The Top NZ Pet Names Cross Over With Top Baby Names

Move over Fido, Monty and Spot; Bella, Charlie and Poppy are the new pets in town.

Neighbourly.co.nz has revealed New Zealand's most popular pet names - and there's a number of familiar human names in the mix too.

Bella topped the popularity stakes taking out Top Dog Name, Top Cat Name and Most Popular Pet Name overall.

Charlie, Poppy, and Molly hovered around the winner's circle too, with Coco, Oscar, Lucy, and Jack rounding up the top 10.

These days Kiwis are more likely to give pets a human moniker over names traditionally reserved for pets such as Fluffy or Rover.

The most popular pet names also crossed over with common baby names, with Charlie, Bella, Molly, Coco, Lucy and Jack all appearing in the 2014 Top Baby Names list.

Neighbourly co-founder Casey Eden (owner of 18 month old Labradoodle, Kona) said the similarity of the names reinforces that four-legged and furry friends are an important part of Kiwi families.

"Many of us treat our pets like they're our children," said Ms Eden.

NZ'S MOST POPULAR PET NAME SURVEY RESULTS

Top 10 Pet Names:

1. Bella
2. Charlie
3. Poppy
4.Oscar
5. Molly & Millie**
6.Ruby
7.Max
8.Coco
9.Lucy
10.Toby

Top 10 Dog Names:

1.Bella
2. Ruby
3. Charlie
4. Poppy
5. Max
6. Molly
7. Coco
8. Oscar
9. Millie & Ollie**
10. Jack

Top 10 Cat Names:

1. Bella
2. Oscar
3. Millie
4. Molly
5. Poppy
6. Charlie
7. Missy
8. Tiger
9. Misty
10. Kitty

MOST POPULAR PET NAME BY REGION:
Northland: Poppy
Auckland: Bella
Bay of Plenty: Charlie
Canterbury: Poppy/Milly (=)
Waikato: Zoe
Wellington: Oscar
Hawke's Bay: Honey
Taranaki: Monty
Otago: Sam
Nelson/Marlborough: Tom/Tommy
Southland/West Coast: Bud

-NZ Herald