Dog Names..

Go with whatever you like. I have read, however, that names with hard sounds are easier/faster for the dogs to learn and respond to.
For example:
Spot - has hard sounds and if you yell it, it is pretty plain and clear.
Muffin - is pretty soft, and if you are yelling it (to be heard over a long distance) it sort of fades.....

Double syllables, I have heard, also work very well, and also names with the long "O" sound:

"Cocoa" would be good.
"Sandy" would be less good.

Do you want a "human" name for him? Or a "dog" name?

I think sometimes you have to be around the puppy for a while to see a name that fits the personality.
My dad brought a puppy home for my mom and the first thing she did was chew on the side of the couch. I suggested the name Sofie (for sofa) and it stuck.

Sometimes the personality just lends itself to a name and isn't anything you would have originally thought of.

Have fun!

My beloved dog, Guinness (he was a Lab/doberman mix), was named after the most adorable chocolate lab I knew as a kid.
We pretty much always called him Guinness, but had some silly nicknames like G-unit, Not-so-skinny Ginny....awww I miss that dog!

Enjoy the pup, I have a theory why they are soooo cute....it's because they are soooo naughty that no one would want them if they weren't so stinkin cute! :)

No offense to anyone, but as a vet, and working in a vet office, we do see a lot of common and "obvious" names, and while you can name the puppy whatever you want, we do appreciate something more original and unique. Names like "Cocoa", "Mocha", "Hershey" and "Nestle" for a chocolate lab (especially male) are just too boring. Sorry. Same goes for the always uber-popular "Max", "Jake", "Sam", and "Belle/Bella".

Some that I have thought of would be:

Cody
Bogie/Bogart
Bodie
Ranger
Hunter
Jasper
Jester
Ozzie
Cooper

If I think of any others that I like, I will add them in. Think of geographical names, nature names, sports figures/terms, and celebrities. Good luck and congrats on the new puppy!

When we got our shihpoo we brought him home & watched him for about a day or two to see what kind of personality he had; my daughter ended up naming him Rufus.

when we went to get my dog, a yellow lab puppy, we had origionally had a few names picked out.. snots was at the top of our list (from national lampoons movies, randy quiads character had a rottwieler named snots) my dad also like harley .. wen we went to pick him up immediatley we were like hes waay too cute to be names snots and harley just didnt seem right.. when the lady let him out of the crate he started running around liek a maniac and my dad said wow hes chipper isnt he... well that was it i said we're naming him chip.. it just fits him weve had him 9 years n i cant imagine him being named somthing else... my suggestion is have a bunch of names but dont pick one before u meet the puppy it may not fit ... wen we were trying to decide it was reccommended that whatever name your thinking of u have to picture yourself screaming it because there will be alot of that lol.. they say short names are better 2sylabols maximum... i did a few searches just ype in popular dog names .. ive always been a fan of the name moose for a dog.. my neighbors border collie is named bandit thats cute..

Stinky. That's what I call my dog these days...

our dog (border collie) is rascal and that name fits him to the T.

cosmo
cujo (husbands pick)
rascal
dozer
buddy
bear
barney (my aunts dogs name)
boomer
trigger

My parents had a chocolate lab named Beau. But I'm not sure how they spelled it. Bo perhaps? Doesn't matter though because everyone called him Bo-bie. He was a good dog.

First, the name HAS to fit the dog - and you will know it when you meet him/her. My Choc Laberimer is Rusty - our black one (past away) was Lucky (not so lucky bad spider bite) - my SO's black lab growing up was Suzie, my Maltipom is Motley - My mom's old Pom was Roxy - I mean it will just come to you instantly or in a few days of getting to know your new pup - don't stress too much about it.

One of my friends insists on sitting down and having a beer once the dog is home and just hang out with it. We took days to name our animals and they have MANY names.

We FORGOT one of the cats REAL names once when we went to the vet for an appointment. They had to read the names they had on record and refresh our memory.

I never chose my dogs names until we had them. You will probably think of a name within a day or two of having him :) I have one dog, let my 5 yr old daughter name her and her name is Cinderella (we have always called her Ella) ... and we have Charlie our Golden Retriever. Charlie fit him, he is like our "old man" even when he was 10 weeks old he was so calm. :)

My dog's name is Stuart :) We like funny people names for animals and find it humorous!

Our dogs over the years...
Joey-Old English Sheepdog, Border Collie mix. Thought it was a cool name when I was 6.
Mutt-terrier and something? Followed us home. Her full name was Muttzarella, but we just called her Mutt.
Davis-Golden Ret. Named after my brother's favorite cyclist at the time, Davis Phinney.
Stinson-Golden Ret. Named after the plane my dad used to have.
Bailey-Choc Lab/Chow mix. That was her name when we got her from the pound.
Cody-Shepherd/Chow mix. Dad named him--guess he just liked the name.
Molly-the Shepherd mix
Abby-Australian Shepherd
My brother's dog is named Maisie. Cute.
Looking at that list, I guess we tend to go for people-y names...

we named our chocolate (now, cafe-au-lait) labradoodle....CoCoa. He changed colors at 18 months. The name still fits.

our Old English Sheepdog mix came to us named Chocko, because he had some brown on him at birth. That brown was all gone by the time we got him at 12 weeks. We renamed him ChockO' full of Trouble...which really suited him!

