Brits are giving dogs and cats the same names as newborn babies – from Bella to Charlie

29 March 2020, 13:09 | Updated: 30 March 2020, 08:38

Pet owners are giving their four-legged fur-babies the same names we lavish on our children. Picture: Getty

Pet owners are ditching traditional monikers like Rover in favour of popular children's names – is your fur baby's on the list?

Brits are giving their dogs and cats the same names as newborn babies, new data has revealed.

Pet owners are choosing to scrap traditional monikers like Rover and Scout in favour of modern children's names including Bella, Charlie, Poppy, Lola and Max.

Research by pet wellbeing specialist ITCHpet.com found that nine out of ten names given to the nation’s kittens and puppies are shared by bundles of joy born in 2019.

Bella is the most popular dog’s name in the UK. Picture: Getty

The flea and worming provider analysed the names of over 100,000 dogs and cats in Britain and found there was a baby boom in human choices for our four-legged fur-babies.

So which names are leading the pack? The study revealed that Bella is the most popular dog’s name in Britain today, and the second most common for cats.

Poppy stole the second canine spot and Lola followed in third, while Luna came out on top for kittens, with Bella and Lola just behind.

Dog owners are slightly more likely than cat owners to pick a ‘baby’ name. Picture: Getty

Charlotte Harper, co-founder of pet wellbeing specialist ITCHpet.com, said: "Pet humanisation - or anthropomorphism as it’s scientifically known - is becoming common because owners are increasingly wanting to provide their pets with human-like products or experiences.

"Giving them human names is us subconsciously drawing them ever closer into the family environment and treating them as children, which is obviously of great benefit to the pet, and for the family’s general well-being."

Despite giving them children's names, Charlotte wants to remind pet owners that animals are not as self-sufficient as older kids – they need constant care throughout their lives to help them remain healthy and fight disease.

She added: "But above all it is really important to remember a dog or a cat is not as self-sufficient as a 12 year old child.

"They have entirely different needs and require a high level of care to protect them from developing health issues, such as those caused by fleas and worms.

"At ITCHpet.com, all of our flea and worming treatments are personalised using each individual pets name, so we have been able to glean this data based on trends from across the country."