How did you choose your pets names?

[Austina]

When we got our first Old English Sheepdog, I called him Waldo after the one in Nanny and the Professor. When we got our second, I called him Montgomery (Monty for short) just because I liked the name. Our third was a rescue and was called Harry, we always referred to him as Hairy Harry

When our current girl came to us, she'd already been through so much, so we didn't want to confuse her anymore, so kept her name, Dottie. Ideally, if we'd had her from a pup, she'd have had an Italian name befitting her heritage.

When DS was little, he had 3 hamsters, that, you've guessed, I ended up looking after. The first was a rehome, named after a football team, which we changed to Sandy as she was golden in colour. The second was a lovely dark brown one named Fudge, and the third was also dark brown, so we called her Coco. Coco and Monty got on well together. When she came out at night, she'd sit on his head and ride on his back, he never batted an eyelid, and when she'd finished playing, she went back in to her house . We had to be careful with her and Harry, he was a devil, and would kick her ball around when he thought we weren't looking

What were the deciding factors in naming your pet/s?

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Austina my DH absolutely loves Old English Sheepdogs, we almost adopted one years ago in fact. Love all of your name choices, especially Waldo, so cute.

Some of our pets came with their names since most all were adopted they would be Tucker and Zoe our Bichon/Cavalier mixes, Fiona our Sheltie came with her name. Carly the cat and Jack the cockatiel are names we just liked and BunBun the rabbit came with her name.

For names we did come up with ourselves, Merlin our Aussie/Golden male dog is named after the wizard but is more of a magician since he can make almost anything disappear. Murphy our big orange cat is named after Murphy's Law because at the time we had just lost a cat and didn't really need another but he was a little stray kitten I found on our street that nobody wanted. We have another cockatiel named Mr. Gray, not after 50 shades but named for his Gray and white coloring, much more boring than being named after the movie lol!

 

[monarch64]

Cats:

1. July. My mother named him that because he was a stray who started coming around our house in July.
2. Spooky. The most hilarious fluffy black cat.
3. Tinkerbell. I had to put a bell around her neck when she was a kitten so I wouldn't step on her in the dark on my way to the bathroom or something. She was too stealthy otherwise!

Dogs:
1. Milo. It was just a name my first husband and I both liked. Possibly to do with the movie Milo and Otis. I really don't remember, and that dog was an *******.
2. Daisy. Named after my childhood dog that the neighbor shot and killed because she was running the meat off his cows. Dogs like to herd things. Cattle farmers trying to fatten up their livestock don't like dogs who make cows lose weight.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Dino the Demon Dog was named Manny at the shelter, although he had been picked up by Animal Control as a stray in an alley behind Wrigley Field so no idea what his previous real name was. I knew that Manny wouldn't do though and when we were checking out they had dog biscuits at the counter in the shape of dinosaurs. The Demon went crazy for one shaped like Dino from the Flintstones and there was his name. ("The Demon" part was... um... *earned* later!)

Oscar was Norbert when we got him from the shelter (again, no idea what his real previous name was). I was sitting in the back seat with him when we left there and was just throwing names out. Oscar popped out and he looked at me and cocked his and and there he was. Strangely enough this dog is so dumb he couldn't find his own hairy d!ck with both paws, but a decade later you say "Norbert" and he comes running.

 

[Matata]

Because the ancestors of my cats lived in the African Savannah, I wanted African names. I spent hours/days looking at lists of names. Juba Kai is named after the Juba River and Kai means handsome; Feyd Panzi Maliik means Silver Grasshopper King and Maliik is the best jumper out of the 4; Taji means crown and his full name is Clown Prince Taji; Atticus isn't an African name but he told me what his name should be and I honored his request.

I could have saved myself the trouble of choosing names and just gone with Whiney Boy, Pain in the A$$, Make-a-Mess, and Velcro.

 

[Puppmom]

Our boy, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, was supposed to be a large, majestic creature. So we wanted a strong, masculine name. We chose Hollis. Turns out that's usually a girl's name and he's a big (but beautiful!) goof. The bestest big goof there is in all the land.

 

[Arcadian]

Her race name is Goodluck. She's that indeed! All of the pups from the litter where named after poker terms. Her kennel name is Lucky, she knew it so we kept it.

