Among the most popular names for Chihuahuas are Gizmo and Gucci, perhaps confirming their position as the lapdog of choice for the girl around town. Bulldogs are given altogether more solid names including Doris, Balder and Bosse.
Among Rottweilers Atlas and Nikita both make it into the top five along with Nova, Wilma and Ronja.
Bamse, the legendary (and allegedy Communist) Swedish cartoon character, gives his name to many larger dogs including a large number of Rottweilers, Golden Retrievers and Alsatians. Ronja is also a popular choice, no doubt thanks to happy childhood memories of Astrid Lindgren’s character Ronja the Robber’s Daughter.
Ib Ahlén, at pet insurance company Agria, which organized the survey, said the list would help people choose names for their four-legged friends.
“You could say that Astrid Lindgren and Walt Disney have inspired many choices of dog name,” he said.
“But many human names such as Elsa, Sally and Fanny also come up high on the list.”