Little ranks #223 with 490 entries — and unlike most pet names in this tier, it is a descriptor that became a name. Owners who pick Little are almost always pointing at the obvious: the pet is small, and the name names that. The descriptive register makes Little one of the more unusual entries in the top 250.
The descriptor-as-name pattern
Pet naming has a long tradition of descriptors functioning as names — Tiny, Smalls, Bear, Tiger, Spot. Little belongs to this cluster and works because the descriptor carries affection. "Come here, Little" sounds like an endearment because the word itself already is one in many English contexts.
One counter-reading: the name ages awkwardly. A puppy named Little is descriptive; an 80-pound adult Little is contradictory. Owners who pick the name for a dog still growing report mixed feelings later. The fit is best when the dog is genuinely a small breed or when the owner embraces the contrast deliberately.
Breed fit and sound
Two syllables (LIT-ul), front-stressed, with the soft L-opener and the trailing -ul. Recall is moderate; the soft consonants limit outdoor carry. The name lands almost exclusively on small breeds: Chihuahuas, dachshunds, Yorkies, toy poodles, and small mixed breeds. It is also common for runts of litters and for the smaller of two pets in the same household.
Adjacent picks
Owners cross-shopping descriptor-names often consider Tiny and Peanut alongside Little. The broader small-breed name pool is browsable at pet-names. Gender distribution is genuinely neutral here, with male and female pets registered at near-equal rates — the descriptor logic overrides any gendered naming pattern.