What’s in a name? For many of our Nationwide® pet insurance members, it’s a whole lot of creativity, self-expression—and wackiness, of course!
For the last 10 years, we’ve collected the wildest, wackiest names our members come up with as part of our Wacky Pet Names celebration. With hundreds of thousands of new pets enrolled in 2024, we’ve had a lot of zany names to choose from. Here are some favorites.
It’s the wackiest time of the year! The class of 2025 has plenty of wackiness to go around. We’ve selected the most unique dog, cat and exotic pet names, but who will be crowned the wackiest name of each species category?
American Cheese |
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Billy Dog Thornton |
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Dilly Dally Tally |
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Free Throw |
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Iggasaurus Rex |
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Lil Jelly Donut |
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Luke Skybarker |
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Ozzy Pawsborne, Prince of Barkness |
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Schmeagle Vonsqueaklebits |
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Uncle Pickles |
Ferret Bueller |
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Gray Stuff |
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Grimace From McDonald's |
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Jane Hawgsten |
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Julius Cheeser |
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Lazerbeak |
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Pork N’ Beans |
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Punky Beakster |
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Puppy Cat |
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The Dark Urge |
Angry Potato |
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Beef Stewart |
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Cattila The Hun |
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Kirkland Signature Brand |
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Lando Catrissian |
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Pickles Of Purrington |
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Pro Skater Tony Hawk |
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Purrsephone |
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The Megalodon |
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Wendy’s 4 For $4 |
Help us crown the kookiest canine, funkiest feline and nuttiest exotic pet names of the year! Vote daily April 15-19, 2025 at petinsurance.com/wackypetnames.
This year's Wacky Pet Names celebration was one for the wacky record books! The vote was held over five days from April 14-19, 2025. Thirty pets in total were spotlighted this year—and more than 10,000 votes later(!) we have our winners….
First, from the canine category, our top vote getter is named for a tasty treat in a plastic sheet: American Cheese. During a fur-ightful experience on a busy highway, she was coaxed away from danger by some hikers with the help of a preternaturally orange slice—and the name stuck like it was melted on.
“Thank you so much!” says pet parent Morgan B. “American Cheese will be thrilled to hear the news! We will be getting her some American Cheese slices to celebrate.”
Speaking of flavorful favorites, our feline winner this year is named after a dollar-and-sense meal from a classic American burger chain: Wendy’s 4 for $4, a name that’s off the wall—but still on the menu.
“Thank you all for appreciating the value in Wendy's 4 for $4,” says pet parent Zoey B. “If she could talk, I know she would let you all know how grateful she is for winning. Unfortunately, all I could get out of her for now is ‘meow, meowww, meow.’"
Rounding out our winners is a pet named for the iconically wacky lead of a John-Hughes-film favorite: Ferret Bueller. This red Ferrari of a wacky name came courtesy of happy happenstance—the right scene playing at the right time.
At press time, we haven’t seen or heard anything from Bueller. In the meantime, we’ve dispatched a nosy principal to investigate.
Our winners received prizes that include a photo shoot and a custom canvas portrait of their pet. Keep an eye on our Wacky Pet Names blog for more on these wacky pets.
A big thank you to everyone who voted and, of course, our ever-creative members for their wacky naming inspiration! Check out all the nominees in this year's campaign and read their stories at petinsurance.com/wackypetnames.