& actually since we already had CoCoa...we tried changing ChockO's name to Paco, Taco, ....anything from the starting C. He refused to respond...once again, convincing us that he owned ChockO' full of Trouble!

Pick a name that you can yell loudly!! Two syllables works well.

Our German Shepherd puppy's name was Midge because she was born the runt of the litter. My daughter changed it to Mini. I've yelled "MINI!!!" many, many times :-)

I would bring the dog home and just see who he looks like!

My dog is part lab. His name is Tiberious.

My pets:
Sonny (Yellow Lab)- I was too young to remember. Parents named him.
Duchess (Daschund)- Rotten little dog bit me. Parents named her.
Barney (Sheltie)- Followed my sister home. Us kids named him, it was the first name we tried that he jumped around to. It stuck.
Buddy (Ginger Tabby Domestic)- Was given to us by friends. They named him.
Grizabella (Siamese)- Found her under my porch one winter in Alaska. I named her because she was so beat up but so sweet. Named after a Broadway Musical Character.
Harley (Maine Coon/Ragdoll)- Showed up after Griz passed away and never left. Has a purr that sounds like a Harley Davison.
Red Fred (Ginger Maine Coon)- Walked right into the house one night and never left. He's big, he's ginger and my brother named him.
Chester (Lab/Newfoundland)- My father adopted him from a breed rescue, he's a chewer. He used to be Chewie...he has a white "star" in his chest...Chest/Star, Chester.
Currents pets:
Amos (Ginger Main Coon)- Adopted with Ezra, brothers, doesn't like Isis. Is now chirping at bird in the yard. He was named by the people who had him last.
Ezra (Dark Tabby Maine Coon)- Same as above, would like Isis if she wasn't a brat. I think he may have been Ebenezer.
Isis (Black White Domestic)- A brat, old girl and slowly going down hill, can not be trusted inside over night. Doesn't like anyone but my husband. My husband named her, she's his from before we were married.

Names come from everywhere.

I think the name Louie is really cute..but names will come to you when his personality will start showing. Some fun names such as Spillo, Clumsy, Rug, Chewy, for example are suggestive of a distinc trait you may want to call him after. Enjoy your puppy!

I agree about taking some time. Also, make sure it's not the same name as another animal (or child) in the neighborhood, that it doesn't rhyme with a command word you will be using (e.g., Bo rhymes with "no" so don't use it even though the Obamas did!), and make sure it's something that you'll be comfortable calling out from the front porch!

I like names that go with chocolate - Hershey, Latte, Chocoa, Snickers, Rolo...this website had a ton of cute names for chocolate labs.

http://gottalovealab.com/chocolate-lab-dog-names.html

Make a list from some suggested here and then when you see your puppy and get to know him you can try out names on him. We got our dog when he was 4 1/2 months old and wanted to change his name so we tried names on him and finally when I called one he would turn every time so that's what we went with. Not sure I like it best now but he did and still comes to it so try that. I did like Cocoa and Chocko and Louie is different.

Congrats on the new puppy! We just got a bulldog puppy a few weeks ago. I let my boys name him, my 4 year old wanted to name him Cheesey and my 6 year old wanted to name him CuChulainn (pronounced coo cullen) Cu is Irish for hound. My husband is from Ireland and tells them stories about CuChulainn the great Irish warrior. Maybe there is something that is special to your kids now that will help you think of a name?
Story of CuChulainn
He gained his better-known name as a child after he killed Culann's fierce guard-dog in self-defence, and offered to take its place until a replacement could be reared. At the age of seventeen he defended Ulster single-handedly against the armies of queen Medb of Connacht in the epic Táin Bó Cúailnge ("Cattle Raid of Cooley"). It was prophesied that his great deeds would give him everlasting fame, but that his life would be a short one. This is the reason why he is compared to the Greek hero Achilles. He is known for his terrifying battle frenzy or ríastrad,[3] (translated by Thomas Kinsella as "warp spasm"[4] and by Ciaran Carson as "torque")[5] in which he becomes an unrecognisable monster who knows neither friend nor foe. He fights from his chariot, driven by his loyal charioteer Láeg, and drawn by his horses, Liath Macha and Dub Sainglend. In more modern times, Cú Chulainn is often referred to as the "Hound of Ulster".[6]

first thing that popped in my head was Mocha.... I'm not much help, our animals have rather boring names.

our bulldog's name is Tank (yes, he is big, and clumsy like a tank! LOL)
our black pit is Sasha May
we had a dachshund named Dixie Bell
and our guinea pig is named Sophie.