Hunting Dog Names: 200 Good Name Ideas for a Hunting Dog

If you are the proud owner of a brand-new hunting dog puppy or have adopted a hunting dog and are looking for an appropriate name, many monikers are to choose from. You may want to name your pooch after a family member, a celebrity, your favorite author, a mythical creature, or a deity. There are limitless choices out there, and this article will seek to help you decide on what name is most appropriate for your hunting companion.

What is a Hunting Dog?

First of all, what exactly is a hunting dog? We know that dogs and humans have been living, playing, and working together for thousands of years, and domesticated dogs have been some of our earliest hunting partners. Over hundreds of years, people have developed many breeds that help us hunt, and each breed was developed to possess certain skills that help us find different types of games.

Hunting dogs are typically athletic and sturdy and have hair coats made for hunting and traversing specific terrains such as tall grasses and water. More importantly, hunting dogs have noses that help them sniff and flush out game.

Some hunting varieties were bred to locate big or small game, others bred to flush out game and birds, and others to retrieve game.

If you are looking for an appropriate name for your hunting dog, you may consider a name that fits the breed and the job. For example, if you have brought a labrador retriever into your home to retrieve waterfowl, you could opt for a water-type, such as “Ariel” (from the Little Mermaid) or “Tefnut” (the Egyptian goddess of water). Doing some online research may help in picking out some appropriate names for your canine hunting companion.

Classic Hunting Dog Names

Hunting dogs were bred hundreds of years ago, and many classic hunting dog names come from National and Field Trial Champions. The first recorded hunting dog Field Trials began in Britain in 1866, and the US’s first recorded field trial was held in 1874 in Tennessee. Since then there have been many famous hunting dogs since the formation of the annual US National Trials.

In the early days of field trial competitions, most of the participating breeds consisted of pointing dogs or bird dogs. Participants in the earlier trials included English Pointers, and Gordon, English, Irish and Native Setters.

The winner of the first National Trials in 1896 was a setter named “Count Gladstone,” and another setter, “Shadow Bo,” won the Nationals more recently in 2013.

“King Buck,” a labrador retriever, was the National Field Trial Champion from 1952-to 1953, and a pointer named “Snake Foot” won the National Shooting Dog Championship and was the Shooting Dog of the Year in 1970.

Other classic hunting dog names include past Field Trial champions “Cider” and “Tober,” labrador retriever “Augustus Fink Nottle,” setters “Hank” and “Dash,” and the Gordon Setter “Stetson.”

Other National Champions include “Lester’s Shock Wave,” “Coldwater Thunder,” “In the Shadow,” “Warhoot Roge,” “Bluff City Mike,” “Crossmatch,” “Volcanic Express” and “Miss One Dot.”

The first Brittany National Amateur Champion was “Bub,” and the first Weimaraner National Field Champion was “Unserhund Von Seiger.” The National Amateur Field Champion was “Fran’s Dee Dee Von Heiser,” and the Irish Setter Club of America ran its first National Championship field trial in 1979 with “FC Ramblin Red Banshee.” In 1979 the National Amateur Champion was “Ivor Glenn Dinah.”

According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), up to 32 dog names could be appropriate for your pup. These names include:

• Chase/Chaser: A good choice for tracking or retrieving a dog.
• Hawk/Hawkeye: A good one from the James Fennimore Cooper book Last of the Mohicans or the Marvel hero.
• Bear: A strong name for a big fluffy dog.
• Seal: A good name for a swimmer or water retriever inspired by the Navy SEALs.
• Buck: Inspired by the canine hero in Jack London’s book The Call of the Wild.
• Fox/Foxy: A great idea for a quick and agile canine.
• Sarge: Short for sergeant.
• Blitz: Describes an all-out football move.
• Neptune: Great if you have a Labrador or Golden Retriever.
• Duke: A popular name that conveys authority.
• Dixie: A little bit of Southern charm.
• Diesel: for those fans of Vin Diesel.
• Artemis: The Greek goddess of the hunt.
• Xena: Another great pick for a female hunting dog originating from Greek mythology.
• Hercules: A great for a strong dog like the mythical character in Greek mythology.
• Rex: The Latin word for king.
• Arrow. A nice choice for crossbow hunting pals.
• Gunner. Like to hunt with a gun? You get the idea.
• Boomer. The idea is after the sound that your rifle makes.
• Hunter. Pretty obvious.
• Scout. A popular name for trackers.
• Dash. A nice pick for flushing dogs.
• Bolt. Also great for flushing dogs.
• Trapper. Great for treeing dogs.

