Published: September 22, 2020  

Last updated: February 6, 2024  

Hey sport fans, what is your favorite sport? If you are a super fan, then naming your dog after your favorite team only makes sense, right?

When we adopted our lab, his name was Vincent Lombardi. If you’re a football fan, then you know who that is. We didn’t keep his name as it didn’t seem to fit. Instead he became our Bear. Our big cuddly polar bear! Funny, I just put two and two together, he technically still has a football themed name!

We’ve covered a lot of sport options here, but the easiest may be to take your favorite name from your favorite team. Or find your favorite player’s nickname!

Table of contents

dog dressed in fitness gear

Sporty dog names

If you love all sports then choosing a general sporty name could be the best fit.

  • Ace
  • Champ
  • Game
  • Gorilla
  • Iron
  • Jock
  • Mate
  • Rain
  • Rec
  • Rocky
  • Sandy
  • Sport
  • Team
  • Victory
  • Wilson
puppy with baseball bat and ball

Baseball dog names

  1. Ace – best starting pitcher
  2. Albert – Albert Pujols
  3. Angel – Los Angeles Angels
  4. Ann – Ann Harnett, the first woman to sign with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
  5. Astro – Houston Astros
  6. Babe – Babe Ruth
  7. Base
  8. Bender – curve ball
  9. Berry Bonds
  10. Bigs – the Major Leagues
  11. Blue – umpire
  12. Bo – Bo Jackson
  13. Brave
  14. Brewer
  15. Brаvо
  16. Bunt
  17. Cannon – A powerful throwing arm
  18. Cardinal
  19. Caray – Harry Caray
  20. Casey – Casey Stengel
  21. Catbird – advantageous position     
  22. Catch
  23. Champ
  24. Change
  25. Chipper – Chірреr Jоnеѕ
  26. Choke
  27. Chорреr – a ball hit into the dirt surrounding home plate
  28. Clark – Chicago Cubs mascot
  29. Comet
  30. Cubby
  31. Curve Ball
  32. Cuttеr
  33. Cy – Cy Young
  34. DH – designated hitter
  35. Diamond
  36. Dinger – home run
  37. Dorothy – Dorothy Kamenshek, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player
  38. Duck – runners on second and third base who are in scoring position
  39. Dоdgеr – Dodger Stаdіum
  40. Eephus – low-speed junk pitch
  41. Ernіе – Ernіе Bаnkѕ
  42. Fastball
  43. Fenway – Bosten Red Sox ball park
  44. Fredbir, Rally Squirrel– St. Louis Cardinals
  45. Fungo: A long, light baseball bat as well as a term used for a ball which has been tossed into the air and hit by the batter.
  46. Fіеldеr
  47. Gapper, Mr. Red, Mr Redlegs, Rosie Red– Cincinnati Reds
  48. Giant
  49. Griff оr Griffey – fоr Kеn Sr. аnd Jr.
  50. Hank – Hank Aaron
  51. Harry – Harry Carey
  52. Hercules
  53. Hitter
  54. Homer 
  55. Hose – strong pitching arm
  56. Hаnk – Hank Aaron
  57. Ivy – ivy that grows in Wrigley field
  58. Jack – a home run or Cracker Jack
  59. Jackie – Jackie Robinson
  60. Jay – Toronto Blue Jays
  61. Joey – Joe DiMaggio
  62. Kirby – Kirby Puckett
  63. Lefty
  64. Loogy – Left-handed One Out Guy
  65. Lou – Lou Gehrig
  66. Mate – Teammate
  67. Mattie – Don Mattingly
  68. Meatball – pitch that is easy to hit
  69. Met
  70. Mia – Miami Marlins
  71. Mickey – Mickey Mantle
  72. Miller – Miller Park
  73. Monster – Grееn Mоnѕtеr
  74. Moonshot – a home run that is hit extremely high and towering into the sky
  75. Moose – Seattle Mariners mascot
  76. Nat – National
  77. Nolan – Nolan Ryan
  78. Orbit
  79. Oriole
  80. Outfielder
  81. Ozzie – Ozzie Smith
  82. Padre
  83. Paws
  84. Pea – A baseball traveling at a high velocity
  85. Peanut
  86. Penny – Pennant
  87. Pepper – game played by a baseball team, either pre-game or during practice
  88. Philly
  89. Pirate
  90. Pitcher
  91. Poppy – pop fly
  92. Pudge – Pudge Rodriguez
  93. Ranger
  94. Ray
  95. Red
  96. Ribbie – RBI
  97. Rocky
  98. Rod – Rod Carew
  99. Rookie – first year player
  100. Royal
  101. Ruth – Babe Ruth
  102. Rоѕіе – Pete Rоѕе
  103. Sandy – Sandy Koufax
  104. Satchel – Satchel Paige
  105. Scully – Vin Scully, sportscaster
  106. Shorty – Shortstop
  107. Slider
  108. Slugger
  109. Southpaw: A left-handed pitcher.
  110. Sox – White Sox or Red Sox
  111. Stomper – Oakland Athletics
  112. Tater – Slang terminology for a home run.
  113. Teddy – Ted Williams
  114. Trip – triple play
  115. Twin
  116. Ty – Ty Cobb
  117. Ump
  118. Vin – Vin Scully, sportscaster
  119. Vinny – Vince Lombardi
  120. Wade – Wade Boggs
  121. Wally – Wally the Green Monster is the official mascot for the Boston Red Sox
  122. Willie – Willie Mays
  123. Windup
  124. Woody – baseball bat
  125. Wrіglеу – Wrіglеу Field
  126. Yak or Yakker – curveball with a big break
  127. Yankee
  128. Yicketty – To hit a homerun
  129. Yogi – Yogi Berra
  130. Yаz – Cаrl Yаѕtrzеmѕkі
  131. Zinger – a hard, line-drive base hit
  132. Zip – a pitcher’s fastball
puppy with hockey jersey on and goal

