The Dogs of San Francisco | 51,379 licensed dogs
**51,379**dogs
**13,525**distinct names
**412**breeds
**26**neighborhoods
The registry over time
A decade of dogs
Every licensed dog, month by month. After a long slide from 2017, the registry rebounded to a record **11,200 in 2025**. Licenses still spike each spring, peaking in **May 2025**.
Only licensed dogs are counted here; recent license coverage is roughly **1 in 6 to 1 in 8** of the estimated **120,000–150,000** dogs in San Francisco. Useful sample, not a census.
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Dogs vs. babies
SF licenses more new dogs than babies
In 2025, San Francisco issued more first-time dog licenses than birth certificates. Since many dogs go unlicensed, new dogs likely outnumber births by about **2 to 1**.
Estimated unlicensed (uncounted)Licensed new dogs (counted)SF births
New dogs, licensed and estimated unlicensed, vs SF resident births, 2020–2025. Hover any year for the split. CDPH.
The names
Luna leads
San Franciscans register thousands of new dogs each year, and one name leads. **Charlie** led in 2017. **Luna** took over in 2018 and has held #1 every year since 2020.
Rank of the top names by year. Lower is more popular.
The leaderboard
The 16 most common dog names in San Francisco, by count.
1 Luna 448
2 Charlie 356
3 Bella 347
4 Coco 294
5 Max 266
6 Lucy 263
7 Daisy 250
8 Lola 222
9 Rocky 202
10 Milo 197
11 Buddy 195
12 Lucky 188
13 Cooper 186
14 Penny 180
15 Rosie 177
16 Bailey 171
The fastest-moving names
Change per 1,000 named SF dogs, 2017 to 2025. Sparklines show the trend.
#### ▲ Climbing fastest
Luna
+4.4/1k
Poppy
+3.1/1k
Ollie
+2.5/1k
Millie
+1.7/1k
Scout
+1.6/1k
Teddy
+1.5/1k
#### ▼ Falling fastest
Riley
−2.2/1k
Lola
−2.0/1k
Buddy
−2.0/1k
Lucky
−1.6/1k
Buster
−1.6/1k
Lily
−1.5/1k
Names that come with a breed
Some names point to a breed: share of the name's dogs in its top breed, vs citywide.
Chico 32.7%Chihuahua 4.8×
Baby 28.3%Chihuahua 4.1×
Zeus 22.7%Pit Bull 4.9×
Lady 21.4%Pit Bull 4.6×
Blue 20.7%Pit Bull 4.5×
Mimi 20.7%Chihuahua 3×
Nina 20.4%Pit Bull 4.4×
Peanut 20.2%Chihuahua 2.9×
Angel 19.5%Chihuahua 2.8×
Diamond 18.9%Pit Bull 4.1×
Princess 17.4%Chihuahua 2.5×
Cookie 17.2%Chihuahua 2.5×
Hank 16.7%Labrador Retriever 3.8×
Sky 15.9%Pit Bull 3.4×
And then there are these
SF's funniest names, grouped by theme. Every count is real.
#### Straight off the menu
Miso 34
Tofu 32
Taco 32
Nacho 29
Bagel 18
Churro 18
Pancake 16
#### On a first-name basis
Walter 46
Frank 28
Stanley 27
Kevin 25
Norman 21
Larry 20
Murray 15
#### Famous fur-faces
Coco Chanel 14
Biggie Smalls 6
Betty White 5
Freddie Mercury 4
Stevie Nicks 4
Dolly Pawton 4
Buster Posey 4
#### Said it twice
Boo Boo 14
Bam Bam 13
Cha Cha 7
Bon Bon 6
Chi Chi 5
Lou Lou 5
Zsa Zsa 4
#### The bar tab
Whiskey 42
Guinness 18
Pinot 18
Jameson 11
Kahlua 7
Tequila 5
Bourbon 5
#### Born to misbehave
Bandit 60
Sassy 27
Rascal 15
Gunner 14
Diva 14
Trouble 10
Karma 10
#### Royals
Princess 92
Prince 72
Duke 64
Lady 56
King 38
Duchess 13
Queen 9
#### Big dog energy
Bear 134
Moose 85
Zeus 66
Thor 32
Tyson 31
Atlas 26
Diesel 20
Committed to the bit
Emperor Norton _×2_ Ziggy Stardust _×2_ Luke Skywalker _×2_ Frankie Sinatra _×2_ Sirius Black _×2_ Jack Sparrow _×2_ Indiana Bones _×2_ Chuck Norris _×2_
Sirs & princesses
Sir Archibald the Noodle Sir Dudley Fuzzlebottom Sir Wigglebutt Princess Grace of Monaco Princess Alexandra Buggler
Every name above belongs to a real licensed dog. The one-offs are one-offs. **Sir Archibald the Noodle** is one (1) dog in San Francisco.
The neighborhoods
Every neighborhood has a signature breed
The city splits by breed. **Chihuahuas** lead in the east and south; **Labradors** lead in the west and north. Signature breed shows what is unusually common in each area. For names, **Luna** leads nine neighborhoods, while **Charlie** takes the Inner Richmond, Marina, and North Beach.
Chihuahua Labrador Retriever Golden Retriever Poodle Pit Bull
Hover or tap: most common breed.
The shift
The Chihuahua is losing its crown
The Chihuahua still leads, but its share is down more than a quarter since 2017. **Golden Retrievers**, **Poodles**, and **French Bulldogs** are climbing. The city is getting bigger and fluffier.
