Playful Dog Names

Does your new pup love to play? Why not name your puppy after their playful nature. Here are the most playful puppy names to choose from.

Tap the arrow to see a name's meaning, and the heart to save it to your shortlist.

Arrow
Meaning: A Projectile Fired From A Bow
Aston
Meaning: Aston martin sports cars remain james bond's preferred mode of conveyance.
Astro
Meaning: Of The Stars
Audi
Meaning: Listen
Barney
Meaning: Short for barnacle.
Beemer
Meaning: BMW Motorcycle Rider.
Birdie
Meaning: Little Bird
Biscuit
Meaning: Any of various small flat sweet cakes or cookies. Literally means "twice cooked".
Bizzy
Meaning: Busy, energetic, active.
Blithe
Meaning: Carefree, heedless, joyful and merry
Blitz
Meaning: An overwhelming all out attack.
Bolt
Meaning: Explosive leap forward or upright; the action of a rifle.
Boogie
Meaning: To dance energetically, especially to rock music or blues.
Breezy
Meaning: Relaxed.
Bronco
Meaning: Wild Horse
Bubbles
Meaning: Bubbly, effervescent, lively and enthusiastic."
Button
Meaning: a device that when pressed will release part of a mechanism
Candy
Meaning: Bright, Sweet
Chaos
Meaning: The void before the birth of the universe, titan god, total disorganization and confusion.
Chase
Meaning: Skilled hunter or huntsman.
Chevy
Meaning: annoy continually or chronically
Chip
Meaning: A word short for a chipset, or a splinter. Also the diminutive form of Charles.
Chipper
Meaning: Happy and upbeat, also the name of the braves monosyllabic former baseman, chipper jones.
Chispa
Meaning: Sparkle
Cisco
Meaning: A technology company known for its networking products in the us.
Coco
Meaning: Cook. it is also used as a nickname for names long names that begin with 'co-.
Crowther
Meaning: "From the crow's hill."
Dancer
Meaning: One Who Dances
Dash
Meaning: A short fast race; to move quickly.
Dazzle
Meaning: To daze or confuse with bright light
Disco
Meaning: Club or party at which people dance to recorded music.
Dungaroo
Meaning: Australian outback slang.
Ernie
Meaning: Earnest, serious
Fancy
Meaning: Caprice, whim or illusion.
Fetch
Meaning: be sold for a certain price
Fig
Meaning: a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
Finn
Meaning: Clear, fair or white
Fizz
Meaning: Bubbly, effervescent.
Flip
Meaning: To react to something with excitement or astonishment."
Folly
Meaning: Foolishness, madness or lunacy, the ziegfeld follies were elaborately staged productions incorporating hundreds of beautiful smiling young ladies endlessly fanning out across the stage.
Fox
Meaning: Television detective from the x files
Foxy
Meaning: marked by skill in deception
Frisky
Meaning: Lively, frolicsome and playful.
Fritz
Meaning: Peaceful ruler; diminutive of Friedrich.
Frolic
Meaning: Playful behavior, merriment and fun. to gambol merrily.
Fuji
Meaning: Wisteria
Gala
Meaning: A festive celebration.
Go-go
Meaning: Full of energy and vitality. a mod 1960s discoteque the whisky a go-go.
Goofy
Meaning: Silly, ridiculous.
Guinness
Meaning: Famous dark beer
Gunner
Meaning: Strong in battle (in Swedish).
Happy
Meaning: Joyful
Havoc
Meaning: Devastation or ruinous damage.
Holiday
Meaning: Rest day.
Jazzy
Meaning: (used especially of clothes) marked by conspicuous display
Jet
Meaning: To move or travel rapidly, especially if jet-propelled.
Jiff
Meaning: Cute, playful, fun.
Jiffy
Meaning: An instant or a flash.
Jolly
Meaning: Good humored, merry.
Junior
Meaning: Younger; lower in rank or experience.
Kai
Meaning: Victorious
Keen
Meaning: Extremely sensitive and responsive, possessing acute perception and showing a strong desire.
Kona
Meaning: the name of a star
Laguna
Meaning: a body of water cut off from a larger body by a reef of sand or coral
Lark
Meaning: A playful excursion, frolic or adventure.
Lively
Meaning: Full Of Life, Energy
Loki
Meaning: The sneaky and trickster god in Norse mythology.
Lolli
Meaning: Candy-coated treat.
Luca
Meaning: Person From Lucania, Italy
Max
Meaning: Greatest
Merry
Meaning: Joyous and playful.
Mighty
Meaning: (Southern regional intensive) very; to a great degree
Mischief
Meaning: reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
Mitzi
Meaning: Mary, Mother Of God (Bitter)
Moby
Meaning: Created Name
Monkey
Meaning: one who is playfully mischievous
Naughty
Meaning: suggestive of sexual impropriety
Nibby
Meaning: Cute, small, playful.
Otis
Meaning: Wealth
Owen
Meaning: The Yew Tree Or Youth
Ozzie
Meaning: Strong in hebrew.
Peanut
Meaning: Ground Nut Legume
Pearl
Meaning: Smooth, Round Bead Formed By A Mollusk
Pepper
Meaning: The pepper pad a handheld game console.
Peppy
Meaning: Full of drive and fast on the pickup.
Pip
Meaning: a mark on a die or on a playing card (shape depending on the suit)
Piper
Meaning: Flute Player
Pixie
Meaning: Fairy
Pounce
Meaning: move down on as if in an attack
Pronto
Meaning: Spanish for quickly or immediately.
Puck
Meaning: a vulcanized rubber disk 3 inches in diameter that is used instead of a ball in ice hockey
Rocket
Meaning: A raccoon in marvel comics.
Rocky
Meaning: Inspired by Rocky Balboa.
Rodeo
Meaning: an enclosure for cattle that have been rounded up
Rollick
Meaning: To frolic or behave in a free, jovial way.
Roxie
Meaning: Dawn.
Roxy
Meaning: Dawn
Rufus
Meaning: Red
Rush
Meaning: To move with great speed, often in a hurried manner.
Rusty
Meaning: Always slow-moving.
Scooby
Meaning: A famous cartoon canine sleuth
Scooter
Meaning: Small light mode of transportation.
Scottie
Meaning: old Scottish breed of small long-haired usually black terrier with erect tail and ears
Scrappy
Meaning: full of fighting spirit
Shelby
Meaning: The shelby cobra; initially manufactured in 1962 using the a/c ace shell.
Shine
Meaning: Glow or emit light, the take a fancy to or a practical joke such as monkey shines.
Skeeter
Meaning: Insect, mosquito, pest, bug.
Skip
Meaning: To move in a light springy manner. to escape secretly in haste.
Skipper
Meaning: Ship Captain Or Master
Skippy
Meaning: Jumping kangaroo mascot.
Skittle
Meaning: a bowling pin of the type used in playing ninepins or (in England) skittles
Skittles
Meaning: a bowling game that is played by rolling a bowling ball down a bowling alley at a target of nine wooden pins
Skyler
Meaning: Scholar
Sniper
Meaning: a marksman who shoots at people from a concealed place
Snoopy
Meaning: offensively curious or inquisitive
Sookie
Meaning: Lily
Spanky
Meaning: Playful, mischievous child.
Spark
Meaning: Small, fiery particles; ignition.
Sparkles
Meaning: Shine brightly with flashes of light.
Sparky
Meaning: An electrician
Spaz
Meaning: Spastic.
Spirit
Meaning: Soul
Spunky
Meaning: Spirited, plucky
Sticky
Meaning: hot or warm and humid
Striker
Meaning: someone who hits
Sunny
Meaning: Sunny
Sushi
Meaning: Raw Fish
Tallulah
Meaning: Leaping Water
Tango
Meaning: A ballroom dance of Latin American origin, particularly Argentina
Tink
Meaning: Cute, mischievous fairy.
Toffee
Meaning: caramelized sugar cooled in thin sheets
Trick
Meaning: Rogish practical joke or illusion.
Trouble
Meaning: To disturb the mental calm or to worry another.
Tug
Meaning: a sudden abrupt pull
Tugger
Meaning: Puller, pusher, tugger.
Turbo
Meaning: Short for turbocharger, the turbo kicks speed up a notch.
Vega
Meaning: Stooping Eagle
Wilder
Meaning: Wild Animal
Winnie
Meaning: Whales - blessed reconciliation
Wolfie
Meaning: Lovable wolf character.
Zannie
Meaning: Gift of God/Grace.
Zara
Meaning: Princess
Zip
Meaning: Energy, vim and vigor.
Zipper
Meaning: One who zips around at lightening speed.
Zippity
Meaning: A play on Zip-a-Dee- Doo-Dah, Oscar winning song from Disney's Song of the South.
Zippy
Meaning: quick and energetic
Zoom
Meaning: To increase or rise suddenly.
Zorro
Meaning: Sly, Fox