Hockey dog names

If you don’t like any of these hockey theme dog names we listed, here is a great list of hockey player nicknames.

  1. Apple – an assist
  2. Barn – rink
  3. Biscuit – puck
  4. Bobby – Bobby Mcgee, Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull or Bobby Clarke
  5. Boomer – Boom Boom, Bernie Geoffrion’s nickname
  6. Buck – bucket,  helmet
  7. Buff – Dustin Byfuglien’s nickname
  8. Cam – Cam Atkinson or Cam Ward
  9. Captain 
  10. Celly – celebration following a goal
  11. Chara – Zdeno Chara
  12. Cheese – he top shelf of the net
  13. Chiclets – teeth
  14. Chirper  – when you talk trash to opposing players
  15. Clapper – slap shot
  16. Coast – Coast to coast: taking the puck all the way down the ice
  17. Crosby – Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins captain
  18. Cujo – Curtis Joseph’s nickname, also the name of the dog in Stephen King’s Cujo
  19. Cyclone – Cyclone Taylor
  20. Dangles – a variety of moves where a player dekes – fakes out a goalie or player
  21. Dale – Dale Weise
  22. Gino – a goal
  23. Goon – a player whose only talent is fighting
  24. Gordie – when a player scores a goal, adds an assist and gets in a fight in one game
  25. Gretzky – Wayne Gretzky
  26. Grinder – a player better known for his hard work and checking than his scoring
  27. Gump – Gump Worsley
  28. Hammer – Dave “The Hammer” Schultz
  29. Hart – NHL MVP
  30. Hawk – Chicago Blackhawks
  31. Jesper – Jesper Fast
  32. Jet – Winnipeg Jets
  33. Jumbo – Joe Thornton’s nickname
  34. Kane – Patrick Kane
  35. Kesler – Ryan Kesler
  36. Lafleur – Guy Lafleur
  37. Leo – Leo Komarov
  38. Lucky – Luc Robitaille’s nickname
  39. Lumber – a hockey stick
  40. Mario – Mario Lemieux
  41. Mika – Mika Zibanejad
  42. Milan – Milan Lucic, the word milan means “beloved”
  43. Mitts – hockey gloves
  44. Moose – Mark Messier’s nickname
  45. Nash – Rick Nash
  46. Nolan – Owen Nolan
  47. Pickles – Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s
  48. Pipe – goal post
  49. Pylon – a slow defenseman that often gets skated around
  50. Roadrunner – Yvon Cournoyer’s nickname
  51. Rocket – Bottle rocket: when a goal breaks the goalie’s water bottle
  52. Shea – Shea Weber
  53. Sidney – Sidney Patrick Crosby
  54. Sniper – perfect placed shot
  55. Stripes – referee
  56. Stone – stoned, when a goalie makes a great save
  57. Teemu – Teemu Selanne
  58. Theodore – Jose Theodore, also meaning “divine gift”
  59. Tiger – Dave “Tiger” Williams Nickname
  60. Toews – Devon Toews
  61. Torrey – Torrey Mitchell or Torey Krug
  62. Turtle – player completely covers himself up as to not be involved in a fight
  63. Twig – hockey stick
  64. Zamboni – machine that cleans the ice between periods
  65. Zezel – Peter Zezel
man with football uniform going head to head with a dog

