120 Dog Names That Sound Expensive: Luxury, Rich & Elegant Puppy Names (With Meanings & Origins)

There is a specific kind of dog name that announces before the animal has done anything at all that this particular creature moves through the world on different terms than most, a name that sounds like it belongs to a dog who has their own monogrammed towel and who considers the concept of sleeping anywhere other than the center of the bed a genuine philosophical problem worth discussing. Expensive-sounding dog names carry that quality inside them, names that belong to the tradition of luxury and elegance that has always understood the difference between something that costs a great deal and something that is genuinely, enduringly worth it.

What makes a dog name sound expensive is not simply that it references wealth or status but that it carries a specific quality of unhurried confidence, the quality of something that has never needed to announce its own value because its value has always been self-evident to anyone paying attention. Every name in this collection carries that quality, from the grand aristocratic surnames that belong to the tradition of English country houses to the French and Italian names that carry the specific elegance of European luxury to the gemstone and champagne names that reference the finest things the material world has to offer.

Quick Info: Names marked as classic are among the most consistently beloved luxury dog names. Names marked as rare carry genuine distinction without widespread use.

Aristocratic and Noble Names

Pemberton

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Settlement by the hill with a pen
• Popularity: Rare

A magnificent English aristocratic surname that sounds like it belongs to an estate in the Cotswolds with a name older than the current family and a dog who has portraits of their ancestors hanging in the hall.

Ashworth

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Ash tree enclosure
• Popularity: Rare

A distinguished English surname of the kind found on family crests and gateposts of houses with names rather than numbers, perfect for a dog who treats every walk as an inspection of the grounds.

Beaumont

• Origin: Norman French
• Meaning: Beautiful mountain
• Popularity: Rare

A Norman French surname meaning beautiful mountain that carries the specific elegance of the Anglo-Norman aristocracy and suits a dog of statuesque beauty who is aware of the effect they have on everyone who sees them.

Cavendish

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Cava’s settlement
• Popularity: Rare

The name of one of England’s most distinguished aristocratic families whose history includes dukes, scientists, and politicians across five centuries, perfect for a dog who carries themselves as though they are aware of their own lineage.

Devereaux

• Origin: Norman French
• Meaning: From Evreux in France
• Popularity: Rare

A magnificently elaborate Norman French surname that carries the specific elegance of old money that has been old for so long it no longer needs to think about being old, perfect for a dog of genuine sophisticated beauty.

Elsworth

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Noble estate
• Popularity: Rare

An English surname meaning noble estate that carries a warm distinguished quality and suits a dog who treats their home as though it is exactly that, an estate of which they are the rightful and rather particular owner.

Featherington

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Settlement of the feather people
• Popularity: Rare

An extraordinarily elaborate English place-surname of the kind that appears in Regency novels attached to families who own counties rather than merely houses, perfect for a dog of feathery coat and equally elaborate self-regard.

Goldsworthy

• Origin: English
• Meaning: Gold enclosure, golden worth
• Popularity: Rare

An English surname meaning gold enclosure that carries both the literal quality of gold and the figurative quality of something intrinsically valuable, perfect for a golden-coated dog whose worth to their owner is genuinely incalculable.

Harrington

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Estate of Hæfer’s people
• Popularity: Classic

A distinguished English surname of the kind attached to old families and older houses, carrying a warm traditional quality that suits a dog who is simultaneously completely comfortable in formal settings and completely capable of destroying them.

Kensington

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Settlement of Cynsige’s people
• Popularity: Rare

Named after one of London’s most exclusive neighborhoods, a name that carries the specific quality of an address that says everything without saying anything, perfect for a dog who belongs to the category of luxury that does not require explanation.

Langford

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Long ford
• Popularity: Rare

An English estate-name surname carrying the warm distinguished quality of the English landed gentry and suiting a dog who treats every piece of furniture in the house as their personal property, which in their understanding it genuinely is.

