Unisex Dog Names

Jaycee is a modern invented name, likely inspired by the similar sounding Casey and Macy. While these names peaked in the 1990s and 2000s, their energetic and contemporary vibe has kept them relevant today, and a recent year saw more than 300 girls given the name Jaycee in the US.
 
As Jaycee is an invention based on the sounds of established names, it doesn't have a specific meaning of its own. You might say, however, that it means "jaybird" from the "jay" element, or that it's a compound name, blending James, Jay, or Jane with Casey or Macey, offering meanings such as "vigilant supplanter", "God is gracious and vigilant", "jaybird on the hill" or similar.

Jaycee

The short but solid Irish surname Shea works well for both genders thanks to its soft, succinct sound. The traditional Irish form is Séaghdha, though it could also be used as a short form of Séamus, connected to James. 
 
Kevin James has a daughter named Shea, while Shea Coulée is a drag queen who featured on season 5 of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. 
 For baseball fans: Shea Stadium was the home of The New York Mets until 2008, and has proved surprisingly influential as a namesake. Four of the players of the New York Mets named their children Shea in honor of the place, as did Jets player John Matlock and the aforementioned Kevin James. major League player Shea Spitzbarth also got his name from the stadium.
 
Another variation and the one that leans furthest toward the female side is Shae, for those who don't want the pronunciation confused with Shea Butter.

Shea

Casey-with-a-K never quite reached the heights of the original, but it broke the Top 500 for boys in the late '80s and early '90s.

Kasey

Lux, one of the light-filled names that include Lucy and Lucian, broke onto the scene as a girls' name but now it's decidedly gender neutral. In fact, at the last count there were slightly more boys named Lux than girls: 140 to 120. But that's pretty close, making this a truly nonbinary name.

Very popular surname choice — it's in the Boys' Top 100 — beginning to catch on for girls. First female association: novelist Carson McCullers.

Carson

Ash has Southern charm plus the arboreal-nature appeal. Plus your little boy will prize Ash as the name of the hero of the Pokemon cartoons. Ash can also be a dashing short form of Asher, Ashton, or any other "Ash" name.

Wylie is a friendly rodeo name with the unisex vibe of Riley and the cowboy air of Wesley and Wyatt. Also spelled as Wiley, two forms have been out of the US charts since the 1940s and 1970s respectively.
 
One of those names with multiple origins, Wylie can be viewed as an English surname, denoting someone from the town of Willey (meaning "from the willow clearing" or "idol's meadow") or someone from the River Wylye (meaning "tricky river"). Alternatively, its a Scots form of the classic William, making this an unexpected way to either honor the traditional name, or to consider as an alternative.
 Contemporary foodies know Wylie Dufresne as a renowned chef and a leading proponent of the molecular gastronomy movement, while others may think of Wile. E Coyote or Wylie Bay in Australia.
 
A recent year saw Wylie chosen for 175 boys (and 65 girls) in the US, revealing it is making subtle shifts up the stats. Wiley was also chosen for 165 boys, and viewed collectively, they would feel as popular as names round the #750 mark, such as Chandler, Murphy, and Salvador.

Wylie

Similar in sound to Evan and Everett, Ever is an evocative word name that's currently on the rise. Used by Alanis Morissette and Souleye back in 2010, Ever was given to more than 200 boys in 2024, compared to 115 girls. 
 
As an English word name, it feels fresh and on trend, but Ever also have its roots in the Hebrew name Eber, meaning "the region beyond" and to the Germanic Eberhard, the source of Everett, meaning "wild as a boar".

Ever

If you're looking for a name that's light and breezy, this could be it. A name from mythology: Zephyrus/Zephyr was the Greek god of the west wind, and with its similarity in sound to the likes of Stefan or Seth, its zippy Z initial and cool Y, it is primed to rise up the US charts.
 
Frequently seen in computer and video games thanks to its mystical quality, it is also a character in the children's book Silverwing, and in the Babar books--as a monkey. It features in the TV series My Little Pony, the short animated film How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming, and in the manga series, One Piece.
 Robby Benson and Karla De Vito named their son Zephyr in 1992, and Zephyr Benson is now an actor himself. More recently it was chosen by tech entrepreneur Sean Parker for his baby boy.
 
Thanks to these cultural references, and the more general interest in myhtological names, Zephyr has doubled in popularity over the last decade and was given to nearly 190 boys in the US in a recent year.

Zephyr

In the past few years Ellery has gone from middle-aged male detective -- from old school fictional hero Ellery Queen -- to a plausible girls' name, a la Hillary.

Ellery is one of the golden names that ranks in Nameberry's Top 1000 but not in the US Top 1000, making it a choice both cool and stylish.

Ellery

A glamorous surname name most famously borne by 1930s icon Jean Harlow (born Harlean Carpenter), Harlow is also the name of a town in the English county of Essex. Outside of the UK, Harlow would fit right in with contemporaries Arlo and Marlow(e).

Harlow

Blessing is among the Top 1000 <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls' names</a> in the UK and recently joined the ranks in the US as well. With modern spiritual names like Shiloh, Chosen, and Halo trending upwards, Blessing is likely to continue to rise in popularity.

Blessing

Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn put this name in play as a first name, but David Bowie (born with the considerably less marketable moniker of David Robert Jones) gave it charisma. He changed his surname in 1965 to avoid confusion with the then popular Davy Jones of The Monkees, borrowing it from the American hero of Alamo, Jim Bowie.
 
