Bella, Max most popular dog names in NYC: city data

Good Bella! Bad Max!

Don’t be surprised if you hear those words at the city’s dog runs — because Bella and Max are the Big Apple’s most popular doggie names, according to the city health department.

There are 5,508 Bellas and 4,930 Maxes registered with the city, according to dog license data obtained by The Post through a Freedom of Information Law request.

Steven McCasland, 35, an out-of-work theater audition coach on the Upper West Side, adopted his Max, a 10-year-old Brittany spaniel, from the city’s Animal Care Centers a few years ago.

“He is just the sweetest, smartest, loveliest dog. Very loyal. Goes everywhere with me. Sleeps on the bed next to me with his head on the pillow,” he said.

Manisha Shah, 40, a product management director for Salesforce in Clinton Hill, is fostering a Bella.

“Bella lost her home during the pandemic due to financial stress faced by her family,” she said about the pup, a seven-year-old mix who’s up for adoption by Mr. Bones & Co., a non-profit rescue.

“My own dog had passed away in December and I decided to take a ‘long timer,’ as we call them, home with me,” she said. “She’s funny and affectionate, and so smart. She surprises me every day with how well she’s responded to training and it’s been pure joy watching her learn and grow.”

By borough, Bella and Max are the top two dog names in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Not so in Manhattan, where Charlie and Lucy are the top two canine monikers.

NYC’s top breed is the Pomeranian, of which there are 9,287, followed by a fellow lap dog, the Havanese, with 8,606.

Some dog owners in the five boroughs are a bit more original, christening their canines with unique names such as:

• A-Rod, a miniature pinscher in Rockaway Park;
• Megabyte, a Great Dane on the Upper West Side;
• Detox, a Labrador Retriever on the Lowest East Side; and
• Crack, a pit bull in Crown Heights.