Montague

• Origin: Norman French
• Meaning: Pointed hill
• Popularity: Rare

A distinguished Norman French surname carried to England with the Conquest and subsequently attached to some of the most significant families in English history, perfect for a dog whose bearing suggests they have always been aware of the distinction of their origins.

Northumberland

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Land north of the Humber
• Popularity: Extremely rare

Named after one of England’s most historically significant counties, a name so grandly aristocratic that it essentially requires a dog of corresponding grandeur to carry it, which is its greatest quality as a name.

Pembroke

• Origin: Welsh place name
• Meaning: Headland, promontory
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the distinguished Welsh earldom, a name that carries genuine aristocratic heritage and the specific association with Pembroke Welsh Corgis that makes it particularly appropriate for that breed while remaining available to any dog who carries themselves with appropriate distinction.

Ravenswood

• Origin: English literary
• Meaning: Wood of the ravens
• Popularity: Rare

An English literary surname associated with the gothic romance tradition and carrying a dark, elegant quality that suits a black-coated dog of brooding good looks and aristocratic melancholy.

French Luxury Names

Chanel

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Canal, the channel
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the most influential fashion house in the history of French couture, a name that carries the entire heritage of Coco Chanel’s revolutionary elegance and suits a dog whose style is equally pared-down and equally impossible to improve upon.

Cartier

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Cart maker, of the Cartier family
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the Parisian jeweler whose red boxes are among the most recognized symbols of luxury in the world, perfect for a dog who treats every gift as their absolute due and who never looks surprised to receive something expensive.

Dior

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Of the Dior family, gold
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the fashion house whose New Look changed the silhouette of fashion and whose name has become synonymous with a specific French understanding of what beauty should look like, a name for a dog who is always the best-dressed creature in any room.

Hermès

• Origin: Greek via French luxury
• Meaning: Messenger god, the luxury house
• Popularity: Rare

Named after both the Greek god of messengers and the French luxury house whose orange boxes and silk scarves are among the most recognized luxury objects in the world, perfect for a fast, elegant dog who delivers themselves with the specific grace of something that costs considerably more than it appears.

Bijou

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Jewel, small gem
• Popularity: Rare

The French word for jewel, a name that is simultaneously perfect for a small dog who is precisely as precious as this name suggests and for a large dog whose name contrasts humorously with their actual scale.

Bordeaux

• Origin: French place name
• Meaning: By the water’s edge
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the great wine region of southwestern France whose name is synonymous with the finest red wines in the world, perfect for a deep red or mahogany-coated dog of equally rich and complex character.

Champagne

• Origin: French place name
• Meaning: Open countryside, the region
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the region and the wine that made it famous, a name of celebratory quality that suits a dog whose presence in any space immediately makes everything feel more festive than it was before they arrived.

Château

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Castle, country house
• Popularity: Rare

The French word for a castle or country house, often used in the names of the great wine estates, a name of warm distinguished quality that suits a dog who treats their home as exactly what this word describes.

Couture

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Sewing, high fashion
• Popularity: Rare

The French word for high fashion and fine sewing, a name that suits a dog of impeccable grooming whose coat always appears to have been professionally styled regardless of what they have just been doing.

Éclat

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Brilliance, splendor, burst of light
• Popularity: Rare

The French word for brilliance and splendor, a name of luminous quality that suits a dog whose personality has the specific quality of brilliance, the capacity to illuminate every space they enter without any visible effort.

Élite

• Origin: French via Latin
• Meaning: The chosen ones, the best
• Popularity: Rare

The French word for the chosen few, a name of cool confident quality that suits a dog who is genuinely aware of being exceptional and who carries that awareness with the specific grace of someone who considers it simply a fact rather than a boast.

Fleur

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Flower
• Popularity: Classic

The French word for flower, a name of warm simple elegance that carries the specific French quality of finding the most beautiful word for the most beautiful thing and then simply using it without elaboration.

