Luna Has Overtaken Bella as New York’s Top Dog Name
Bella is still the most common dog name in New York City overall, because so many Bellas were licensed in the 2010s. But if you look only at the dogs licensed each year, a new name has taken over: Luna.
Fast facts
- Luna has been the most common name on new NYC dog licences every year from 2020 to 2025.
- Max led the early years (2014, 2015 and 2017); Bella led in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
- Milo has climbed into the top five in recent years.
The top name, year by year
| Year licence issued | Dogs | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 31,597 | Max | Bella | Rocky |
| 2016 | 68,001 | Bella | Max | Charlie |
| 2017 | 23,889 | Max | Bella | Charlie |
| 2018 | 22,469 | Bella | Luna | Max |
| 2019 | 23,983 | Bella | Luna | Max |
| 2020 | 24,102 | Luna | Bella | Charlie |
| 2021 | 29,082 | Luna | Bella | Charlie |
| 2022 | 18,902 | Luna | Bella | Coco |
| 2023 | 20,722 | Luna | Bella | Milo |
| 2024 | 29,396 | Luna | Bella | Max |
| 2025 | 34,340 | Luna | Bella | Milo |
We grouped dogs by the year their licence was issued and left out 2014, when the dataset holds only a few months of licences.
Why Luna?
Luna means “moon” in Latin, Spanish and Italian, and it has risen fast as a baby name too. In US birth records it was not even among the top 1,500 girls’ names from the 1930s to the 1990s; in 2020–2024 it ranked 11th. Dog names tend to follow baby-name fashion a few years behind, and Luna is short, soft and easy to call across a park.
What comes next?
Milo is the name to watch: it has reached the top five on new licences in five of the last six years. If you want a name that will feel fresh in five years, our unique dog names list and the dog name generator show how many real dogs already have each name.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most popular dog name in New York?
Bella overall, but Luna has been the top name on new NYC dog licences every year from 2020 to 2025.
Which dog names are rising in New York?
Luna leads new licences, and Milo has climbed into the top five in recent years.
Sources
- NYC Dog Licensing Dataset, NYC Open Data, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
- Popular Baby Names: national data, US Social Security Administration.
- Yearly counts by NameGeneratorHQ, grouped by licence issue date.
