Anime sits in its own tag rather than folded into pop culture, for a plain reason: someone naming a cat after a series looks for anime names by that word, not by the broader label. The slice is small and every entry points at a specific show or character.
Small on purpose
This is a short list, and it stays short by design. A name joins it only when the anime reference is the reason the name is used and that reference is written down — a series, a character — so the tag can be audited rather than taken on faith. A name that merely sounds Japanese belongs under origin, not here.
Because the referent is recorded, you can check what you are quoting before you commit to explaining it for a decade. The related list below reaches the wider Japanese-origin names, which is where people usually drift once they have seen the anime slice.
What it will not tell you
Whether the character was brave or the show was any good — that is a fact about the anime, not about the animal you are naming. The tag records the reference and stops there, which is the whole point of keeping it checkable.
Why is anime separate from pop culture?
Because people search for it by name. Keeping it as its own tag matches the query rather than burying it under a broader label.
What makes a name an anime name here?
The reference to a specific series or character is the reason the name is used, and it is recorded so the tag can be checked. A name that only sounds Japanese is filed under origin instead.
Are there many anime pet names?
It is a deliberately small, checkable slice. The list above is generated live from the catalogue, so it shows exactly what currently carries the tag.
Every count on this site is a tally of real registrations: pet licences and shelter intakes published as open data by New York, Seattle, Worcester, Victoria BC, Austin, Montgomery County, Cambridge, Zurich, Basel and seven Australian councils. Popularity here is a source-group share score, so a name common in a small city is not buried by one common in a large one. The source list is North American-heavy by record count, so read the ordering as naming in those places rather than worldwide. Browse the whole catalogue or read how the data is put together.