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Tough Name Ideas

Looking for a big and tough name for your pooch? How about some of the following:

Male Hunting Dog Names

• Anakin: From the Star Wars character.
• Aiden: Irish for “Little Fire.”
• Ajax: The warrior from Greek mythology.
• Apollo: The Greek God of “Divine Distance.”
• Augustus: From the Latin “Magnificent.”
• Blade: From the English “blade,” or “sword.”
• Boris: From the Slavic term for “glory in battle.”
• Brick: Implies strong as stone.
• Bronco: A name with a Western theme.
• Bruno: From the German term “Brown.”
• Caesar: After the Roman emperor.
• Cairo: “victorious” in Arabic.
• Champion: Enough said.
• Cassius: From the Latin “helmeted warrior.”
• Chase: A great name for a fast pup.
• Colton: Has a nice Western twang.
• Damon: Greek origin for “tamer” or “one who tames”.
• Dante: A reference to Dante’s Inferno.
• Denali: After a mountain.
• Draco: Dragon-like.
• Ethan: Hebrew origin which for “strong.”
• Elvis: For music fans.
• Falcon: A good choice for a birder.
• Farrell: A Celtic name meaning “brave.”
• Faust: Italian for “lucky.”
• Feargal: Irish origin meaning “brave and courageous.”
• Fearghus: Irish origin meaning “a man of great strength.”
• Felix: Latin name meaning “lucky.”
• Ferguson: Irish origin, for the son of the rock.”
• Frederik: A German for “leader.”
• Gabriel: Hebrew for “God is my strength.”
• Gage: A term for “pledge.”
• Griffin: Welsh for “Strong in faith.”
• Hardwin: An English name meaning “brave friend.”
• Hasson: Irish origin meaning “strong” or “fortress.”
• Herbert: German origin which means “army.”
• Harley: For motorcycle fans.
• Homer: From the Greek author.
• Ivar: Icelandic for bow warrior.
• Imre: Hungarian for Strength.
• Igor: Scandinavian for heroic warrior.
• Jian: man of strength from Arabic.
• Jedrek: Polish for strong man.
• Jerry: Irish name meaning brave spearman.
• Kano: Japanese, meaning masculine power.
• Kawan: Korean, meaning strong.
• Kalmin: Scandinavian meaning manly and strong.
• Kenzo: Japanese name for strength.
• Liam: Irish for “strong-willed warrior”.
• Ludwik: A German name meaning fighter.
• Leonardo: An Italian/Spanish name meaning brave lion.
• Mauz: A Hebrew name meaning strength.
• Magnus: Latin, meaning the greatest.
• Miles: Latin, meaning soldier.
• Max: German name meaning greatest.
• Neron: Spanish for strong.
• Nolan: Gaelic for “champion”.
• Ned: English, meaning healthy guardian.
• Osiris: Ancient Egyptian for strong eyesight.
• Oz: Hebrew for “strength”.
• Owen: Welsh name meaning young warrior.
• Ondrej: Slovakian, meaning man warrior.
• Patton: After the famous general.
• Quillon: Latin name meaning strong.
• Qadir: Arabic for powerful.
• Quiver: English name meaning arrow holder.
• Ryker: Danish, meaning super strength.
• Ricardo: Italian name meaning powerful ruler.
• Remo: English/Greek name meaning the strong one.
• Rinc: Anglo Saxon for “mighty warrior”.
• Sanosuke: Japanese name meaning fighter.
• Safdar: African for “fighter”.
• Shogun: Japanese for ruler.
• Thor: Name of North god of thunder.
• Takio: Japanese name meaning strength.
• Takeshi: Japanese, meaning military martial.
• Thane: Scottish name meaning chief.
• Ubaldo: German, meaning bold and brave.
• Umberto: Italian for a renowned warrior.
• Udo: Teutonic, meaning prosperous.
• Uisne: Scottish for “man of force”.
• Wyatt: English for strong.
• Walt/Walter: English name meaning ruler of an army.
• Warner: English for a covered warrior.
• Wigman: English name meaning warrior.
• Xander: Greek, meaning protector of man.
• Xavion: fighter.
• Xanthus: Greek, meaning river God.

