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Spring has officially sprung. For many people, that means adding a four-legged family member to the household—and finding the perfect pet name for that new addition.
How do you come up with a name that captures the uniqueness and personality of your pet? Here’s the inside scoop from our pet naming experts:
The popular choice
You can’t go wrong with a classic. Some names are so well-suited for pets, that it’s hard to not choose them!
Here are the most popular choices for pet names in 2021*
- Dogs: Luna, Bella, Charlie, Daisy, Lucy
- Cats: Luna, Oliver, Milo, Leo, Bella
- Birds: Mango, Kiwi, Luna, Sunny, Cookie
- Exotic: Luna, Oreo, Mochi, Cookie, Lola
The #1 most popular pet name of 2021? Luna!
*Names based on pets enrolled with Nationwide pet insurance in 2021
The unconventional option
Not everyone wants a regular, everyday, normal pet name though.
That’s why Nationwide celebrates wild and wacky things we call our pets with our annual Wacky Pet Names contest.
Some previous grand prize winners include:
Isabella Miss Worldwide Boo Boo (2018)
This year's com-pet-itors
We combed through the names of the 16,937 felines and 41,314 canines who joined the Nationwide pet insurance family last year in search of the wackiest. Then, we selected the ten most funny, unique and creative dog and cat names.
This year’s nominees are:
Cat nominees:
- Boba Pett
- Crunchcat Supreme
- Foo Foo Cuddly Poops
- Lady Cleocatra Meowington
- Linda From Human Resources
- Mr Murder Mittens
- Pickles Mcbutterpant
- The Muffins Slayer
- Ruth Bader Kitsburg
- Salt N Dr Pepper
- Tayroar Swift
Dog nominees:
- Bruno Marscapone
- Potato Head
- Ghostopher P Spookington
- Holly Picklebone Bonk
- Macho Dog Randy Savage
- Motley Chew
- Porkfrog
- Princess Dumptruck
- Redwoods Stinging Tenticles Of The Sea Ruhroh
- Shoogieboogie
Meet our winners
Our contest ran from April 4th until the 9th, and nominees came from states across the country. It was a close competition, but two pet names stood out in the end:
Dr. Potato Head
Sometimes, the wackiest pet names just come to you. Case in point, a little spud named Dr. Potato Head, our canine Wacky Pet Names winner.
“I knew I wanted it to be funny,” Dalton H., his doggy dad, recalls. “My girlfriend suggested Mr. Potato Head, and I said ‘doctor’ … because he has credentials, you know? And then we just went down the rabbit hole of all the possible names we could call him from that.”
Pickles McButterpants the Muffin Slayer
Other great pet names don’t come from a flash of inspiration—they grow and develop slowly as pet and parent bond. That’s what happened with Pickles McButterpants the Muffin Slayer, our feline Wacky Pet Names winner.
“I had seen an ad for a cat named Pickles and I thought it was an awesome name,” recalls cat mom, Kelli H. “So, when I got a new kitten, I knew he would be Pickles, but it didn’t sound just right for him, so we added McButterpants to it…. Then as we were eating muffins, he went crazy over them and wouldn’t leave us alone. That is how he got the title of the Muffin Slayer.”
Both winners received a custom portrait canvas of their pet, a 1-year subscription to KitNipBox or Barkbox and a $100 Tango reward.
We’re looking forward to the new nominees we’ll find this year—maybe your new pet’s name will be on there!
Check out more clever, funny and just plain wacky pet names at petinsurance.com/wackypetnames
Add-a-pet
Take advantage of your multi-pet discount when you add a pet to your policy. When covering two or three pets, you can receive a 5% discount. When covering four or more pets, you'll save 10% on your base premium. Visit the member portal to add a pet.
Enroll a new petAdd-a-pet
Take advantage of your multi-pet discount when you add a pet to your policy. When covering two or three pets, you can receive a 5% discount. When covering four or more pets, you'll save 10% on your base premium. Visit the member portal to add a pet.
Enroll a new petAdd-a-pet
Take advantage of your multi-pet discount when you add a pet to your policy. When covering two or three pets, you can receive a 5% discount. When covering four or more pets, you'll save 10% on your base premium. Visit the member portal to add a pet.
Enroll a new petAdd-a-pet
Take advantage of your multi-pet discount when you add a pet to your policy. When covering two or three pets, you can receive a 5% discount. When covering four or more pets, you'll save 10% on your base premium. Visit the member portal to add a pet.
Enroll a new petAdd-a-pet
Take advantage of your multi-pet discount when you add a pet to your policy. When covering two or three pets, you can receive a 5% discount. When covering four or more pets, you'll save 10% on your base premium. Visit the member portal to add a pet.
Enroll a new petAdd-a-pet
Take advantage of your multi-pet discount when you add a pet to your policy. When covering two or three pets, you can receive a 5% discount. When covering four or more pets, you'll save 10% on your base premium. Visit the member portal to add a pet.
Enroll a new petAdd-a-pet
Take advantage of your multi-pet discount when you add a pet to your policy. When covering two or three pets, you can receive a 5% discount. When covering four or more pets, you'll save 10% on your base premium. Visit the member portal to add a pet.
Enroll a new petAdd-a-pet
Take advantage of your multi-pet discount when you add a pet to your policy. When covering two or three pets, you can receive a 5% discount. When covering four or more pets, you'll save 10% on your base premium. Visit the member portal to add a pet.
Enroll a new petAdd-a-pet
Take advantage of your multi-pet discount when you add a pet to your policy. When covering two or three pets, you can receive a 5% discount. When covering four or more pets, you'll save 10% on your base premium. Visit the member portal to add a pet.
Enroll a new petAdd-a-pet
Take advantage of your multi-pet discount when you add a pet to your policy. When covering two or three pets, you can receive a 5% discount. When covering four or more pets, you'll save 10% on your base premium. Visit the member portal to add a pet.
Enroll a new petAdd-a-pet
Take advantage of your multi-pet discount when you add a pet to your policy. When covering two or three pets, you can receive a 5% discount. When covering four or more pets, you'll save 10% on your base premium. Visit the member portal to add a pet.
Enroll a new pet