fall into a few different categories. First, there are the old fashioned classics. These are names that echo through the ages, and are associated, for many people, with a personal history. Your grandparents may have had a dog with a name from this category, or you may recognize many of these names from books, movies, or longstanding cultural traditions. These names are low-risk, tried-and-true, and are often on the conservative side. They include options like Duchess, Daisy, Ruby, Patches, Belle, Lassie, and Blue. These names are not often found among the human population and carry a simple dignity and elegance that can’t be worn by anyone quite as well as a regal, loyal, down-to-earth, first-class lady dog. (When looking for a name in this category with a certain pastoral Victorian flair, think of cows-Rosie, Sunny, Violet, Lucky, and Ivy are all excellent choices).

The second category includes distinctly human names with more modern stylings. These girl puppy names include Annie, Sally, Jasmine, Tiffany, Ellie, and Annabelle. In this category you’ll also find human names that don’t transfer very well, for some inexplicable reason, to dogs. It’s hard to explain exactly why, but non-transferable human names are not highly recommended. To avoid the above-mentioned remorse (and a bit of the above-mentioned confusion) steer clear of human-only names like Jessica, Susan, Sandra, Stacy, and Jennifer.

The third category includes girl puppy names that are easily transferable between species and often between genders. These names are very popular right now among puppies and humans both, and their ambiguity contributes to their appeal. There are many great places to find these names, and you can start in any phone book. They include options like Mackenzie, Baxter, Tyler, Taylor, Brighton, and Kelly.

Girl puppy names in the fourth category are the most poetic and can be very unique. They are often words, sometimes nouns, and when they are common (like Buttons or Muffin) they are more often associated with category one, above. Category four girl puppy names are diverse and highly personal, but a few examples include Apple, Wednesday, Stony, Tundra, and Buckle. If you’d like to choose a name from this category, it might help to spend a day or two contemplating your puppy’s emerging personality and considering what she might be like, in both appearance and character, when she’s fully grown. It’s possible to capture some of her own ineffable qualities in a name, but it will take some patience and careful thought.

As you watch your new companion frolic across the kitchen floor or stand proudly in a sunny field, nose to the wind, the perfect name may be appear before you with unquestionable clarity. But don’t wait too long for this to happen. If you’ve spent more than a few days with “Puppy,” you’ll need to gather your resolve and make a commitment. Once you start using your chosen name on a regular basis, you’ll realize that no other name can compare, and you and… can move forward together down the path of a lifelong friendship.