80 Amazing Names for Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs (2024 Update)
By Shana Loven
Updated on
The Greater Swiss Mountain Dog is a friendly, calm, but energetic large dog breed that was developed in the Swiss Alps to help farmers with the hard duties of farm life. They are strong dogs with a dense coat with white, red, and black markings. Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs make excellent guard dogs, are pros at herding, and can perform draft dog duties if necessary.
These beautiful but powerful dogs need unique names to go with their distinctive coloring and size. It can be hard to figure out the right name for a new pet—so we’ve compiled a list of amazing name ideas with different inspirations for Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs.
Names Based On Swiss Characters
Inspiration for pet names can come from many places, so the first names on this list are inspired by famous Swiss characters:
- Victor Frankenstein: Mary Shelley’s title character from the classic Frankenstein
- Doctor Waldman: Victor Frankenstein’s mentor in Shelley’s Frankenstein
- Helvetia: This goddess is Switzerland’s national personification
- Betty Bossi: The Swiss fictional version of Betty Crocker
- Titeuf: a 10-year-old blonde boy who is the main character of the Swiss comic of the same name
- Tsagoi: a Roma truck driver who is the main character of the science fiction comic, “The Gibsy,” or gypsy
- Oblivia: Tsagoi’s sister attends a Swiss boarding school before joining him on their travels
- Wicked Wanda: a British adult comic strip character who lived in Switzerland
- Klara Prast: a Superhero who can manipulate plant movement and growth in the Marvel Comics series, Runaways
- Silvester Klaus: a masked character for New Year’s Eve during Saint Sylvester’s Day festivities
- Mercy: a medical support player who lives in Zurich, Switzerland in Overwatch games
- Frick and/or Frack: an ice skating comedic Swiss duo from the original Ice Follies show
- Dr. Hans Gruber: a character from the film, Re-Animator, who is brought back from the dead
- Mr. Vieux Bois: a character from the comic, Histoire de Mr. Vieux Bois, first published in Switzerland in 1837
- Globi: an anthropomorphic parrot that wears a black beret and is sometimes called Switzerland’s Mickey Mouse
Names Based On Myths and Heroes of Swiss Folklore
Swiss folklore has a mythology of witches, spiritual creatures, and dragons that offers many options for Greater Swiss Mountain Dog names.
- Jack-of-the-Bowl: a spirit who takes cows to graze in areas hazardous to humans in exchange for a bowl of cream each night
- Barbegazi: small men, covered in white fur, that live in the mountains
- Boog: another name for the Bogeyman
- Samichlaus: the Swiss Father Christmas who wears long canonical robles
- Undines: water spirits or elementals in mythology
- Basilisk: a mythical creature that’s believed to be a serpent king; it’s part dragon or snake, and is a symbol of Basel
- Matterhorn: a triangular peak in the Swiss Alps, also reputed to be the realm of the giants
- Schnabelgeiss: a tall beaked goat with the features of a serpent and cat in the Ubersitz festival
- Witch of Belalp: a misunderstood witch who was burned at the stake, and who is honored with a skiing event in the Belalp region
- Heidi: a character in Johanna Spyri’s book about a young girl in the Swiss Alps
- Berchtold: the white-cloaked being who leads the Wild Hunt
- Herwisch: creatures that turn on their lanterns at night in the marshes to lead travelers astray
- Frost Giant: giants that are ruled by the Frost King and inhabit the highest peaks of the Alps
- Dragonet: tales about the “little dragon” from the Middle Ages that originated in Switzerland
- Teufelsbrücke: a legendary stone bridge, called the Devil’s Bridge, that spans over the Schollenen Gorge
- Huttefroueli: an old strong woman who carries her husband during the Ubersitz festival on her back
- Perchta: Germanic goddess who is the female leader of the Wild Hunt, who wears a white cloak
- William Tell: a Swiss folk hero who shot an apple off his son’s head under duress
- Bruder Kaus: the patron saint of Switzerland who was also a Swiss monk
Names Based On Swiss Celebrities
These famous artists, scientists, actors, writers, artists, and more come from Switzerland—whose names all make great options for naming your Great Swiss Mountain Dog.
