Tough Dog Names

If you're adopting a hard nut, try these tough dog names on for size. They're perfect for larger breeds or just dogs with a dominant personality.

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

Acadia
Idyllic Place
Alaska
Mainland
Ames
God of war in greek mythology.
Bandit
A thief.
Bear
Bear-like
Blitz
An overwhelming all out attack.
Bomber
a large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States
Brutus
Bad.
Bubba
Nickname for a boy in the south of the US; a slow moving individual.
Captain
The leader of a group of people
Cleopatra
Glory + father
Cobra
Venomous Asiatic and African elapid snakes that can expand the skin of the neck into a hood
Crete
Cradle of the empire in Roman mythology.
Crusher
a device that crushes something
Damaris
Dominant woman.
Digger
a machine for excavating
Ditka
Football coach/legend.
Duchess
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
Duke
Leader, commander, governor of a province
Dutch
From The Netherlands
Fang
Beautiful
Fender
an inclined metal frame at the front of a locomotive to clear the track
Friska
Lively, energetic, vivacious.
Goliath
A giant from the bible.
Gunner
Strong in battle (in Swedish).
Han
imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time from 206 BC to AD 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of Chinese civilization
Hawk
Short for Stephen Hawking.
Howler
a joke that seems extremely funny
Idris
Righteous lord, studious
Jax
Son Of Jack
Killa
Powerful and dangerous.
Kush
"African royal dynasty."
Kyla
Narrow
Leech
a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage
Lex
Defender of men in greek.
Lonestar
Lonely Texas pride.
Mace
The collective dead in the afterlife
Mafia
any tightly knit group of trusted associates
Mildred
Gentle strength
Missy
Bee
Nipper
a young person of either sex
North
Geographical Direction
Onyx
Black Gemstone
Outkast
"Different from the rest."
Pepper
A hot-tasting powder prepared from dried and ground peppercorns, commonly used as a spice or condiment to flavor food.
Pyro
As in pyromaniac.
Queen
Female ruler
Ranger
Gamekeeper; a rover or wanderer
Raven
Dark-colored.
Roo
Short for kangaroo
Roxie
Dawn.
Saber
Lightsaber, a weapon in star wars.
Samson
Man with super strength.
Scar
an indication of damage
Sergeant
a lawman with the rank of sergeant
Shasta
Praised, Commended
Snatch
a small fragment
Snipe
aim and shoot with great precision
Sniper
a marksman who shoots at people from a concealed place
Spike
Stingy or pointed.
Storm
To deliver a violent attack or assault. barrage.
Striker
someone who hits
Talon
Bird Claw
Tank
Big.
Titan
Greek giants.
Tito
Saved
Trigger
put in motion or move to act
Uzi
Power, Strength
Vera
Faith, truth
Wolf
Wolf
Wrigley
Clearing By The River Bend
Yukon
a territory in northwestern Canada; site of the Klondike gold rush in the 1890s
Yuna
Kindness

• Gunther

  Warrior
• Gunnar

  Warrior
• Garin

  warrior
• Ivar

  Warrior
• Luther

  Warrior
• Findlay

  Fair Warrior
• Ludovica

  famous warrior
• Lothario

  loud warrior
• Thane

  warrior's attendant
• Enar

  Lone warrior
• Brunhilda

  Warrior woman
• Eelin

  Warrior of intelligence.

• Damian

  the fighter
• Heloise

  Famous Fighter
• Umberto

  bright fighter
• Guy

  fighter, guide
• Ludek

  well known fighter
• Lovise

  well known fighter
• Harbin

  little shining fighter
• Alajos

  well known fighter
• Spinks

  "Brave little fighter"
• Xabat

  "Joyful warrior" (or "Joyful fighter")
• Butters

  a fighter who strikes the opponent with his head
• Butter

  a fighter who strikes the opponent with his head

• Veera

  brave
• Qawe

  brave
• Akeen

  Brave
• Modigy

  brave
• Merida

  Unknown Meaning
• Willard

  Will Brave
• Rikard

  Brave power
• Barnard

  Brave Bear
• Beldoin

  brave friend
• Bernadette

  Brave As A Bear
• Ricardo

  Brave Ruler
• Jarrett

  Spear Brave

• Trudy

  Spear Strength
• Mace

  The collective dead in the afterlife
• Outkast

  "Different from the rest."
• Rosanne

  An outspoken female comedian known for her sassy personality.
• Teeny

  (used informally) very small
• Leech

  a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage
• Ditka

  Football coach/legend.
• Skellington

  Skeleton King/Lord/Prince
• Vicious Vicky

  Cruel and malicious.
• Pocus

  Magic trickery or mischief.
• Han

  imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time from 206 BC to AD 220) and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy; remembered as one of the great eras of Chinese civilization
• Ford

  River Crossing

• Sparkle

  To be brilliant, lively and vivacious or to effervesce.
• Ambrosia

  Immortal; the food or drink of the Olympian gods
• Outkast

  "Different from the rest."
• Sigfrid

  marvelous victory
• Ilda

  fighting a war
• Cyclone

  Violent tropical storm, circular in nature.
• Stoked

  Surfer slang, excited or euphoric.
• Hedda

  fighting a battle
• Semper Fi

  A motto from US Marine Corp which means 'Always Faithful.
• Worthy

  Showing qualities that merit recognition.
• Vicious Vicky

  Cruel and malicious.
• Smasher

  Smashing, English slang for fabulous.

Tough Dog Names currently rank in 53rd place out of all PupNames.com categories.

As of April 2024, tough dog names are trending down with new puppy owners. Our stats suggest that they are less 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 Tough Dog Names?

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

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

Damaris 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 Duke.

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

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

The states that love tough dog names the most are Idaho, Michigan and Montana.

The least amount of interest in this category was registered in Hawaii, Connecticut and Nebraska.

Which countries have the most love for Tough Dog Names?

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

Who'd have thought?! Some of the countries you might not have thought about that LOVE tough dog names are Kosovo, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

On the flip, PupNames data shows there's not much interest in Serbia, Malta and Taiwan.