# Generic pet names in non-English languages

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-pet-names-in-non-english-languages/52912>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 2, 2001, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-pet-names-in-non-english-languages/52912 "2001-02-02T21:07:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-pet-names-in-non-english-languages/52912/1 "2001-02-02T21:07:06Z")

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After we recently added two kittens to our household and after deciding that neither of them would be named “Tigger” or “Fluffy” or any of those other cat names that it seems like _everybody_ gives their cats, I got to wondering: what sorts of names are “generic” for dogs and cats in other languages? What, for example, is the Japanese equivalent of “Fido” or “Rover,” or what would a cat named “Tigger” in the USA be called in the Netherlands?

Thanks in advance!

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-pet-names-in-non-english-languages/52912/2 "2001-02-02T23:43:53Z")

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The french version of “Fido” is “Médor”. I can’t think of a french version of “Fluffy”, but a frenchman calling a cat by “here kitty kitty kitty” would say “minou minou minou”.