Labrador Retrievers are an extremely popular dog breed. In fact, according to the American Kennel Club, they are the most popular dogs in the United States. It’s easy to see why. Labs are best known for their outgoing and friendly personality, making them wonderful family pets.
This dog breed comes in three basic colors: yellow, black, and chocolate. Besides the coloring, nothing is different between these Labrador breeds. They’ve just inherited different coat colors.
Black was the original color of the Labrador and continues to be one of the most popular. Black coat colors are generally the most popular in the hunting world as well, where Black retrievers are thought to be better than others. More black Labrador Retrievers qualify for the retrieving championship than any other color.
If you’ve chosen one of these loyal dogs as your new pet, you’re going to need to give them a name. On this list, we’ve included all of our favorite names for black Labs.
Best Male Black Lab Names
In this list, we’ve included some of the best black lab names we could think of. From more common names like “Shadow” to those in completely different languages, we’ve included a huge variety of varying options on this list:
- Alastor: Greek name meaning “avenging spirit”
- Apollo
- Batman
- Bean
- Beast
- Blackbeard
- Blackberry
- Blackjack
- Blade
- Blake: English name meaning both “black” and “white”
- Bond
- Braith: Welsh unisex name meaning “diversely-colored”
- Captain
- Cary: Irish name meaning “descendant of darkness”
- Cash
- Cethin: Celtic name meaning “dark” and “swarthy”
- Cham: Hebrew name meaning “blackness” and “heat”
- Ciardha: Gaelic name meaning “black” and “dark
- Ciel: English name meaning “sky”
- Coal
- Cocoa: which is typically darker in color
- Colby: English name meaning “coal settlement”
- Colossus
- Debo
- Dee: Scottish name associated with the River Dee, likely means “dark water”
- Delaney: Irish name meaning “black challenger”
- Django
- Doug: English name meaning “black stream”
- Doyle: Gaelic name meaning “black stranger”
- Drogo: Anglo-Saxon word meaning “ghost”
- Duff: Scottish name meaning “dark” and “black peace”
- Dunn: English name meaning “dark-colored”
- Ephah: Hebrew name meaning “darkness” or “gloomy”
- Erebos: Deity in Greek mythology whose name means “sunset”
- Feirefiz: German name meaning “black and white son”
- Ferrer: Means “blacksmith” in a few different languages
- Finn
- Gomez
- Jules
- Knight
- Kolr: Old Norse name meaning “coal”
- Kotori: Native American Hopi word for the screech owl
- Krishna: Hindi name meaning “the black”
- Kylo
- Lando
- Marduk: Akkadian name meaning “solar calf”. In Babylonian mythology, this is the name of the god who killed the dragon Tiamat in.
- Mauri: Finnish name meaning “dark”
- Merikh: The Arabic name for the planet Mars, meaning “death”
- Midnight
- Morpheus
- Morticia
- Murtaugh
- Neo
- Ninja
- Oreo: a fabulous name for a black and white dogs
- Orion: the name of a constellation and a Greek Titan
- Panda
- Panther
- Phobos: the name of a moon of Mars meaning “fear”
- Pluto: the underworld god in Greek mythology
- Poe
- Pugsley
- Samar: Arabic name meaning “evening”
- Shaft
- Shen: Chinese name meaning “deep”, “dark”, and “spirit”
- Stallion
- Storm
- Sullivan: Irish name meaning “little dark eyes”
- Than: Short for the Greek word “Thanatos”, meaning “death”
- Thunder
- Toto
- Trinity
- Vader
- Warlock
- Xena
- Zorro
Learn More: Top 500+ Cool Dog Names
Best Female Black Lab Names
There are dozens and dozens of female black lab naming options available. We’ve created this long list of labrador retriever names with meanings to help you find just the right one for your canine.
- Amaterasu: Japanese name meaning “shining over heaven”
- Amaya: Japanese word meaning “night rain”
- Anu: Sumerian god of the heavens and night sky
- Arima: Basque name meaning “soul”
- Atieno: African name meaning “born at night”
- Celeste: a French name meaning “celestial”
- Celio: Spanish form of the Latin word “Caelius”, meaning “sky”
- Ciara: Irish feminine name that means “little black one”
- Davina: English name meaning “little black one”
- Diana: the Greek goddess of hunting and the moon
- Duana: Feminine form of the name Duane, meaning “little black one”
- Fia: Gaelic name that means “dark”
- Fiore: an Italian name meaning “flower”
- Hua: a Chinese name meaning “flower”, “dark”, and “magnificent”
- Inanna: Sumerian name meaning “lady of heaven”
- Isra: Arabic name meaning “travel at night”
- Kali: the name of a major Hindi deity, meaning “the black one” and “devourer of time”
- Kanika: Egyptian name meaning “black”
- Keara: Irish name meaning “little black one”.
- Keres: Greek name for female “death spirits”, who were the daughters of Nyx
- Kiss: like the small chocolate bites made by Hersey’s
- Koko: Native American name meaning “night”
- Koli: Old Norse name meaning “coal”
- Labitina: Roman goddess of funerals and the dead
- Lani: Hawaiian name meaning “sky”
- Leia: Hawaiian name meaning “child of heaven”
- Leilah: Hebrew name meaning “night”
- Li: Chinese unisex name that means “beautiful”, “black”, “reason”, “plum”, and “strength”
- Lila: Hebrew name meaning “of the night”
- Lilith: Hebrew name meaning “of the night”. This is also the name of the Mesopotamian storm deity who brings disease and death.
