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 that Luna is now the most talked about dog.

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

“It’s a beautiful 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 named 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 different reasons for the name’s appeal, which can be traced back to ancient Rome, where the goddess of the moon was called Luna.

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 pet’s arrival with an ID tag, embroidered bed and custom feeding mat – all emblazoned with “Sophie”.

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

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

But, she notes, the dog, who will be 3 in October, has calmed down with age.

“She is the friendliest and 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.

“It’s actually quite typical of her, she’s a little crazy,” she said of the pet, who she adopted four years ago from a family with a new baby who had allergies.

The terrier was originally called Chelsea, but Cristina, who is from Romania, said the label didn’t fit 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 that only her first name be used for privacy reasons, also likes the name because of its feminine nature and easy pronunciation — and the fact that it’s the Spanish word for moon.

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

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

“She was gray, she 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 had $3,000 in drug debt and the person he owed didn’t have the money, but he had a puppy. So the merchant 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 now 5-year-old Luna.

“By 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 that the title isn’t exactly unique.

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