Daisy, Cody & Max Are Among Most Popular Dog Names in Ditmas Park

WNYC has taken the complete list of the city’s registered dogs and created a map (and some other fun stuff) showing the most popular names and breeds in each zip code.

The first thing you notice is the names. The most popular ones in the city hew pretty close to the most popular names across all English-speaking countries: Max, Bella, Lucky, etc. But this is New York, so there have to be some named Jeter (40 dogs) and Carmelo (7). In a town also known for its fashion, that explains the prevalence of dogs named Chanel (44), and Dolce (39). There are 83 dogs named Gucci.

Like much of the city, the most popular name in 11230 is Max, while it’s a tie in 11226 between Ginger and Cody, and a tie in 11218 for Charlie and Daisy. However, keep in mind that the data is based purely on licensed dogs. As the article notes, only one in five city dogs is actually licensed.

(BTW – the penalty for having an unlicensed dog is fairly costly – a summons and $200 fine. So if yours isn’t registered, do so ASAP.)

The discrepancy is pretty evident when you look at the list of breeds. According to the map, the most popular breeds in South Brooklyn – aside from “mixed/other” which actually made up the largest population – are uniformly Yorkies and Shih Tzus. Just based on anecdotal evidence from neighborhood strolling alone, this seems a little off. So let’s do our own informal neighborhood survey.

Dog owners: What’s the name and breed of your little — or not-so-little — canine companion?

Pictured above is Golden Retriever Fergus and RJ’s mutt Cody.