From Poppy to Sherlock: the UK's most popular pet names
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Version 0 of 1. It’s not just baby names that have been influenced by hit television shows. According to a new release, pet names aren’t exempt with owners taking inspiration from popular series such as Sherlock, Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. The analysis of data of dog and cat names by John Lewis pet insurance, which draws on more than 90,000 pet names from its database, found that monikers such as Sherlock, Arya and Walter were also making an appearance alongside more traditional feline and canine names. 30 pets named Sherlock Possibly inspired by Benedict Cumberbatch’s character Sherlock in the eponymous BBC crime series, the detective’s name was chosen for 30 pets; 25 dogs and five cats while his friend and assistant, Dr. John Watson (played by Martin Freeman) might well have been the inspiration for another 29 pets; 27 dogs and two cats. John Lewis also point at 26 dogs and nine cats named Walter, suggesting that Breaking Bad’s Walter White portrayed by Bryan Cranston might have tickled pet owners’ imaginations. Game of Thrones also displays its influence with six dogs and four cats being named after Arya Stark, while another five pets were named Khaleesi (two dogs and three cats) and one cat was named Daenerys. Poppy was named the most popular name for both cats and dogs for the fourth year running, while Alfie (for dogs) and Molly (for cats ) came in at second place. Tigger bounces out, Misty climbs up There appears to be a trend for naming our feline friends Misty or Cleo -these shot up 15 and nine places respectively, while our poor bouncy friend Tigger has seen a drop in popularity and is down 11 places. Although it could be said that the high end retailer’s database of pet names reflects it’s middle class clientele, it does also appear to mirror the most popular baby names in England and Wales. Poppy (the top name for pets) was the seventh most popular baby name for girls in 2013, according to an Office for National Statistics release earlier this year. Charlie, a popular name for both cats and dogs, was the fifth most popular baby name for boys in 2013. Oscar, which also ranks highly in the pet names list, was the seventh most popular name for a baby boy, while George (the 20th most popular cat name) was the 10th most popular in 2013. The top 20 pet names for cats and dogs according to John Lewis are below. Dogs account for a larger proportion of its database but confirm that this is in line with the market. According to a research by Datamonitor dogs account for somewhere between 30 and 45% of pet insurance take-up, while for cats it is between 15 and 25%. |