- Carl Jung: founder of analytical psychology and a psychoanalyst
- Alberto Giacometti: Swiss painter, sculptor, and printmaker
- Albert Einstein: developed the theory of relativity and was a theoretical physicist
- Paul Klee: a surrealist artist, cubist, and expressionist
- Jean Piaget: Swiss psychologist who first championed the understanding of children through systemic study
- Le Corbusier: Swiss-French city planner, architect, and developer of modern architecture
- Ursula Andress: the first Bond girl in the film, Dr. No
- Robert Louis-Dreyfus: Swiss-French entrepreneur, who is the former CEO of Adidas
- Anna Goldi: a housemaid who was decapitated for witchcraft; she was the last person to be executed in Switzerland
- Johanna Louise Spyri: the author of the famous children’s novel Heidi
- Romain Grosjean: the professional Swiss-French racecar driver competing for France in the NTT IndyCar Series
- Jacob Bernoulli: a mathematician who was an early advocate of Leibnizian calculus
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau: an influential thinker and philosopher credited with being a large influence during the Enlightenment period
- Louis-Joseph Chevrolet: the co-founder of the Chevrolet Motor Car Company
- Tina Turner: a famous American-born Swiss singer
Names Based On Destinations in Switzerland
Switzerland inspires people around the globe because of the diversity of its citizens, as well as tourists. From stunning cities to the impressive backdrops of the valleys and snow-topped peaks of the Swiss Alps, there is something to inspire everyone. Here are some possible Greater Swiss Mountain Dog names inspired by the gorgeous Swiss landscapes:
- Geneva: a famous lake in Switzerland
- Bellinzona: a city center of historic significance
- Werdenberg: an important medieval hamlet
- Jura Vaudois: a nature park in Romainmotier in the medieval monastic town
- Jura: French-Swiss border mountains
- Jungfrau: a beautiful Jungfrau Region on the Bernese Oberland on the way to a well-known ski resort
- Grindelwald: a renowned winter sports destination
- Lac de Neuchâtel: a thermal lake located at the foot of the Jura mountains
- Lauterbrunnen: a pretty Alpine village is known best for its waterfalls
- Bern: Switzerland’s capital city
- Le Sentier: a village known for watchmaking
- Yverdon-les-Bains: a mineral bath area
- Lucerne: a famous tourist lake and town
- Lausanne: a large city in the Lake Geneva region that is a cultural hub
- Zermatt: an Alpine resort area
- Lavaux: the World Heritage Site known for the Vineyard Terraces
Other Popular Names to Consider
Some of these names are Swiss-inspired, while others are popular names for large dogs like the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog.
- Brutus: a great name for large, strong dogs
- Agatha: means “good” and is popular because of the mystery author Agatha Christie
- Hulk: a large green superhero from Marvel Comics
- She-Hulk: the Hulk’s female counterpart
- Hercules: the son of Zeus who is known for his superior strength
- Zeus: father of Hercules, known as the king of the gods in Greek mythology
- Zoe: means “life,” which describes the lively Swissie to a tee
- Tank: a large machine used in wars
- Bailey: a bailey is the outer wall of a castle used to protect the city, which is a good name for a guard dog
- Moose: a large antlered animal
- Gigi: means “earth-worker,” which harkens back to the origins of the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
- Prince: a popular name that can mean royalty or a certain popular 80’s singer
- Lucy: for Lucille Ball, a comedic actress that was full of life
- Hugo: means “min” or “intellect,” but many equate it with “huge”
- Verena: a defender
What’s in a Name?
Finding pet name inspiration can be difficult when you want the name to be “the right one” for your favorite furry friend. Switzerland has plenty of inspiration for names for your new Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, whether the name idea comes from the landscape, the country’s myths and heroes, or from the people themselves. If none of those quite hits the ticket, there are also plenty of other popular names for large dogs on our list. We hope that our list helped you find the right name for your new canine companion.
Featured Image Credit: Vera Zinkova, Shutterstock
