Boy Dog Names That Start With R

  1. Ryne
    • Origin:

      Variation of Ryan, Irish
    • Meaning:

      "little king"
    • Description:

      Baseball player Ryne Sandberg's nickname is RYNO. Need we say more?
  2. Revel
    • Origin:

      English word name
    • Meaning:

      "rejoice"
    • Description:

      A joyous (if a little rowdy) word name that's still relatively undiscovered by parents, being given to about 10 babies of each sex per year. Glee actor Matthew Morrison named his son Revel in 2017.
  3. Ramsey
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "low-lying land"
    • Description:

      A surname with potential as a first — Ramsey was given to a little over 100 baby boys in 2022.
  4. Rodion
    • Origin:

      Russian from Greek
    • Meaning:

      "song of the hero"
    • Description:

      Well used in Russia, this is a distinctive and undiscovered choice here. Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is the fictional protagonist of Crime and Punishment by Feodor Dostoyevsky.
  5. Rey
    • Origin:

      Spanish
    • Meaning:

      "king"
    • Description:

      Sounds exactly like Ray—but with an on-trend royal vibe. The central protagonist in the newest Star Wars trilogy is a woman named Rey.
  6. Roberto
    • Origin:

      Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese variation of Robert
    • Description:

      Standard Latin classic.
  7. Rock
    • Origin:

      Word name or diminutive of Rocco
    • Meaning:

      "rock or rest"
    • Description:

      Rock definitely has a macho image, if a somewhat caricatured one, ala The Rock. But with the rise of word names and also of tough guy names, Rock feels more plausible than it did a generation ago.
  8. Renly
    • Origin:

      Modern invented name
    • Description:

      Renly Baratheon was a fairly minor character in A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO's Game of Thrones, mostly remembered as the one of the show's few prominent LGBT characters. He played a major part in season 2 of the show, when he challenged the Lannisters and his older brother Stannis for control of the Iron Throne.
  9. Rivers
    • Origin:

      Nature name and surname, English
    • Meaning:

      "rivers"
    • Description:

      The name Rivers combines two major trends: nature names like the popular River itself, and S-ending surname-names such as Brooks, Rhodes, and yes, Rivers.
  10. Rawlings
    • Origin:

      English surname
    • Meaning:

      "son of Raul"
    • Description:

      Rawlings was a surname brought to England with the Norman invasion and has ties to the name Raul, which means "wolf counsel."
  11. Ringo
    • Origin:

      English nickname
    • Description:

      The most outlandish Beatles-inspired name, if Lennon or McCartney are too tame for you. Ringo Starr is the stage name of drummer Richard Starkey, taken from his nickname Ringo (because he wore lots of rings) and the first part of his surname. A bold rock-n-roll inspired choice!
  12. Rocket
    • Origin:

      Word name
    • Description:

      Starbaby name that might prove too supercharged for real life, but if like director Robert Rodriguez you're interested only in boys' names starting with R, you may need to add Rocket (and Rebel and Racer) to your list.
  13. Rodrigo
    • Origin:

      Spanish and Portuguese variation of Roderick
    • Meaning:

      "famous ruler"
    • Description:

      Rhythmically appealing international spin on the stiff original.
  14. Renji
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "second love"
    • Description:

      Now that Kenji is rising up the ranks, it's only a matter of time before parents discover Renji. Renji Abarai is a character in the anime series Bleach, in which the kanji used for his name mean "second love" or "second romance."
  15. Renny
    • Origin:

      Anglicized variation of Irish Raithnait
    • Meaning:

      "little prosperous one"
    • Description:

      Used primarily for girls in Ireland, but sounds unisex to us.
  16. Ryuu
    • Origin:

      Japanese
    • Meaning:

      "dragon"
    • Description:

      An auspicious choice connected to dragons. English speakers will have difficulty pronouncing this name in Japanese — it's all one syllable, with barely any emphasis on the R sound.
  17. Ralphie
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Ralph
    • Meaning:

      "wolf-counsel"
    • Description:

      Ralphie is one of those short forms that have been out of style for so long it just might have a chance of coming back in, if you can get past seeing it as a desperate attempt to cute-ify a stodgy old man's name.
  18. Roald
    • Origin:

      Norwegian
    • Meaning:

      "famous ruler"
    • Description:

      This intriguing Scandinavian name is associated with Roald Dahl, author of the juvenile classics James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You can honor an ancestral Ronald just by dropping that middle 'n'.
  19. Ragnarok
    • Origin:

      Norse Mythology
    • Description:

      Ragnarök is a great future battle foretold in Norse mythology, which will lead to the ultimate destruction of many key deities and the rebirth of the Earth and mankind. The word is newly familiar to many thanks to the 2017 Marvel Comics film "Thor: Ragnarok".
  20. Rudyard
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "red enclosure"
    • Description:

      Often thought of as a one-peson name because of Jungle Book writer Kipling, this was actually his middle name. He was middle-named for Rudyard Lake in Staffordshire, the beauty of which inspired his parents to reference it in their first child's name. Trivia tidbit: Actress Kim Raver gave her son Leo the middle name of Kipling.