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 a name's meaning, and the heart to save it 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.

• Kyna

  Intelligent.
• Sudhir

  Intelligent
• Kelly

  Intelligent
• Shu-hui

  intelligent
• Zeki

  Intelligent in Turkish.
• Farzan

  learned; intelligent
• Zakia

  Pure and intelligent.
• Eelin

  Warrior of intelligence.
• Sana

  Brilliance and intelligence.
• Berta

  intelligent, glorious
• Caton

  Intelligent; shrewd.
• Higgins

  Intelligent in Ireland.

• Alex

  Alexander bell invented telephone.
• Neutron

  Jimmy neutron, boy genius.
• Cutey

  Adorable, sweet, lovely.
• Fay

  English for beautiful
• Hue

  Lilly and intelligence in Vietnamese.
• Marple

  Widely respected Agatha Christie character
• Iowa

  Native American for beautiful
• Hillary

  Cheerful, merry
• Cups

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

  Having an intelligent sense of humor.
• Jigna

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

  From The South Town

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”.

Intelligent Dog Names currently rank in 17th place out of all PupNames.com categories.

As of May 2025, intelligent dog names seem increasingly popular with new puppy owners. Our stats show that they are more fashionable than they were at this time last year.

We've seen quite a lot of variation for this category, which suggests its popularity could be seasonal or based on cultural events.

Which are the cutest and most unique Intelligent Dog Names?

These intelligent dog names range from cute to badass, and from traditional to unique. Click each circle to see the name.

Amelia is among the cutest of these. If you prefer tougher, edgier dog names, the one considered the most badass is Athena.

Tomo scored high for its uniqueness, which would help your dog to stand out. But if you prefer more common, old-fashioned names, the more traditional option here is Bobby.

How does interest compare across the United States for Intelligent Dog Names?

The map below compares each state by the number of people browsing Intelligent Dog Names.

The states that love intelligent dog names the most are Montana, Rhode Island and Maryland.

The least amount of interest in this category was registered in Hawaii, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

Which countries have the most love for Intelligent Dog Names?

Here's a world map showing the popularity in each country of intelligent dog names.

Who'd have thought?! Some of the countries you might not have thought about that LOVE intelligent dog names are Qatar, Croatia and Cambodia.

On the flip, PupNames data shows there's not much interest in Belize, Bangladesh and Luxembourg.