Of course, I'd love to have a greyhound with the name of Santa's little helper...lol

 

[PintoBean]

All my kitties were named at their respective shelters. To avoid confusion, we did the following modifications:
1. Kat became Katigan (recursive, 9 lives lolol)
2. Honda (found in a Honda) became Honda Jams
3. Tinny became Lin-Tin-Tin
4. Belle became Bellerina

 

[azstonie]

Finn is a West Highland White Terrier (Westie). The breed is from Scotland so I wanted a Gaelic name. Finn means bright, shining, white etc and so he is! He is 15 next month. He's our everything.

Maggie is my female Westie and my mom named her, she and I brought Maggie home from the breeder together. I might've named her Bonnie to keep the Scottish names going. We love her so much we replaced her first hip at 11 months (the #?$@!# vet told us our only option was euthanasia for her hip dysplasia) and the other hip at 5 years old.

Finn is cheery, sunshiney and sweet. I thought Maggie would be the same. In the breed, the males are typically like Finn plus mellow. Maggie is nosy and a busybody in addition to Finn's qualities above.

We love them both so much.

It was great to read everyone's naming stories, great thread, Austina!

 

[OreoRosies86]

Oreo is the most basic boring name for a black and white cat, but we rarely call her by her given name. My youngest was so small when Oreo wandered into our lives that she couldn't properly pronounce her name, so she would walk around saying "Ro Ro good kitty."

So most of the time we all call her RoRo, unless she's in trouble

 

[Queenie60]

Cats:
Duchess and Rascal - litter mates and Rascal is exactly that, Duchess just sounded good for the female at the time.

Dogs:

Quincy - sounded good to my family members after throwing out many names
Bebe - she's a rescue and her name was Dooby which I couldn't live with . Changed to Bebe as it sounded the same as to not confuse her. Poor girl, she was an emergency "foster' for me which I ended up keeping as I felt sorry for her. Paw was broken and when they found her abandoned at a foreclosed home, she was so caked in mud they didn't even know she was white.

 

[lambskin]

Our first pet was an albino hamster that Santa brought the kids. They named it Candycane for the red and white color and the Christmas season. candy. Our next pet was a rescue cat which was named Nekko. Since that is the Japanese word for cat, and we used to live in Japan it was perfect. Our next pet was also a rescue kitten which was named Sylvester ("I thought I saw a puddy cat.".cartoon cat) named for his black and white markings. We renamed it Orion as my kids were into Astronomy and it was one of our favorite constellations. But o one called him Orion as the youngest started calling him "Fritten" and the name has stuck.

 

[tyty333]

2 of my cats were just named names I liked (Boo Boo and Tazzy). The 3rd cant we rescued came to use when the kids were old enough to have
their own opinions about what to name him. We could not come to an agreement so we stuck with the name the SPCA gave him, Palmer. Not a great
cat name but...it works.

I've already decided that I will be naming the next cat we get. Too many opinions just keeps us from reaching a conclusion that any of us likes. I'll
take input from the kids but I will be the one that makes the final decision!

 

[PierreBear]

Fun thread, Austina! Nice to hear the story behind your pets. Married into a cajun/French family. When we adopted our cat, we decided to name him Pierre. The name fits his personality perfectly. He's a cat that is very social and is a lover at heart. All he wants to do is cuddle and be in the same room.

 

[lyra]

It's a mystery. I don't know how I choose names. They just come to me except for one: Murphy Guinness. He was born on St. Patty's day, and is black and tan. So I guess he's an Irish Chihuahua.

 

[caf]

I have two beagles and a Carolina dog'ish girl. The beagles are named Dorothy and Henry, after characters in the Wizard of Oz. (Uncle Henry.) When we got them as rescues I think my daughter was doing the Wizard of Oz in theater and so wanted the dogs named after characters in the show. The Carolina girl is named Cheyenne. She came from Texas and is also a rescue. She was named before we got her for Cheyenne, Wyoming. Since we are in Colorado, we liked the name and she reminded me of Wyoming... and she also had been renamed once and we did not want to confuse her.

As for the cats, my DD named them - CC and JoE. JoE is a big ole fat orange boy. CC is an itty bitty girl who is now about 15 or 16 years of age and slowing way down.

My animals' names fit them all.

 

[stracci2000]

My cats are named Phrixus (from Greek mythology)
and Miso (our favorite soup)

But we shoulda named them Pooper and Biter.

