Dogs can live up to twenty years, so choosing a name you both can live with is an important step.  There is a joke about a woman who had the police at her house quite often because she named her dog 'Help'.  So, choose carefully.

I am a foster Mom for Havanese puppies.  Most of them are rescued from puppy mills and the group has to give them temporary names for the vet records.  I try not to use their names for the few weeks I have them because i feel their new family should do that.  Instead I call them "puppy", "sweetie", 'baby' etc. and it's my tone of voice that gets their attention.

Names like 'Stinky' or "Puddles" may be funny at first, but not one that's very respectful or 'nice' for a whole lifetime.  Also, names like "KIller" or "Cujo" can give your dog a rough light if people take it too seriously.

Think of someone you respect or admire, or a name that fits the dog's personality.  My Grandma was a fan of George Burns and Gracie Allen and I enjoyed their old comedy routines too.  So, we have two dogs, "George" the beagle and "Gracie" a lab/great Dane mix.  I also love Tennessee Williams plays, and we once took in a mother cat who had just given birth to three kittens, a boy and two girls.  We had to take the Mother and two girls to the Humane Society because we had two cats already.  I named the kittens Blanche, Stella and Stanley and told our kids they could keep one of the kittens.  They chose 'Stanley" and he lived up to his name!  My son said he also didn't want to have to stand on the front porch yelling "Stella!" if that girl kitten got outside!

One of the best places to look for people names is a book of names for babies.  Or, consider your favorite entertainer's names or book characters. My friend had a huge white cat she called "Moby" after the great white whale in "Moby Dick".  I'd avoid naming a puppy after a trendy rock star name, as that will get old and really date the poor dog. 

Sometimes it's better to wait for a week or two before naming your new puppy. This way you'll have a better understanding of their personality.  Don't wait too long though.  My husband took in a stray puppy that I didn't think we should keep.  I lost that battle and we ended up with a large German Shepherd.Lab mix named "Puppy" for eighteen years.  I'm glad we kept the dog, but wishe we'd picked a better name!