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

Snatching food from the counter and trawling through garbage are some of the delights you can look forward to as a dog owner. Embrace their naughtiness with these mischievous dog names.

While some dogs are more playful than others, it’s fair to say most of them possess a frisky, fun-loving side. Sometimes this wanes after puppyhood – but not always. When it’s clear that you’ve adopted a pup with a lively zest for life, it seems fitting to recognize their infectious energy by giving them a playful name.

Whether you’ve got a dopey Retriever or a bright-eyed Pomerianian, we’ve picked out some playful names for dogs that are sure to fit the bill. These names are great for people who don’t take themselves too seriously – and are keen to acknowledge the fun side of owning a dog!

For male dogs, let’s get the glitter ball rolling with Disco. This name just screams joy, and hints at a dog that’s always on the move. It works for both large and small breeds, on one condition – that there are only good vibes to be shared!

Another good option for boys would be Scooter. There’s something zippy and energetic about this name, and we particularly adore the connection it has to childhood toys. For something short and snappy, Chase also works well for boy dogs. It calls out one of the oldest and most primal games that dogs play with each other.

For female dogs, we love the innocent energy of the name Roxie – and it’s versatile enough to work for dogs of all shapes and sizes. Another name for girls with a similar level of playfulness is Mitzi, which works particularly well with small breeds like Chihuahuas and Dachshunds.

For something more elegant, we really love Jet as a playful name for girl dogs. Historically, it has been a shortened form of the name Henriette, meaning “home ruler”. But it also makes us think of a jet engine, soaring above the clouds, alluding perfectly to the adventurous nature of your playful pup!