Peyton shows up in the gender-neutral column of the registry, which accurately reflects its status in human naming too. Long associated with Peyton Manning in American football culture, it's also a name that crossed gender lines cleanly in the 2000s through TV characters and social trends. For pets, it registers as a solid, modern-human name worn casually on a dog.
The Sports Connection
Peyton Manning is the name's most obvious anchor for many American owners — two Super Bowls, NFL records, and a broadcast presence that keeps the name current. Dog owners who are football fans reach for it with some frequency, especially for athletic medium-to-large breeds like Labs and German Shepherds.
The Gender-Neutral Reality
Registry data shows Peyton landing neutral at this rank, which means it's not a name with a strongly gendered household pattern. Owners are treating it as a name for any dog, which is consistent with how the name functions in human contexts. That flexibility is a genuine feature.
Human-to-Pet Transfer
Like Asher and Sawyer in this same rank cluster, Peyton is a name that came from the human naming pool rather than being invented for pets. The full history is on our Peyton baby names page if you want the deeper backstory.