There are many dog breeds that have all black or mostly black coats, including Chow Chows, Schipperkes, Labrador Retrievers, and Rottweilers. When searching for a name for your black dog, big or small, you can look for sources of inspiration from the color black, or even names meaning darkness and the night.
Big Black Dog Names
Big black dogs can be mixed breeds or breeds like Portuguese Water Dogs, Belgian Shepherds, and the massive Newfoundland. If you need a male or female black dog name for a large, bold dog, these choices may be perfect for you.
- Blackjack
- Cosmo
- Darth
- Elvira
- Indigo
- Inkwell
- Jaguar
- Knight
- Morticia
- Panda
- Panther
- Phantom
- Puma
- Raven
- Shadow
- Smokey
Small Black Dog Names
Just as there are big black dog breeds, there are several small dog breeds that come in black, such as the Pomeranian, Cocker Spaniel, and the Pug. These cute names would fit a small, precious black dog well.
- Ace
- Agate
- Beetle
- Bean
- Blackberry
- Inky
- Magpie
- Olive or Olivia
- Opal
- Oreo
- Poppy
- Prune or Prue
- Raisin
- Smudge
- Spades
- Spot
Unique Black Dog Names
If you want a more unusual name for your female or male black dog, these names are inspired by objects or foods that are black.
Popular Black Dog Names
These names are commonly used as monikers for black dogs, if you're looking for something more familiar to name your new pet.
- Ash or Ashes
- Batman
- Bear
- Chocolate
- Cinder
- Cocoa
- Coal or Cole
- Ebony
- Eve
- Jett
- Midnight
- Night
- Pearl
Black Dog Names Meaning Black, Darkness, and Night
These names come from different languages and exemplify concepts such as nighttime, darkness, dusk, and other black features like hair. Give your black dog one of these names for a more unique sounding name.
Name | Meaning | Male/Female/Unisex | Origin
- Abnus | type of dark wood | F | Persian
- Achlys | darkness | F | Greek
- Adham | black stallion | M | Arabic
- Adriana | dark | F | Spanish
- Adriano | dark | M | Spanish
- Amaya | night rain | F | Basque
- Blake | black | U | Old English
- Brangwen | dark and pure | F | Welsh
- Bruna | dark hair | F | German
- Caliban | black | M | Romanian
- Cary or Carey | dark | U | Gaelic
- Charna | black | F | Yiddish
- Ciara | dark or black | F | Irish
- Ciaran | dark or black | M | Irish
- Coakley | dark meadow | U | Old English
- Colley | dark hair | U | Old English
- Corbin | crow | U | Latin
- Corvinna | dark hair | F | Latin
- Darcy | dark one | U | French
- Devlin | little dark one | U | Celtic
- Dolan | black hair | M | Irish
- Donahue | dark fighter | M | Irish
- Donovan | dark-haired chieftain | M | Gaelic
- Dougall | dark stranger | M | Gaelic
- Douglas | black river | M | Scottish
- Doyle | black stranger | M | Irish
- Duncan | dark warrior | M | Gaelic
- Feardorcha | dark | M | Irish
- Finneas | dark | M | Persian
- Gethin | dark | M | Welsh
- Guadalupe | river of black stones | F | Spanish
- Hadrian | dark hair | M | Latin
- Hari | dark | M | Hindi
- Jemish | queen of darkness | F | Sanskrit
- Kakarauri | dusk or darkness | F | Māori
- Kara | black or dark, courageous | M | Turkish
- Keir | dark or black | M | Irish
- Kerry | dark hair | U | Irish
- Kyra | little dark | F | Sanskrit
- Laela or Layla | dark hair | F | Arabic
- Lila | night, play | F | Arabic/Persian
- Lonán | blackbird | M | Gaelic
- Manu | bird of the night | M | Polynesian
- Maureen | dark | F | Arabic
- Maurelle | dark, elfin | F | French
- Maurice | dark | M | Latin
- Maurus | dark | M | Roman
- Maury | dark | M | Latin
- Melanie | black, dark | F | Greek
- Melantha | dark flower | F | Greek
- Merel | blackbird | F | Dutch
- Merle | blackbird | U | French
- Miyako | beautiful night child | F | Japanese
- Moreno | dark | M | Spanish/Italian
- Morris | dark | M | English
- Myrtle | dark | F | English
- Nigel | black hair, dark hair | M | Irish
- Nisha | dark, night | F | Hindi
- Nox | dark, dusk | U | Latin
- Perran | little dark one | M | Irish/Cornish
- Pinchas | dark | M | Hebrew
- Rajnish | lord of the night | M | Hindi
- Ratree | night | F | Thai
- Risna | dark hair | F | Hindi
- Sauda | dark | F | Swahili
- Tinuviel | nightingale | F | Sindarin
- Tynan | dark | M | Gaelic
Black Dog Names From Other Languages
Another easy way to find a distinct name for a black dog is to look to other cultures. The word "black" in various languages can make a lovely name for your new black dog.
