Ethel is the old-name revival pick that requires the most commitment. It's not gently retro the way Pearl or Edith are — it's fully committed to a specific early-20th-century register that most people associate with a great-great-grandmother. At rank 1299 in the pet registry, Ethel on a dog is a deliberate act of naming affection: the owner knows exactly what they're doing and enjoys it.
The Deep-Vintage Category
Ethel peaked in American naming around 1900 and had largely retired from human use by the 1950s. In pet naming, that retirement made it available for reclamation — and the owners who pick it tend to be drawn to the vintage register precisely because it's unusual in both human and pet naming simultaneously. Basset hounds, Bloodhounds, and slow-moving senior rescue dogs carry Ethel with particular dignity. The human name's history is at /names/ethel.
Lucille Ball and Ethel Mertz
I Love Lucy's Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) is the most enduring pop-culture Ethel — Lucy's loyal, exasperated best friend whose partnership with the lead generated some of the most beloved physical comedy in television history. Naming a dog Ethel, especially alongside a dog named Lucy, is a classic comedic pairing that multiple owners in the registry have apparently explored.
The Counter-Reading
Ethel is so deliberately old that it functions as a kind of naming joke that takes itself seriously. The name works if you love it without qualification. Owners who feel even slightly uncertain about it should trust that uncertainty — Ethel is a name for true believers only. Compare Edith or Mabel for the same vintage register with slightly softer entry.