Miller ranks 1920 in the pet registry with 52 male animals. It's an occupational surname (one who operates a mill) that has joined the large class of tradesman surnames pressed into first-name service alongside Cooper, Mason, and Fletcher. On a pet, Miller has an easy, American warmth without any particular pop-culture baggage.
The Occupational Surname Register
Occupational surnames as pet names have a specific, unpretentious appeal: they're thoroughly English, legible to everyone, and carry a working-man dignity that sits well on active dogs. Miller, the grain processor essential to pre-industrial communities, has a slightly more domesticated energy than Hunter or Archer. It suits an amiable, reliable dog without obvious working-dog pretension. Golden Retrievers and Labradors carry the name's easy warmth naturally.
The Literary and Musical Connections
Henry Miller (novelist), Arthur Miller (playwright), Glenn Miller (big band leader): the surname has substantial cultural weight across multiple fields. None of these associations dominate the way a single pop-culture figure would, which gives the name a clean flexibility. The human name Miller is rising in SSA first-name records as part of the surname-as-first-name trend.
The Counter-Reading: Surname Feel
Miller sounds like a last name because it is one. In some contexts, veterinary records and formal greetings for instance, it will produce a momentary confusion about whether you've given the first or last name. That's a minor friction, not a real problem. Browse occupational surname pet names for the full register.