Best Military Dog Names For Service Members
- Steve @ Fetch The Sun
- Aug 13
- 6 min read
In the military, every name carries weight—whether it’s a call sign, a ship, or even your gear. For us service members, our dogs are more than pets; they’re family. As a 23-year veteran of the Navy, I've had a few pets named for military things - my first two cats were named Nautilus and Hampton (Hammy)- both names of submarines - I served on the USS Hampton for a few years and visited the USS Nautilus, now a museum, while at Submarine School in Groton, CT.
Anyway, if you want to name your dog (or cat, or pot belly pig, or whatever) after something military related, here’s a list of dog names for service members to spur your thoughts.
Hope you find some good ideas, and if you have anything you want added, send me an email of leave a comment below; please no profanity or derogative terms.
A List of Dog Names for Service Members
I broke the names out into separate categories, but some names are listed more than once as they can fit into multiple categories. These are not in alphabetical order or in order of importance, but rather in the order I have been coming up with them - maybe one day you'll come on here and I'll have put them in order- but not today...
You can click these links to go to the specific sections, or just keep scrolling to peruse the entire section; who knows, maybe you're a squid like me and want to pick an Army name, or maybe you're a grunt and want to name your new dog after a fighter jet...
Dog or Cat Names for Navy Ships
Hampton - A fast attack Submarine - my first, and only, submarine (SSN-767); like I mentioned above, I have a cat named Hampton who as of writing is 17 years old!
Eisenhower or Ike- An Aircraft Carrier (CVN-69) - did my first deployment on the Ike
Nimitz - Another Aircraft Carrier (CVN-68) and name of a Carrier class- named after the legendary Fleet Admiral Nimitz. My buddy's Pitbull was named very formally - Admiral Chester Nimitz!
Hopper- Was a Destroyer (DDG-70) named after Rear Admiral Hopper- she was a true pioneer in getting the Navy onto computers. Another one of my friend's Pitbulls was Admiral Grace Hopper
Zumwalt or Zooms/Zoommy- The first of the DDG-1000's and name of the ship class- Zumwalt was the 19th Chief of Naval Operations and youngest to have served in that role. I once had an Aussie Shephard mix named Zuma- close, but was named after Zuma Beach...
Truman - An Aircraft Carrier (CVN-75) that was named after the 33rd President of the US - coined the term "The Buck Stops Here"
Seawolf, or just Wolf- A submarine (SSN-21) featured in the Tom Clancy classic Hunt for Red October and name of the Seawolf class of Submarines that includes the Connecticut and the USS Jimmy Carter (not a lot of people really know what this boat does...)
Bosun - Short for Boatswain Mate
Barb- A World War 2 era submarine (SS-220) with a pretty daring history in both the European and Pacific Theaters- the USS Barb actually took out a train on mainland Japan- check out the story here- it's about in the middle of the page on the 2nd to last paragraph before "Suggested Reading"
Chili Mac- Not a ship, but a staple meal on pretty much every ship I've been on!
Albacore - A pretty rad name for a pup but was also another WW2 submarine- USS Albacore (SS-218) - unfortunately she was lost with all hands after presumably striking a mine in the Pacific Theater in 1944
Scuttle - Small opening, usually on the side of a ship
Devastator - if you got yourself a chewer- this one's for you! Also the name of a Minesweeper (MCM-6)
Boomer- For the BN crew!
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Dog Names for Military Aircraft
Hornet- from one of the Navy's most versatile platforms the F/A-18
Falcon or Viper- The Air Force's Fighting Falcon/Viper, AKA the F-16
Eagle- Another one of my favorite jets- the F-15
Chappy- Not a plane, but from Colonel Chappy Sinclair from one of the "best" 80's movies - Iron Eagle!
Maverick - TC's callsign in Top Gun - also one of my favorite 80's movies
Goose- Maverick's RIO in Top Gun, don't ask me how, but Goose became a nickname for our Golden Retriever Lucy...
