51,379dogs 13,525distinct names 412breeds 26neighborhoods

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.

The fastest-moving names Change per 1,000 named SF dogs, 2017 to 2025. Sparklines show the trend.

Names that come with a breed Some names point to a breed: share of the name's dogs in its top breed, vs citywide.

And then there are these SF's funniest names, grouped by theme. Every count is real.

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, Lu