Football dog names

  1. Barry – Barry Sanders
  2. Bear – Chicago Bears
  3. Bill – Buffalo Bills or Bill Belichick
  4. Blitz – defensive play
  5. Blue – blue flag
  6. Brady – Tom Brady
  7. Brett – Brett Favre
  8. Bronco – Denver Broncos
  9. Buc – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  10. Bud – Budweiser
  11. Butkus – Dick Butkus
  12. Cam – Cam Newton
  13. Charger – San Diego Chargers
  14. Chief – Kansas City Chiefs
  15. Clip – Clipping is a foul that’s called when a player makes contact with an opponent below the waist from behind
  16. Coach – leader
  17. Colt – Indianapolis Colts
  18. Deion – Deion Sanders
  19. Ditka – Mike Ditka
  20. Elway – John Elway
  21. Emmitt – Emmitt Smith
  22. Georgia – Georgia Bulldogs
  23. Gill – Gillette stadium
  24. GOAT – acronym that stands for Greatest Of All Time
  25. Heisman – best college football player award
  26. Hike – passing ball backwards
  27. Jet – NY Jets
  28. Lambeau – Lambeau Field
  29. Lincoln – Lincoln Financial Field
  30. Madden – John Madden
  31. Manning – Eli and Peyton Manning
  32. Mary – Hail Mary
  33. Mike – middle linebacker
  34. Montana – Joe Montana
  35. Packer – Green Bay Packers
  36. Peyton – Peyton Manning
  37. Pick – pick 6
  38. QB – Quarterback
  39. Raider – Oakland Raiders
  40. Raven – Baltimore Ravens
  41. Ray – Raymond James stadium
  42. Red – Red Zone
  43. Reggie – Reggie White
  44. Rice – Jerry Rice
  45. Rose – Rose Bowl
  46. Shotgun – offensive formation
  47. Skol – “cheers” or “in good health”
  48. Soldier – Soldier Field
  49. Steeler – Pittsburgh Steelers
  50. Ten – 1st and 10
  51. Titan – Tennessee Titans
  52. Tom – Tom Brady
  53. Vinnie – Vince Lombardi
  54. Walter – Walter Perry
  55. Wild – wild card
  56. Wilson – Russell Wilson
  57. Zone – Defense
dog playing with soccer ball

Soccer dog names

  1. Becks – David Beckham
  2. Boots – boot the ball in soccer is to kick it hard and long and usually high
  3. Brandi – Brandi Chastain
  4. Captain – team leader
  5. Chelsea – Premier League Club
  6. Chip – short lofted pass or shot that gets the ball in the air
  7. Claudio – Claudio Reyna
  8. Cobi – Cobi Jones
  9. Cup – World Cup
  10. Dash – Houston Dash
  11. Diego – Diego Maradona
  12. Fifa
  13. Franz – Franz Beckenbauer
  14. GOAT – acronym that stands for Greatest Of All Time
  15. Guard
  16. Hollywood – an ambitious pass that is only seen in the movies!
  17. Howard – Tim Howard
  18. Kasey – Kasey Keller
  19. Jersey – team shirt
  20. Landon – Landon Donovan
  21. Lilly – Kristine Lilly
  22. Lionel – Lionel Messi
  23. Lotta – Lotta Schelin
  24. Messi – Lionel Messi
  25. Mia – Mia Hamm
  26. Pablo – Pablo Zabaleta
  27. Pele – Great Brazilian player
  28. Pride – Orlando Pride
  29. Ref – Referee
  30. Ronaldo – Cristiano Ronaldo
  31. Rooney – Wayne Rooney
  32. shadow play – playing without opponents
  33. Solo – Hope Solo
  34. Sweeper – defensive position
  35. Timber – Portland Timbers
  36. Umbro – soccer gear
puppy play biting a basketball