Viking - from the mighty War Hoover S-3B! - My first jet I worked on as an Avionics Tech
Shark or Sharky- Another name that's not a plane, but you gotta admit that shark teeth painted on any aircraft looks pretty cool
Hellcat - From Grumman's F-6, suited for a mischievous cat...
Vern - Short for Edward Vernon Rickenbacker, a World War 1 Ace
Apache - Showing the rotary wing platforms so love- the AH-64 is a pretty sick helicopter
Phantom - From the Navy and Marine Corp's carrier based F-4
Huey- From the UH- Iroquois - an extremely versatile helo (MEDEVACs, fire support, transports, etc...) used extensively in Vietnam
Bird- Slang for aircraft
Dog Names for Ground Pounders
Sherman - For the mighty M4 Sherman Tank, named from GEN William Sherman of the Union Army
Bradley- Named from the infamous Bradly Fighting Vehicle! (See the movie Pentagon Wars)
Paladin- After the M109 Howitzer
Turret
Sabot - Armor piercing shell
Patton- For the M46-M60 tanks named after General George Patton
Gunner
Archie - Term from WW2 that Allied troops would call anti-aircraft guns
Trench
Big Red or just Red - Would be cool for an Irish Setter. From the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One)
Saber
Polar Bear or Bear - From the 31st Infantry Regiment- Polar Bears
Dog Names from Military Gear
Boots - If you've got adventure dogs like I do, Boots is a perfect name- always ready for action!
Alice- I'm kind of dating myself here - from the A.L.I.C.E. field pack system - All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment
Molly- Kind of ALICE's successor (some folks still use ALICE gear) - actual name is MOLLE- Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment
Canteen - I don't know why Adam Sandler's Canteen Boy always pops to mind when I say canteen...
Gator- from the neck gaiters we'd wear in the desert
Poncho - versatile piece of equipment and always there when you need it- just like a good dog!
Boonie- rugged hats for rain and shine
Radio
Ma Deuce or can shorten to something like Ma Dee- Slang for the M2 (Browning 50 cal)
Flash- From a flashlight or Flashbang- good for speedy little dogs
Ruck - Great if you love to hike with your dog(s)
Compass - An essential piece of gear for Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, and Airmen alike
Wooly - from the wool watch caps- I went to Navy bootcamp in Great Lakes, IL in the dead of winter- they really had us wearing ski masks with these watch caps on top and we were still freezing...
Tracer - from tracer rounds
Spoon or Spork - What's a good MRE without a spoon!
Sugar- Another MRE essential
Chunks - While we're on MREs - who could forget Chicken Chunks :-p !
MoMo - Abbreviation of Mark One/Mod One- a designation typically used for the first version / first modification. Would be a cool name for someone's first dog
Lid- slang for a cover or helmet
Flint- essential survival gear for starting fires for cooking and warmth
Beacon
Brodie - From the Brodie helmet designed by the British and used by allied forces in WW1
Dog Names from Military Ranks
Sarge
Gunny
Chief
Admiral
General
Private, or Fuzzy
Captain
LT
Middy - From Midshipman
Cadet
Top
Major
Commander
Marshal - From the British Field Marshal rank which is a 5-Star rank in the NATO world
Other Military Related Dog Names
Grunt
Moat - short for motivated
Charlie Mike, or just Charlie or Mike- Both words in the phonetic alphabet, but combined they mean to continue on the mission
Ranger
Oscar Mike, or Oscar- Like Charlie Mike, means on the move
Sapper
Shipmate- Maybe only when they're being bad!
Bravo
ONO - abbreviation for Over and Out
Scout
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Hope These Helped
Hopefully we helped you pick a new name, or at least spurred some ideas to help you in naming your new pet. Like I mentioned above, check back as I'll continue to add to this list and if you've got any suggestions, drop them in the comments below.
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