While we certainly understand the allure of being right on trend, we also get that some people would rather go the other way, especially when it comes to names. Hey, we love a popular puppy name as much as anybody, but if you’d prefer your pooch not share a moniker with any other dogs in her obedience class, you might want to stay away from highly trendy names, like Luna or Jax. In fact, if you’re interested in seeing which puppy names are currently the most trendy, you can find that right here.
That doesn’t mean you need to come up with a completely unique name. (Although, if you do, you might find some ideas in these names inspired by places, food or history and celebrities.)
There are plenty of cute puppy names that have fallen in popularity over the past decade, so, while they’re definitely not trendy, they’re still certainly well-known and well-loved. Just not as popular as they were in 2005.
To pick out the least trendy puppy names of the year, we worked with Nationwide Pet Insurance, who gave us a look at their list of the 45 most popular puppy names from a decade ago. We then compared those names to our list of the most popular puppy names in 2015. Those that fell the most in the last 10 years made our least trendy list!
Emma and Riley
Emma and Riley have seen quite the fall in popularity over the last 10 years. Emma, which was No. 20 in 2005, currently ranks as the No. 45 most popular name, while Riley, the No. 13 name in 2005, has fallen 22 spots to land at No. 35 on the current list of popular puppy names.
Shadow, Harley and Murphy
Several male puppy names also saw rather significant downward trends. Shadow fell 24 spots from its No. 16 ranking in 2005, while both Harley (No. 9 most popular male puppy name in 2005) and Murphy (No. 14 in 2005) dropped 19 places in the last 10 years.
Abby, Zoe and Sasha
A few other female names that dropped considerably compared to their 2005 popularity ranking were Abby and Zoe, each of which fell 16 places, and Sasha, which dropped 15 spots.
Jake, Gizmo and Buster
One of the most notable falls on this list belongs to the name Jake, because while the name dropped just 18 spots — not as impressive a drop as some of the other names — it boasted a No. 5 ranking in popularity in 2005, and it's unusual to see a name ranked so highly drop so far that quickly. Gizmo, which was No. 21 in 2005, fell 15 spots, and Buster also saw a big drop, falling 14 spots from it's 2005 ranking of No. 11.
Lucky and Casey
Some of the names that saw major drops in popularity fell so far that, although they were ranked within the top 25 in 2005, they've fallen off the most popular puppy names list completely at this point. Lucky, which was No. 19 in 2005, and Casey, No. 21 in 2005, both failed to make the 2015 list.
Cody, Oscar, Sam and Scout
When it came to male names that have fallen completely off our radar this year, Cody really takes the cake. The name was No. 8 a decade ago, but failed to crack the current top 45 most popular male puppy names. Oscar (No. 13 in 2005), Sam (No. 15 in 2005) and Scout (No. 23 in 2005) also dropped off the most popular list in 2015.
Angel, Sammy and Dakota
A few more female puppy names that fell far enough to miss the top 45 most popular puppy names list in 2015 were Angel (No. 23 in 2005), Sammy (No. 24) and Dakota (No. 30).
Rusty, Sparky, Joey and Baxter
Other male puppy names that were within the top 30 in 2005, but off the 2015 list were Rusty (No. 26 in 2005), Sparky (No. 28), Joey (No. 29) and Baxter (No. 30).
What Do the Least Trendy Names Have in Common?
It can be pretty obvious why certain names are trendy (yes, Bella we mean you), but determining why some of these names have fallen in popularity is a little trickier. After all, one of the names on the least trendy names list — Zoe — has a phonetic twin (Zoey) on the most trendy list! Still, we noticed a couple of similarities among names on the least trendy list.
Gender neutrality: While many names on the most trendy list were firmly masculine or feminine, quite a few on this list were more gender neutral (Riley, Lucky, Sammy, Casey, Dakota, Shadow, Harley, Murphy, Sam, Scout and Sparky).
Traditional human names: Emma has been a top three human baby name in the U.S. since 2003, according to BabyCenter, and several others on this list, like Abby, Zoey, Sam, Jake, Cody and Joey are fairly traditional names for humans. We’re not about to say that the trend of giving pets names we’re used to seeing attached to humans is over — Max and Bella have been the most popular puppy names and continue to hold that title — but, we wonder if the trend could be starting to lose steam.
