Southern-Inspired Dog Names

Southern names for dogs can evoke the beauty and culture of this region of the United States. You can get some creative ideas from looking at all things Southerners love.

Dog Names from Southern Cuisine

You can't think of the south without delicious and authentic dishes. Try some of these names for ideas:

• Ambrosia (a salad)
• Boucherie (type of BBQ in Louisiana)
• Boudin (sausage from Louisiana)
• Butter Bean (type of bean)
• Caramel Cake (yellow cake with caramel frosting)
• Chayote (a type of squash)
• Cheerwine (a soda)
• Chicory (type of coffee)
• Chow-Chow (a condiment)
• Craw Daddy (another term for crayfish)
• Dewberry (type of berry)
• Divinity (type of candy)
• Étouffée (a stew)
• Fatback (meat from the back of a pig)
• Goo Goo Cluster (a candy bar)
• Goober (as in Goober peas)
• Hominy (side dish made of corn)
• Hoppin' John (dish of peas and rice)
• Hummingbird Cake (spice cake with bananas and pineapple)
• Mello Yello (type of soda)
• Modjeska (marshmallows dipped in caramel)
• Muffuletta (a sandwich)
• Muscadine (grape used for wine)
• Pawpaw (a type of fruit)
• Peanut (grown heavily in the South)
• Pecan Pie (Southern-style pie)
• Po' Boy (a sandwich)
• Praline (candy with butter, brown sugar and pecans)
• Red Velvet (a type of cake)
• Sazerac (whisky from New Orleans)
• Scuppernong (grape found in the South)
• Shoofly Pie (pie made with molasses)
• Succotash (dish with corn and beans)
• Sun Drop (type of soda)
• Tabasco (made in Louisiana)
• Tea (as in sweat tea)
• Tipsy Cake (cake soaked in liquor)

Southern Music Names

From country to the blues to Southern rock, there are many well-known musicians and bands you can honor by naming your dog after them.

• Allman (as in Allman Brothers)
• Aces (as in Amazing Rhythm Aces)
• Crowe (as in the Black Crowes)
• Blackfoot (the band)
• Creedence or Clearwater (as in the Creedence Clearwater Revival)
• Doobie (as in the Doobie Brothers)
• Eagle (as in the Eagles)
• Edgar or Winter (as in Edgar Winter)
• Jerry Lee (as in Jerry Lee Lewis)
• Thunderbird (as in the Fabulous Thunderbirds)
• Thorogood (as in George Thorogood)
• Humble Pie (the band)
• Scorcher (as in Jason and the Scorchers)
• Leon (as in the Kings of Leon)
• Lynyrd or Skynyrd (as in Lynyrd Skynyrd)
• Molly Hatchet (the band)
• Ray or Charles (as in Ray Charles)
• Shooter (as in Shooter Jennings)
• Stillwater (the band)
• Stonehoney (the band)
• Tom or Petty (as in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
• ZZ (as in ZZ Top)

Flora and Fauna Names for Dogs

There are many flowers, plants, trees and animals unique or prominent in the South that make unusual names for dogs.

Birds, Fish and Mammal Names

• Chickadee (Carolina Chickadee found primarily in the South)
• Croc (as in Crocodile - native to Florida)
• Cuckoo (Mangrove Cuckoo found in Florida)
• Flounder (Gulf Flounder primarily in the Gulf of Mexico)
• Gar (fish found primarily in the Southern U.S.)
• Gator (as in Alligator - native to the Southeast)
• Gecko (Reef Gecko found in Southeastern U.S.)
• Manatee (found in Florida)
• Panther (native to Florida)
• Peeper (Southern Peeper frog found from Texas to Georgia)
• Porgy (fish found in Southern waters and Gulf of Mexico)
• Snapper (fish found in Southeast U.S. waters and Gulf of Mexico)
• Sunfish (Pygmy Sunfish mostly in Southern waters and Gulf of Mexico)
• Tanager (Summer Tanager found primarily in the South)

Flowers and Trees

• Bugbane (a flower)
• Carolina Jessamine (a flower)
• Carolina Rose (a flower)
• Indigo (as in False Indigo, a flower)
• Hibiscus (a flower)
• Kudzu (a plant)
• Spicebush (a flower)
• Aster (as in Stokes' Aster, a flower)
• Azalea (as in Sweet Azalea, a flower)
• Tobacco (a plant)
• Cypress (as in Bald Cypress, a tree)
• Chickasaw (as in Chickasaw Plum, a tree)
• Dogwood (a flowering tree)
• Palmetto (a tree)

Fictional Southern Character Names

Books, movies and TV have featured many compelling Southern characters. Find a name that fits your dog's personality and your cultural interests.

• Adora (from Sharp Objects)
• Alcée (from The Awakening)
• Amma (from Sharp Objects)
• Finch (as in Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird)
• Bayard (from The Unvanquished)
• Beloved (from the book by Toni Morrison)
• Brick (from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)
• Calpurnia (from To Kill a Mockingbird)
• Celie (from The Color Purple)
• Daryl (as in Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead)
• Dolphus (from To Kill a Mockingbird)
• Domino (from the comic X-Force)
• Foghorn Leghorn (from the Looney Tunes cartoon)
• Fuzzy Lumpkins (from the Powerpuff Girls)
• Gambit (from the X-Men comic)
• Finn (as in Huckleberry Finn)
• Junius (from The Grass Harp)
• Léonce (from The Awakening)
• Matlock (from the TV show)
• Mayela (from To Kill a Mockingbird)
• Meridian (from the book Meridian)
• Michonne (from The Walking Dead)
• Portia (from The Heart is a Lonely Hunter)
• Rafe (from A Southern Family)
• Rogue (from the X-Men comic)
• Sookie (as in Sookie Stackhouse from True Blood)
• Verena (from The Grass Harp)

A Southern Canine Name

You can use these names for inspiration for your new pup. Aficionados of the American South have many ideas to choose from to make your dog stand out.