Givenchy

• Origin: French place name
• Meaning: From Givenchy
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the French fashion house founded by Hubert de Givenchy, whose elegant restraint dressed Audrey Hepburn and defined a specific French understanding of luxury as something that never tries too hard, a quality every dog aspires to.

Moët

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Of the Moët family
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the famous champagne house, a name of celebratory quality that carries the specific association of the most significant celebrations and that suits a dog whose arrival in your life felt like exactly that.

Versailles

• Origin: French place name
• Meaning: Cleared woodland
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the palace of the French kings whose gardens and halls defined European luxury for three centuries, a name of extraordinary grandeur that is simultaneously ridiculous and completely perfect for a dog who believes they deserve exactly this level of accommodation.

Italian Luxury Names

Armani

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: Of the Armani family, warrior
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the Italian fashion house whose clean, sophisticated aesthetic defined a generation of luxury dressing, a name that suits a dog of similarly understated and similarly expensive-looking elegance.

Dolce

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: Sweet, sweetness
• Popularity: Classic

The Italian word for sweet, half of the famous fashion house name, a name of warm simple quality that suits a dog who is precisely as sweet as advertised and who is aware that sweetness is itself a form of luxury.

Ferrari

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: Blacksmith, iron worker
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the Italian sports car manufacturer whose cars are among the most desired objects in the world, perfect for a fast dog who makes every movement look like a demonstration of what is possible when engineering reaches its highest expression.

Gucci

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: Of the Gucci family
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the Italian fashion house founded in Florence, a name that has become one of the most recognized luxury brand names in the world and that suits a dog who is similarly immediately recognizable as something exceptional.

Lamborghini

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: Of the Lamborghini family
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the Italian supercar manufacturer whose cars are designed to be impossible to ignore, perfect for a dog who achieves the same effect through no mechanism other than the sheer force of their presence.

Maserati

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: Of the Maserati family
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the Italian luxury car manufacturer whose cars combine Italian beauty with genuine performance, a name for a dog who looks like they were designed specifically to be beautiful and who fulfills that design with complete commitment.

Prada

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: Meadow, of the Prada family
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the Italian fashion house whose intellectual approach to fashion produced some of the most interesting and most influential work in luxury design, a name for a dog whose beauty has a specifically intelligent quality.

Versace

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: Of the Versace family
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the Italian fashion house known for the most dramatically beautiful and most confidently luxurious designs in the industry, a name for a dog who approaches every situation with maximum aesthetic impact.

Leonardo

• Origin: Italian via Germanic
• Meaning: Brave lion
• Popularity: Classic

The name of the greatest universal genius in human history, Leonardo da Vinci, a name that carries an extraordinary heritage of creative excellence and suits a dog whose intelligence and artistry express themselves primarily through the destruction of furniture.

Bellissimo

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: Most beautiful, very beautiful
• Popularity: Rare

The Italian superlative of beautiful, a name that makes the most direct possible statement about the dog who carries it and that suits any dog whose beauty genuinely warrants the use of a superlative.

Gemstone and Jewel Names

Sapphire

• Origin: Greek via Latin
• Meaning: The sapphire gemstone, blue
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the deep blue gemstone that has been among the most precious in the world since antiquity, a name of cool distinguished quality that suits a blue or grey-eyed dog of equally precious character.

Emerald

• Origin: Greek via Latin
• Meaning: The emerald gemstone, green
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the vivid green gemstone whose color is one of the most distinctive in the entire gemstone tradition, a name of warm vibrant quality that suits a green-eyed dog or any dog of similarly vivid and distinctive presence.

Diamond

• Origin: Greek via English
• Meaning: Unconquerable, the diamond
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the hardest natural substance on earth and the most valued of all gemstones, a name that carries both the quality of extraordinary value and the quality of extraordinary hardness, perfect for a small dog who is simultaneously precious and considerably tougher than they appear.

