Princeton appears 68 times at rank 1,546 on male pets — an Ivy League institution pressed into service as a dog name, which is a very specific register of prestige naming. The owner is almost certainly making a joke about aspiration, education, or both.
The Ivy League Name Category
Naming dogs after elite universities is a coherent pet-naming genre: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Duke (a stand-in for Duke University among others) all appear in pet registries. The joke writes itself — the dog cannot attend Princeton, which makes the name simultaneously absurd and affectionate. The humor lands best in academic households where the reference is clearly self-aware, and in households where the owner attended Princeton and finds it amusing to give their dog the credential they earned.
Prestige Sound Without the Institution
Princeton works as a three-syllable name even stripped of the university reference. PRINCE-ton has a pleasant rhythm and projects well. The name is distinctive in a dog park without being obscure. Golden Retrievers , the prep-school mascot dog of American imagination, carry it naturally, as do Labrador Retrievers in the same suburban family-dog mold.
The Avenue Q Reading
Princeton is also the name of the main character in the Broadway musical Avenue Q, a puppet fresh out of college searching for his purpose. That reading suits newly adopted puppies with particular accuracy. The human name at /names/princeton is rare as a given name, confirming this is primarily a pet-naming choice.