It's beautiful Saturday afternoon at the park, and Lucy, Maggie and Joseph are there, enjoying the sunny weather. Katie and Riley play in the grass. Just then, Max runs up and greets Zoe, his nose sniffing her butt energetically.

Don't worry, it's normal. They're dogs.

This is an imagined scene but it's not far-fetched. Lately, more dogs and cats have names that would do just as well for human children.

City departments of public health track the names of dogs that are licensed with the city. Although New York city estimates only 5 percent of all dogs are registered by the city, the department's lists of pet names look increasingly like 1st grade rosters — Cody, Annie, Charlie and Sam.

Amy Lyden, who tracks trends in pet names in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. for the pet name Web site Bowwow.com.au, pointed out that the lists of most popular pet names are starting to look a lot like the lists of most popular baby names. In 2005, the most popular name for a male baby in the U.S. was Jacob. For male dogs, it was Jake. The names Abby, Sophia, Molly and Sarah are all in the top thirty most popular names for girls — both the human and the pet variety.

"The two lists are matching more and more," she said.

It wasn't always this way. According to lists of popular dog names from pet identification tag companies, just 50 years ago Lucky, Faithful and Rover were all the rage. In 1955, the movie "Lady and the Tramp" costarred Trusty and Jock, both popular dog names at the time.

The trend is echoed by presidential dogs. Franklin D Roosevelt had a German Shepherd named Major, a Llewellyn setter called Winks and a mastiff named Blaze. John F. Kennedy had two terriers, Blackie and Streaker, and then there were Lyndon Johnson's famously strong-eared beagles Him and Her. Today, President Bush has a Scottish terrier Barney, and Bill Clinton named his dog Buddy, after a favorite uncle.

Anecdotally, many vet clinics agree that pets-with-people-names are a definite trend. Laurie Brooks, office manager of the Brentwood Pet Clinic in Los Angeles, said there are many fewer Spots in her waiting room. "We have a lot of Helens and Joans and Ellas" she said. Luckily the clinic identifies pets by telephone numbers, not patient names, or it would be confusing telling the human Carol or Jack from the canine.

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BEHIND THE TREND

But why the preponderance of Emmas, Maxes and Caseys? Alan Beck, the director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine thinks the move to give animals people names reflects our pets' increasing importance in our lives. "We name things that are individually important to us," he said. "By giving them a Christian name, we're trying to make them literally a member of the family."

Proof of the attachment to our animals: pet stuff is now a $30 billion industry. Mail-order catalogs are chock full of items for your special someone — heated beds, rhinestone collars and gourmet treats. Pets have their own cable network, clothing stores and antidepressants. Fifty years ago, most dogs lived on leftovers. Now, they can fill up on canine cupcakes from bakeries that are just for dogs. Our pets are so spoiled that a recent report on animal nutrition by the National Academy of Sciences warns of a looming obesity problem in dogs and cats in America.

Increasingly, pets are just as important to us as our children or siblings. Dr. Stephen Zawistowski, Executive Vice President and Science adviser for the ASPCA, who wrote sections in the 2005 ASPCA book of pet names. "There was a time when getting a dog meant he was going to live in the yard or on the porch, and after five or six years he might disappear or get hit by a car," he said.

Now, Zawistowski noticed that "many more people keep a photograph of a favorite pet on their desk than they do of their spouse."

A name would have been much less important for a dog who lives on the porch. As our relationships with animals become more intimate, it only makes sense that owners are thinking "longer and harder than ever before about names," Zawistowski said.

As people have fewer children and begin families later in life, pets are becoming surrogate babies for many adults. Longing to name your daughter Dakota but not intending to have kids anytime soon? A pug or Persian longhair may do just as well for now.

To be sure, there are still plenty of pets named Buster, Lady, Rusty and Duke. Zawistowski said owners will always pick names for their pets that reflect their interests — from rock groups to literature. The proliferation of dogs named Rocky, Nemo or Princess Leia can be traced directly to popular movies, while cats named Merlot, Ferrari or Mozart might echo an owner's tastes or hobbies.

People have always been imaginative when it comes to naming their pets, and as times change, the range of possible names expands, Zawistowski said. But for every new puppy named Google or Pokemon, there are several named Chelsea, Chloe and Jake.

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Emily Zeugner works on the AP National Desk in New York.

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