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

  Smart in Turkish.
• Alex

  Alexander bell invented telephone.
• Amelia

  Woman to fly across atlantic ocean.
• Anahita

  Persian goddess of water.
• Athena

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

  Glorious, intelligent in German and Danish.
• Bertha

  Bright ing intelligent.
• Brainy

  Looks and brains.
• Cassidy

  Clever.
• Curie

  Woman to win a Nobel Prize.
• Dara

  Nugget of wisdom.
• Dell

  Small valley or glen
• Durga

  Hindu goddess of power and intelligence.
• Eelin

  Warrior of intelligence.
• Fahima

  Woman of great understanding.
• Faraday

  Physicist and all-around nice guy.
• Farzana

  Intelligent, wise, knowledgeable
• Fisku

  Smart.
• Gage

  Oath, pledge
• Galena

  Small intelligent one in Spanish.
• Hawk

  Short for Stephen Hawking.
• Higgins

  Intelligent in Ireland.
• Hillary

  Cheerful, merry
• Hue

  Lilly and intelligence in Vietnamese.
• Kepler

  Discovered the motion of planets.
• Kofi

  Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, peacemaker.
• Kyna

  Intelligent.
• Labeeba

  Wise and intelligent.
• Lisa

  Lisa Simpson, the smart Simpson.
• Mensa

  A society for geniuses.
• Minda

  Knowledge and wisdom.
• Minerva

  Goddess of wisdom in roman mythology
• Neutron

  Jimmy neutron, boy genius.
• Newton

  Fig newton
• Novella

  Steven Novella, smart neurologist.
• Pandai

  Clever
• Pascal

  A procedural programming language.
• Porah

  Actress and talk show host.
• Pragya

  Insight, wisdom, and intelligence.
• Roslin

  President Laura Roslin, Battlestar Galactica.
• Saga

  Fairy tale
• Sana

  Brilliance and intelligence.
• Savvy

  Smart and shrewd.
• Shannon

  Wise in Irish.
• Smartie

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

  Wisdom.
• Tesla

  Refers to the curious scientist
• Tomo

  Denotes intelligence on Japanese.
• Tomoko

  Wise friend.
• Vivek

  Wisdom, distinction, and discrimination.
• Whiz

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

  Has common sense.
• Witty

  Having an intelligent sense of humor.
• Zakia

  Pure and intelligent.

• Shu-hui

  intelligent
• Kyna

  Intelligent.
• Kelly

  Intelligent
• Sudhir

  Intelligent
• Caton

  Intelligent; shrewd.
• Prudence

  Cautious, Intelligent
• Higgins

  Intelligent in Ireland.
• Olander

  Intelligent on Swedish.
• Sana

  Brilliance and intelligence.
• Farzan

  learned; intelligent
• Zakia

  Pure and intelligent.
• Berta

  intelligent, glorious

• Neutron

  Jimmy neutron, boy genius.
• Hillary

  Cheerful, merry
• Hue

  Lilly and intelligence in Vietnamese.
• Cups

  treat by applying evacuated cups to the patient's skin
• Vivek

  Wisdom, distinction, and discrimination.
• Marple

  Widely respected Agatha Christie character
• Jigna

  A girl who is curious and wants to discover the world
• Tomo

  Denotes intelligence on Japanese.
• Witty

  Having an intelligent sense of humor.
• Giggles

  laugh nervously
• Iowa

  Native American for beautiful
• Labeeba

  Wise and intelligent.

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 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”.