California Dog Names

Introduction

Located on the Pacific coast of the United States, California has 39.5 million residents, making it the most populated state in the country. Overall the state is known to have good weather, access to the beach and the place where movies are made. If you live in the state or feel connected to it in some way, choosing a name inspired by California may be the way to go when naming your new pup. You may enjoy the reminder of the state that you love each time you call your dog’s name, or you may appreciate a memory that the name of your dog evokes. Fortunately, there is no shortage of California inspired names, leaving you with many to choose from.

California Dog Names in Pop Culture

Featured Famous Dog with a California Name

Chance

California dogs are easy to find in pop culture. The 1993 film Homeward Bound-The Incredible Journey, features Chance (an American Bulldog who has minimal life experience) and Shadow (an older and wiser Golden Retriever), who venture off with a cat in an effort to locate their family who has left on vacation. They travel through California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, where they experience mountainous, rocky terrain and encounter bears and a mountain lion. Ultimately, the dogs are reunited with their humans.

A well-known California dog is Spike, who is the brother of Snoopy of the Peanuts comic strip. Spike lives alone in the California desert of Needles, California. Though Spike started as a minor character in the comic strip, he is ultimately seen more frequently. The 2008 comedy Beverly Hills Chihuahua focuses on Chloe, a Chihuahua from Beverly Hills, California who gets dognapped while in Mexico and sent to the dog fights in Mexico City. Fortunately, Chloe meets a new friend, Delgado, who helps her to escape. Ultimately, Chloe is able to get back with the relative who brought her to Mexico in the first place, and returns home to Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 was released directly to DVD in 2011 and Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3 was released in 2012.

The 1989 comedy K-9 is the story of a San Diego police detective who is targeted for execution by a major drug dealer. To assist, the K-9 Sergeant gives him a drug-sniffing police dog named Jerry Lee, who works when and if he chooses. A myriad of antics ensue as together they try to put the drug dealer in jail. Two direct-to-video sequels follow: K-911 and K-9: P.I.. Turner and Hooch, also a 1989 comedy taking place in a small Northern California town, features a dog named Hooch who moves in with his owner’s best friend, Turner, upon the murder of his owner. While the orderly Turner struggles to get along with the chaotic canine, they are ultimately able to work together to solve the murder.

An English Bulldog by the name of Tillman, of Oxnard, California became well-known in 2007 after appearing in a YouTube video where he pushed a skateboard with his paws and tilted his body in order to steer. In 2009, he set a Guinness world record for the fastest skateboarding dog.

California Dog Name Considerations

As you look to choose the right name for your new pup, a California inspired moniker may be just what you are looking for. For those who live in the state or feel a special connection to it, turning to the place that is important to you to find a name for your special friend makes perfect sense. Each time you call the name of your pooch, you will be reminded of a place that means something to you.

You may choose a California inspired name for your pal because he reminds you of a specific dog (whether real or fictional) from the state. Your new friend may look like Hooch in Turner and Hooch, for example, or exhibit personality traits of Shadow from Homeward Bound-the Incredible Journey. The particular breed of dog that you have welcomed into your life may lead to your considering a California inspired name; perhaps your new Chihuahua brings to mind Chloe of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, reminding you of California. There may be something about the state that is important to you, like its proximity to the ocean, that guides your choice of name.

Regardless of your reason for considering a California-inspired name, there are plenty of options to choose from, allowing you to find the perfect name for your new pooch.

Male California Dog Names

Votes	Name	Vote
8	Coronado The popular beach located in the San Diego area gives a good name for a water loving pooch
7	Laker The Los Angeles Lakers are an NBA team
7	Sherman For the large General Sherman tree, a Giant Sequoia that can be seen in Sequoia National Park
5	Ansel For the photographer Ansel Adams who was from California
5	Cruz For the popular beach city Santa Cruz
5	Diego For the Southern California city of San Diego
5	Fresno A city in northern California, Fresno means “ash tree” in Spanish
5	Quail The California quail is the state bird
5	Yosemite A national park in the western Sierra Nevadas that is known for granite cliffs, waterfalls, streams with clear water, large sequoia groves, lakes and mountains
4	Tahoe A stately dog name, after Lake Tahoe
4	Uni Universal Studios Hollywood is a theme park focusing on movies
3	Bruin For the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins
3	Francisco San Francisco is a large metropolitan area in Northern California
3	Jose As in San Jose, a city in northern California
3	Klamath For the mountain range located in northwest California
3	Spike Snoopy’s brother who lives in Needles, California
3	Warner For the Warner Brothers movie studio
2	Burbank A city 12-miles northwest of Los Angeles' downtown area
2	Dolby The Dolby Theatre is where the Academy Awards are held
2	Pacific For the Pacific ocean west of the state
1	Brady The Brady Bunch was set in Los Angeles, may suit a Bulldog
1	Joshua The Joshua trees grow only in the Mojave desert
1	Lego Lego Land is located in southern California
1	Pedro The Southern California port city San Pedro provides a name for a very perky pup
0	Clipper For the Los Angeles Clippers, an NBA team
0	Dodger The perfect name for an agile dog, as in the Los Angeles Dodgers, a major league baseball team
0	Gavin Gavin Newsom was mayor of San Francisco from 2004-2011
0	Hollywood A neighborhood in the central area of Los Angeles, for a dog with a star-like personality
-1	Mojave A large desert in the southeastern part of the state, this name seems to suit a German Shepherd
-1	Oakland The largest city in the East Bay area of San Francisco
-3	Disney For Disneyland, which is located in California

Female California Dog Names

Votes	Name	Vote
7	Sierra For the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California
6	Laguna For Laguna Beach, a resort city on the coast of southern Orange county
5	Mar Means “ocean” in Spanish
5	Oso Spanish word for “bear”, for Big Bear Lake
4	Hannah For the Hannah Montana television series that was set in Malibu, California
3	Napa For California’s Napa Valley Wine Country
2	Golden California is known as the Golden state; also for San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge
1	Beach Where many Californians spend time and where tourists come to enjoy the Pacific ocean
1	Grizzly The state animal of California is the California grizzly bear
1	Playa Means “beach” in Spanish
1	Trinity The Trinity river is located in Northwestern California
0	Catalina An island off the coast of southern California, for a classy girl pup
0	Drew As in Drew Barrymore, an actress from California
0	Holly Short for Hollywood
0	Lucia The Santa Lucia mountains are in California
0	Margaret Margaret Cho is an actress and comedian from California
0	Palm Palm trees are abundant in southern California
0	Reagan Ronald Reagan was once the Governor of California before becoming President of the United States
-1	Angel For the city of Angels, a nickname for Los Angeles
-1	Barbara Santa Barbara is a coastal city about 100 miles north of Los Angeles
-1	Berkeley A city located on the east shore of the San Francisco bay
-1	Monica For Santa Monica, a beachfront city located in western Los Angeles county
-1	Pacific For the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, would be perfect for a sleek and beautiful canine
-1	Poppy The state flower of California and a cute name for a Pekingese
-1	Sequoia For the large Redwood trees called Sequoias, as well as a National Park by that name
-1	Venice A hip beachfront neighborhood within Los Angeles
-2	Beverly For Beverly Hills, a city in Los Angeles county, also a famous tourist attraction
-3	Maria Santa Maria is a city that is located close to the coat of southern California, about 150 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles
-3	Pomona A city in Los Angeles county, named for Pomona, the ancient Roman goddess of fruit
-3	Valencia A neighborhood in the northwest corner of the Santa Clarita Valley in the county of Los Angeles