Top 10 Pop Culture Pet Names for 2012

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”  These famous words penned by William Shakespeare could apply to the awesome task of naming a furry family member.

Since Banfield Pet Hospital (the world's largest veterinary practice) considers the task of naming a pet to be a serious matter, the company annually pulls from its patient data base of more than 800 hospitals in an effort to identify the top trends and the most popular pet names that have been chosen.

So as the year quickly draws to a close, Banfield Pet Hospital proudly reveals the top 10 “Pup Culture” inspired monikers bestowed on many folks’ furry friends in 2012.

1. The end of the Twilight saga was marked in November 2012 with the release of Breaking Dawn: Part 2. With this said, it comes as no surprise that the name Bella topped the charts as the most popular pop-culture inspired name for dogs.
2. In 2012 a few pampered pets received royal names. The most popular choices included Lupo, Pippa and Prince Hairy.
3. Honoring the 2012 Super Bowl Champion quarterback was clearly the inspiration for pets named Eli and Ellie Manning.
4. After the hit reality TV show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo premiered on TLC in August 2012, it was rumored that Banfield veterinarians were frequently heard to utter those words when welcoming a new chubby canine into the practice.
5. Following the March 2012 release of The Hunger Games, Katniss (who was named for the edible aquatic plant of the genus Sagittaria) became 18 times more popular in dogs and 14 times more popular in cats and Peeta became three times more popular.
6. Paying probable homage to Tim Burton's September 2012 stop-motion animation film Frankenweenie, Banfield Pet Hospitals were visited by a few little furry monsters named Frankenweenie.
7. While no word on whether these pets were actually New Jersey residents, Banfield also treated pets named after Snooki and new baby, Lorenzo.
8. Celeb mom Beyonce and new baby Blue Ivy inspired names for several pet owners.
9. In 2012, some pets rocked out on a more musical note having been named after pop artists Ke$ha, Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga.
10. Fans of NBC’s The Voice chose CeeLo as the purrfect name (in honor for his white Persian cat!  In fact, this writer thought this to be the felineist name of them all!

What type of things becomes an inspiration for naming a pet? What are some of the pet names you've chosen in the past? Tell us in a comment.