It is amazing how popular culture’s affect even works its way into the names that people choose for their pets!

Looking at the top dog names of 2010, we have taken care of a dog with each one of those names this past year, except for Charlie and Sophie. Maybe there are some dogs out there by those names in need of a pet sitter or dog walker … we’d love to finish out the top ten!

People Names More Popular Than Ever as “Bella” Closes in on Top Spots

Brea, Calif. (January 3, 2011) – Call it the “Twilight Effect.” In 2010 “Bella” retained its position as the most popular dog name for the second year in a row, and surpassed “Chloe” to assume the second most popular name for cats. Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance, sorted its database of more than 485,000 insured pets to determine last year’s most popular pet names. In addition to the Top 10 Dog and Cat Names, VPI for the first time has included the Top 10 Exotic Pet Names in its annual pet names analysis. Although “Charlie” may have ranked lower for dogs (No. 9) and cats (No. 10) last year, the name takes the top spot for birds, lizards, gerbils, rabbits and other assorted exotic pets.

Dogs

1. Bella
2. Bailey
3. Max
4. Lucy
5. Molly
6. Buddy
7. Maggie
8. Daisy
9. Charlie
10. Sophie

Cats:

1. Max
2. Bella
3. Chloe
4. Oliver
5. Lucy
6. Smokey
7. Shadow
8. Tiger
9. Tigger
10. Charlie