Pet names inspired by 1990s pop culture become popular

Nick's ESL News Lessons

A printable worksheet for news-based English conversation classes.

Date: 2025/11/16

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: Pet names inspired by 1990s pop culture become popular

Vocabulary Match

inspired •• questionnaire
pop culture •• affected
trending •• outdoor
adventure-style •• becoming popular
influenced •• modern media
survey •• motivated

Vocabulary Answers

inspiredmotivated
pop culturemodern media
trendingbecoming popular
adventure-styleoutdoor
influencedaffected
surveyquestionnaire

Article

A new survey in the United States shows that many people are choosing pet names inspired by 1990s films, music and pop culture. This year, names like Forrest Gump, Willie Wonka and Jack Sparrow became surprisingly popular. Two of the fastest-growing names for female puppies were Tsuki and Rumi, which both saw a big jump in use.

Cute food names were also trending. Cats were called Pickle, Cocoa and even Tater. In the western states, people preferred adventure-style names such as Aspen, Ranger and Bandit.

Rover, the company behind the survey, believes next year will bring even more entertainment-inspired names from new movies, K-pop and other pop culture trends.

Quiz

  1. What kind of names are many people in the US choosing for their pets?
  2. Which two names for female puppies became popular?
  3. What are some cute food names mentioned for cats?
  4. What types of names do people in the western states prefer?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. People are choosing names inspired by 1990s films, music, and pop culture.
  2. Tsuki and Rumi became popular names for female puppies.
  3. Pickle, Cocoa, and Tater are some cute food names for cats.
  4. People in the western states prefer adventure-style names.

Conversation

A:Did you hear about the new pet name trends?
B:Yeah, I heard Forrest Gump is quite popular now!
A:Can you imagine calling your dog Jack Sparrow?
B:Haha, I think Tater is a funny name for a cat.
A:True! I also saw people using Japanese names like Tsuki.
B:Yeah, and Rumi is getting popular too - very cute!

Discussion

  1. Do you or a someone you know have a pet? What's its name?
  2. Do you prefer cute names, funny names or cool names for pets? Why?
  3. Can you think of pet names that describe personality or appearance?
  4. Think of a pet name for each category: sport, music, food, travel, TV, video games, politics.
  5. Have you ever given a name to your car, bike or AI chatbot?

Source Material

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2025/11/14/most-popular-names-dogs-cats-2025/6121763138990/

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