It's raining namesFan fever for the enormously popular "Twilight" franchise has spread its way to the pet world: Bella, the name of the series’ heroine, has usurped Max as the most popular dog name of 2009. Though Max held the top spot for six years in a row, this year Bella beat out Max by more than 400 dogs. But fans of the name need not worry – Max is the top 2009 name in the kitty kingdom.
Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), the nation's largest and oldest provider of pet health insurance, scoured its database of more than 475,000 insured pets to find the most popular dog and cat names of 2009. (Animals not insured by VPI were not included in the survey.)
But for those who like to think outside the (litter) box, VPI also came up with a list of unusual pet names, like Kanye East and Velvet Elvis. The company's employees selected 50 unusual dog names and 50 unusual cat names, and then voted for the top 10 in each category. See which names were up to snuff
Top Pet names of 2009
1. Bella
2. Max
3. Bailey
4. Lucy
5. Molly
6. Buddy
7. Maggie
8. Daisy
9. Chloe
10. Sophie
Most unusual names
1. Doogie Schnauzer Md 2. Sargent Sausage 3. I Am Sparticus
4. Lunchbox 5. Angus Sir Loin6. Bam-Bam Noodle Butt
7. Mouse Meat8. Fluffernutter9. Kanye East
10. Inspector Foo Foo