 

[KaeKae]

Heidi, Shepard mix. Kids were arguing over silly names I knew I could not live with, so I googled names for a female German Shepard, wrote down the ones I liked and let the girls choose one, It fits her well.

Hunter, red longhaired tabby/Maine coon. I wanted to name him Clancy, kids had other ideas, including Leo, which was the name of an uncle I had, who was not liked by anyone in the family. I wasn't going for that one. Hunter was suggested by someone and was a compromise we all could live with, though he's never been outside to see if he actually is a good hunter.

Rosie, miniature poodle. Rosie is the name the nice people at the rescue had given her. Remembering the stress of finding names for Heidi and Hunter, we all agreed that Rosie really fit her and kept it.

Reecie, guinea pig. DD1 brought her home this summer. She is brown and orange stripes, like a peanut butter cup.

 

[AdaBeta27]

1st cat: He was already named by the previous owner. She and her friends frequented a great local bar, Spanky's and the cat was named Spanky. So I always presumed he had been named after that bar. He lived to be 16 and was a complete heller his entire life. But we were seriously in luuuuuuuve with each other. lol.

Red tabby: My now ex-husband named him Jonesy. Ex was a fan of the Alien movies. I literally did not know where the Jonesy name came from until someone explained it to me years later. He is much handsomer than the movie Jonesy, though.

Black cat: Ella Fitzgerald. She was 5 months old, out of the kitten stage for certain, and came home with me after the shelter had stopped adopting out black cats due to Halloween. I felt I was literally her last chance to avoid euthanization. She was just "Black Cat" for probably a month before she told me her black female extraordinary-vocalist showy self ought to be called Ella Fitzgerald. She's quite pleased to be named after someone famous. My mother says a Southerner always has 3 names, so she is technically Ella Mae Fitzgerald.

 

[elle_71125]

My pets are all named after tv or book characters/actors (mostly tv). Weird but it just works for us.

My doggies:
- Dakota Fanning. No explanation needed right? She was a child actress.
- Riley. Named after Riley Poole in the movie National Treasure. A dopey character, which describes our dog perfectly.
- Keira. Named after Keira Knightly (actress).
- Gizmo. Named after Gizmo in the Gremlins.

My kitties:
-Felix. Named after Felix the cat.
-Patience. I had a "Charmed" phase and all the leading ladies were named with a P so...
-Zoey Bird. Named after a character in a young adult book.
- Sophie. Named after the spicy Latino character, Sophia, on the tv show Young & Hungry.

*We have since lost two of the cats (in the last couple years) but they would have wanted to be on the list.

 

[mjr1]

My dogs have always had names that start with the letter C-no idea why, it just happened and we stuck with it.... I currently have a Cleo-as a very little girl, the people next door had a beagle name Cleo and I loved her. My parents were not animal people, we weren't getting a dog, so I just adored her. When we brought her home as a puppy, she just looked like a Cleo and its a perfect fit 9 years later. My other dog is a rescue (Lab mix)who was named Sheba-I hated that name-it just didn't fit her and it didn't start with a C- so we renamed her Catie after one of my nieces. It does get a bit confusing when my niece is visiting...... She is a sweet, elegant, kind,loyal girl. Best rescue EVER! Finally, last Thanksgiving while at a local pet supply store, I saw a very elderly chocolate lab at an adoption event......and about two minutes later I paid her adoption fee and she was mine. She was 30 lbs underweight, severely malnourished, in horrible physical shape with more problems than you could shake a stick at. She had been pulled out of a high kill shelter, adopted out briefly and returned (because they said she was old-if you could see you would have known she was old so go figure....). Her name was Agnes and I couldn't bear the thought of putting her through one more change so Agnes it is.....She is 15+ years old per the vet but sweet as can be, we love her and she is part of our pack now. We call her Aggie Waggy and she is adored by all who meet her. Love them all..... <3

 

[foxinsox]

The cats:
First, Lily the Pink because when I got her she was clearly a Lily and her tummy was all pink from where she’d been shaved for spaying. Plus she had pink toe-beans and a pink nose.
Finn is properly Mr Finn because Finn suited him but he was a bit more serious and reserved so needed the Mr.
The dogs:
Franklin was initially and (unoriginally) Frank like in Men in Black. When he came home he just somehow could only be Franklin.
Barry was Barry from day one. He’s a total Barry.

