Pet names becoming more human according to Protect Your Bubble survey

An increasing number of Britons are humanising their dogs by giving them children’s names, it was revealed yesterday in a survey undertaken by insurance firm Protect Your Bubble.

According to the new study, the most popular names for dogs over the past year are Alfie, Poppy and Molly. Meanwhile, all three names are also regularly given to British children by new parents. Contrastingly, dog owners of three decades ago were more likely to name their pets with more traditional monikers such as Lassie, Lady and Rex.

The data referred to data on 80,000 names given to UK pets in the last year alone, shows a distinct difference between the names given to dogs in the 1970s and 1980s compared to today. Other names preferred years ago – and more associated with dogs than people - include Buster, Prince, Shep and Scamp. But in modern day Britain dog owners can regularly be heard shouting names such as Charlie, Ruby and Roxy.

Stephen Ebbett, spokesman for www.protectyourbubble.com said: “Naming a dog Millie, Daisy or Oscar does seem surprising, particularly as these sorts of names appear in the top 100 baby names for children in the UK. It is getting to the point where naming a child will get harder and harder, as parents struggle not to give their little ones the same name as the family dog!”.

The research also shows nearly half of today’s dog owners try to choose more current and contemporary names for their pup than traditional ones. The main inspiration for four in 10 dog owners naming their pets is the appearance of the dog, while 40 per cent draw ideas from television shows or the characters in them.

A further 27 per cent name their pooch after their favourite pop star, 16 per cent look to children’s movies for ideas and 25 per cent of dogs have been named after TV pets.

Stephen Ebbett continues: “This survey reinforces the fact that dogs really are man’s best friends. It is therefore understandable that dog owners seem to agonise over the name of their new puppy as they would a new child.”

TOP 20 DOG NAMES

30 YEARS AGO--     TODAY

1.Lassie-                      Alfie

2.Lady-                       Poppy

3.Rex-                         Molly

4.Sandy-                      Charlie

5.Blackie-                    Ruby

6.Bonnie-                    Max

7.Max-                         Roxy

8.Patch-                       Daisy

9.Ben-                          Millie

10.Lucky-                    Oscar

11.Buster-                   Bailey

12.Cindy-                    Bella

13.Prince-                    Buster

14.Shandy-                  Tilly

15.Shep-                      Toby

16.Candy-                   Jack

17.Judy-                      Rosie

18.Scamp-                   Marley

19.Sally-                      Archie

20.Sam-                       Holly