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Black Dog Names – Best Names and Their Meanings for Your New Dog

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!

black dog names
  1. Amaya: (Arabic) night rain; usually a girl’s name.
  2. Anise
  3. Anubis: The ancient Greek god of death; used by the ancient Egyptians and seen as a man with a canine head.
  4. Ash
  5. Aswald: (Arabic) Form of Aswad or black.
  6. Baby Bear
  7. Bärli: (Swiss-German) little bear
  8. Batman
  9. Bear
  10. Black Bean
  11. Black Pearl: for the Pirates of the Caribbean buffs!
  12. Black Velvet
  13. Blackbeard
  14. Blackberry
  15. Blackbird
  16. Blackboard
  17. Blackjack
  18. Carbon
  19. Cardew: (Welsh) dark
  20. Cethin: (Welsh) dark, swarthy
  21. Charcoal
  22. Charna: (Yiddish) dark
  23. Ciardha: (Irish) black haired
  24. Coal or Cole
  25. Coffee
  26. Cola
  27. Cosmo
  28. Cosmos
  29. Cricket
  30. Crow
  31. Darth: For the Star Wars fans!
  32. Domino
  33. Duff: (Celtic) dark
  34. Dunstan: This Middle English name is formed from two words meaning dark stone.
  35. Ember
  36. Erebus: Greek mythological deity representing the personification of darkness.
  37. Espresso
  38. Evening
  39. Eventide
  40. Gethen: (Celtic) dark
  41. Graphite
  42. Hershey
  43. Inky
  44. Hesper: (Greek) Evening star
  45. Isra: (Arabic) journey of the night
  46. Java
  47. Jet, Jett or Jetty: usually referencing Jet, a type of lignite. (Our black cat is named Jetty!)
  48. Johnny Cash (or just Cash or JC): for the four-legged man in black in your life.
  49. Kuro: (Japanese) black
  50. Lava
  51. Layla: see Leila
  52. LBD: It doesn’t just have to mean little black dress…how about little black dog?
  53. Lead
  54. Leila: (Arabic) night or (Persian) dark haired; usually a girl’s name.
  55. Licorice
  56. Limo or Limousine
  57. Marble
  58. Maroulis: (Greek) dark
  59. Maura: (derived from Latin) dark
  60. Maurice: (Latin) dark
  61. Mauricio or Maurizio: (Italian) dark
  62. Maury: form of Mauricio
  63. Melaina: (Greek) dark
  64. Melanie: derived from Melaina
  65. Midnight
  66. Moritz: (German) form of Maurice
  67. Morris: derived from Maurice
  68. Murky
  69. Nacht: (Dutch and German) night
  70. Natt: (Swedish) night
  71. Nero: (Italian) black
  72. Night
  73. Nisha: (Hindi) nighttime; most often a girl’s name.
  74. Noche: (Spanish) night
  75. Nocturna: for the black dog who wants to stay up at night!
  76. Noir: (French) black; or coffee drinkers could go for a double name of Cafe Noir.
  77. Nori: a red seaweed that turns to black when dried.
  78. Notte: (Italian) night
  79. Obsidian
  80. Olive: Black olives
  81. Onyx
  82. Orpheus: (Greek) derived from word for darkness of night
  83. Padfoot: Sirius Black in dog form.
  84. Pepper
  85. Pitch
  86. Panther
  87. Raisin
  88. Raven
  89. Sable
  90. Semira: (Arabic) nighttime companion, (Hebrew) from the heavens.
  91. Shade
  92. Shadow
  93. Shady
  94. Silhouette
  95. Sirius: the Dog Star in the night sky.
  96. 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.)
  97. Slate
  98. Sloe
  99. Smoke
  100. Smoky
  101. Soot
  102. Squid: The black ink of the squid gives its color to many foods and has been shown to have health benefits.
  103. Starling
  104. Stormy
  105. Sullivan: (Irish surname) created from Gaelic words meaning dark eyes.
  106. Sunspot
  107. Swarthy
  108. Swartz: This common last name was derived from the German word for black.
  109. Tux or Tuxedo
  110. Twilight
  111. Umbra: shadow
  112. Ursa: (Scandinavian and Latin) Little She-Bear
  113. Ursula: Derived from the Latin for bear, meaning little bear.
  114. Vesper: (Latin) Evening star or evening prayer.
  115. Wasabe: (Sioux) Black Bear
  116. Zorro

Welcome!

Hi! I’m Paris Permenter; my husband and I have authored 35 travel and pet books including The Healthy Hound Cookbook (Simon & Schuster) and Day Trips from Austin (Rowman). We love writing about dog walking and day trips with our two rescue dogs–Tiki and Barli–and hope you enjoy our tips to help you get your dog out in the world! Read more
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