Onyx

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Fingernail, black gemstone
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the black gemstone, a name of cool dramatic quality that suits a black-coated dog of equally dramatic personality and whose specific beauty photographs best in the kind of light that makes everything look slightly cinematic.

Garnet

• Origin: Latin via English
• Meaning: Dark red gemstone, pomegranate
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the deep red gemstone whose color is the most intensely warm of all the precious stones, perfect for a red or mahogany-coated dog of equally warm and equally rich personality.

Topaz

• Origin: Greek via Latin
• Meaning: The topaz gemstone, fire
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the golden-yellow gemstone associated with strength and intelligence in the ancient world, a name of warm luminous quality that suits a golden-coated dog of equally bright and equally penetrating intelligence.

Tanzanite

• Origin: Tanzanian place name
• Meaning: From Tanzania, blue-violet gemstone
• Popularity: Rare

Named after one of the rarest gemstones in the world, found only near Mount Kilimanjaro, a name that carries the specific distinction of genuine rarity combined with extraordinary beauty, both qualities that the dog who carries it should ideally share.

Alexandrite

• Origin: Named for Tsar Alexander II
• Meaning: Color-changing gemstone
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the extraordinary gemstone that appears green in daylight and red in artificial light, a name for a dog whose personality also seems to be subtly different depending on the quality of the light and the mood of the room.

Peridot

• Origin: French via Arabic
• Meaning: Green gemstone
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the olive-green gemstone that is one of the few gems formed deep in the earth’s mantle rather than in the crust, a name of warm distinctive quality that suits a dog of equally distinctive and equally warm green-golden coloring.

Citrine

• Origin: French via Latin
• Meaning: Lemon yellow, the citrine gemstone
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the golden-yellow quartz gemstone whose color is the specific warm yellow of late afternoon light, a name that suits a golden or yellow-coated dog whose presence has that same quality of late afternoon warmth.

Champagne and Wine Names

Bollinger

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Of the Bollinger family
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the prestigious champagne house whose bottles are among the most recognized symbols of celebration in the world, perfect for a dog whose arrival anywhere immediately raises the energy level and whose departure is equally noticeable.

Veuve

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Widow, Veuve Clicquot reference
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the Veuve Clicquot champagne house, whose founder the Widow Clicquot revolutionized champagne production, a name that carries both luxury heritage and the specific quality of a woman who runs things better than everyone expected.

Cristal

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Crystal, the luxury champagne
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the Louis Roederer luxury champagne that became a symbol of the highest level of celebration, a name of cool crystalline quality that suits a dog of equally clear and equally sparkling personality.

Krug

• Origin: German via French luxury
• Meaning: Jug, the luxury champagne house
• Popularity: Rare

Named after one of the most prestigious champagne houses in France, a name that carries the specific distinction of luxury that is not widely known because it does not need to be, the kind of quality that is its own sufficient recommendation.

Taittinger

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Of the Taittinger family
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the prestigious champagne house that has been producing wine since 1734, a name that carries the specific quality of something that has been excellent for long enough that it no longer needs to make any particular effort to prove it.

Barolo

• Origin: Italian place name
• Meaning: From Barolo in Piedmont
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the great Italian wine from Piedmont known as the king of wines and the wine of kings, a name of warm distinguished quality that suits a dog who similarly commands respect without requesting it.

Brunello

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: Little dark one, brown
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the Brunello di Montalcino, one of Italy’s greatest wines, a name of warm earthy quality that suits a brown or dark-coated dog of equally rich and complex character that improves with time and requires no improvement in the meantime.

Chianti

• Origin: Italian place name
• Meaning: From the Chianti region
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the wine region in Tuscany whose rolling hills and cypress trees define the most celebrated Italian landscape, a name of warm Tuscan quality that suits a dog who embodies the specific Italian understanding of beautiful living.

Old Money English Names

Cecil

• Origin: Latin via Welsh
• Meaning: Blind, sixth
• Popularity: Rare

The name of one of England’s great political dynasties, carried by Elizabethan statesmen and Victorian prime ministers and suggesting a family so established that they no longer need to do anything in particular to maintain their position.

