Mine might be slightly pretentious-- they’re all plant names. Basil, Indigo, Violet, Tansy, and Sweet Pea. Garden theme names seem to say “I’m a Gentleperson who must let every one know of my love of horticulture.” I really just like growing stuff and those names and plants are neat.
Family pets’ names were utterly unpretentious-- Whizzer, Calico, Blackie, Lady, Wheezie, and a canary I named Pinky (I was three). Those didn’t reflect income or education as my parents went from entry level to administration and advanced degrees.
I LOVE The Preppy Handbook (and the recent sequel)
Most of our dogs came to us already named. The only living one that we re-named became “Binkley” after Bloom County’s Michael Binkley (shelter had named him “Puppy” which we thought was just moronic for a 3-year-old dog). I guess that could be considered some kind of lefty-elite reference.
I’ll admit to wanting a matched pair of pugs to name Daisy and Gatsby, or maybe Mulder and Scully.
Our other dogs: The late great Mojo was renamed from Buddy because he wouldn’t answer to it. He was named after Mojo “Elvis is Everywhere” Nixon. Penny came to us named Penny, which we kept (the first dog we had when I was a kid was named Penny), and Cody came to us named Cody, which we kept because the rescue had already gotten him chipped and licensed that way. It doesn’t suit him and strikes me a a “trendy” kiddie name that a trashy celebutante might use, but…Cody he remains out of convenience.
I don’t have anything remotly resembling money or class. When I was a kid I was a brat who was interested in Crowley so as an adult I named a pet bird Azazel. She attacked me and other birds, vandalized the house, and got violently angry when I tried to stop her.
I once thought I’d send her to the CIA and she screamed. I told her if she could read my mind she was the next weapon of mass destruction to fight terrorists, but there was a possibilty the CIA might mistake her for a terrorist.
Our dog’s name is Princess Jeanne. She is named for the strip mall in front of which I nabbed her after running through 6 lanes of traffic. She is a bit of a Tomboy though, and only answers to P.J.
Not pretentious, but kind of funny–we once had a litter of 4 grey kittens in the house. Three were identical gray tabbies, and the fourth was solid grey. I let the younger kids name them and we ended up with Buckley, Buckley, Buckley, and GoGo.
My neighbor had matching dogs, we called one Red Collar and the other one Blue Collar. (“Hello, Barb? One of your dogs is digging a hole in our yard…yeah, Red Collar…come and get him, OK?”)
We’ve got a Monkey (name came with cat) and a Wink (this one has only one eye). Not very pretentious. I want to get two Scotties and name them Arthur Dexter Bradley and Miss Patty Valentine, which are not so much pretentious as obscure.
My cats have always had names that end in O, starting with Romeo (the only worth-while male in my life at the time), Toto (who was a street runaway that would come to our house for dinner – when he didn’t return, we searched until he was found and told him “there was no place like home” – he’s been an indoor kitty ever since) and Indigo, with the blue eyes.
Our dogs are Sagan (a Dalmatian), named after scientist Carl Sagan who my husband is a big fan of, and Zen (Dachshund / Chihuahua mix mutt), after my neo-hippie aesthetic.
I guess we count as upper middle class. Our cats’ names:
Tenshi (he came with it and we liked it)
Ozzy (short for Ozymandias, or Ozzy Osbourne, depending on how we’re feeling that day)
Grace (also called Aria Bella, her original name)
Sonata (also called Fred)
Nabby (named after the former Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov)
Tessa (I just liked the name, but we always call her Bug)
Clarice (named for Clarice Starling in “Silence of the Lambs” because the spouse thought she was a scrappy little survivor)
Meep (RIP): She was named because a friend and I referred to baby dragons as “meeps,” and I thought the name was cute.
I’m in the upper 15% of income by household, so I’m technically part of the dirty 99%. Still, I’ll offer that my pet is named after the character in a Brazilian soap-opera that was dubbed into Spanish and appeared on a US Spanish-speaking TV station in the early 2000’s.
My cat and dog both have first names, middle initials, last names, and two or three nicknames (there is actually a reason for that). I don’t think it’s pretentious, just silly.
The cat is usually called “The Cat” and the dog “My Girl”, as in “Who’s my girl?”
Past Dogs: Dukie (short for Dukalus Herman - ok, I was a weird kid)
Prince (expletive) - He knew he was the Prince and he thought his doo-doo did not stink (hence expletive)
Past Cats: Natasha Marie - my cat, named after Natasha Fatale (her name fit her so well) Nicknamed Tasha (after Tasha Tudor, my favorite children’s book artist) Marie is a family name for me…also nicknamed: Namarie, Tasharee, Nisser, Noodlenose, Moose, trouble, and hell-cat.
Elizabeth Annemarie - my ex-husband’s cat (even though we were married, she loved him best) Originally named Sissy because the ex couldn’t think of a name for the poor thing. I then decided that Elizabeth was perfect for her (Beth for short, my favorite character from Little Women) and I liked the name Annemarie. Also nicknamed: Bethany, Bessie, Sisser, Caboose, Hodge-podge, and angel-kitty.
Middle Class kid. My first dog was Siddhartha. He was an Afghan hound with these gorgeous almond eyes. And he was a pacifist - he’d let the squirrels eat from his food bowl.
My present dogs are Maggie, Sophie, Jake, Pat and Andy and Wylie Dufresne (after the Shawshank Redemption character and the chef). My cats are Papi (Papillon - she was a little butterfly flitting around when she was a kitten), Sabrina, Nick Storm and Spike. My horses are Irish (registered Donnybrook Lad), Nakota (Tracewinds Nakota), Daisy Duke and Peanut.