An obscure choice until the 2010s, Bowie really took off in 2016 after the star's death, when admirers began to see it as a viable namesake - or, as a usable alternative to Bodhi, Brody and co. Given to around 200 boys and 120 girls each year, Bowie sits just outside the US Top 1000.
 
Deriving from the Scottish Gaelic word buidhe, meaning yellow, or blond, Bowie is Top 300 choice in the Netherlands and sits just within the Top 500 in the UK. It is also now at Number 457 on Nameberry, and actor Jackson Rathbone used it for his daughter.
 Successfully combining Gaelic charm, a Western drawl, and musical cred, it's understandable that parents are choosing Bowie. The only problem? It can be said three different ways.

Bowie

Cedar is, like Ash, Oak, Pine and Ebony, one of the new tree/wood names that parents are starting to consider; this one is particularly aromatic with a similar feel to more classic options like Cedric, Edgar, Reed, and Sawyer. 
 In the Bible the cedar is mentioned in Psalm 92:12: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon." The Lebanon  Cedar was used to build King Solomon's temple in Jerusalem, and there are now several hospitals called Cedars of Lebanon, plus a U2 song by that name.
 A contemporary bearer of the name is the jazz pianist Cedar Walton, while Cyrus and Cypress are similar options. 
 
The name was chosen by 170 boys and 76 girls in a recent year.

Cedar

This super-charged variation of Jett is on the rise -- along with the unlikely newcomer Jetson.

Riot has all the sounds of a trendy name — the first syllable that of trendy choices like Ryder, Ryker, and Rylan, rhyming with Wyatt. But the strong negative connotations of the word, suggesting violence, turn many (but not all) parents away from Riot as a baby name. Ryatt, one step removed, is more common.
 
Riot has positive associations as well, as when used to describe someone funny or outrageous. And then there's the famous quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, "A riot is the language of the unheard", which sheds light on the way marginalized communities have used riots to make their voices heard.
 
If anyone can make a name like Riot mainstream, it's Rihanna. Keeping with their R theme, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky named their second son Riot Rose, brother to RZA. Riot substantially rose in popularity between 2021 and 2022 — this starbaby should only accelerate its growth.
 
Given to 160 baby boys in a recent year, spelling variation Ryatt is twice as popular, while Ryot, Ryott, and Riott have also grown in use.

Riot

A variation of Greek Dionysius, itself derived from the name of the god of wine, revelry, and dance, Dion gives a nod to mythology while also having historical ties to a student of Plato, to a Greek mathematician and to 1st century writer and historian. 
 
As a contemporary name, it came into popular use in the late 1950s and remained in the Top 1000 until 2006. It has dipped in and out of the charts since then, and is still given to a not insignificant 200 boys each year. 
 Now a rising choice in the UK and familiar in The Netherlands, it could also be considered a celebrity surname name, as inspired by singer Celine Dion.

Dion

Rumi is a Japanese girl name, with a sweet yet substantial sound. Reminiscent of other popular choices in the West — think Ruby, Remy, and Romy — it is currently achieving more notice thanks to Beyonce and Jay-Z, who chose it for one of their daughters.

Rumi is perhaps best-known as the name of a (male)13th century Muslim mystic and poet whose most famous poem, "The Diver's Clothes Lying Empty", has inspired many modern literary works, including Vendela Vida's novel with a nearly-identical title. The poet's name comes from his nisbas, a surname given to describe where someone originated from.
 The poet's name comes from his nisbas, a surname given to describe where someone originated from. Rumi was given to those who came from the pre-Islamic Anatolia, Middle East and the Balkans, when they were part of the Roman Empire. As such, Rumi and Romy have similar meanings. 
 
More recently, Rumi has appeared in the animated movie, KPOP Demon Hunters, while both Indian actor Nakuul Mehta and influencer Krystiana Tiana chose it for their daughters in 2025. We predict it will see a boost of interest all round in coming years.

Rumi

The Kodi spelling of Cody, a gender neutral name that was in the Top 25 for boys in the early 90s and also on the Top 1000 for girls, found new life recently via actor Kodi Smit-McPhee and also the newborn daughter of singer Kane Brown. While a new spelling does not exactly make Kodi a new name, it may get some fresh attention now.

Kodi

Nova might be a much more commonly used a girls' name, but enough parents saw unisex appeal in it for it to debut on the US Top 1000 for boys in 2017. Nova is an astronomical term for a star that suddenly increases in brightness, then fades. 
 Nova is not literally a new name but one that was used a century ago mainly for girls and is now making something of a comeback. Unisex references: Nova Scotia, the long-running science TV show, and the finest kind of lox.

Nova

Dogs need unisex names too. Gender-neutral names for dogs are the newest, edgiest way to go for unisex pets. Many gender-neutral dog names rank on the charts for both male and female dogs, including Charlie, a popular unisex name for babies.

 for girl and boy dogs include Harley, Riley, Bailey, Scout, Marley, Coco, Shadow, and Frankie. 

 include choices like Azriel, Everest, and Lux. 

 include those such as Poe, Tavi, and Fig.

Any one of these nonbinary dog names could work as well for a male or a female dog. Many nature names, place names, or word names beyond those on this list could make good gender-neutral names for your pet dog.

Here, our complete collection of unisex names for dogs.

Unisex Names for Dogs - gender neutral names and nonbinary names for male and female dogs, with meaning, origin, and popularity (Page 8)