 

[missy]

Whatever name strikes us when we see them, get to know them is the name we choose. My first kitty ever looked like a Buster. He was black and white and looked tough (but he was as gentle and sweet as they come) so the name Buster just popped into my head. In an ironic sort of way.

All our kitties are rescue cats and sometimes come with names already but usually we change the names if we don't think it fits the cat's personality. One of our kitties names was originally Oreo (another black and white kitty) but we renamed him Fred. Just fits better IOO. He is a Fred.

As others have mentioned here they all have alternative names. Francesca's (aka Frankie) alternative name is HRH Queen Francesca (here we insert middle name, dh's last name and my last name (lol) ruler of all that live, has ever lived and will ever live, we bow to your knees.

And that's the short version hahaha.

 

[Tekate]

My dog now was a rescue and we kept the name she had there. Our other dog who died in '13 was named Daisy and my son and I went thru names on the web and when we agreed on one together that was it!

 

[gemgirl]

I've named all of our pups without my husband's input, just by looking at them. I've never brought home a dog after seeing her only once. So over the course of weeks of visiting and looking at photos, it's as if they tell me what their name should be. It's just pops into my head and feels right. The pup we just brought home four weeks ago today, a purebred Jack Russell Terrier, was the hardest for me to name. I've never been (personally) drawn to all white dogs, so I think that was why she was the hardest.

Because she is 95% white, I named her Lily, like the flower. Easter Lillies popped into my head. Her proper name is Lily Bianca Angelica or in Italian, Lily the white angel.

 

[gemgirl]

I'm sorry, all of my current photos are in my iPhone and iPad. I have to download a slew.

 

[violet3]

I love this thread! I have had 3 dogs in adult-hood.

My first dog, Ripley, was a king charles spaniel, and I hit it off with his breeder right away. I live at the beach on the east coast, and his breeder lives inland by a few hours. His litter had 3 puppies in it, and she had named them all beach-themed names - his name was "Riptide." She said she had never sent a dog to a beach town before, and thought it was meant to be - so did I, so I kept his name. He was Riptide with the AKC, but Ripley or just Rip to us.

Our second dog Rhonda, (brown shepherd mix in my avatar) was a rescue from our groomer. My husband always asked if we ever got a girl dog, could he call her Rhonda? I said "sure," since I was pretty sure we wouldn't be getting another dog...but then we did...and her name is perfect for her.

Brodie (king charles spaniel in my avatar) came to us shortly after Rip passed away suddenly in August of last year (2016). Rhonda was very attached to Rip, and got really upset and depressed after he died; when I took her to the vet she had internal bleeding, and I got really upset thinking she could die also. I found Brodie that week - his first family had returned him because he "ate everything." When I found him, I knew he was meant to be - he was 4 months old and a perfect fit for our family. We kept going over names, and finally found Brodie, which means brother. Since Rhonda needed a new brother, we figured that was a perfect name for him.

 

[Yimmers]

Indiana Jones, my old border collie mix, was an owner surrender and that was his given name. We decided to keep it since he was 5 at the time and well heck, Indy was the dog's name.
Indy went to the rainbow bridge in 2007.

Stitch was named by me because of his big ears. He also has a gremlin yawn at times, just like Stitch of Lilo and Stitch. Sometimes, we call him Stitchy or Stitch-kins. He's some kind of chi-papillon-who knows what mix.

Winton was named by DH. Ideally, I would have gotten a female dog and named her Lilo
Turns out, we picked up this guy and my husband found him goofy, like the character Winston from the TV show New Girl. We call him Winnie or Win Pins since he is most likely a miniature pinscher.

All rescue or shelter dogs. Yes, I refer to them as fur babies and I'm their momma.

 

[ksinger]

Our rescue black lab came with the name Sonny. Eww. Did so not work for us, although he is officially Sonny at the vet and if we are distinguishing him in public from Duke, my husband's previous lab.

We never could come up with something fitting, so, being an utterly good-natured hound, and willing to answer to pretty much anything if it involves food, attention, playing, or staying dry and in the house (his lab cred is in some doubt because of this), at home we call him Doofus, Goofus, Lump, Doggle, and Dog. We seem to have settled on Doggle most of the time. And yes, I know, so uncreative on our part. But he doesn't mind and knows he's got a great gig. He's spoiled pretty rotten, except for the part that he's a lovely individual and not susceptible at all to being made rotten.