Black dogs have a striking coat. Their dark coloring makes them stand out from the crowd and provides an opportunity for you to name them something unique based on their coat color.
While you don’t HAVE to name your pooch something based on their coloration, this is an easy way to give them a fitting name.
We’ve gathered together some of the top black dog names to provide you with some naming inspiration. Some of these names are exceptionally unique, while others are more on the common side. Choose one of these names for your dark-colored pooch or use them as a launching pad to come up with your own!
Dark Pet Names
When you adopt a canine with a darker coat color, their coat opens up a huge array of naming possibilities. Here are some of our favorite names for darker pets:
- Bean: because beans are typically darker in color
- Blackberry
- Blackjack
- Cary: Irish name meaning “descendant of darkness”
- Cethin: Old Celtic name meaning “dark” and “swarthy”
- Ciardha: Gaelic name meaning “black” and “dark
- Cocoa: which is typically darker in color
- Dee: Scottish name associated with the River Dee, probably means “dark water”
- Duff: Scottish name meaning “dark”
- Dunn: English name meaning “dark-colored”
- Ephah: Hebrew name meaning “darkness” or “gloomy”
- Erebos: Deity in Greek mythology whose name means “sunset”
- Koli: Old Norse name meaning “coal”
- Leilah: Hebrew name meaning “night”
- Malinda: English name meaning “dark serpent”
- Mauri: Finnish name meaning “dark”
- Midnight
- Oreo: a fabulous name for a black and white dogs
- Rama: from the Hindi hero whose name means “dark”
- Sauda: Swahili name meaning “dark-complexioned”
- Sullivan: Irish name meaning “little dark eyes”
Learn More: Top 600+ Brown Dog Names
Good Names for Black Dogs
This list contains some of our favorite names for black-colored dogs. Many of these names are unique and provide a great way for your canine to stand out, though there are quite a few popular names on this list as well:
- Blake: Old English name meaning both “black” and “white”
- Braith: Welsh unisex name meaning “diversely-colored”
- Cham: Hebrew name meaning “blackness” and “heat”
- Colby: English name meaning “coal settlement”
- Delaney: Irish name meaning “black challenger”
- Doug: English name meaning “black stream”
- Kali: Hindi deity who is the wife of Shiva, meaning “the black one” and “devourer of time”
- Kanika: Egyptian name meaning “black”
- Li: Chinese unisex name with lots of meanings, like “beautiful”, “black”, “reason”, “plum”, and “strength”
- Malandra: Modern English compound name meaning “dark defender of mankind”
- Melaina: Greek name meaning “dark”
- Melinda: Modern English name meaning “black serpent”
- Mellony: English name meaning “dark”
- Merle: English unisex name meaning “blackbird”
- Sable: English name meaning “black”
Learn More: Top 900+ Australian Shepherd Dog Names
Famous Black Dog Names
Want to name your dog after someone famous? Here are some characters that are either black, wear the color black, or who are associated with the color black:
- Apollo
- Axel
- Batman
- Blackbeard
- Blade
- Bond
- Cash
- Debo
- Django
- Finn
- Gomez
- Jules
- Knight
- Kylo
- Lando
- Morpheus
- Morticia
- Murtaugh
- Neo
- Ninja
- Poe
- Pugsley
- Shaft
- Storm
- T’Challa
- Toto
- Trinity
- Vader
- Warlock
- Xena
- Zorro
Learn More: Top 150+ Harry Potter Dog Names
Big Black Dog Names
If your black dog is also quite large, you choose a name that combines these characteristics to get the perfect label for your pup. Try some of these names for your gigantic pooch:
- Amaterasu: Japanese name meaning “shining over heaven”
- Bear
- Beast
- Bronx
- Butch
- Captain
- Chopper
- Ciel: English name meaning “sky”
- Colossus
- Cordelia: the name of one of Uranus’s moons
- Fang
- Floyd: after the famous band
- Giant
- Inanna: Sumerian name meaning “lady of heaven”
- Lucina: the name of an asteroid
- Nisha: Hindi name meaning “night”
- Nox: Roman form of the name “Nyx”
- Nyx: Greek goddess of the night
- Orion: the name of a Greek Titan and a constellation
- Ourania: the Greek word for astrology – what’s bigger than the universe?
- Panda
- Panther
- Phobos: the name of a moon of Mars meaning “fear”
- Pluto: the underworld god in Greek mythology
- Raven
- Samar: Arabic name meaning “evening”
- Stallion
Learn More: Top 400+ Golden Retriever Dog Names
Black Girl Dog Names
Here are some black dog names for females. Some are more on the traditional side, while others a highly unique:
- Amaya: Japanese word meaning “night rain”
- Arima: Basque name meaning “soul”
- Atieno: African name meaning “born at night”
- Isra: Arabic name meaning “travel at night”
- Keres: Greek name for female “death spirits”, who were the daughters of Nyx
- Koko: Native American name meaning “night”
- Labitina: Roman goddess of funerals and the dead
- Lila: Hebrew name meaning “of the night”
- Lilith: Hebrew name meaning “of the night”. This is the name of the Mesopotamian storm deity though to bring disease and death.
