Intelligent Dog Names

Got an intelligent breed or just an all-out smarty pants for a dog? Name them something smart to reflect their dazzling intelligence.

Tap the arrow to see the meaning of each name, and the heart to save a name to your shortlist.

• Akilli

  Meaning: Smart in Turkish.
• Albert

  Meaning: Refers to the famous scientist, albert einstein
• Alcott

  Meaning: Author of Little Women.
• Alex

  Meaning: Alexander bell invented telephone.
• Amelia

  Meaning: Woman to fly across atlantic ocean.
• Anahita

  Meaning: Persian goddess of water.
• Asimov

  Meaning: Smart science fiction author.
• Athena

  Meaning: The goddess of war, strategy and wisdom in roman mythology
• Berit

  Meaning: Glorious, intelligent in German and Danish.
• Bernanke

  Meaning: Head of the Fed.
• Bertha

  Meaning: Bright ing intelligent.
• Biggs

  Meaning: Science writer.
• Bobby

  Meaning: Chess genius.
• Bradbury

  Meaning: Dweller near the wood fort
• Brain

  Meaning: Character from inspector gadget.
• Brainy

  Meaning: Looks and brains.
• Cassidy

  Meaning: Clever.
• Cato

  Meaning: Wise, all-knowing
• Coeus

  Meaning: The freek titan of intelligence.
• Conrad

  Meaning: Wise counsel in german.
• Curie

  Meaning: Woman to win a Nobel Prize.
• Da Vinci

  Meaning: Mathematician, inventor and genius.
• Dara

  Meaning: Nugget of wisdom.
• Darwin

  Meaning: Dear Friend
• Dawkins

  Meaning: Richard Dawkins, sociobiologist.
• Dell

  Meaning: Small valley or glen
• Dexter

  Meaning: Right-handed, skilled
• Dolph

  Meaning: Character from Rocky movies.
• Doogie

  Meaning: Dr. Doogie Howser.
• Dr No

  Meaning: A well known evil genius.
• Durga

  Meaning: Hindu goddess of power and intelligence.
• Eelin

  Meaning: Warrior of intelligence.
• Egghead

  Meaning: What bright kids were nicknamed.
• Einstein

  Meaning: German physicist and scientist
• Fahima

  Meaning: Woman of great understanding.
• Faraday

  Meaning: Physicist and all-around nice guy.
• Farzana

  Meaning: Intelligent, wise, knowledgeable
• Fischer

  Meaning: Smartest chess player of all time.
• Fisku

  Meaning: Smart.
• Fleming

  Meaning: Alexander Fleming, invented penicillin.
• Franklin

  Meaning: Politician.
• Freud

  Meaning: Psychologist and one smart dude.
• Frode

  Meaning: Wise and learned.
• Gage

  Meaning: Oath, pledge
• Galena

  Meaning: Small intelligent one in Spanish.
• Galileo

  Meaning: Italian physicist and astronomer.
• Gates

  Meaning: Barriers
• Genius

  Meaning: A protective spirit
• HAL

  Meaning: Super computer.
• Hannibal

  Meaning: Evil genius.
• Hawk

  Meaning: Short for Stephen Hawking.
• Haziq

  Meaning: Skillful and intelligent in Muslim.
• Higgins

  Meaning: Intelligent in Ireland.
• Hillary

  Meaning: Cheerful, merry
• Holmes

  Meaning: Sherlock Holmes, detective.
• Howser

  Meaning: Howser's a smart title for bowser.
• Hue

  Meaning: Lilly and intelligence in Vietnamese.
• Hugo

  Meaning: Wise man
• IQ

  Meaning: Abbreviation for intelligence quotient.
• Jobs

  Meaning: A great choice for your iDog from Steve Jobs.
• Kasparov

  Meaning: Garry Kasparov, a successful chess player.
• Kepler

  Meaning: Discovered the motion of planets.
• Kofi

  Meaning: Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, peacemaker.
• Kyna

  Meaning: Intelligent.
• Labeeba

  Meaning: Wise and intelligent.
• Leonardo

  Meaning: After Leonardo daVinci.
• Lisa

  Meaning: Lisa Simpson, the smart Simpson.
• Ludwig

  Meaning: After Ludwig van Beethoven.
• Matalino

  Meaning: Clever in Filipino.
• Mensa

  Meaning: A society for geniuses.
• Minda

  Meaning: Knowledge and wisdom.
• Minerva

  Meaning: Goddess of wisdom in roman mythology
• Mr Peabody

  Meaning: Character from Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon
• Neutron

