There is a distinct difference in the personalities and features of male dogs of all breeds. They tend to be more masculine and therefore should have a masculine sounding name. There are lists of male dog names for all sizes of dogs. Small male dogs that are very frisky and playful should have a name that suits their personality. Larger dogs should have a more forceful sounding name. Even when they are puppies, you should be aware of the size they will be when fully grown and take this into consideration when choosing a name.

The top twenty most popular names for male dogs are:
1. Jake
2. Max
3. Buddy
4. Bailey
5. Sam
6. Rocky
7. Buster
8. Casey
9. Cody
10. Duke
11. Charlie
12. Jack
13. Harley
14. Rusty
15. Toby
16. Murphy
17. Shelby
18. Sparky
19. Barney
20. Winston
You will notice from this list that the majority of names end in the long e sound. This is very common in naming dogs. It is probably because it makes the name easier to say and it suits both a puppy and an adult dog.

Other options in names for male dogs include the names of the letters in the Greek alphabet - Alpha, Beta, Gamma, etc. These names are easy to pronounce and will not be confused with any of the words associated with training commands. If you name your dog Fletch, for example, you will likely have a very difficult time training the dog to fetch because he will confuse it with his own name.

Choosing a name for your dog based on its personality is always a good idea because then others will have an idea of what to expect when they encounter the dog. The following are some suggestions for names for different personalities:

Affectionate Dogs: Ace, Adonis, Glory, Gem, Lucky, Legend
Big Dogs: Chubbs, Goliath, King, Magnum, Max

You might want to name your dog after an historical character, such as Achilles, Bonaparte, Caesar, Brutus, or Napoleon.

When choosing a name for your dog, try not to have it any longer than a couple of syllables. You should choose a name that is easy to say and one that it will be easy for the dog to learn. If you are having a hard time choosing a name from among all the names you like, you should write down all these names. Base the name on how you dog behaves. You can even try a few names or even all of them to see if the dog does respond in any way when you use a name. If he does, then you can say he chose his own name.

Give a name a test run to see how it fits both you and the dog. However, if you have an adopted dog you should stay with the name the dog already has because it will be very hard for him to get used to another name. How would you like it if someone decided they didn't like your name and decided to change it?