REVEALED - Britain's most popular pet names

Pets at Home surveyed more than 800,000 pet owners through its My VIP club and has found the top 50 most popular names for each pet type. Whether the pet is a bird, cat, dog, fish, horse, reptile or small animal, Charlie was the clear winner with almost 34,000 of British pet owners choosing this name for their animal friend, topping the list of most common names for birds, cats and horses.

Poppy also proved to be a popular choice for many pets, particularly canines and felines, ranking at number one for dogs and number two for cats. Other common selections include Alfie, Bella, Billy and Molly.

George also ranked highly across all species with almost 10,000 of those taking part choosing this name within the top 50, again regardless of pet type, suggesting the young Prince’s influence may not end with toddler fashion and toys.

The world of entertainment, particularly children’s cartoons, appear to have had an effect on the names owners select. Bird based film Rio saw the film’s title rank in tenth place for birds, while classic cartoon character name Tweety came in at number 32.

Bestselling book A Cat Called Alfie may have inspired cat owners, with Alfie being the eighth most popular name for cats. Winnie the Pooh fans are meanwhile drawn to Tigger, which ranked at 11 in cat names. Demonstrating that classic films can still influence our decisions, Thumper, who appeared in the 1942 film Bambi, is still the seventh most chosen name for rabbits. Nemo, is the second most popular name for the nation’s fish following Goldie in first.

Gavin Hawthorn, Group CRM Director, said: “It’s interesting to see that just as popular culture and famous faces influence what we name our children, likewise, these trends can help the nation’s pet owners select a name for their animals. It seems likely that children being allowed to name their first animal friend forms a big part of the naming process, particularly among the film and TV inspired monikers.

“However, it also seems that books and even the Royal family are also helping Brits to decide on what to call their pet. Meanwhile Charlie and Poppy scored highly across species, suggesting that cute, traditional names will always appeal when it comes to naming our pets.”

Top ten names for British pets by species

Top ten names for dogs

1. Poppy

2. Alfie

3. Bella

4. Charlie

5. Molly

6. Max

7. Daisy

8. Bailey

9. Ruby

10. Lola

Top ten names for cats

1. Charlie

2. Poppy

3. Molly

4. Bella

5. Oscar

6. Daisy

7. Tilly

8. Alfie

9. Millie

10. Smudge

Top ten names for small animals

1. Daisy

2. Fudge

3. Nibbles

4. Poppy

5. Rosie

6. Charlie

7. Thumper

8. Fluffy

9. George

10. Harry

Top ten names for reptiles

1. Spike

2. George

3. Rex

4. Charlie

5. Sid

6. Monty

7. Bob

8. Leo

9. Rango

10. Sheldon

Top ten names for fish

1. Goldie

2. Nemo

3. Bob

4. Bubbles

5. Fishy

6. George

7. Fred

8. Jaws

9. Dave

10. Tom

Top ten names for horses

1. Charlie

2. Jack

3. Rosie

4. Molly

5. Harry

6. Alfie

7. Billy

8. Poppy

9. Murphy

10. Lady

Top ten names for birds

1. Charlie

2. Joey

3. Billy

4. Bobby

5. George

6. Blue

7. Alfie

8. Rosie

9. Sky

10. Rio