As you may have seen in my recent posts, we are down to our top two boy’s names - Maxwell (nickname Max) and Benjamin (nickname Ben, Benny, Benji). We really love both of these names and it’s getting down to the wire to pick one!
I have ONE niggling hangup about the name Max that’s been holding me back from fully loving it … and that’s the fact that it does seem to be a common name for people’s dogs. It’s not a complete dealbreaker, but I am curious what others think when they hear the name Max. Is there an immediate association with Max being a “dog name”? If so, would you personally rule out Max because of it?
My husband doesn’t think it’s a big deal and says there’s dogs with all kinds of people names, which is true. But for some reason in my head there are certain names that I have typically associated with dogs (e.g., Cooper, Milo) and Max was kind of one of them! Although I have been loving the name more and more for a little person lately 
. Interested to hear your thoughts, Berries!
- Do you think of Max as a “dog name”?
- Yes
- No
I have a cousin named [name_m]Max[/name_m] and I still strongly associate [name_m]Max[/name_m] as a dog name. It is a really nice name still and I don’t think that is a bad thing or that it should be the only factor to dissuade you from using the name if you love it
Max is a name given to dogs, but it it’s not a dog name. 
I personally don’t understand what people mean when they say that, because most of the names given to dogs are also popular for humans. Just because they are also commonly used for pets doesn’t mean they are exclusively usable for animals.
According to the AKC, the top four most popular names for dogs in 2024 were: Luna, Bella, Daisy, Lucy, Milo, Max, Teddy, and Charlie.
To compare, out of the top ten names for male dogs in 2024, all but three were in the top 200 for boys in the United States, and all but two were in the top 1,000. (The two that weren’t in the top 1,000 were Teddy and Ollie, whose common full names, Oliver and Theodore, were in the top ten for boys).
So, yes, Max is commonly used for dogs. But it’s also commonly used for humans, and I don’t think one negates the other.
I’m not sure if that helps at all, sorry!
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I don’t see it as (excursively) a dog name - and I have encountered plenty of humans called Max!
No i first think of where the wild things are. I wouldnt associate max with a dog
On the flip side, I’ve known a dog named [name_m]Ben[/name_m] but never a dog named [name_m]Max[/name_m] so I think it’s really a non-issue.
[name_f]My[/name_f] son’s name is [name_m]Maxwell[/name_m] and we call him [name_m]Max[/name_m]! I never felt like it reminded be of a dogs name. I may be biased but I think [name_m]Maxwell[/name_m] is a cool name and love that is has double nickname potential as [name_m]Max[/name_m] or [name_m]Wells[/name_m]!
There are so many human men named Max that it’d be hard to think of dogs instead!
I used to go by the nickname Molly which is often touted as a “dog name” online. The number of times anyone made any dog-related comments to me about my name: exactly 0.
I went to school with a boy named [name_m]Max[/name_m] and I don’t know anyone who has named their dog [name_m]Max[/name_m].