It seems the Gandalfs, the Hectors and the Bonos have taken their place alongside the Rovers and the Fidos of this world.

New research has looked at data from 70,000 pets and found a trend of people giving their animals celebrity names.

In the list of 200, many traditional names still featured – although some former stalwarts were less popular than might have previously been thought.

The names ‘Rover’ for dogs and the name ‘Whiskers’ for cats were listed between numbers 150 and 200 on the list of popular names.

Also examined in the study was the divide between the northside and southside of Dublin when it came to naming animals. North of the river the names Sam, Jack and Ben came out as most popular, while on the other side of the Liffey: Daisy, Roxy and Buddy were favoured.

Baby names 

Interestingly there was a correlation between pet names and children’s names. CSO statistics showed that in 2013: Jack, Charlie, Holly and Lucy were all popular baby names. These were all also in the top 25 when people came to selecting names for their felines and canines.

Speaking about the change in the names we give our animals, Head Vet with Just Cats Veterinary Clinic, Aoife Caulfield, said:

Pet names are becoming more humanised as cats and dogs take on a more integral role within the home and family.

“This is reflected in the increase in the pet cat population in Ireland which has doubled in the last 15 years, to over 310,000 pet cats in Ireland. Cats are becoming more popular as pets.”

The study was carried out by Just Cats Veterinary Clinic and looked at animals from clinics in Dublin, Meath and Kildare.