Cool Dog Names

Getting a new dog? Consider one of these cool dog names and maybe some of the cool will rub off on you.

A cool dog name makes for a cool pet owner. Why settle for an ordinary dog name like Fido or Scooter when your dog can lead the pack with one of these instead?

Star Power

Much like baby names, the coolest pet names change with current trends, but one thing that remains a constant is that names based on popular celebrities — and film and book characters — never go out of style. Here are some of the coolest dog names based on pop culture:

• Bella: heroine of the Twilight series
• Bentley: the name of a baby from MTV's Teen Mom; also the name of a luxury car
• Chewbacca: Han Solo's hirsute sidekick in Star Wars
• Dexter: from the eponymous Showtime series
• Luna: Harry's flaky friend in the Harry Potter books
• Mumford: named for the popular band Mumford & Sons
• Sookie: protagonist of HBO's True Blood series, based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries
• Stella: the bulldog on Modern Family
• Thor: the hammer-wielding Norse god of thunder, also a member of the Avengers and star of his own Marvel comics series

Human Names

Names that are typically considered traditional human names can make for cool dog names, too. To make it more interesting, consider a gender-specific name on a pet of the opposite gender. For example, Charlie, which is typically considered a masculine name, could make for a pretty cool female pup. Here are some of the coolest human names for dogs:

• Charlie: awesome gender-neutral name, and the name of my own very cool pup
• Cooper: a popular boy's name with an even cooler nickname, Coop
• Daisy: just old-fashioned enough to be hip again
• Frank: an old-school name, short for Francis, which means "free one"
• Jax: short for Jackson, anything with an "x" is automatically cool
• Lola: Barry Manilow made it cool at the Copa Cabana
• Lucy: a popular girl's name meaning "graceful light"
• Milo: a very popular and cool boy's name meaning "peaceful"
• Pete: classic and simple is always cool
• Sadie: a hip girl's name meaning "princess"

It's Hip to Be Square

Nerdiness is the new cool, so to show how cool your pup is, consider picking a geeky, weird, or wacky name. The more unusual the name, the better — after all, no one ever forgets a unique name. Here are some nerdy but cool dog names:

• Archie: comic book characters are always a little nerdy
• Clementine: cute girl name that has equally nerdy nicknames, like Clemmie and Cleo
• Gizmo: the fuzzy little creature from the classic 80's movie Gremlins
• Oscar: a popular fictional character name, including the very nerdy accountant from The Office
• Oswald: a powerful nerdy name meaning "divine ruler"
• Pixel: the smallest element of an image on a computer screen
• Scully: one half of The X-Files duo
• Walter: old names are always sweetly nerdy; also, the sweet father and half-mad scientist on Fringe
• Winston: from one of the greatest nerd movies, Ghostbusters; if you're a history nerd, Winston Churchill
• Zeke: short for Ezekiel, and uncommon enough to be cool

A cool name gives your pup some swagger, but it also raises your own cool factor for having picked it. What cool names have you given your dogs? Share in the comments!