- Lucina: the name of an asteroid
- Malandra: Modern English name meaning “dark defender of mankind”
- Malinda: English name meaning “dark serpent”
- Melaina: Greek name meaning “dark”
- Melinda: Modern English name meaning “black serpent”
- Mellony: Old English name meaning “dark”
- Merle: English name meaning “blackbird”. This name is technically unisex, though it is mostly used in a feminine context.
- Morana: Slavic name meaning “death”
- Nisha: Hindi name meaning “night”
- Nox: Roman form of the goddess name “Nyx”
- Nyx: Greek goddess of the night
- Ourania: the Greek word for astrology – what’s bigger than the universe?
- Pneuma: Greek word meaning “dark breath”
- Psyche: Greek word meaning “animating spirit”
- Rajani: Hindi name meaning night.
- Rei: Japanese name meaning “nothing spirit” or “dark spirit”
- Thana: Greek name meaning “death”
- Tien: Vietnamese name meaning “angel”
- Valdis: Old Norse name meaning “goddess of the slain”
- Venus: Roman goddess of love
Learn More: Top 250+ Beagle Dog Names
Chocolate Labs Names
Chocolate labradors are distinctly different from black labs. Like their name suggest, the chocolate variation is brown in color. However, this brown can often be quite dark – to the point that it almost looks black. In that vein, here are some names that might be fitting for your chocolate lab:
- Acorn
- Almond
- Anise
- Arizona
- Auburn
- Beans
- Bear
- Beige
- Billie
- Blair
- Blakely
- Blanche
- Brew
- Brunette
- Burnell
- Buster Brown
- Butterscotch
- Cadbury
- Canoli
- Cappuccino
- Cedar
- Charlie Brown
- Chewbacca
- Chip
- Chocolate
- Clove
- Cola
- Copper
- Fudge
- Gravy
- Heath
- Hickory
- Java
- Khaki
- Mudd
- Pepper
- Russet
- Savannah
- Timber
- Toast
- Toffee
- Tootsie
- Topaz
- Truffles
- Tuscan
- Waffles
- Whiskey
- Wookie
Learn More: Top 800+ Mexican Dog Names
Good Black Lab Names
There are plenty of great Black Lab names out there. The best name is one that takes both your dog’s appearance and personality into account. Because of this, you might want to take a few days to get to know your canine before committing to a name.
- Ali
- Ash
- Axel
- Bandit
- Bronx
- Brooklyn
- Bruiser
- Bullet
- Butch
- Carbon
- Chopper
- Cinder
- Cosmo
- Dozer
- Dracula
- Dre
- Duchess
- Dusty
- Ebony
- Eclipse
- Elvira
- Ember
- Falcon
- Fang
- Floyd
- Frazier
- Galaxy
- Goth
- Graphite
- Gunner
- Harley
- Hendrix
- Jackal
- Jaguar
- Jedi
- Jinx
- King
- Leopard
- Magic
- Mamba
- Merlin
- Moon
- Morticia
- Mystery
- Mystique
- Nebula
- Nyx
- Onyx
- Opal
- Pearl
- Penguin
- Phantom
- Puma
- Raider
- Raven
- Rebel
- Riddick
- Rorschach
- Sarge
- Shadow
- Shady
- Slate
- Smokey
- Spider
- Spike
- Stormy
- Tank
- Tarmac
- Twilight
- Tyson
- Vinnie
- Vortex
- Wolf
Learn More: Top 800+ Rottweiler Names
Unique Black Lab Names
Looking for something that will stand out at the dog park? Some names for black dogs are quite stereotypical. Just think about how many dogs named “shadow” you’ve met. Here are some unique names that are fitting for darker-colored dogs:
- Ajax
- Beef
- BonBon
- Boris
- Boudin
- Bryson
- Buckwheat
- Burger
- Buzz
- Carlos
- Carmela
- Chex
- Chiquita
- Chorizo
- Church
- Claire
- Clayton
- Colby Jack
- Corbin
- Corduroy
- Cream
- Divot
- Doris
- Ethan
- Fable
- Gibson
- Hera
- Hobbes
- Hurricane
- Jack Daniels
- Jane
- Jewel
- Jolene
- Jonas
- Journey
- Juju
- Kiko
- Klondike
- Kovu
- Kya
- Ladybug
- Latte
- Leela
- Leona
- Lois
- Marigold
- Maurice
- Mavis
- Maynard
- Meera
- Melon
- Merida
- Milkshake
- Mitzi
- Moonpie
- Patch
- Patience
- Pesto
- Plum
- Poptart
- Rhea
- Riesling
- Rita
- Sara
- Skyler
- Snacks
- Soba
- Soda
- Stark
- Stash
- Steven
- Story
- Suri
- Timmy
- Toaster
- Tonka
- Tuck
- Tugboat
- Virgil
- Virginia
- Wendy
- Wizard
Learn More: Top 400+ Red Dog Names
Now It’s Time for You to Choose a Name!
We’ve included some of the best black Labrador Retriever names out there for you to choose from. After searching through our long list, it’s time for you to actually select one!
Of course, picking a name might take longer than you originally anticipated. You might switch back-and-forth between a few different names for a few days before finally deciding on one. Luckily, this won’t confuse your canine much, since it takes at least a few days for a dog to learn their name.
With that said, you do want to choose a name eventually. If you have others in your family, you should include them in the decision process as much as possible. You should also ensure that everyone in your family can pronounce whatever name you select, especially if you have small children.
Preferably, your dog’s name should be short. This makes it easier for you to say and will help your dog remember it faster. If you do choose a longer name, consider selecting a nickname as well for training purposes.