- Morana: Slavic name meaning “death”
- 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”
Learn More: Top 350+ Pit Bull Dog Names
Male Black Dog names
If none of the other categories seem to describe your male dog, take a look at some of these names. We choose some of our favorite unique names for this list, so your dog is sure to stand out at the dog park when you choose one of these:
- Alastor: Greek name meaning “avenging spirit”
- Carbon
- Coal
- Doyle: Irish Gaelic name meaning “black stranger”
- Drogo: Anglo-Saxon word meaning “ghost”
- Duff: Scottish name meaning “black peace”
- Dusty
- Feirefiz: German name meaning “black and white son”
- Ferrer: Meaning “blacksmith” in a few different languages
- Kolr: Old Norse name meaning “coal”
- Kotori: Native American Hopi word for the screech owl
- Krishna: Hindi name meaning “the black”
- Marduk: Akkadian name meaning “solar calf”. This is the name of the god who killed the dragon Tiamat in Babylonian mythology.
- Merikh: The Arabic name for the planet Mars, meaning “death”
- Onyx
- Shadow
- Shady
- Shen: Chinese name meaning “deep”, “dark”, and “spirit”
- Slate
- Than: Short for the Greek word “Thanatos”, meaning “death”
- Thunder
Learn More: Top 150+ Japanese Dog Names
Funny Black Dog Names
If you’re looking for a name that really stands out, try one of these funnier ones:
- Agent
- Batman
- Bean: a common name that can be quite funny
- Boggy: as in a “bog”
- Boo
- Caviar: a dish that is usually darker in color
- Coka-Cola
- Dog in Black: as in “man in black”
- Expresso: because it doesn’t get much blacker than expresso
- Fudge
- Godiva: a chocolate brand
- Guinness: a dark beer
- Hershey’s: a very popular chocolate brand
- Inky
- Muddy
- Octopus: because they spray black ink
- Olive
- Penguin: a great name for a black and white dog
- Pepsi
- Raisin
- Sharpie
- Squid: this animal also sprays black ink
- Suede
- Tarmac
- Velvet
- Vonta: the “blackest black”
- Yeti
- Zebra
Learn More: Top 450+ Unique Dog Names
Cute Names for Black Dogs
Looking for something more delicate for your black-colored canine? This list includes everything from names based on flowers to modern English names:
- Anu: Sumerian god of the heavens and night sky
- Celeste: a French name meaning “celestial”
- Celio: Spanish form of the Latin word “Caelius”, meaning “sky”
- Diana: the Greek goddess of hunting and the moon
- Fia: Gaelic name that means “dark”
- Fiore: an Italian name meaning “flower”
- Hua: a Chinese name meaning “flower”, “dark”, and “magnificent”
- Lani: Hawaiian name meaning “sky”
- Leia: Hawaiian name meaning “child of heaven”
- Neptune: the name of a planet, likely meaning “wet”, “moist”, or “dark”
- Nero: Roman name likely meaning “black”
- Peanut
- Ryuu: Japanese name meaning “dragon spirit”
- Seal
- Venus: Roman goddess of love and the second planet in our solar system
- Zeru: Basque name meaning “sky”
Learn More: Top 100+ Badass Dog Names
Small Black Dog Names
Small, black dogs are truly special. They deserve a name that is fitting for their tiny statue and takes their darker color into account. Here are some very suitable names for these small canines:
- Boots: a great name for a dog with markings on their feet
- Carran: Irish Gaelic name meaning “little black one”
- Ciara: Irish feminine name that means “little black one”
- Ciaran: Irish Gaelic name meaning “little black one”
- Daven: English name meaning “little black one”
- Davina: English name meaning “little black one”
- Duana: Feminine form of the name Duane, which means “little black one”
- Keara: Irish Gaelic name meaning “little black one”.
- Kiss: as in Hershey’s kiss
- Lonan: Gaelic name meaning “little blackbird”
- Nigellus: Norman name meaning “little black champion”
- Pepper: a small, black spice
- Piran: Proto-Celtic name meaning “little black one”
- Sparrow: a small blackbird
- Spider
- Truffle: small, black plants in the mushroom family
Learn More: Top 300+ French Dog Names
Now It Is Time to Pick a Name!
After browsing through our long list of names, you’ll need to actually choose one! This can be more difficult than it might first appear, especially if you have multiple people sharing their opinions on names.
Feel free to play around with names for a few days. You never know what name will stick until you try a few.
The most important part of choosing a name is actually choosing a name! Years ago, I got a cat. I couldn’t decide on a name, and the kitten ended up getting called “Little Bit”. That’s still what she’s called today, which would be fine and dandy if she wasn’t a 25-pound Maine Coon. Learn from my mistake and choose a name for your pet before they just happen upon one.
