CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – A lot of people during the holidays and in the New Year are either being gifted, or going out and getting themselves, new pets. If Virginian’s follow the 2025 trend, the top names for those new furry friends could be Daisy for dogs and Pumpkin for cats.

According to a survey of popular pet names nationwide by Trupanion Pet Insurance, those were the most popular names in Virginia over the past year.

For dogs in Virginia, Bella was second behind Daisy, followed by Teddy. Nationally, according to Trupanion, Luna was the most common dog name in 2025, with Daisy second Teddy third. Bella was sixth.

For cats in Virginia, Pumpkin bucked the national trends. That name didn’t crack the country’s Top 20, but beat out Milo and Jasper to be the most popular in the Commonwealth.

The Trupanion release said, “Trupanion analyzed the names of more than 130,000 puppies and kittens enrolled in Trupanion over the last year to find the 20 most popular pet names.”

“Luna led in every category but other “L” names like Leo, Lucie, Loki and Lola were also incredibly popular,” the release continued.

The release noted, “In all, more than 12,000 different names were submitted to Trupanion over the last twelve months.”

Some people are very ready with a pet name upon arrival, but Trupanion observed many find the choice “daunting”.

Some tips Trupanion offered are keeping the name “short, simple, and clear” because the pet owner will want the animal to understand the name when called.

The name should also not sound like a command you might give, “You don’t want Finch to get confused when it’s time to play fetch.”

It also needs to be a name you can say out loud, ” Hippo Von Queso MacBurger Pants (yes, that’s a real name someone picked out) might not roll off the tongue or be heard at the dog park as well as simpler names.”

You can also look a name lists, or “think about things you like to do or unique characteristics your pet has when picking a name”.