Luna has shot up to the top dog name in Wellesley after years of Bellas and Lucys duking it out for the title. Labrador Retrievers remain the most popular breed in town, though there are now oodles of doodles, too.
These are among the findings in perusing data from the town on licensed dogs, of which there is about 1 for every 10 people in Wellesley, and 1 for every 3 households.
All dogs over 6 months old residing in Wellesley must be licensed by the Town Clerk. New licenses are available each year from Jan. 1-March 31, and must be renewed annually to avoid a fine.
Depending on how lenient you are, and we know a lot of lenient dog owners, the ranking of most common dog names could go in different directions.
While we count 30 Lunas, followed by 25 Bellas, Cocos, and Teddys, there are a lot of Charlies, too. As in Charlie, Charley, Charli, Charlie Brown, and Charlie Carlino. Add those up and you’ve got a new leader. But we’re purists, here. See the full list embedded at the end of this post.
While we probably need to clean up the data some, it’s clear that even though many people give their dogs popular names, more than half of the licensed dogs have one-of-a-kind names in town. Among those: Blueberry, Bocce, Captain Biscotti, Dill Pickle, Fonzie, and Marshmallow.
As for breeds, Labrador Retrievers continue to rule, with nearly 400 in Wellesley. Golden Retrievers are hugely popular, too, with 268. Doodles—197 Goldens and 184 Labradoodles—are all the rage, with those numbers up from 175 and 154 in 2021.
Rare breeds in town include Doberman Pinschers, Mastiffs, Pekepoo, and Silky Terriers, with just one apiece.
The overall number of licensed dogs is up as well, from 2,861 last year to 2985. Pandemic pups, indeed.
More: Wellesley’s top dog names & breeds for 2021
The one Silky Terrier is named Tess and she just turned 15yrs old in March! She’s a fantastic friendly dog too!