Reginald

• Origin: Germanic via Latin
• Meaning: Counsel power, the ruler’s advisor
• Popularity: Rare

A magnificently old-fashioned English name that carries the specific quality of someone whose family has been doing things in a particular way for a very long time and sees no reason to change now.

Cornelius

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Horn, the Cornelius family
• Popularity: Rare

A distinguished Roman family name that passed into English aristocratic use and carries the specific quality of something that was impressive in antiquity and has only accumulated more weight since, perfect for a dog of similarly accumulated dignity.

Archibald

• Origin: Germanic
• Meaning: Truly bold
• Popularity: Rare

A magnificently elaborate Germanic name that the English aristocracy adopted and made entirely their own, carrying the specific quality of a name so thoroughly established that it no longer needs to justify its own elaborateness.

Bartholomew

• Origin: Aramaic
• Meaning: Son of Talmai, son of the furrows
• Popularity: Rare

A splendidly excessive name of biblical origin that the English tradition has been using for long enough that it has acquired a comfortable patina of distinguished ordinariness, perfect for a dog who is similarly distinguished and similarly unimpressed by the fact.

Wellington

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Settlement of Wēola’s people
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon and gave his name to both a style of boot and a beef dish, a name of warm military distinction that suits a dog who approaches every challenge with similar strategic intelligence and similar willingness to stand firm.

Churchill

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Church on a hill
• Popularity: Classic

Named after Britain’s most celebrated wartime leader, a name of enormous historical weight that suits a dog of solid build and similarly indomitable spirit who has never retreated from anything in their life.

Marlborough

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Chalk hill, marlstone hill
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the great Duke of Marlborough and the distinguished family seat of Blenheim Palace, a name of considerable aristocratic weight that suits a dog who inhabits their home with the same proprietorial ease.

Fotheringay

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Fodder island
• Popularity: Extremely rare

An extraordinarily elaborate English place name associated with the castle where Mary Queen of Scots was executed, carrying a melancholy historical distinction that suits a dog of similarly dramatic and similarly unjustly persecuted sensibility.

Ponsonby

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Settlement of Pons
• Popularity: Extremely rare

A magnificently aristocratic English surname of the kind attached to secondary characters in Victorian novels who own hunting estates in Scotland and have strong opinions about the correct temperature for claret.

Luxury Lifestyle Names

Regatta

• Origin: Italian via English
• Meaning: Boat race, competition
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the prestigious sailing competition, a name that carries the specific quality of a leisure pursuit so expensive that it has its own vocabulary, perfect for a dog who approaches play with the same serious investment.

Ascot

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: Eastern cottage
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the Royal Ascot racecourse where the finest horses in the world race in front of an audience wearing their finest clothes, perfect for a dog of similarly thoroughbred quality who would not look out of place in the Royal Enclosure.

Henley

• Origin: English place name
• Meaning: High clearing
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the Henley Royal Regatta, the most prestigious rowing event in the world and one of the defining events of the English social season, perfect for a dog who treats their daily exercise as a similarly competitive and similarly elegant performance.

Monaco

• Origin: Greek via Italian
• Meaning: Monk, the place
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the tiny principality on the French Riviera whose combination of tax advantages, racing circuits, and palatial living has made it the definitive address of the seriously wealthy, perfect for a dog who has always considered their current living situation slightly below what they deserve.

Riviera

• Origin: Italian via French
• Meaning: Riverbank, coastal region
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the Mediterranean coastline whose combination of sun and sea and extraordinary wealth has made it the definitive setting for expensive leisure, a name of warm golden quality that suits a dog who treats every afternoon as an invitation to do nothing in the most beautiful possible surroundings.

Portofino

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: Small port, fine harbor
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the tiny Italian fishing village that became one of the most fashionable destinations on the Italian Riviera, a name of warm Italian quality that suits a dog who manages to make even ordinary activities look like they are happening somewhere more beautiful than they actually are.

