Lists

130 Literary Dog Names For The Very Best Bookish Dogs

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Kate Krug

Contributor

Kate is a 2011 Drake University grad, where she received her BA in magazine journalism. A hopeless romantic with a cynical heart, Kate will read anything that comes with a content warning, a love triangle, and a major plot twist. Twitter: @katekrug Blog: http://snarky-yet-satisfying.com

Any pet owner knows that the naming of your new special friend is a very important thing. For all you dog-loving bibliophiles, we’ve got an expansive guide with literary dog names that are sure to fit your fido. Also worth noting, this list can also be applied to cats, ferrets, birds, or whatever floats your fancy.

Literary Dog Names from Children’s Books

Alice, Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Aslan, The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Augustus, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Beatrice, Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
Bella, Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
Clifford, Clifford The Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
Coraline, Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Cullen, Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
Jasper, Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
Eloise, Eloise at the Plaza by Kay Thompson
Hazel, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Matilda, Matilda by Roald Dahl
Scout, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Shiloh, Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Tock, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Toto, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Winnie, Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

Literary Dog Names from Comics

Marvel
Flash
Thor
Magneto
Blaze
Phoenix
Sage
Storm
Rogue
Mystique
Raven
Shadow

Names of Authors/Poets

Brontë (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë)
Byron (as in Lord)
Dante (Dante Alighieri)
Eliot (T.S. Eliot)
Harper (Harper Lee)
Langston (Langston Hughes)
Rumi
Seuss (as in Dr., aka Theodor Seuss Geisel)
Tennyson (as in Alfred, Lord Tennyson)
Tolstoy
Twain (Mark Twain)
Walt (Walt Whitman)

Unique Literary Dog Names from Books

Arrietty, The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Bovary, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Cujo, Cujo by Stephen King
Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Havisham, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Jekyll, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Katniss, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Kaz, Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo
Perdita, The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
Pongo, The Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
Quixote, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Tris, Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth

Dog Names from Mythology

Achilles

Adonis
Adrian
Ajax
Caesar
Calix
Cicero
Deacon
Homer
Icarus
Leo
Merlin
Othello
Otis
Sappho
Sirius
Titan
Ulysses
Antigone
Pandora
Penelope

Literary Dog Names from Classics

Atticus, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Athos, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Bennet, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Brett, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Darcy, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Jude, Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Oliver, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Fitzwilliam, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Rhett, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Santiago, The Old Man the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Sawyer, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Names from Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin)

Ghost
Nymeria
Lady
Summer
Grey Wind
Shaggydog
Ned
Cersei
Daenerys/Dany
Tyrion
Lannister
Khal
Bran
Theon
Arya
Sansa
Davos
Stannis
Genry
Ramsay
Bolton
Greyjoy
Stark
Renly

General Literary Dog Names

Daisy, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Dorothy, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Emma, Emma by Jane Austen
Finn, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Hamlet, Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Holden, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Gatsby, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Kurtz, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Lassie, Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight
Lila, Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab
Maisie, What Maisie Knew by Henry James
Marley, Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog by John Grogan
Marlowe, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
Milo, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Moby, Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Moriarty, On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Pip, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Ripley, The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Romeo, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Sherlock, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

You can find even more bookish pet names, names for your dog and names for exotic pets.


Also, here’s a nudge to adopt your new pets, rather than to shop for them. You can find the perfect adoptable pets on Adopt a Pet. It’s also worth noting that adopting senior pets can be a tremendous gift for both you and the pet you bring into your life. See if you can find a local shelter that specializes in pets 7 and older and consider giving one of those furry friends their forever home.