# Adopting a Kitten!!!! Help with name... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 23, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677 "2003-12-23T18:20:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![geewhiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@geewhiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geewhiz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/1 "2003-12-23T18:20:21Z")
I am adopting a beautiful black and white kitten tomorrow (or rather the kitten has adopted me…he comes to me, lays peacefully in my arms and has licked my hair). He is male (duh). I am having problems thinking of a name. I don’t want anything like Hercules or Spartacus (my mom’s ideas). Also nothing like smoochie poochie. I have it down to: Bailey, Felix, Cody, Corben or Sniggles. Anyone else have any ideas???🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/2 "2003-12-23T18:21:51Z")
Our new stray is black and white. We’re calling him Domino. We also considered Oreo. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/3 "2003-12-23T19:07:51Z")
Gompers. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/4 "2003-12-23T19:28:46Z")
Are you going to get him neutered? If not, Shub Niggurath, Beast with a Thousand Spawn, might be a good name. Otherwise, you could call him Nyarolathotep the Crawling Chaos. Other good cat names: Spatula (cuz it’s fun to say) The Gecko (see above) Chiaroscuro (light/dark) Daniel ---
**Author:** ![geewhiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@geewhiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geewhiz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/5 "2003-12-23T19:33:27Z")
oh yeah, I am getting him neutered. His first vet appointment is Friday and I will discuss it then with the vet. Any more ideas…all these are good. I can’t call him Oreo as that is the name of my dearly departed cat of 13 and a half years. _Moment of silence for Oreo_ ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/6 "2003-12-23T19:40:36Z")
How about Knuckles? That way you can feel like a gangster whenever you call him. “Yo, Knuckles! Get over here, I gotta job for ya!” Rocco would be good too. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/7 "2003-12-23T20:01:49Z")
I like Knuckles and Rocco. Never make your pet names too pat. ---
**Author:** ![SJSB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@SJSB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SJSB)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/8 "2003-12-23T20:05:10Z")
Benson, Marlboro, Smirnoff… these are all fine, upstanding names. Or there’s Caligula… ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/9 "2003-12-23T20:07:38Z")
Peeve (then you can refer to your Pet Peeve) 😃 Dogfood (the name of my best friend’s cat) Rover ---
**Author:** ![MrTuffPaws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MrTuffPaws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrTuffPaws)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/10 "2003-12-23T20:11:40Z")
“Dog Meat” is a good name for a cat. Also “Tire Tread”, “Sack O’ Hair”, “Hairball Dispenser”, “Fuzzy thing With Sharpe Parts”, and “Spot” are all good cat names. ---
**Author:** ![Thrillhouse15](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@Thrillhouse15](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thrillhouse15)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/11 "2003-12-23T20:12:53Z")
(for the Simpsons fans out there) I’ve been wanting to get two cats, a black one and a white one, and name them Lenny and Carl. And then to keep them straight I’ll write Lenny = white on my hand. I also thought it’d be cool to name my potential two cats after Mike’s friends from Growing Pains, Eddie and Boner (preemtively vetoed by my girlfriend, by the way). ---
**Author:** ![geewhiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@geewhiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geewhiz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/12 "2003-12-23T20:20:16Z")
Thrillhouse15: Your girlfriend obviously has taste. How did she end up with you? (Just joking!!) Actually I saw the name Carl on [kitten-names.com](http://kitten-names.com) and considered it. I was also thinking about Sneegles…after that ugly thing in LOTR. (Gollum takes him over) What about DogKiller? MrTuffPaws…do you not like cats? Hairball dispenser…phew! Eve…Gompers is in the running. It sounds so cute! ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/13 "2003-12-23T20:48:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by geewhiz \* > \*\*Eve…Gompers is in the running. It sounds so cute! \*\* Doesn’t it _just_? The first time I read about Samuel Gompers, all I could think was, “What a great pet name! Here, Gompers! Here, boy!” Constance Bennett had two dogs named “Get Off the Rug!” and “You, Too!” ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/14 "2003-12-23T20:54:17Z")
Since he’s black and white, that essentially makes him 1 and 0. Call him Biney for binary. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/15 "2003-12-23T20:55:48Z")
I usually give new kittens and puppies a “temporary” name (usually just initials), and then wait and observe them a while to decide a permanent name that fits their personality and demeanor… Thus my cat’s name is **Boojum** , from Lewis Carroll’s _The Hunting of the Snark_. An imaginary, invisible, extremely dangerous monster is a wonderful namesake for a monster of a black cat with a very aggressive attitude. (Before I settled on a name, his temporary moniker was “BC” for “Bad Cat.”) My cocker spaniel pup was named **Jericho** because his barking was so loud it could bring the walls down. (Before that, he was “TF” for “Tinkle Fairy,” i.e., the tinkle fairy visited us again last nite… this time on the drapes.) ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/16 "2003-12-23T21:55:09Z")
I always name pets after a character in a book that I am reading at the time of acquisition (of course the two little Gaffers have christened our newest cat “Butthead,” apparently from a literary souce of which I am unfamiliar). So, are you reading anything right now? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/17 "2003-12-23T22:29:23Z")
I’ve read that cats respond best to short names with hard consonants – Spike, Fido, Killer are all good cat names. If you want the cat to have a chance in hell of coming when you call, may want to keep this in mind. I read this only after naming my two cats Sasha and Polyphony, unfortunately. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![geewhiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@geewhiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geewhiz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/18 "2003-12-23T22:51:16Z")
I never thought of Jericho. That is an ultra cool name. (It is now in the running) As for me reading anything right now. Only a book on the history of home economics. (I am getting a degree in family and consumer science education. I want to get my masters and PhDs in either consumer behavior or family resource management with an emphasis on comsumer decision making). I will think of books that I have read in the past and see if that jogs any ideas. ---
**Author:** ![geewhiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@geewhiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/geewhiz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/19 "2003-12-23T23:15:46Z")
I never thought of Jericho. That is an ultra cool name. (It is now in the running) As for me reading anything right now. Only a book on the history of home economics. (I am getting a degree in family and consumer science education. I want to get my masters and PhDs in either consumer behavior or family resource management with an emphasis on comsumer decision making). I will think of books that I have read in the past and see if that jogs any ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677/20 "2003-12-23T23:34:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*Doesn’t it _just_? The first time I read about Samuel Gompers, all I could think was, “What a great pet name! Here, Gompers! Here, boy!” > > Constance Bennett had two dogs named “Get Off the Rug!” and “You, Too!” \*\* You and Dave Barry–he’s got a bit about wanting a great big dog he could name Gompers. I thought you got it from him, at first, but I guess it’s just intrinsically a great name for a pet. I suggest Snoopy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adopting-a-kitten-help-with-name/220677.md?page=2)