Cannes

• Origin: French
• Meaning: Reeds, the place
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the French Riviera city whose film festival is the most prestigious in the world, a name that carries the specific quality of a place where beautiful things are taken extremely seriously by people dressed in a way that takes beauty equally seriously.

Antibes

• Origin: Greek via French
• Meaning: Opposite the city
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the ancient French Riviera town that attracted Picasso and Fitzgerald and generations of artists and wealthy pleasure-seekers, a name of warm distinguished quality that suits a dog who is similarly magnetic to the most interesting people in any room.

Capri

• Origin: Latin via Italian
• Meaning: Goats, the island
• Popularity: Classic

Named after the island in the Bay of Naples that has been a destination for the wealthy since the Roman emperors built their villas there, a name of warm Italian quality that suits a dog who expects and receives the same level of attention the island’s most celebrated guests have always commanded.

Santorini

• Origin: Italian via Greek
• Meaning: Saint Irene, the volcanic island
• Popularity: Rare

Named after the Greek island whose white buildings and blue domes above the caldera of an ancient volcano make it one of the most photographed places on earth, perfect for a white or blue-grey coated dog of similarly dramatic and similarly beautiful appearance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What makes a dog name sound expensive?

A: The names that sound most expensive tend to share several qualities. They often have three or more syllables that roll off the tongue with a specific unhurried rhythm. They frequently reference things associated with genuine luxury, fashion houses, wine estates, aristocratic families, gemstones, and exclusive destinations. They carry an air of confidence that does not feel the need to explain itself. And they often have a European quality, particularly French, Italian, or English aristocratic, that carries the specific association of old world sophistication that has always been central to the luxury aesthetic.

Q: Do expensive-sounding names work for all breeds?

A: Expensive-sounding names work for every breed, and in fact the most entertaining pairings are often the ones where the grandeur of the name contrasts humorously with the actual nature of the dog, a Pemberton who is a rescue mutt, a Versace who rolls in things, a Wellington who is afraid of puddles. The name does not need to match the dog’s appearance or breeding to work beautifully. It needs only to suit the dog’s personality or provide the specific comedic contrast that makes everyone who meets them smile immediately.

Q: Are luxury dog names just for show or do they have practical use?

A: Luxury dog names have exactly the same practical function as any other dog name, they are the sound your dog learns to associate with attention and reward and the arrival of good things. The luxury quality of the name is entirely for the benefit of the humans who use it, providing the specific pleasure of calling Champagne or Cavendish across a park and watching people’s expressions as they try to reconcile the grandeur of the name with the actual dog it belongs to, which is itself one of the reliable small pleasures that the best dog names provide.

Conclusion

The 120 luxury dog names gathered in this list represent the understanding that the name you give your dog is a reflection not just of who they are but of how you see them, and that seeing your dog as someone worthy of the finest naming traditions available is its own form of the love that makes the relationship between a person and their dog one of the most genuinely enriching things available in ordinary human life. These names carry within them the heritage of fashion houses and wine estates and aristocratic families and ancient gemstones and exclusive destinations, all of the things that human civilization has designated as genuinely, enduringly worth having, and they make that heritage available to the creature who has already demonstrated that they belong in exactly that category.

The practical truth about expensive-sounding dog names is that they provide a specific daily pleasure that more ordinary names do not, the pleasure of saying something that sounds beautiful and slightly ridiculous every time you call your dog, which in a happy life is many thousands of times over many years, each repetition adding a small increment of joy to what is already the most joyful of all domestic relationships. Give your dog one of these names and every walk becomes slightly more elegant, every introduction slightly more entertaining, and every moment of calling them slightly more like a small performance of the specific comedy that the best dog names always contain, the comedy of enormous names attached to animals who are completely unaware of their own grandeur and entirely focused on the considerably more important question of what is for dinner.