Move over, Bella: NYC dog owners are now obsessed with a new pet name

Luna, Luna, Luna!

A new analysis of city data by pet goods company PawSafe.com found Luna is now top dog amongst mutt monikers.

In 2023, 1.11% of all dogs licensed in New York City were named Luna, edging out other popular labels such as Bella (1.01%), Coco (.84%), Milo (.76%) and Max (.75%).

“It’s a lovely name,” said Nicole Foley, a 34-year-old who lives in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.

When Foley adopted a chihuahua-mix in 2020, she was originally called Arya. Foley, who works in beauty product marketing, wanted to give her pet a new name that had a similar sound and tone and settled on Luna.

Other dog owners give various reasons for the appeal of the name, which can be traced back to ancient Rome, where the goddess of the moon was called Luna.

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Jaime Richichi, a luxury real estate broker and entrepreneur, adopted a chihuahua-terrier from Mexico in 2022, and planned to name the pup Sophie.

She eagerly prepared for the animal’s arrival with an ID tag, embroidered bed, and custom food mat — all emblazoned with “Sophie.”

But, when the dog arrived, she quickly realized that Sophie was “too sweet” and “innocent” for the mischievous mutt, who once destroyed a $1,000 pair of Valentino heels.

So, Richichi, a 41-year-old who divides her time between the Upper East Side and Sag Harbor, rechristened her Luna, as in luna-tic.

But, she notes the pup, who will be 3-years-old in October, has settled down with age.

“She’s the friendliest, most loving dog,” Richichi said.

Cristina, a New York University professor who lives in Murray Hill, also said her Boston terrier’s crazy personality inspired her to name the dog Luna.

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“It’s actually quite characteristic of her, she’s a little bit of a lunatic,” she said of the pet, whom she adopted four years ago from a family with a new baby that had allergies.

The terrier was originally called Chelsea, but Cristina, who hails from Romania, said that label didn’t suit either of them.

“It’s so American, and I’m not American,” the 47-year-old told The Post from Europe, where she and Luna were globetrotting this summer.

Cristina, who asked to use only her first name for privacy reasons, also loves the name because of its feminine nature and easy pronunciation — and the fact it is the Spanish word for moon.

“She is like the moon, very sensitive to other things,” Cristina said.

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Boris J., a resident of Bath Beach, Brooklyn, also named his dog because of her likeliness to the celestial body.

“She was grey, reminded me of the moon,” he said of his American bulldog, who was rescued as a 3-month-old puppy from a drug dealer.

“He was owed $3,000 for drugs and the person that owed him didn’t have the money, but he did have a puppy. So the dealer took the puppy as payment. But the drug dealer had to get rid of the dog immediately so a ‘friend’ took the dog off his hands,” he said of his Luna, now 5 years old.

“Through word of mouth, they knew I was looking for a dog and she ended up with me,” he added. “True story.”

Zachary Henson, a 39-year-old cybersecurity engineer, adopted a Schnauzer-mix in 2018. He and his wife thought they were being original when they changed her name from Jesse to Luna.

Over the years, they’ve realized the title isn’t exactly unique.

“It’s funny,” said the Crown Heights resident, whose pup has gained local notoriety for her rat-hunting prowess. “We’ve met about a half dozen [other dogs named Luna].”

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