Arlo

Arlo is a name of debated origin — possibly from the Old English harlow meaning "army hill," or from a Celtic place name, or potentially a variant of Charles or Carlo. It appeared famously in Edmund Spenser's 1590 poem The Faerie Queene as the name of a hill in Ireland. In modern times it has been popularized as a given name and gained additional recognition through the 2015 Pixar film The Good Dinosaur, whose protagonist is named Arlo. For pets, Arlo has a gentle, slightly quirky charm that owners find irresistible.

Arlo lands at #291 on the pet name charts and is one of the more distinctive names in the catalog — not common enough to feel generic, but not unusual enough to require explanation. Its murky etymology combining old English and Celtic influences gives it an appealingly mysterious quality, while its sound is warm and accessible. Arlo suits a companion with a gentle, curious personality and perhaps a slightly eccentric way of approaching the world — the companion who finds unexpected things fascinating and approaches everything with open-hearted interest. The Pixar connection makes it an extra lovely choice for film-loving families.