What's this? Cat lovers and dog lovers agreeing on something? Yes

They think alike when it comes to naming their cherished four-legged friends.

January 2, 2020 at 1:46AM
Making a few home improvements for your pets can help prolong the life of your furniture and flooring. (Dreamstime/TNS)
Trupanion, a pet insurance provider based in Seattle, put together lists of the 10 most popular names for cats and dogs in 2019. They’re two separate lists — sort of. But in fact, there’s more overlap than there are differences between them. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Sorry, dog lovers and cat lovers. Your secret is out.

Sure, you claim to never see eye to eye, to squabble like, well, cats and dogs.

But it turns out that you actually have a lot more in common than you may think.

And that's what you have in common: You think alike. At least, you think alike when it comes to naming your cherished four-legged friends.

This came to light when Trupanion, a pet insurance provider based in Seattle, put together lists of the 10 most popular names for cats and dogs in 2019. They're two separate lists — sort of. But in fact, there's more overlap than there are differences between them.

Six of the names are on both lists, including the ones that ranked No. 1, Luna, and No. 2, Bella, on both tallies. And while the order varies from that point — with the exception of Lucy, which was No. 5 on both lists — the names are familiar, They include Charlie (No. 3 for dogs, No. 4 for cats), Max (7 dogs, 6 cats) and Oliver (10 dogs, 3 cats).

So, what names were unique to their species? For dogs, it was Bailey (4), Cooper (6), Daisy (8) and Bear (9). For cats, it was Leo (7), Milo (8), Lily (9) and Simba (10).

The bottom line: When it comes to creativity in pet names, it's not exactly raining cats and dogs. □

about the writer

about the writer

Jeff Strickler

Assistant Features Editor

Jeff Strickler is the assistant features editor for the Minnesota Star Tribune. He has spent most of his career working for the Variety section, including reviewing movies and covering religion. Now he leads a team of a reporters who cover entertainment and lifestyle issues.

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