Dog names from famous dogs in books
Ask your vet about your own pet. This page is general information from the sources below.
Some of the best dog names belong to dogs in books. Argos waits twenty years for Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. Toto goes to Oz with Dorothy, and Nana, a Newfoundland, is the Darling children's nurse in Peter Pan. Jack London's Buck pulls a sled across the Yukon in The Call of the Wild (1903).
20 names, good for dog.
| Shortlist | Name | Boy or girl | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toto | Boy | Dorothy's little black dog in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. | |
| Nana | Girl | The Newfoundland who is the Darling children's nurse in Peter Pan. | |
| Argos | Boy | Odysseus's faithful dog in Homer's Odyssey. | |
| Buck | Boy | The big sled dog in Jack London's The Call of the Wild. | |
| White Fang | Boy | Jack London's part-wolf dog. | |
| Lassie | Girl | The collie in Eric Knight's Lassie Come-Home (1940). | |
| Pilot | Boy | Mr. Rochester's big dog in Jane Eyre. | |
| Jip | Boy | Dora's little dog in David Copperfield, and the dog in Doctor Dolittle. | |
| Montmorency | Boy | The fox terrier in Three Men in a Boat (1889). | |
| Ribsy | Boy | Henry Huggins's dog, by Beverly Cleary. | |
| Winn-Dixie | Boy | Named after the grocery store where Opal finds him, in Because of Winn-Dixie. | |
| Clifford | Boy | Norman Bridwell's big red dog. | |
| Harry | Boy | Harry the Dirty Dog, who hates baths. | |
| Spot | Either | Eric Hill's puppy in Where's Spot? | |
| Angus | Boy | Marjorie Flack's curious Scottie in Angus and the Ducks. | |
| Shiloh | Boy | The beagle in Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Shiloh. | |
| Ginger Pye | Boy | The clever puppy in Eleanor Estes's Ginger Pye. | |
| Snowy | Boy | Tintin's white fox terrier. | |
| Kipper | Boy | Mick Inkpen's dog with floppy ears. | |
| Duchess | Girl | The little dog in Beatrix Potter's The Pie and the Patty-Pan. |
Tick the names you like, then take them to a family vote.