Desi Dog Names: Indian Names for Male and Female Dogs

The best desi names are the ones you’d shout across a colony park without feeling silly: short, warm, and a bit funny. Plenty of Indian dogs are named after a sweet or a snack, and once you’ve met a Laddoo you understand why. Here are names that sound right on an Indie, a Lab or a Beagle, with what they mean.

Sweet and snack names

Every Indian kitchen has a dog name in it.

• Laddoo (a round sweet), for a round, happy puppy
• Jalebi, for a dog that never walks in a straight line
• Barfi, a milk sweet
• Peda, Rasgulla, Kulfi, Malai (cream)
• Kaju (cashew), Pista, Chikoo
• Mirchi (chilli), for a dog with attitude
• Haldi (turmeric) or Kesar (saffron), for a golden coat
• Momo, Idli, Dosa, Vada, Pakoda
• Chai, for the stray who first turned up at the tea stall

Names for boys

• Sheru, a little lion; Shera in Punjabi
• Raja, king
• Veer, brave
• Bholu, the innocent one
• Motu, the chubby one, and Chotu, the little one
• Toofan, storm, for the one who runs through the house
• Badal, cloud
• Bheem, after the strongest Pandava, for a big dog
• Bagheera, the panther in The Jungle Book, for a black Indie
• Kuttan, an affectionate Malayalam name for a little boy

Names for girls

• Rani, queen
• Pari, fairy
• Titli, butterfly
• Bijli, lightning
• Chandni, moonlight, and Tara, star
• Sona, gold, and Thangam, gold in Tamil
• Gudiya, doll
• Chutki, the tiny one
• Mishti, sweet in Bengali
• Rimjhim, the sound of light rain, for a monsoon puppy

Names that work for any dog

• Kutty, little one in Tamil and Malayalam
• Bujji, a Telugu pet name for a little one
• Golu, the round one
• Dhoop, sunshine
• Gully, for a dog found in a lane
• Desi, if you want to say it straight

How to pick one

• Short and ending in a vowel. The American Kennel Club suggests one or two syllables ending in a vowel (AKC). Most desi names already are: Laddoo, Rani, Bholu, Kutty.
• Not like a command. AKC’s example is “Kit”, which sounds like “sit”. If you train in Hindi or Kannada, check the name doesn’t sound like your word for sit, no or come.
• One that grows with the dog. Chotu is sweet on a puppy and funny on a full-grown Indie. Some people choose it for exactly that reason.
• Ask before you borrow. Many families avoid naming a dog after a god or an elder. If the name belongs to a relative or a neighbour, ask them first.
• Try it out loud. Call it across the room a few times. If you’d be shy calling it at the park gate, pick another.

Then teach it: say the name, and reward the moment your dog looks at you. A few days of that and the name sticks.

Bringing home an Indie? Read Indie dog care for why desi dogs are the way they are, and your puppy’s first week for the nights ahead.