'Milo' defends his top position
Eschborn. After last year's surprise success, 'Milo' has once again made it to number one of the most popular names for male dogs in Germany – by a significant margin. Brand new to the ranking are the names 'Teddy' and 'Eddy', which came in ninth and tenth among male dogs. However, there were no surprises among the dog and cat ladies: the name 'Luna' still remains at the top.
The animal protection organization TASSO eV, which operates Europe's largest free pet registry, has once again evaluated the most popular dog and cat names among Germans for 2025. It becomes clear that the naming trends persist over the years. “Names like 'Mikesch', 'Blacky' or 'Susi' have long been out of date. Instead, girls and boys names that are popular with both dogs and cats dominate, Disney classics and this one Roman moon goddess. 'Luna' has been in first place among female dogs for more than ten years. For female cats it has now been six years in a row,” says TASSO director Philip McCreight.
New names for the dogs
The name 'Balu' took first place in the rankings for nine years in a row until it was displaced by 'Milo' for the first time last year. And in 2025, 'Milo' will be ahead again, relegating Balu to second place, followed by 'Charly', who will continue to defend third place. 'Bruno' took fourth place, relegating 'Buddy' to fifth place. 'Loki' will be in sixth place ahead of 'Rocky' in 2025. Leo remains in eighth place. The names 'Teddy' and 'Eddy' are completely new in ninth and tenth place. They push 'Sammy' and 'Lucky' out of the top 10 statistics. Among the bitches, 'Luna' is unrivaled. 'Nala' and 'Bella' defend second and third place. Followed by 'Frieda', 'Maya' and 'Emma'. 'Lilly' moves up one place to seventh position, relegating 'Amy' to eighth place. 'Kira' takes ninth place. Bringing up the rear in tenth place is 'Lucy'.
Hardly any changes in the cats
'Simba' is and remains the favorite among the tomcats – and has been since 2019. 'Leo' once again takes second place, followed by 'Charly' in third place. 'Milo' gains three positions and moves up to fourth place. 'Balu' placed fifth. Sixth and seventh place go to 'Findus' and 'Loki'. Like last year, 'Sammy', 'Felix' and 'Mogli' remain in the last three places. For cat ladies, the first six places in the top 10 rankings remain unchanged. 'Luna' is followed by 'Nala', 'Lilly', 'Lucy', 'Mia' and 'Coco'. 'Mimi' moves up to seventh place and relegates 'Mila' back to eighth place. 'Bella' takes ninth place. 'Maja' comes back in at number ten, knocking the relatively new name 'Frieda' out of the top 10 statistics.
2025 at a glance
- Missing dogs: 26,400
- Missing cats: 93,500
- Returned dogs: 23,400
- Rehomed cats: 73,200
- New registrations of dogs and cats: around 710,000
- Total pet owners: 7.9 million
- New Year (New Year's Eve and New Year's Day): 376 lost dogs, 507 lost cats.
The numbers are based on the animals newly registered with TASSO in Germany between January 1st, 2025 and December 31st, 2025.