Southern Living
Southern Culture
Pet Lovers
Our Favorite Names for Southern Dogs

Our Favorite Names for Southern Dogs

By Zoë Gowen

September 20, 2016

Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Funny, friendly, or ferocious? Here's a list of our favorite Southern names for our favorite furry friends.Research shows that dog names need to be two syllables. With that in mind, we decided to take a gander at our 101 super-Southern dog names with two or more syllables.There's a common misconception that in the South, our dogs ride around in the backs of trucks and always have a dead duck in their mouths. In truth, we treat our dogs a lot like Ouiser treats Rhett in Steel Magnolias—we take them everywhere no matter their size or temperament. They’ve become best friends. They wait in the car while you run errands. You take them on walks to the park. They sleep beside you. If you’re going to spend this much time with any living thing, then you best love the name that you choose for them and understand the method that goes into dog naming. It needs to be a dog name you like saying over and over again and one that is suitable for your dog’s personality. Short, clear names with one to two consonants also work better than a lengthy name. For example, getting out a name like Genevieve in a hurry over and over again, is going to get old, but you can shorten Genevieve to Genny if you’re dead set on the elaborate name. If you’re adopting a dog (good for you!) and want to rename the dog, you should try and keep the new name as similar sounding to the old one as possible—i.e., you should rename an old Shelly into a Shelby. Before you start naming your puppy, take a look at these most popular Southern dog names to see if any of them are a good fit for your puppy.

Start Slideshow