Pexels
1 / 50#50. Gunner
Rank in 2017: #50
Rank in 2016: #67
Change in rank: +17
A dog's name is one of the most important words they'll learn because it lets man's best friend know what their owner has something to say to them. Everyone, especially animal training experts, has their own opinions on how dogs should be named. Some suggest sticking to one or two syllables to quickly get a dog's attention. Others think owners should choose a distinctive name so your canine companion knows who you're talking to on a trip to a crowded dog park. Some people even say you shouldn't name your new best friend a "people" name.
Of course, no one truly agrees and rules are made to be broken. Giving dogs human names has been on the rise for years, especially as more and more young people put off having kids or start using furry friends as a test runs for their future family. As for trying to keep your dog's name unique, estimates from the 2017–2018 American Pet Products Association survey reveals that approximately 48.5% of households own at least one pet dog. There are an estimated 89.7 million dogs owned across the nation. That means a lot of good boys are going to need names, and there are bound to be some favorites across the board no matter how hard you try to be distinct. Sometimes popular names are the perfect fit for your newest addition.
Can't figure out whether your new best friend is a Bruno or a Jake? Perhaps we can throw you a bone: Stacker tallied data from Rover in order to rank the 50 most popular male dog names of 2017. The ranks are listed along with their 2016 rank for context, as well as their change in rank between 2016 and 2017.
Read on for inspiration on what to name your new dog.
You may also like: Most popular female dog names
Albany Colley//Pixabay
2 / 50#49. Thor
Rank in 2017: #49
Rank in 2016: #51
Change in rank: +2
Phebe77//Pixabay
3 / 50#48. Sammy
Rank in 2017: #48
Rank in 2016: #44
Change in rank: -4
safepaws//Pixabay
4 / 50#47. Ace
Rank in 2017: #47
Rank in 2016: #50
Change in rank: +3
Andrea Arden//Flickr
5 / 50#46. Apollo
Rank in 2017: #46
Rank in 2016: #54
Change in rank: +8
Wikimedia Commons
6 / 50#45. Jasper
Rank in 2017: #45
Rank in 2016: #49
Change in rank: +4
Pexels
7 / 50#44. Blue
Rank in 2017: #44
Rank in 2016: #45
Change in rank: +1
Wikimedia Commons
8 / 50#43. Bandit
Rank in 2017: #43
Rank in 2016: #39
Change in rank: -4
Didgeman//Pixabay
9 / 50#42. Beau
Rank in 2017: #42
Rank in 2016: #40
Change in rank: -2
PxHere
10 / 50#41. Cody
Rank in 2017: #41
Rank in 2016: #32
Change in rank: -9
PxHere
11 / 50#40. Sam
Rank in 2017: #40
Rank in 2016: #34
Change in rank: -6
Max Pixel
12 / 50#39. Loki
Rank in 2017: #39
Rank in 2016: #47
Change in rank: +8
audrey_sel//Flickr
13 / 50#38. Diesel
Rank in 2017: #38
Rank in 2016: #37
Change in rank: -1
Public Domain Pictures
14 / 50#37. Bruno
Rank in 2017: #37
Rank in 2016: #38
Change in rank: +1
PxHere
15 / 50#36. Baxter
Rank in 2017: #36
Rank in 2016: #35
Change in rank: -1
Lori Branham//Flickr
16 / 50#35. Hank
Rank in 2017: #35
Rank in 2016: #33
Change in rank: -2
Spiritze//Pixabay