Basketball dog names

  1. Banana Cut – a variation of the regular cut
  2. Barkley – Charles Barkley
  3. Big Man – power forward or center
  4. Bird – Larry Bird
  5. Blaze – Portland Trail Blazers
  6. Buck – Milwaukee Bucks
  7. Bull – Chicago Bulls
  8. Buzz – Buzzer Beater is a shot that is taken in the final seconds and made before the buzzer sounds
  9. Cherry – Cherry Picking, a player who hangs back under or near their opponent’s basket
  10. Dagger – A shot that puts the game out of reach in the final seconds of the game
  11. Deny – Deny The Ball, defensive player prevents the person he’s guarding from getting the ball
  12. Dish – Assist
  13. Duncan – Tim Duncan
  14. Dunk – player puts the ball directly in the basket 
  15. Granny – underhand method of shooting a basketball
  16. Grizzly – Memphis Grizzlies
  17. Gunner – player who shoots the ball often and frequently.
  18. Harden – James Harden
  19. Hawk – Atalanta Haws
  20. Hook – hook shot
  21. Jab – jab step, a move when the ball handler fakes to one direction, only to move in the opposite direction.
  22. Jazz – Utah Jazz
  23. Jordan – Michael Jordan
  24. Kareem – Kareen Abdul-Jabbar
  25. King – Sacramento Kings
  26. Kobe – Kobe Bryant
  27. Lake – Los Angeles Lakers
  28. Magic – Magic Johnson or Orlando Magic
  29. Maverick – Dallas Mavericks
  30. Nellie – Nellie Ball is an offensive strategy
  31. Nicky – New York Knicks
  32. Nugget – Denver Nuggets
  33. Oscar – Oscar Robertson
  34. Philly – Philadelphia 76ers
  35. Pippen – Scottie Pippen
  36. Princeton – Princeton offense strategy
  37. Rain – Making it rain, a player is making so many shots it seems like he can’t miss
  38. Raptor – Toronto Raptors
  39. Rim – rimshot
  40. Rocky – Houston Rockets
  41. Shaq – Shaquille O’Neal
  42. Sky – skyhook is a variation of the hook shot
  43. Spur – San Antonio Spurs
  44. Sun – Phoenix Suns
  45. Swish – ball goes into the basket without hitting the rim or backboard
  46. Thunder – Oklahoma City Thunder
  47. Tri – Trifecta
  48. Warrior – Golden State Warriors
  49. West – Jerry West
  50. Wiggle – Being able to maneuver in and out of defenders with the basketball.
  51. Wilt – Wilt Chamberlain
  52. Wolf – Minnesota Timberwolves
dog sad with head on golf equipment

Golf dog names

  1. Ace – hole in one
  2. Arnie – Arnold Palmer
  3. Augusta – Home of the Masters
  4. Balata – material of the outside of golf ball
  5. Bear – Jack Nicklaus’ nickname
  6. Ben – Ben Hogan
  7. Bertha – golf club
  8. Birdie – one under par
  9. Bogey – one over par
  10. Bolt – Tommy Bolt
  11. Bubba – Bubba Watson
  12. Bunker – in the trap
  13. Byron – Iron Byron, mechanical golfer used for testing golf clubs and balls
  14. Caddie – person carrying the clubs for a golfer
  15. Callie – Callaway
  16. Carry – the distance the ball travels through the air
  17. Chip – short shot
  18. Chunk – bad shot
  19. Condor – scoring four under par
  20. Corey – Corey Pavin
  21. Daly – John Daly
  22. Dimple – ball indentations
  23. Divot – spot on course left after a club strike
  24. Driver
  25. Duck – “Duck hook” is considered a severe hook to the left 
  26. Eagle – 2 under
  27. Flier – shot that sails further than expected
  28. Freddy – Fred Couples
  29. Fuzzy – Fully Zoeller
  30. Happy – Happy Gilmore
  31. Hogan – Ben Hogan
  32. Huck – Tom Watson’s nickname
  33. Jack – Jack Nicklaus
  34. Jaws – the small area surrounding the hole
  35. Links – golf course style
  36. Master – Masters Tournament
  37. Mickey – Phil Mickelson
  38. Monty – Colin Montgomerie’s nickname
  39. Muff – missed hit
  40. Mulligan – hitting a second ball without penalty
  41. Nuke – hitting the ball to the max
  42. Obie – out of bounds
  43. Old Dog Morris – Old Tom Morris
  44. Palmer – Arnold Palmer
  45. Par
  46. Putter
  47. Rain – rainmaker, a ball hit so high seems to hit the clouds
  48. Rocket – Hosel rocket, shank shot
  49. Rory – Rory Mcilroy
  50. Ryder – Ryder Cup
  51. Sandy – sand bager
  52. Scratch – even par
  53. Shank – a shot that is contacted by the hosel of the club, rather than the club face
  54. Shooter – Shooter Mcgavin
  55. Squirrel – With-The-Squirrels, when playing either a “Par 4 or 5” and your Tee shot does not land in the Fairway but instead ends up in the rough
  56. Taylor – Taylormade
  57. Thunderbolt – Tommy Bolt’s nickname
  58. Tiger – Tiger Woods
  59. Torrey – Torrey Pines
  60. Watson – Tom Watson
  61. Wedge – short iron
  62. Whiff – big miss
  63. Wilson – sporting good manufacture
  64. Yip – swing issues

Want more dog name ideas? We have a full library of fun dog names grouped by theme, check out the list and let us know what you decide!

If you have a better dog sport name to share, please let me know in the comments below and I will add it to the list!

About the Author

Debi McKee

Debi McKee is the expert behind Rescue Dogs 101 where she guides you in your journey of adopting and raising a rescue dog every step of the way. She is a mom of 3 human kids and 4 dogs and volunteers for a local dog rescue and Humane Society. Click here for more about Debi and her passion for helping you and your dog.

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