Villainous pets: Surprise frontrunners as top dog, cat breeds and names revealed

Queenslanders love their pets, but they do have favourites. New data reveals the state’s most popular dog and cat breeds, as well as Australia’s top pet names for 2021.

A new study conducted by Hill‘s Pet Nutrition Australia has revealed Queensland’s top dog, cat breeds and trending names across Australia.

The findings from the research looked at over 368 million Google searches to conclude popular dogs and 163 million google searches for cats.

While golden retrievers were ranked number one nationwide, the study revealed the Cavoodle to be the state‘s most popular dog, followed by French bulldogs, Australian shepherd and border collie.

Toy Cavoodle named Yoshi plays in the sand. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

The maine coon, however, was Queensland‘s favourite cat breed and Australia’s, having up to 820,000 searches, followed by the bengal, ragdoll and sphynx.

The names ‘Loki’ and ’Cruella’ were the most trending pet names referencing ’God of Mischief’ from the recent Marvel movie and Cruella de Vil the Disney film The Hundred and One Dalmatians.

Top pet names also included Olivia, Raya, Autumn, Moxie and Shang Chi.

Hill‘s Pet Nutrition professional veterinary Affairs manager Annabel Robertson said “quirky” names were inspired by current events, popular culture, movies, music to food.

“Our study revealed new contenders within the topmost searched spots this year, as naming trends appear to have been affected by what‘s happening in the world around us within both current culture and behaviour,” Mrs Robertson said.

German shepherd dog in action.

Loki and Cruella dominated the most searched name of 2021, which is “reflective of the nation‘s entertainment consumption during the pandemic.”

“The data suggests present circumstances do affect search trends, impact inspiration and therefore likely influence naming choice.”

QUEENSLAND‘S TOP 10 MOST POPULAR DOG BREEDS:

1. Cavoodle

2. French Bulldog

3. Golden Retriever

4. Australian Shepherd

5. Border Collie

6. German Shepherd

7. Pomeranian

8. Greyhound

9. Rottweiler

10. Pug

QUEENSLAND‘S TOP 10 MOST POPULAR CAT BREEDS:

1. Maine Coon

2. Bengal

3. Ragdoll

4. Sphynx

5. Siamese

6. Persian

7. British Shorthair

8. Norwegian Forest

9. Burmese

10. Devon Rex

TOP 10 MOST POPULAR DOG NAMES:

1. Loki

2. Autumn

3. Moxie

4. Chewy

5. Lady

6. Ava

7. Gimlet

8. Sophie

9. Odie

10. Mimi

TOP 10 MOST POPULAR CAT NAMES:

1. Cruella

2. Olivia

3. Loki

4. Shang Chi

5. Raya

6. Wanda

7. Lady

8. Dominic

9. Agnes

10. Lil Nas X