Remy ranks #114 with 946 entries and sits in a specific cultural pocket: French-origin, cinema-adjacent, and just trendy enough to feel current without feeling forced. The name has climbed steadily since 2007 for one obvious reason. Pixar named a rat after it, and a generation of pet owners watched that movie at exactly the right age.
The Ratatouille effect, with timing
Ratatouille released in 2007 and the kids who watched it at age seven or eight are now in their mid-twenties — prime first-pet-ownership age. Pet name trends frequently follow this delayed timing pattern, and Remy is one of the cleanest examples of it. The film's protagonist is a chef rat named Remy, and the name's pet-side rise matches the demographic curve almost exactly.
The Ratatouille reading does not dominate, though. Remy is also a French short form of Remigius, and a brand association with Rémy Martin cognac gives it an upscale register some owners pick for the implied sophistication. The name absorbs all three readings, and most owners pick it because they like how it sounds rather than which specific source they are channeling.
Sound and recall
Two syllables, stress on the front (REH-mee), with a soft R opener and a vowel-trailing tail. The R is the workhorse — it gives Remy enough bite to carry at moderate distance, and the -ee ending softens the call without losing it. The name performs well on smaller and mid-sized dogs; less well on large working breeds where harder openers carry better.
Breed and gender notes
Our data has Remy as predominantly male but with meaningful female use as well. Owners read the name as gender-flexible despite the masculine French-origin lineage. Mixed breeds, doodles, and smaller hounds are the dominant population, with poodle mixes showing particular concentration. The name is rare on cats but appearing more frequently in the past few years.
One counter-reading: Remy has climbed on the SSA baby chart in parallel, and the same generational cohort naming pets is naming children. If saturation is a concern, the French-cinema register has wider options like Pierre, Jules, and Margot. You can also browse pet-names for the surrounding cluster.