# Do you re-use pet names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 30, 2025, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245 "2025-11-30T01:25:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/21 "2025-11-30T05:10:27Z")
I avoid reusing a name. Too much confusion over who I’m talking to/about, and I have a probably irrational thing about keeping pets distinct individuals. I’m currently working on naming a kitten (orange female), and won’t use a name too close to prior pets (e.g., Annie has been ruled out because a recently deceased cat of ours was named Allie, and I think that’s too similar). I also don’t use names already in use in the family in general (e.g., ruled out Amber even if that would be a great fit for her eyes because we have a niece by that name). ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/22 "2025-11-30T05:12:34Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I had no problem changing names of fosters I kept over the years. Mostly unnamed kittens. But I had a couple young dogs that already had terrible names. I mean I’m not calling for _Bee-otch_ for her dinner. Just wrong. When we adopted our now late Siamese mix from the shelter, we kept the name she’d had for a year, but changed the spelling. We thought Alley was just too bad-joke-cutesy, so she became Allie. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/23 "2025-11-30T07:33:10Z")
My mum had a string of male black Labradors, all descended from the previous generation (purebred, show quality, etc) She named them with names beginning with J. Jason, Jasper, Jody… etc. I think she must have consulted a “baby names” list because I’d be hard pressed to come up with as many J names as she did. OTOH, I know a guy who names each iteration of dog exactly the same name. He’s had about 5, identically named. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/24 "2025-11-30T07:49:32Z")
The first cat I adopted as an adult was named Rusty after a cat we had when I was 5 or 6 years old. Not quite a full renaming, but I had a cat named Freya once, and 9 years after she passed I adopted a cat that I named Lunafreya, both to honor her and because I was playing Final Fantasy XV at the time and that’s the name of a character in the game. (The other cat I have right now is named Noctis, her love interest in that same game, although ironically enough the two cats don’t get along very well.) ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/25 "2025-11-30T09:04:48Z")
Neighbors had a Samoyed, Keemo, and when he died and they got a second one, it was named Keemo 2, but normally just called Keemo. Whenever I see a Samoyed, I refer to it as a Keemo dog. Hubby’s grandmother had serial beagles, all (3) of whom had the same name and were all black, tan, and white. She had a black lab as well, but the lab had a different name. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/26 "2025-11-30T10:22:20Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Neighbors had a Samoyed, Keemo, and when he died and they got a second one, it was named Keemo 2, but normally just called Keemo. Whenever I see a Samoyed, I refer to it as a Keemo dog. Oh wow, that’s the same breed as my friend whose dogs all had the same name had. I wonder if that’s a thing with Samoyed owners. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/27 "2025-11-30T11:10:38Z")
We have for a couple of cats, though since we always have many multiples at one time it’s not like George 1 goes to the Perpetual Catnip Field and is instantly replaced by George 2. There were several years’ gap between 1 and 2. We’ve had two beautiful dark torties named Wicked, and two brown tabbies named George. Both Wickeds are gone, George2 is in his prime and is a best buddy of mine. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/28 "2025-11-30T12:54:08Z")
Never, ever. They all have their own personalities. When my first dog passed away a ‘co-worker’ said to just get another that looked like the dog and name it the same thing. Problem solved. He was the weirdest dude I’ve every met. HR ended up disappearing him. He was just gone one day, not a word was said. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/29 "2025-11-30T13:47:57Z")
Years ago, we had a cat named “Patch” who was all white except for a small bit of black by his ear. We currently have a cat named Merry (well, his full name is chocolate chip meringue cookie. My daughter mostly called him Cookie, and he may think that’s his name) who is mostly white, except for a tabby tail and a patch of tabby coloration by his ear. He’s actually pretty similar to Patch in personality. They have a lot of other differences, but the ways they interact with people are very similar. I sometimes mess up and think “Patch, no that’s not his name…” ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/30 "2025-11-30T13:58:26Z")
Snowball 1, 2.. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/31 "2025-11-30T14:06:15Z")
Always a new name. Although one of my brothers named a dog after our childhood dog, and that seemed okay. Sort of like naming your kid after grandpa. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/32 "2025-11-30T15:44:28Z")
