Northern Ireland's trendiest dog names of 2022 revealed

Like it or not, but choosing the right dog name IS a big deal, and a recent study shows locals are being influenced by cultural trends and events when it comes to naming their beloved pup.

New data released today by Rover.com reveals the UK’s trendiest dog names of 2022.

Mike has officially been crowned the UK’s top dog - closely followed by the likes of Preston, Smokey and Mabli.

The report, celebrating its tenth anniversary, reflects themes from 2022 including sports, pop culture, royalty and politics showing where Brits take inspiration when naming their dogs.

Human names are clearly favoured (46%) as alongside Mike, the name Gary started trending upwards (+531%) despite it facing extinction among humans.

It’s out with the old and in with the new as 29% of pet parents say they’ve opted for humorous and fun names for their pooches.

Some of this year’s best examples on Rover include Tuppence, Albus Dumbledog, Brad Prett and Baron Von Tail Wagger.

The Lionesses proved to be an inspiration in more ways than one. Leading goal scorers (Fran) Kirby and Beth (Mead) topped the trending list of names from the team, both trending upwards by 306% and 81% respectively.

In fact, the names Alessia, Rachel and even Lioness entered the ranks this year for the first time, which could only be down to England’s success.

With the men’s World Cup taking place this month, the report foresees Jack (Grealish) to be a fan favourite for the second year running as his name tops the ranks once again. However, it seems the nation is fully behind captain Harry Kane as both his first and second name feature, alongside Jordan (and) Pickford, Declan (Rice) and (Raheem) Sterling.

Designer brands including Armani (+531%), Prada (+191%) and Dior (+131%) all trended up this year.

With UK politics also in turmoil, it’s hardly surprising that pet parents have shied away from naming their dogs Boris (Johnson) and Liz (Truss) – both declining by 21% and 69% respectively over the past year.

For those pet parents that have more than one dog, it seems they come as a pair. Whether it’s Ant and Dec, Holly and Phil, or Bonnie and Clyde, 27% of Britons say they’ve planned their dogs’ names with a duo in mind.

Northern Ireland's most popular pet names in 2022 👇

This report was developed between September and October 2022.

Take a closer look at the Top Pet Names for 2022 👇

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• dogs
• northern ireland