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Dog name lists / By Language & Origin

German Dog Names

German shepherds, dachshunds, rottweilers, schnauzers, boxers — an enormous share of American dogs are German breeds, and the names follow. Kaiser and Sarge over-index hard among shepherds in the license data; Schnitzel and Strudel cover the delicious end.

NameGenderTrend
1Bruno

Germanic for brown — a top-200 name in our data.

Boy
2Otto

Palindromic, imperial, excellent to shout.

Boy
3Heidi

The Alps' most famous heroine.

Girl
4Axel

Scandinavian-German crossover with rockstar edge.

Boy
5Greta

Strong, classic, no-nonsense.

Girl
6Fritz

The most German dog name there is.

Boy
7Kaiser

Emperor — 8× over-indexed among German shepherds.

Boy
8Sarge

9× over-indexed among German shepherds — the working-dog name.

Boy
9Pretzel

For dogs that sleep in knots.

Either
10Gunther

Battle-warrior origins, teddy-bear execution.

Boy
11Wolfgang

Literally 'wolf's path' — Mozart approved.

Boy
12Klaus

Nicholas, compressed to one efficient syllable.

Boy
13Baron

Minor nobility, major attitude.

Boy
14Blitz

Lightning — for the zoomies.

Boy
15Hans

The classic.

Boy
16Gretchen

Diminutive of Margarete, sweet and sturdy.

Girl
17Schnitzel

Breaded, fried, beloved.

Boy
18Ludwig

Beethoven's own.

Boy
19Heinz

57 varieties of good boy.

Boy
20Berlin

The capital, as a name.

Either
21Strudel

The sweetest thing in the bakery case.

Either
22Helga

Holy, formidable, unforgettable.

Girl
23Liesel

The Book Thief made it beloved.

Girl
24Emil

Gentle classic from the storybooks.

Boy
25Franz

Kafka, Schubert, and a very good dog.

Boy
26Ilsa

Casablanca's German-accented heart.

Girl
27Dieter

Warrior of the people, napper of couches.

Boy

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