Each breed's share by year. Solid lines rise; dashed lines fall.
Purebred or mutt
Three in five are purebred
About **61%** of licensed dogs have a single-breed label. The rest are mixes, with familiar designer crosses near the top.
**61.4%**_Purebred_**38.6%**_Mixed_
The designer-dog web: who crosses with whom. **Poodle** is the hub of nearly every cross. Hover or tap a breed to trace its ribbons.
Each ribbon is a two-breed cross; thicker means more dogs. Ordered by cross count.
The city's favorite crosses
Most common two-breed mixes among SF's mixed dogs.
Goldendoodle Golden Retriever × Poodle 620 Labradoodle Labrador Retriever × Poodle 577 Maltipoo Maltese × Poodle 428 Chiweenie Chihuahua × Dachshund 224 Bernedoodle Bernese Mountain Dog × Poodle 219 Cockapoo Cocker Spaniel × Poodle 213 Labrabull Labrador Retriever × Pit Bull 171 Cavapoo Cavalier King Charles Spaniel × Poodle 161 Jack Chi Chihuahua × Jack Russell Terrier 133 Sheprador German Shepherd × Labrador Retriever 95
The Marina is doodle country
Retriever×Poodle crosses (Golden- and Labradoodles) cluster in the Marina. Every neighborhood ranked by doodle density.
**1 in 22**_Marina / Cow Hollow_
**2.0×**_the citywide rate_
**#1**_of 26 neighborhoods_
**The Marina leads for doodles.** Marina / Cow Hollow has the highest concentration of Golden- and Labradoodles of any San Francisco neighborhood, **1 in 22** licensed dogs, about **double** the citywide rate of 1 in 43.
Marina / Cow Hollow#1 4.6%
Inner Richmond 3.8%
SoMa / Embarcadero 3.7%
Pacific Heights 3.4%
North Beach 3.3%
Haight-Ashbury 3.3%
Mission Bay 3.2%
West Portal / St. Francis Wood 3.2%
Outer Richmond 3.1%
Castro / Noe Valley 2.9%
Sunset / Parkside 2.7%
Glen Park / Twin Peaks 2.6%
Potrero Hill / Dogpatch 2.5%
Inner Sunset 2.4%
Russian Hill / Polk Gulch 2.2%
Presidio 1.7%
Mission / Bernal Heights 1.7%
Chinatown / Nob Hill 1.6%
SoMa 1.5%
Treasure Island 1.3%
Lake Merced / Stonestown 1.2%
Visitacion Valley / Portola 1.1%
Excelsior / Ingleside 1.0%
Tenderloin / Hayes Valley 0.8%
Embarcadero 0.6%
Bayview / Hunters Point 0.3%
Share of each neighborhood's licensed dogs that are a Golden- or Labradoodle. Dashed line marks the citywide average; bars run hot above it, cool below. Neighborhoods with at least 150 licensed dogs.
The palette
A city of mostly black dogs
More than one in four licensed dogs is black. After black, white, and brown, the coat list gets specific: brindle, merle, apricot, sable, and tricolor.
Black 26%White 15%Brown 13%Tan 11%Red 5%Tricolor 4%Cream 4%Gray 3%Brindle 3%
Primary coat color of all 51,379 dogs.
Every breed has a palette
Labs run black, Goldens gold, Frenchies everything.
Chihuahua
Labrador Retriever
Pit Bull
Golden Retriever
Poodle
French Bulldog
The dogs themselves
Past the puppy years, and almost all fixed
Few puppies make the registry. Most licensed dogs are adults, and nearly all are fixed. Here is the population at a glance, plus the city's archetype.
**86.5%**spayed or neutered
**6 yrs**median known age
**412**distinct breeds
**13,525**distinct names
Current age of licensed dogs
Recent licensed dogs with age on file, projected from first reported age. Not every registered dog.
The license itself
Most buy the cheap one-year tag; one in seven unaltered.
**1-year**_49%_**2-year**_12%_**3-year**_39%_
**9,719** licenses with a status on file are for unaltered dogs: about **1 in 8** (12%).
The most typical dog in San Francisco
Common traits, plus median known age.
🐕
Luna
A 6-year-old female **black****Chihuahua** from the **Mission**, spayed.
top name · **Luna**top breed · **Chihuahua**top color · **Black**most live in · **Mission / Bernal Heights**♀ female · **99.8%**
One in how many?
How rare is your dog?
Pick breed, coat color, and neighborhood. We'll estimate how many licensed SF dogs match.
Modeled across all 51,379 licensed dogs. Specific combinations are approximate.
Dogs like yours
**≈83**
black Chihuahua in Mission / Bernal Heights
Uncommon
roughly **1 in 617** SF dogs
A few twins around town.
By the name
Look up any name
Type a name to see how common it is and where it clusters.
Try
!Image 3: Watercolor of Luna, a black-and-tan Chihuahua wearing a gold LUNA tag
Search a name to see counts, breeds, and neighborhoods.
Adoptable twins
Find an adoptable twin
The dogs in the charts have homes. These dogs need one. Enter breed and color to find SF adoptables with a similar look.
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🐾 **Adoptions and donations go through the shelters.** We do not collect money. Listings come from seven SF shelters and rescues and link straight to each shelter's own adoption pages.
Pick a breed to see adoptable SF dogs. Newest listings first.