GoodBye FIDO, Hello Brian!
- Traditional dog names fall out of fashion as brits favour ‘human’ names
- 6 out of 10 dogs in Britain have a ‘human’ name
- Celebs are getting in on the act too with both Harry Styles and the Beckhams choosing ‘human’ names
Six out of ten dogs in Britain now have ‘human’ names – including Max, Molly, Charlie and even Brian it emerged yesterday.
New online pet store fetch.co.uk, which carried out a study* among 2,000 dog owners, found that nearly two thirds (60%) have abandoned common canine monikers such as Fido, Brutus and Shep in favour of names more often associated with people.
Other names which are now common include Holly, Dexter and Toby as well as Ben, Lucy and Dave as popular names to be given to dogs.
Celebs are leading the trend, with Wimbledon champion Andy Murray whose rescue border terrier called Maggie will surely be comforting him after his recent loss, the Beckhams’ dogs Barnaby and Scarlet as well as Supermodel Cara Delevingne’s rabbit named Cecil.
Pop sensations are singing the same tune too with 1D superstar Harry Styles calling his dog Colin and Ed Sheeran naming his cat Graham.
Britain’s top ten favourite ‘human’ names for their dogs are:
- Max
- Molly
- Holly
- Jess
- Toby
- Charlie
- Alfie
- Ben
- Dexter
- Bella
Across the pond American stars are also fans; Taylor Swift has two cats called Olivia and Meredith and reality TV royalty Kylie and Kendall Jenner have a puppy called Jackson.
Rachel Comerford, Director of fetch.co.uk said: “Dogs have always been known as man’s best friend, but now it seems their names are being inspired by us too with one in twenty Brits admitting to naming their pooch after a pal.”
“Whilst some may mourn no longer hearing Fido, Spike and Bonzo being shouted across the local park I think it’s great that Max and Molly are now Brits’ new favourites.”
Women are most likely (63%) to give their dog a ‘human’ name vs just over half (55%) of men.
As well as ‘human’ names pets are also taking over social media; one in 10 owners admitting that their dogs having their own account, with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram making up the top three social networks of choice.
To monitor the trend in pet names, fetch.co.uk has launched a special profile function on the site which allows owners to input their pet’s names to receive special personalised emails and messages.
For all media enquiries please pick up the dog and bone to the Fetch PR team at M&C Saatchi on 0207 544 3600 or email fetch@mcsaatchi.com