Bo
| Category | Presidential Pets |
|---|---|
| Era | 21st Century (2009) |
Bo (full name Bo Obama) was a male Portuguese Water Dog born October 9, 2008, gifted to the Obama family in April 2009 by Senator Ted Kennedy. The Obama family had committed during the 2008 campaign to adopting a dog when they moved into the White House — Sasha and Malia Obama had been promised a puppy for years. The choice of breed was driven by Malia's allergies; Portuguese Water Dogs are among the AKC's hypoallergenic breed list.
Bo became one of the most photographed presidential pets in modern history, appearing on Oprah's Christmas special, the cover of People magazine, and in dozens of staged White House photo opportunities. He was joined by a second Portuguese Water Dog, Sunny, in August 2013 — a younger female to keep him company. Both dogs lived at the White House through the end of the Obama administration in January 2017 and accompanied the family to their post-presidential home in Washington, D.C.
Bo died in May 2021 from cancer at age 12. He is widely credited with creating a major surge in Portuguese Water Dog adoption in the United States during 2009-2012; the AKC reported the breed's registrations approximately doubled during this period. Sunny outlived him; Sunny remained with the Obama family until her own death in 2024.
Naming takeaway
Bo is the modern presidential-pet pick — a name that's short, casual, easy to call, and carries Obama-era political associations without being heavy-handed. Two letters, single syllable, hard B opening. Most often associated with Portuguese Water Dogs (Bo's actual breed), but works universally. Has remained popular as a dog name post-Obama, partly because it predates the political association and reads as a friendly traditional pet name.
The name Bo
Bo · Female · French origin · "Handsome"
See the full name profile for naming variations, similar names, and other famous bearers of Bo.
Cross-referenced against the Wikipedia entry. Where text is paraphrased from Wikipedia, the original is licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0; image licenses are noted per image above.