200 Yorkshire Terrier Name Ideas

Before you fall for a name because it looks precious on a tiny bone-shaped tag, run it through one test: can your dog pick it out of a noisy room? That’s the whole job of a name. A long career of training and a lot of fosters later, I can tell you the names that stick share three things. They’re short, one or two syllables. They land on a bright or hard sound, a “y,” an “o,” a “k,” a “z,” something that carries. And they don’t sound like anything you’ll shout in the same breath as the name.

That last part trips people up. You build a recall by making the dog’s name mean “look here, good stuff is coming.” If the name rhymes with a cue, you’ve muddied it before you started. “Beau” and “no” are a coin flip from across a kitchen. “Kit” and “sit” blur. “Shay” sits right on top of “stay.” A Yorkie is a bold, bright little terrier, so it hears a crisp name well, but that same brain will happily ignore a mushy one. Keep the test in your pocket while you read, because a name you can’t call clean is a name you’ll quietly abandon.

Regal and fancy names

The Yorkie started as a working ratter, but it grew up into the dog people dress in bows and carry into nice hotels, so the dressy, aristocratic names suit it and, honestly, most of them call well too. Duke, Duchess, Baron, Countess, Earl, Prince, Princess, Queenie, Royal, Noble, Windsor, Ascot, Sterling, Pearl, Diamond, Jewel, Tiara, Beau, Fabian, Winston, Majesty, Regal.

Yorkshire and British names

This is the breed’s home turf, so a nod to Yorkshire and northern England fits a Yorkie better than any other dog. Some of these are towns and rivers up in the Dales, some are just good solid British names, and a few tip a hat to the writers and the country vet who made the place famous. Whitby, Ripon, Skipton, Bronte, Herriot, Dale, Moor, Wharfe, Aire, Bramble, Nigel, Basil, Reggie, Percy, Alfie, Maisie, Elsie, Bea, Poppy, Fergus.

Classic dog names

Nothing wrong with a name that’s been working since your grandmother’s little dog. These age well and they call easy. Max, Buddy, Charlie, Bailey, Cooper, Toby, Rocky, Bruno, Molly, Maggie, Sadie, Daisy, Lucy, Bella, Sophie, Rex, Jack, Sam, Lady, Gus.

Tiny and cute names

A Yorkie is four to seven pounds of silk that grins at you all day, so the small, soft names land here in a way they wouldn’t on a Lab, and most of these still pass the yard test. Pip, Peanut, Button, Pixie, Bitsy, Dot, Bean, Nugget, Wisp, Puff, Squirt, Sprout, Pebble, Chip, Poco, Munchkin, Peewee, Coco, Gigi, Lulu, Boo, Mochi.

Feisty and spunky names

Here’s where I’d actually push you, because it fits the dog. A Yorkie has the nerve of a dog five times its size, and a name with a little swagger suits that terrier attitude and reminds everyone, including you, that this is a real dog. Rebel, Scrappy, Boss, Bandit, Rowdy, Ziggy, Spike, Diesel, Turbo, Rocket, Bolt, Dash, Sparky, Rascal, Tank, Chief, Ninja, Jinx, Zorro, Bruiser, Nitro, Rambo.

Names by coat color

A Yorkie hands you a two-color shortcut, blue and gold, but with a twist: the coat changes as the dog grows. Puppies are born black and turn a steel blue over the first couple of years while the tan warms to gold, so a color name you pick at eight weeks may not match the grown dog at all. If you want the why, the Yorkshire Terrier colors guide walks through the whole clearing. For the steel-blue side of the coat I lean Blue, Slate, Steel, Storm, Smoky, Ash, Silver, Shadow, Indigo, Denim, or Greyson. For the gold and tan side, the part that only deepens with age, try Goldie, Sunny, Honey, Amber, Ginger, Copper, Marigold, Butterscotch, Penny, Saffron, or Tawny.

Food and treat names

Food names are funny on a dog this size, and they run short, which I like for training, because you’ll get a tail going every time you say one at dinner. Biscuit, Muffin, Waffle, Noodle, Pretzel, Olive, Cookie, Cupcake, Churro, Nacho, Pesto, Cannoli, Sushi, Taco, Truffle, Toffee, Nutmeg, Latte, Mocha, Bagel.

Popular boy names

These are the ones I hear most on the little males, and there’s a reason. They’re crisp and they land. Milo, Leo, Otto, Finn, Ollie, Louie, Gizmo, Teddy, Jasper, Archie, Bentley, Murphy, Frankie, Cosmo, Hank, Loki, Walter, Oscar, Benji, Rocco.

Popular girl names

Same idea for the girls, soft enough for a fluffy pup, sharp enough to call across the yard. Luna, Rosie, Ruby, Lola, Stella, Nala, Winnie, Mabel, Millie, Gracie, Piper, Cleo, Nova, Hazel, Belle, Zoe, Mia, Elsa, Willa, Roxie.

A few unisex picks

If you haven’t met the puppy yet, or you just don’t care about pink and blue, these go either way. Scout, Riley, Quinn, Sage, Remy, Pippin, Juno, Bao, Wren, Fig.

How to test a Yorkie name before you commit

Once you’ve got a shortlist, do this before it goes on a tag. Stand across a room and say each name once, in a normal happy voice, the way you’d actually call the dog. The right one feels easy in your mouth and cuts clean. The wrong one makes you raise your voice or say it twice, and that’s your answer. Then say it back to back with your other pets’ names, your kids’ names, and the words “no,” “sit,” “stay,” and “down.” If it clashes or blurs with any of them, cross it off, because you’ll be saying all of those in the same five minutes for the next dozen years.

Naming a second little dog? Keep the two names different in sound, not just spelling. “Bailey” and “Hailey” are a mess across a yard; “Pip” and “Juno” are clean. And if you’ve taken on an older rescue with a name you don’t love, you can change it. Yorkies are food-motivated and quick to learn, exactly the wiring that makes a name swap easy. Pick the new one, pair it with treats for a week or two, and even a set-in-its-ways adult learns to answer fast.

Whatever you land on, the name only earns its keep when the dog comes running to it. Choose the one you like, then spend the first week saying it once and paying up with a treat or a scratch every single time, never burning it as a scold. Don’t repeat it five times when she ignores you, and don’t use it to summon her for a nail trim she hates. That happy sound is the first brick in a recall, which is the real work with this bold little breed and the heart of the Yorkshire Terrier training guide.

For everything else about living with one, start with the full Yorkshire Terrier breed guide. If your color-based pick hinges on how the coat turns out, read why a Yorkie changes color in the colors guide first. And if you’re still deciding which small dog is coming home, browse the rest of the AKC Toy Group before you settle on a name.