Whether you are looking for a name for your newly-adopted black dog or you’re looking for names to help adoptable dogs gain some extra attention, we have you covered with this list of the best black dog names.
Why It’s So Important for Black Shelter Dogs to Have Great Names
Black dogs are often overlooked in shelters, so much so that the all-too-common fate of longer shelter stays or perhaps not getting adopted at all has been termed “Black Dog Syndrome.”
A great name can help draw attention to wonderful dogs who otherwise might get overlooked.
To help adoption rates, there’s even a National Black Dog Day, celebrated every October 1st.
Our Black Dog’s Name
Our own dog, Bärli, is a black dog; his name means “little bear” in Swiss-German.
He had been named Baby Bear by his shelter. We loved the idea but wanted a one-word name– so we did some searching and found a name that suited him just right!
- Amaya: (Arabic) night rain; usually a girl’s name.
- Anise
- Anubis: The ancient Greek god of death; used by the ancient Egyptians and seen as a man with a canine head.
- Ash
- Aswald: (Arabic) Form of Aswad or black.
- Baby Bear
- Bärli: (Swiss-German) little bear
- Batman
- Bear
- Black Bean
- Black Pearl: for the Pirates of the Caribbean buffs!
- Black Velvet
- Blackbeard
- Blackberry
- Blackbird
- Blackboard
- Blackjack
- Carbon
- Cardew: (Welsh) dark
- Cethin: (Welsh) dark, swarthy
- Charcoal
- Charna: (Yiddish) dark
- Ciardha: (Irish) black haired
- Coal or Cole
- Coffee
- Cola
- Cosmo
- Cosmos
- Cricket
- Crow
- Darth: For the Star Wars fans!
- Domino
- Duff: (Celtic) dark
- Dunstan: This Middle English name is formed from two words meaning dark stone.
- Ember
- Erebus: Greek mythological deity representing the personification of darkness.
- Espresso
- Evening
- Eventide
- Gethen: (Celtic) dark
- Graphite
- Hershey
- Inky
- Hesper: (Greek) Evening star
- Isra: (Arabic) journey of the night
- Java
- Jet, Jett or Jetty: usually referencing Jet, a type of lignite. (Our black cat is named Jetty!)
- Johnny Cash (or just Cash or JC): for the four-legged man in black in your life.
- Kuro: (Japanese) black
- Lava
- Layla: see Leila
- LBD: It doesn’t just have to mean little black dress…how about little black dog?
- Lead
- Leila: (Arabic) night or (Persian) dark haired; usually a girl’s name.
- Licorice
- Limo or Limousine
- Marble
- Maroulis: (Greek) dark
- Maura: (derived from Latin) dark
- Maurice: (Latin) dark
- Mauricio or Maurizio: (Italian) dark
- Maury: form of Mauricio
- Melaina: (Greek) dark
- Melanie: derived from Melaina
- Midnight
- Moritz: (German) form of Maurice
- Morris: derived from Maurice
- Murky
- Nacht: (Dutch and German) night
- Natt: (Swedish) night
- Nero: (Italian) black
- Night
- Nisha: (Hindi) nighttime; most often a girl’s name.
- Noche: (Spanish) night
- Nocturna: for the black dog who wants to stay up at night!
- Noir: (French) black; or coffee drinkers could go for a double name of Cafe Noir.
- Nori: a red seaweed that turns to black when dried.
- Notte: (Italian) night
- Obsidian
- Olive: Black olives
- Onyx
- Orpheus: (Greek) derived from word for darkness of night
- Padfoot: Sirius Black in dog form.
- Pepper
- Pitch
- Panther
- Raisin
- Raven
- Sable
- Semira: (Arabic) nighttime companion, (Hebrew) from the heavens.
- Shade
- Shadow
- Shady
- Silhouette
- Sirius: the Dog Star in the night sky.
- Sirius Black: Harry Potter fans will remember that Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather, was able to change into a black dog. (Don’t miss our list of other Harry Potter dog names.)
- Slate
- Sloe
- Smoke
- Smoky
- Soot
- Squid: The black ink of the squid gives its color to many foods and has been shown to have health benefits.
- Starling
- Stormy
- Sullivan: (Irish surname) created from Gaelic words meaning dark eyes.
- Sunspot
- Swarthy
- Swartz: This common last name was derived from the German word for black.
- Tux or Tuxedo
- Twilight
- Umbra: shadow
- Ursa: (Scandinavian and Latin) Little She-Bear
- Ursula: Derived from the Latin for bear, meaning little bear.
- Vesper: (Latin) Evening star or evening prayer.
- Wasabe: (Sioux) Black Bear
- Zorro