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Female Hunting Dog Names

• Aila: Gaelic for “from the strong place.”
• Alexandra: The feminine version of Alexander, meaning “protector” or “defender of men.”
• Amira or Ameera: Arabic for “commander” or “princess.”
• Artemis: Artemis was the ancient Greek goddess of the hunt and the moon.
• Athena: Athena was the Greek goddess of war and wisdom.
• Brianna: Old English for “noble” and “honorable.”
• Bridget: A popular Irish for “Power.” Brighid was also the Celtic goddess of wisdom, poetry, and fire.
• Bryndis: A Scandinavian name meaning “armored goddess.”
• Colette: From the French “people of victory.”
• Diana: Diana was similar to the Greek goddess Artemis, another goddess of the hunt and the moon.
• Fallon: From the Irish term meaning “leader.”
• Gabriella: The feminine version of “Gabriel,” meaning “God is my strength.”
• Hera: Hera was the wife of the ancient Greek god, Zeus.
• Ina: Another royal name meaning “queen” or “royalty” in several cultures.
• Jasira: From the Arabic meaning “bold” or “courageous.”
• Kainda: A Kenyan, meaning “hunter’s daughter.”
• Kana: After a Hawaiian demigod, the term means “powerful.”
• Kendra: Welsh name meaning “wise ruler.”
• Leola: From the Welsh meaning “great ruler.”
• Moxie. “Strength of character.”
• Myla. “Soldier” in Latin.
• Neilina: From the Gaelic “champion.”
• Oma: Meaning “leader” in Arabic.
• Philomena: From the Greek “lover of strength.”
• Qadira: The Arabic for “powerful.”
• Ragnilda: Scandinavian for “all-knowing power.”
• Reika: German for “power of the wolf.”
• Rhiannon: Welsh term meaning “great queen'” or “goddess.”
• Sigrid: Scandinavian meaning “beautiful victory” or “beautiful wisdom.”
• Tiaret: Arabic for “lioness.”
• Velda: German for “ruler” or “power.”
• Victoria: Form the Latin term “victory.”
• Wilma: German for “helmet of will” or “protection.”
• Zaila: Arabic for “might” or “power.”
• Zenevieva: Slavik for “woman of the people”.

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Hunting Dog Names Based on Nature

Looking for a name inspired by nature? How about some of the following?

• Iris
• Daisy
• Sky
• Blossom
• Autumn
• Summer
• Petunia
• Holly
• Poppy
• Savannah
• Berry
• Tulip
• Coral
• Meadow
• Ivy
• Dawn
• Misty
• Amber
• Sequoia
• Blizzard
• Summer
• Midnight
• Sunny
• Aspen
• Primrose
• Brooke
• Rose
• Violet
• Clementine
• Aurora
• Clove

Animal-Inspired Hunting Dog Names

Looking for a name inspired by animals? How about some of the following:

• Goose
• Badger
• Fox
• Boa
• Hawk
• Colt
• Finch
• Grizzly
• Finch
• Grizzly
• Coyote
• Buck
• Bear
• Raven
• Wolf
• Moose
• Bull

Namespiration from Famous Hunters and Shooters

Looking for more ideas based on famous hunters? Maybe try some of those listed below.

• Frank “Bunny Allen (1906–2002) was an English-born professional safari guide in Kenya
• George “Yank” Allen (1867–1924) was an American-born professional African ion hunter.
• Major Gordon H. “Andy” Anderson (1878–1946). British soldier, elephant hunter, and safari guide
• William Charles Baldwin (1826–1903). English-born big-game hunter in 19th century South Africa.
• Frederick Grant “Deaf” Banks (1875–1954). Elephant hunter and game ranger in Uganda
• Baron “Blix” von Blixen-Finecke (1886–1946). Writer and professional safari guide.
• Peter Hathaway Capstick (1940–1996). American big-game hunter and author.
• Cigar (19th Century). African elephant hunter.
• Quentin Oliver Grogan (1883–1962). English-born big-game hunter in East Africa.
• Sir Wiliam Cornwallis Harris (1807–1848) was an English military engineer, artist, naturalist, and hunter
• Sir Alfred Sharpe (1853–1935). British adventurer, planter, lawyer, and professional hunter.
• Colonel “Jim” Corbett (1875–1955). British Indian soldier, conservationist, writer, and hunter.
• John Champion Faunthorpe (1871–1929) was an English-born British Indian administrator, soldier, horseman, big-game hunter, and sports shooter
• Ganga Singh (1880–1943). A maharaja who hunted extensively both in India and beyond.
• Patrick “Paddy” Cahill (c.1863–1923) was an Australian buffalo shooter.
• Holt Collier (1848 – 1936). American soldier, cowboy, and bear hunter.
• Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961). American novelist, short story writer, journalist, and sportsman.

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