The chocolate lab that lives across the street from me has a name that I know comes from the theater. His name is Pippin. I know his owners must be musical theater fans or why else would they give him a dog name like that?
Similarly, when my daughters were little and we were always watching Disney movies, I remember them asking if we could name our next dog Oliver for the Disney animated movie “Oliver and Company.”
Well, our next dog was named Oscar so not quite the movie name they wanted. But still a great name nonetheless.
Dog names from theater and movies
I know that my then-young daughters aren’t the only dog owners who are looking for a good name from a favorite musical theater show or movie. So, it was a real pleasure putting together this roundup of suggestions.
I hope I’ve given you great ideas, if you want to name your dog after a character or setting from theater or movies you love. Or even after a legit dog that starred in a movie.
Female dog names from movies
There are two ways to think about girl dog names from movies. One, you can name your dog after an actual dog character in a movie. Or, two, you can name your dog after a female actress or their character from the movies.
Below, this list combines both approaches:
- Annie
- Dorothy
- Lady
- Lassie
- Nala
- Lucy
I’m sure there are many more ideas, and I’ll keep adding to this list.
Male dog names from movies
Like with female names for dogs, I’ve combined names that movies have inspired based on a legit dog character or a man’s character name in that movie. Honestly, with the latter approach, the sky is the limit
Here are some famous dogs from movies:
- Toto
- Dug or Doug
- Frank
- Marley
- Turner
- Hooch
- Slink or Slinky
- Snoopy
- Buzz
- Woody
Dog names from Disney movies
How many Disney movies have had dogs in them? Probably nearly everyone of them. So, you have tons of male and female names to choose from. Here are a few to consider, not already mentioned above:
- Spot
- Patch
- Pepper
- Penny
- Nana
- Pluto
- Buster
- Oliver
- Napoleon
- Stella
Famous actors that have been in movies with a dog
Here are some famous actors who have appeared in movies with dogs, according to both Parade and Buzzfeed. You could use the actor’s name as inspiration for your dog’s name, or the name of their dog. I especially like the names Buddy and Norman.
- Tom Hanks – voiced the character of Woody in Toy Story and starred alongside his real-life dog, Charlie, in Turner & Hooch
- Emma Stone – starred with her dog, Sharon, in Cruella
- Ryan Reynolds – acted alongside his dog, Buddy, in The Proposal (I covered this famous pup in my article about American Eskimo Dogs.)
- Jennifer Aniston – starred with her dog, Norman, in Marley & Me
- Chris Evans – appeared with his dog, Dodger, in the Netflix film Red Sea Diving Resort
- Rebel Wilson – featured her bulldog, Brutus, in Isn’t It Romantic
Dog names from theater
As I mentioned earlier, there is a dog named Pippin who lives across the street from me. I’m assuming his owners are theater buffs, because Pippin is a show I saw on Broadway during its original run and then during its recent revival.
As far as other dog names from theater or even movies about Broadway shows, here are some ideas:
- Any of the characters in Hamilton (which I mention in this article about New York dog names)
- Any of the characters from Disney movies made into Broadway shows
- Mamma or Mia
- Annie
- Sandy
- Rooster
- Maria
- Elphaba
- Galinda
- Hermes
- Persephone
Dog names from Shakespeare
I realize that not every Shakespeare play ends up on stage in a theater. But there are some really great character names from old Billy Shakespeare that would make awesome dog names.
The first one that comes to mind is Hamlet. I may have shared somewhere else on this blog that the dog that lived next door to me during my childhood was called Hamlet. Hamlet was a Great Dane. It wasn’t until I got to high school and read “Hamlet,” set in Denmark, that I realized how clever my neighbors were in giving Hamlet his name.
Other good Shakespeare names might include:
- Cordelia
- Macbeth (though you could never call for the dog inside an actual theater)
- MacDuff
- Romeo
- Juliet
- Othello
- Julius or Caesar or just Julius Caesar
- Viola
- Beatrice
- Iago (also works for Disney movies or Broadway shows from “Aladdin”)