Top 10 Pet Names of 2012

Banfield Pet Hospital and its internal research team, Banfield Applied Research & Knowledge (BARK), have released the top pet names of 2012, pulled from a database of nearly 2.5 million pets nationwide.

The big trend in 2012 was pet owners turning to pop culture, celebrities, fictional characters, and athletes for name inspiration.

November marked the end of an era with the release of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2," but the effects of the Twilight phenomenon aren't forgotten, as "Bella" topped the charts as the most popular name for dogs and second most popular name for cats in 2012.

In 2012, it appeared pet owners also turned to celebrity magazines for inspiration, as Banfield Pet Hospital treated pets named after celebrity moms and babies, including "Snooki" and baby boy "Lorenzo," and "Beyonce" and her darling, "Blue Ivy."

Another winning pet name this year was "Eli" and "Ellie Manning," making a pass to Super Bowl Champion and Giants quarterback, Eli Manning. Even TLC's reality TV hit had Banfield veterinarians saying, "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," as the tiny pageant star's name was turned over to pets.

The pop music genre struck a chord with pet owners, and pets rocked such names as "Ke$ha," "Nicki Minaj" and "Lady Gaga." And fans of NBC's "The Voice" thought CeeLo picked just the right name for his white Persian cat...in fact, it was "Purrfect"!

"It's fun for us to see how creative our clients can be when it comes to their pets' names," said Elizabeth Lund, DVM, MPH, PhD, Banfield senior director of research and head of the BARK team. "Pet owners have strong, emotional connections with their pet, so it's fitting they would give their four-legged family member a name that holds personal significance and reflects their interests."

As uniquely inspired as pop culture names may be, only "Bella" graced the top 10 list, replacing "Max" in the No. 1 spot from 2011. In fact, Banfield Pet Hospital's top 10 pet names of 2012 are considerably tamer than those influenced by pop culture.

The following is a list of the top 10 pet names of 2012 based on 2.5 million Banfield Pet Hospital clients:

Dogs

1. Bella 
2. Max 
3. Buddy 
4. Daisy 
5. Bailey 
6. Coco 
7. Lucy 
8. Charlie 
9. Molly
10. Rocky 

Cats 

1. Kitty
2. Bella 
3. Tiger 
4. Max 
5. Smokey 
6. Shadow 
7. Tigger 
8. Lucy 
9. Chloe 
10. Charlie 

For more information about Banfield Pet Hospital, visit www.Banfield.com.