Is your pet named after your favorite TV show or movie character? According to the pet sitting website Rover, lots of people name their pets from pop culture, but also favorite foods, cocktails, and sports. They put together list of popular dog and cat names every year. Here’s the best from 2022’s list. Now we want to see these pets in cosplay.
Stranger Things
Pets named after all of the many main characters from Stranger Things saw a boost. Erica gained the most popularity for dogs while El was the most popular with cats (bald sphynx cats, we assume). Hopper, Joyce, and the others all made the list. New for 2022—the name Vecna for cats and Kate Bush for dogs.
House of the Dragon
Thanks to the Game of Thrones prequel, dogs named Daemon went up 45% and Targaryen nearly tripled in popularity. While we haven’t seen photos of these dogs, we assume they all have long flowing blonde hair. Hightower also entered the list for the first time.
Star Wars
You had to know that Baby Yoda would keep on trending. It’s up only 5% for dogs but 125% for cats. Meanwhile, Grogu is up for dogs but down for cats. Other names from a galaxy far, far away include the popular Fett and Fennec. Rancor made the list for both dogs and cats for the first time.
Other Fun Names
Ted Lasso made the list for dogs for the first time in 2022. Roy Kent sounds more like a cat name due to his gruff and elusive nature. And while the name Bella fell from number one to number two female dog name overall, the name Taco Bella popped up in the list.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. For what it’s worth, her dog is named Minion. She moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.
