Black Dog Names

Tempest is one of those names that could go either way. Cool, evocative modern word name? Or asking for trouble?  Your call, but if you decide the former image is dominant, be warned that some people will see it as the latter.


Tempest

Though most Mels are playing pinochle with Murray and Morris, there was a notable Saint Mel. He is one of the earliest Irish saints, a nephew of St. Patrick.  He became a  priest, then built a great monastery where he served as abbot.

Nice sound, but double meaning -- shady glen or shady character. 

Shade

Stormy and variations have always been more common among girls, but there's no reason you shouldn't use it for a son. Storm was historically more masculine, until the arrival of Stormi Webster.

Stormy

Although this is a legitimate name, most people would associate it with a line of Volkswagens -- you'd be better off choosing a Mercedes. 

Jetta

An Irish surname possibility for those who like Daley, Royal, Dougal, and Dolan, though it may sound too much like doily to catch on for modern boys. Nevertheless, it was fairly well used in the 20th century, popular in the 30s, 40s, and 50s when it reached the Top 200 at one point.
 
Derived from the given name Dougal (or Dubhghall), it means "dark stranger" and might work for fans of Sherlock Holmes writer, Arthur Conan Doyle.

Doyle

Rose and Briar are popular, and Hawthorn is cool – so why not the equally prickly Thorn? Add an E to give it a surnamey spin.

Thorn

Simple but sophisticated, Nisha is a pretty Sanskrit choice that hit the popularity charts in England in the late 1990s. The meaning "night" adds a slightly mystical element to name and it is a hugely popular choice in India, used across multiple languages.
 
Notable bearers of the name include chef Nisha Katona and actresses Nisha Nayar, Nisha Adhikari, Nisha Agarwal, and Nisha Rawal. 
 
Beside its Sanskrit origins, the name Nisha may occasionally be used as an anglicization of the Irish Naoise.

Nisha

The Shirley of the 1950s. Shelley Winters was born a Shirley. 

Shelley

Old-man name, soft as a fraying gray cashmere cardigan, that would be even cuter for a girl.

Maury

Velvet is a name that couldn't possibly be softer or more luxuriant. Many people have fond memories of it via the character of Velvet Brown, played by the young Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet, an intrepid young woman willing to masquerade as a boy to race her horse in a dangerous steeplechase.
 Velvet actually had a brief sojourn on the Social Security list, from 1961 to 1964. Now, double trending as both a 'V' name and a word name might give Velvet a boost.

Velvet

Wilde is a bold choice that equally fits in to a number of contemporary name trends. It's a daring, outdoorsy word name; a surname-style choice; a literary honor name; and a sound-alike for more popular choices such as Wilder, Wiley, Wyatt, and Wells. Best associated with the inimitable Irish author, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, known for his wit, flamboyance, and literary talent, it was given to 12 boys in a recent year. 
 
Content creators Eden Harvey and Lloyd Hulme chose Wilde as a middle name for their son in 2025 while actress Eve Cooper chose it as a first name in 2022.

Wilde

Old-fangled nickname could make dot.com era short form or middle name. 

A sassy, spunky name for the bold parent who doesn't remember Mrs. Ed Norton on The Honeymooners or who's into the nicknames-as-given-names trend sweeping the UK and returning to the US.
 Trixie is a standard nickname for Beatrix - another rising choice - and has been used by TV Presenter Emma Willis and Busted member Matt Willis for their daughter. 
Other namesakes include Trixie Mattel, the stage name of a popular drag queen and Trixie Belden, the thirteen-year-old heroine of an eponymous series in which she is a girl detective. Several children's shows have also featured Trixies, including Lazytown and My Little Pony. 
 
Trixie entered the UK Top 1000 in 2022, when 36 girls were given the name - with parents possibly drawing inspiration from Trixie Franklin, from the successful and well-loved TV drama Call the Midwife.

Trixie

Haze

From Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, the story of a boy named Kafka -- crow in Czech.

Crow

Keir is a single-syllable name that packs a punch, but also has a endearing quality about it thanks to its similarity to the word care. Sometimes used as a short form of the more popular Kieran, it could be derived from the Irish ciar meaning "black, dark".
 
Alternatively, it may be viewed as a variation of the Scottish Kerr, itself from the Old Norse kjarr, linking it to thicket, marshland, and brushwood. Other sources identify it with keir, an Old Scots word referring to a fort.
 
Notable bearers include Keir Dullea, an American actor who starred in 2001: A Space Odyssey and Sir Keir Starmer, a British politician who was the head of the Labour Party between 2020 and 2026 and the Prime Minister of the UK between 2024 and 2026. 
 
The name ranked in the UK charts back in the 90s and 2000s, but fell out of the stats in 2024, coinciding with Starmer's election. In the US, it has been quietly used since the 1960s and saw a small spike in popularity between 1968 and 1972, around the time of Dullea's star role in 2001: A Space Odyssey. A more recent year saw it given to 7 boys, with Kieran or Kyaire being the preferred options.

Keir

The unusual-to-the-English-ear Moritz is a Top 25 name in Austria and a form of Maurice or Morris, which are modern variations of the ancient Roman Maurus. There were several early saints named Maurus and a famous 3rd century Saint Maurice, who was a Roman infantryman who was martyred when he refused to worship Roman gods. The Moritz form also references the posh Swiss ski resort St. Moritz and Justine Moritz is a character from Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein.

Moritz

Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab in the Hebrew Book of Kings, has long had a bad girl reputation. But in the modern secular world, this is somewhat mitigated by the feminist perspective of her as a strong woman, the power behind the throne. Previously avoided as a baby name, Jezebel is now, along with the also previously avoided Delilah and Desiree, coming into use, helped by its relation to other 'bel' name such as Isabel and Bella.
 
The popular feminist celebrity blog Jezebel upped the name's cool factor. Jezebel is the title of one of Bette Davis's best known early films.

Jezebel

Sabbath is a faith-inspired word name, like Sunday or Faith, that is attracting some notice since heavy metal musician Zakk Wylde chose it for his son.  But then there's the band Black Sabbath, which gives the name a more devilish twist.  While there's nothing intrinsically male or female about Sabbath as a first name, it squeaked onto the Social Security roster for five boys in 2012, but was not recorded for girls.  Sabbath comes from the word for "day of rest" in many ancient cultures.


Sabbath

Black dog names may literally mean "black" or "dark," such as Duffy and Morris, or they might reference dark themes, such as the night, black magic, and stormy weather.

 include Bear, Pepper, Nova, and Midnight. Along with Nova, other 

 include Evie, Layla, and Sable. In addition to Bear, other 

You may consider naming your black dog after another black animal, such as Panda, Puma, Swan, Raven, or Wolf.

If you are welcoming a black dog or puppy into your family, take a look at our selection of names for black dogs.

Black dog names, including dog names that mean black or dark and popular names for black dogs. (Page 6)