Name | Origin
- Aswad | Arabic
- Badeng | Balinese
- Beltz | Basque
- Černá | Czech
- Čornyj | Russian
- Czarny | Polish
- Den | Vietnamese
- Du | Welsh
- Dub | Hmong
- Dubh | Irish
- Dúdú | Yoruba
- 'Ele'ele | Hawaiian
- Fekete | Hungarian
- Geomjeong | Korean
- Gvhnage | Cherokee
- Hēisè | Chinese
- Hitam | Indonesian
- Itam | Tagalog
- Juodas | Lithuanian
- Kahòn:tsi | Mohawk
- Kālā | Hindi/Punjabi
- Klale | Chinook
- Kuro | Japanese
- Lusa | Choctaw
- Madow | Somali
- Mávros | Greek
- Melns | Latvian
- Mnyama | Xhosa
- Morë or Morna | Quenya
- Morn | Sindarin
- Must | Estonian
- Musta | Finnish
- Nero | Italian
- Noir or Noire | French
- Nyeusi | Swahili
- Pango | Māori
- Preto | Portuguese
- Qara | Azerbaijani
- Sápa | Lakota
- Schwarz | German
- Seedum | Thai
- Siyāh | Turkish/Persian
- Sort | Danish
- Svart | Norwegian/Swedish
- Tsídii | Navajo
- Zwart | Dutch
- Xap | Mongolian
Black Dog Names From Famous Real and Fictional Dogs
There are many well-known dogs, both real and fictional, that were black. Consider naming your black puppy after one of these unforgettable canines.
- Balto (Siberian Husky that led a famous sled team in 1925. He was primarily black)
- Barney (President Bush's Scottish Terrier)
- Baskerville (After Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles story)
- Chop (Grand Theft Auto V)
- Fala (President Roosevelt's Scottish Terrier)
- Fluffy (Three-headed giant black dog from the Harry Potter series)
- Grim (Evil black dog figure from Harry Potter series)
- Jock (Scottish Terrier from Lady and the Tramp)
- Kyle (Gru's black dog in Despicable Me)
- Mrs. Beazley (President Bush's Scottish Terrier)
- Sirius (Sirius Black from Harry Potter series took the form of a black dog)
- Sunny (President Obama's black Portuguese Water Dog)
- Toto (black Cairn Terrier in the Wizard of Oz)
Black Dog Names Based on Mythology
Another excellent source of inspiration for your black dog is world mythology and folklore. You can name your black dog after a god or goddess of the night or famous ghostly dogs.
- Al-Quam (A god of the night and war in Arabic mythology)
- Artemis (Greek goddess of the hunt who is associated with the moon and night)
- Cadejo (Latin American folklore tells of an evil large black dog with red eyes)
- Cerebus (Three-headed giant black dog that guards the underworld in Greek mythology)
- Chandra (Hindu god of the moon)
- Chernobog (In Slavic mythology, the god of darkness)
- Hades (Greek god of the underworld who is associated with darkness)
- Hecate (Greek goddess of witchcraft who is associated with the moon and the night)
- Kali (Hindu goddess of destruction, the name means "the black one.")
- Krishna (The major god in Hinduism, whose name means "black" or "dark")
- Lilith (In Judaism, the first wife of Adam. It means "of the night")
- Luna (Roman goddess of the moon)
- Melaina (In Greek mythology, a nymph whose name means "dark" or "black")
- Nótt (Norse goddess of the night)
- Nut (Egyptian goddess of the night)
- Nyx (Greek goddess of the night)
- Orpheus (Means "darkness of night" in Greek and was a poet who visited the underworld to find his wife)
- Rajani (Hindu name that means "the dark one" and another name for the goddess Kali)
- Ratri (Hindu goddess of the night)
- Shuck (Black Shuck is a legendary ghostly black dog roaming the English countryside)
- Selene (Greek goddess of the moon)
- Tsukuyomi (Japanese god of the moon)
Choosing the Best Name for Your Black Puppy
Black dogs are beautiful pets who deserve a name that stands out from the rest of the canine crowd. Whether you choose a name related to their color or follow a different naming route, make sure you find something that fits you and your dog's personality, their interests, and is something you'll enjoy saying for the lifetime of your dog.