  Meaning: Jimmy neutron, boy genius.
• Newton

  Meaning: Fig newton
• Novella

  Meaning: Steven Novella, smart neurologist.
• Ochoa

  Meaning: US astronaut.
• Olander

  Meaning: Intelligent on Swedish.
• Pandai

  Meaning: Clever
• Pascal

  Meaning: A procedural programming language.
• Porah

  Meaning: Actress and talk show host.
• Pragya

  Meaning: Insight, wisdom, and intelligence.
• Princeton

  Meaning: Prestigious school.
• Prodigy

  Meaning: A master at a young age.
• Professor

  Meaning: Professor x in marvel's x-men.
• Quentin

  Meaning: As in Quentin Tarantino.
• Raymond

  Meaning: Wise protector.
• Roslin

  Meaning: President Laura Roslin, Battlestar Galactica.
• Rubik

  Meaning: Of Rubik's cube fame.
• Saga

  Meaning: Fairy tale
• Salk

  Meaning: Inventor of the Polio vaccine.
• Sana

  Meaning: Brilliance and intelligence.
• Sarge

  Meaning: As in sargent.
• Savant

  Meaning: Knowledged in a specialized field.
• Savvy

  Meaning: Smart and shrewd.
• Scholar

  Meaning: Specialist in a branch of study.
• Schroder

  Meaning: Piano smartie from the Peanut cartoons.
• Screech

  Meaning: Screech Powers, Saved by the Bell.
• Shannon

  Meaning: Wise in Irish.
• Smartie

  Meaning: Small, round chocolate candy; colloquial for an intelligent person.
• Sophia

  Meaning: Wisdom.
• Tark

  Meaning: A man of Gondor
• Tenjin

  Meaning: Spirit in Japanese.
• Tesla

  Meaning: Refers to the curious scientist
• Thatcher

  Meaning: British Prime Minister.
• Tomo

  Meaning: Denotes intelligence on Japanese.
• Tomoko

  Meaning: Wise friend.
• Urkel

  Meaning: Steven urkel a character on the sitcom family matters.
• Vivek

  Meaning: Wisdom, distinction, and discrimination.
• Watson

  Meaning: Sherlock holmes smart sidekick.
• Whiz

  Meaning: Genius or to move with a rush and a sound.
• Wisdom

  Meaning: Has common sense.
• Witty

  Meaning: Having an intelligent sense of humor.
• Wright

  Meaning: After Wright Brothers.
• Zakia

  Meaning: Pure and intelligent.
• Zeki

  Meaning: Intelligent in Turkish.

Staying on the intelligent theme, these names mean intelligence or are in some way related to the word.

Dogs always find a way to get what they want, even through the most industrious methods. Give your pup one of these crafty dog names as a tribute to their clever ways.

Dogs are pretty damn smart. It’s one thing to learn a wide variety of tasks and commands, and understand human communication. But dogs excel over other species in the way they’re able to understand and interpret human emotions, and even assist people with disabilities.

Studies have shown that dogs have cognitive abilities similar to those of a 2-year-old child, and some breeds are considered to be more intelligent than others. One of the most magical things about having a dog is just marveling at their intelligence. And if you have a Golden Retriever, Border Collie or another smartass breed, one of these intelligent dog names might be just too good to resist.

For boys, Albert is a great place to start. Human names are fashionable for dogs at the moment, and this one blends traditional charm with scientific significance. It, of course, refers to the great Albert Einstein, the famous German scientist who was believed to have an IQ of around 160! Another old-fashioned name that works so well for boys dogs is Watson. It’s a cute homage to Sherlock Holmes’ intelligent sidekick, and works for dogs of all shapes and sizes.

If you want something a bit more unusual, we really like Rubik. It refers to one of the smartest toys out there – the Rubik’s cube.

For female dogs, we think Curie is an adorable name for a pup, and is inspired by the first woman ever to win a Nobel Prize, Marie Curie.

If mythology appeals to you, why not name your girl after the Roman goddess of wisdom, Minerva? It might sound like a mouthful at first, but you get the opportunity to give your pup a nickname – Minnie! And finally, if you’d prefer something a bit more exotic, Sana is a beautiful female name that means “brilliance and intelligence”.