I’ve never reused pet names. A family member and their spouse actually both had childhood dogs that happened to have the same name, but that was long before they met each other. When I was young an elderly acquaintance had a toy poodle named Mickey. When he died, she got another one (different colouring) and named him Mickey 2…or Mickey Two or Mickey, too…I don’t know exactly but the “2” was always spoken….that dog answered to “Mickeytoo". He was a very cute dog. When the owner passed away he went to a family friend and had a nice long life. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/33 "2025-11-30T15:44:37Z")
My SDMB handle is the backwards spelling of my first dog Alpine we lived way up in the mountains. For a few years (before I met my wife) it was just me and Alpine. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/34 "2025-11-30T16:45:41Z")
I’ve had eleven pets in my life, all cats. Given the thousands of possible names out there, the question of whether to reuse a name has never come up. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/35 "2025-11-30T16:50:10Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Oh wow, that’s the same breed as my friend whose dogs all had the same name had. I wonder if that’s a thing with Samoyed owners. I only know one Samoyed owner, and she’s owned several, going back to the 1980s. She has given each one a different name. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/36 "2025-11-30T17:25:58Z")
Once when we got a new pair of rats, my wife and I were discussing names for them. I thought the small feisty one should be Bozo and the larger calmer one Pumpkin. She liked the name Bozo but thought it was more appropriate for the larger one. After many days of discussion, we finally decided to name them Big Bozo and Little Bozo. However we always used the full form of the names, so it wasn’t exactly the same name. The next rat we got we called Tiny Bozo, although ironically he grew to be one of the largest rats we ever had. After that we decided enough was enough and retired the Bozo name. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2025, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/37 "2025-11-30T22:27:31Z")
In Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series, Spenser and Susan have at least 2 German shorthair pointers named Pearl, and I believe there is a reference to a Pearl in Spenser’s childhood. I do not know if Pearl, in some form or another, has been carried on by Parker’s successors. And I think I read somewhere that Parker has a similar tradition regarding his dogs. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2025, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/38 "2025-12-01T01:44:58Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Given the thousands of possible names out there, the question of whether to reuse a name has never come up. I hear ya. The only reason I had to think about a possible repetition was I liked the full name, Freddie Mercury, that the shelter gave him, but given the previous Fred(dy) I needed a different everyday name. The first time or two I brought him to the vet some staff referred to Merc as Freddie, but I explained why Merc and they were cool with it. Also, using a falsetto, fast “MercMerc!” when I put his food down brings him right over from wherever he’s napping. My other current cat was named Gerald by the shelter, but given his giant murder mittens (with thumbs!), his crumpled ears (chronic mite infestation) and his overall battered appearance when rescued from the streets, I knew right away he had to be Bruiser. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2025, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/39 "2025-12-01T02:05:42Z")
We had a hobo cat that showed up here. He was big ol’ bruiser. Solid black. Many scars and especially long tail, that he coveted and protected at all costs. He would stroll right in the Beagle kennel with up to 20 mean hunting Beagles, that were most assuredly NOT pets. And the cat would have a drink from their trough and eat some of their kibble. They never bothered the cat. In fact the dogs would cower in their boxes. We called the cat “Big dog”. He wasn’t exactly friendly so we never really got near him. He moved on after a month or so. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2025, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245/40 "2025-12-01T02:06:38Z")
Pets sometimes name themselves - which is beyond our naming control But more to the OP, while a child we had a cat, named Spunky, who died prematurely. My parents replaced that cat with another look-a-like and named it the same, so I didn’t have to understand death as they thought I was too young. Thing is that the first Spunky would attack me, the second was as sweet as honey, but I remained very afraid of him - and all other pets - till the second Spunky died. As such I would tend to not reuse a name. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-re-use-pet-names/1025245.md?page=3)