Australia’s top trending dog breeds and names 2021…
We love our dogs. They always find a way to bring a smile to our day, or much needed comfort when we’re down. Through all the challenges of the last 18 months, our dogs have been our constant companions, ready to walk, play, or just hang out. Hill’s Pet Nutrition Australia wanted to find out the true extent of national interest in dog ownership and which dog breeds capture Australian hearts. We performed a bespoke study into Australian search behaviour, utilising Google search volumes to reveal the current top trending dog breeds of 2021.
Interest in dog ownership stays strong across Australia
What do we want? Pets!
In 2020, Australians showed a surge of enthusiasm for bringing canine companions into their lives, with search interest around new or adopted dogs climbing dramatically. While this trend is easing off slightly in 2021, interest still remains high with over 29 million searches surrounding bringing home a dog across the year.
With many of us now working from home, we have more time to spend with our pets. Australians contemplating adding a pet to their household found the last two years the perfect opportunity to introduce a four-legged friend to their home 1. Animal Medicines Australia (AMA) reported a substantial rise in pet ownership across the country this year, with dogs found in 7% more households than 2019.
However, not every would-be pet owner has found the companion they’re looking for. Searches related to new or adopted dogs are on the rise again since July lockdowns began, with a total of more than 3 million in August alone.
In the last year, there were more than 8.89 million searches around adopting or rescuing a dog. 1AMA reported that 13% of dogs entering Australian homes in 2021 were rescued from animal shelters.
Many Australians are also looking for dogs outside of adoption or rescue, with 20.7 million searches related to new dogs in 2021. In fact, 1 40% of dogs brought home in 2021 came from a breeder, while another 11% were purchased from pet shops.
Top 10 Trending Dog Breeds
Golden Retriever
Border Collie
German Shepherd
Rottweiler
Cavoodle
Pomeranian
Bulldog
Shiba Inu
Labrador
Greyhound
Australia’s Top Trending Dog Names
Finding the right name for your new four-legged friend can be a tough task. If you’re looking for inspiration, Hill’s Pet Nutrition Australia has done the digging on the top trending pup names of 2021 and the results are in.
We analysed search volumes of 654 well-known, popular dog names as well as including terms across categories such as famous, food, and location to see what was trending throughout the year and, where Australians may be taking inspiration from when naming their dogs. The nation’s current trending favourite monikers are revealed through an index ranking score, based on growth in search popularity and YoY change. It’s clear that we draw inspiration from the things we love as well as what’s happening in the world around us – from celebrities to popular culture and, of course, the colour of our companion’s fur!
Overall trends
This year 44% (11 out of 25) of the top 25 trending dog names were male, followed by traditional female names at 36% (9 out of 25). The remaining 20% consisted of terms inspired by our favourite food & drink choices (5 out of 25).
TV and film are often an inspiration
Loki dominated as the most searched pup name of 2021, an ode to the Loki television series that aired its first episode in June, accumulating nearly 1.1 million searches. The fictional ‘God of Mischief’ and popular Marvel character saw a 553% YoY increase and 6.53 popularity index score. Loki wasn’t the only superhero character to make the top 20, with Hawkeye coming in at #19. Other names that might be inspired by what we see on the screen are Moxie (#3) after the Moxie girls in the 2021 comedy movie, and Ava (#6) the main character from the eponymously titled film.
Fictional dog characters also made it into the top spots. Odie from the Garfield comic strip is still clearly favoured and came in at number #9, down two positions from #7 since last years study while Lady, (#5) may well be an ode to the beloved Lady and the Tramp.
Delicious dog names rank highly
Food and drink may continue to inspire choice. Drinks featured highly in overall listing with the classic cocktail Gimlet ranking at #7, along with Coffee at #11 and Cider at #14. Food featured a little further down the list with Mochi at #22, Bagel at #35 and Pumpkin at #44.
Popular human names feature in our trending list
More than anything else, our dogs are our friends and important parts of our lives. Reflecting this, it’s no surprise that ordinary human names dominated the top 25 trending dog names, with Loki (#1), Autumn (#2), Ava (#6), Sophie (#8), Mimi (#10), Bianca (#12) and Tyson (#13, up from #21 in last year's study) and are all popular baby names in their own right. Does your four-legged friend feature in this top list?
Top Trending Male Dog Names
Loki
Chewy
Odie
Tyson
CJ
Vinnie
Zeke
Hawkeye
Felix
Joey
Top Trending Female Dog Names
Autumn
Moxie
Lady
Ava
Sophie
Mimi
Bianca
Juno
Zoey
Josie
Source: Hills Pet Nutrition