17 / 50#34. Moose
Rank in 2017: #34
Rank in 2016: #42
Change in rank: +8
PxHere
18 / 50#33. Lucky
Rank in 2017: #33
Rank in 2016: #29
Change in rank: -4
Kaz // Pixabay
19 / 50#32. Finn
Rank in 2017: #32
Rank in 2016: #43
Change in rank: +11
Hannamariah // Shutterstock
20 / 50#31. Oscar
Rank in 2017: #31
Rank in 2016: #30
Change in rank: -1
Helen Sushitskaya // Shutterstock
21 / 50#30. Ollie
Rank in 2017: #30
Rank in 2016: #36
Change in rank: +6
Lance Cpl. M. C. Nerl
22 / 50#29. Henry
Rank in 2017: #29
Rank in 2016: #31
Change in rank: +2
Bert 23 Baum//Wikimedia Commons
23 / 50#28. Jackson
Rank in 2017: #28
Rank in 2016: #25
Change in rank: -3
PxHere
24 / 50#27. Bailey
Rank in 2017: #27
Rank in 2016: #26
Change in rank: -1
Max Pixel
25 / 50#26. Harley
Rank in 2017: #26
Rank in 2016: #27
Change in rank: +1
Lori Branham//Flickr
26 / 50#25. Buster
Rank in 2017: #25
Rank in 2016: #23
Change in rank: -2
Helmuts Rudz_tis//Flickr
27 / 50#24. Gus
Rank in 2017: #24
Rank in 2016: #28
Change in rank: +4
PxHere
28 / 50#23. Riley
Rank in 2017: #23
Rank in 2016: #21
Change in rank: -2
PxHere
29 / 50#22. Dexter
Rank in 2017: #22
Rank in 2016: #18
Change in rank: -4
Pixabay
30 / 50#21. Jake
Rank in 2017: #21
Rank in 2016: #15
Change in rank: -6
Ionwind // Wikimedia Commons
31 / 50#20. Murphy
Rank in 2017: #20
Rank in 2016: #24
Change in rank: +4
Russ Sanderlin // Flickr
32 / 50#19. Louie
Rank in 2017: #19
Rank in 2016: #20
Change in rank: +1
Wikimedia Commons
33 / 50#18. Zeus
Rank in 2017: #18
Rank in 2016: #19
Change in rank: +1
Wikimedia Commons
34 / 50#17. Jax
Rank in 2017: #17
Rank in 2016: #17
Change in rank: 0
Max Pixel
35 / 50#16. Winston
Rank in 2017: #16
Rank in 2016: #22
Change in rank: +6
Max Pixel
36 / 50#15. Leo
Rank in 2017: #15
Rank in 2016: #16
Change in rank: +1
PxHere
37 / 50#14. Teddy
Rank in 2017: #14
Rank in 2016: #14
Change in rank: 0
Winky//Flickr
38 / 50#13. Milo
Rank in 2017: #13
Rank in 2016: #13
Change in rank: 0
Giuseppe Pitzus // Wikimedia Commons
39 / 50#12. Bentley
Rank in 2017: #12
Rank in 2016: #12
Change in rank: 0
J187B // Wikimedia Commons
40 / 50#11. Toby
Rank in 2017: #11
Rank in 2016: #9
Change in rank: -2
David Bohrer // White House
41 / 50#10. Duke
Rank in 2017: #10
Rank in 2016: #8
Change in rank: -2
AfricaStudio // Shutterstock
42 / 50#9. Oliver
Rank in 2017: #9
Rank in 2016: #11
Change in rank: +2
artemrybcha // SHutterstock
43 / 50#8. Tucker
Rank in 2017: #8
Rank in 2016: #10
Change in rank: +2
Blanscape // Shutterstock
44 / 50#7. Bear
Rank in 2017: #7
Rank in 2016: #7
Change in rank: 0
louiesbath//Flickr
45 / 50#6. Rocky
Rank in 2017: #6
Rank in 2016: #6
Change in rank: 0
skeeze/Pixabay
46 / 50#5. Jack
Rank in 2017: #5
Rank in 2016: #5
Change in rank: 0
Alexas_Fotos//Pixabay
47 / 50#4. Buddy
Rank in 2017: #4
Rank in 2016: #3
Change in rank: -1
Pexels
48 / 50#3. Cooper
Rank in 2017: #3
Rank in 2016: #4
Change in rank: +1
Günter Hentschel // Flickr
49 / 50#2. Charlie
Rank in 2017: #2
Rank in 2016: #2
Change in rank: 0
smerikal // Flickr
50 / 50#1. Max
Rank in 2017: #1
Rank in 2016: #1
Change in rank: 0
