# How did you name your pet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 19, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301 "2013-11-19T22:39:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/81 "2013-11-22T15:20:37Z")
Great picture of Zeb, **twicks** , and the one of Jez made me say “what a graceful girl!” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/82 "2013-11-22T15:26:57Z")
Tonka was the name of our cat at the shelter. We didn’t change it. (The SO says she wants to call him Fred.) Following the posts from the shelter, it appears it’s quite common for people to rename adopted pets. I reckon they have a name they’ve been called, so why change it? Besides, he’s a cat. He won’t come when you call anyway. And he gets called so many other things, his name is kind of secondary. ‘Mr. Teef’, ‘Vampire Kitty’, ‘Catface’, ‘Traction Cat’, ‘Woogie’, ‘Kitty’, ‘Weirdo’… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/83 "2013-11-22T15:41:39Z")
Forgot the Rule. [Here’s a Christmas card attempt](http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m305/llaaksonen/TonkaChristmas_small_edited-1.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/84 "2013-11-25T14:39:06Z")
My family once had a dog named Belton. We’d gone to the animal shelter several times to get a new dog and they were unexpectedly closed each time. When we finally got the dog my dad said, “Better late than never.” The family couldn’t agree on a name otherwise, so we took that as an acronym - BLTN - and it became his name. Our dog now is named Dewey because our eldest son thought it was a friendly-sounding name, and no one else had a strong objection. I’d wanted his middle name to then be “Decimal,” but was outvoted. (My suggestion for his name in the first place was “Baskerville,” from the Conan Doyle story, but everyone else thought it was too long). ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/85 "2013-11-25T15:49:48Z")
When we first got Mojo his name was a hotly debated topic for days. My husband wanted to call him Joe (He’s a boxer) and my daughter thought he should be named Muffin. After almost a week of the two of them sitting on opposite sides of a room and calling him different names I picked him up and decreed that Mojo was the compromise and booked his vet appointment under that name. When my daughter was being extremely affectionate and silly she would call him Mojo joe boxer muffin head. Now he mostly gets fat boy because his head weighs more than his previous entire puppy body did and he believes he’s a lap dog. Kaia came to us prenamed from the rescue group and she’d already been through so much we decided not to even consider changing it. We did change the spelling though it was Kaya on the paperwork. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2013, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/86 "2013-12-14T01:15:42Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > My dog is named Nathan. He’s a dachshund, and a Doper suggested the name, since “he’s such a good wiener dog.” > > At the dog park there’s a cute little chi-weenie named Leroy. The dog’s color is brown. > > Another dog is named Tyson. Not for the chicken though. His owner says when he was a puppy he liked to chew on his littermate’s ears. > > So, how did you name _your_ pet? [Our current cat](http://www.streamzoo.com/i/14071881) is Allie, spelling changed from Alley. The latter spelling is what her previous family gave her when they adopted her from the shelter as a kitten, so when we got her a year later (shelter re-run, her prior family apparently couldn’t keep her) we decided she’d been through enough upheaval without changing the name she was used to. Since she doesn’t care about spelling, it worked out. [Our previous cat](http://www.flickr.com/photos/seanette/8653498783/) had been picked up by city animal control as a stray (he was about two at the time, said vets). The shelter called him Soldier. When he selected me and I took him home, he quickly made it clear that the name the shelter gave him was _not_ HIS name. My husband and I spent a few days getting to know him, then started trying out names. When I tried Felix, he definitely responded to that, so that was his name for the next sixteen years, until we lost him to old age a little over two years ago. (Allie came home within about two days of that. We just couldn’t stand the cat-shaped hole in the family.) No, I did not name him for the cartoon character, since I’d never heard of the cartoon until after I hit on the correct name for the cat. I was thinking about the “Odd Couple” character. 🙂 [Our bird](http://www.flickr.com/photos/56759562@N06/10588078703/) was originally named Avery at the suggestion of a then-friend who decided to play off “aves” in a similar vein to the similarity of “Felix” and “felis”. We thought “Avery” was male, until about a year and a half after “he” acquired us (found “him” injured on our doorstep one cold night, and we’re softies. Eleven years later, we still have the bird). One morning we got up to find the wreckage of an egg in the cage. Since we only had one bird, wasn’t hard to figure out whose it was. “Avery” was promptly renamed “Ava”. 😃 ---
**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:** [December 14, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/87 "2013-12-14T01:21:31Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > Baker’s name is Baker because we were fostering 4 kittens and he would make happy feet if anyone even looked at him. The others were Alpha, Charlie and Delta. They found homes, but most people don’t want long-haired black males. Our Bakerboy was a reject, but rejects are pretty cool. > > Lucky came to me declawed and shot in the mouth and fixed. Oh, and one ear was shredded. What else could I call him? > > Steve got his name because [Rico](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13695710&postcount=53) wrote a song for him. Sorry for the mindworm…but not really. > > Missy Mouth’s name is pretty self evident. Which one is it who keeps putting Lucky in the trash again? 🙂 **Flander** , interesting that bunnies come in Siamese color schemes. 🙂 ---
**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:** [December 14, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/88 "2013-12-14T01:28:15Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Two cats that have passed were Vladimir and Tobermory. > > Vlad was named for his canine teeth, that were long enough to just show their tips. > > And Tobermory was named for the cat in the short story “Tobermory”, by Saki. > > My current cat Atilla is named for the cat in the comic strip “Mother Goose and Grimm” We had an Atilla when I was in grade school. Toughest tom in the neighborhood. Became Matilda very quickly when she produced kittens. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/89 "2013-12-14T01:34:17Z")
The thought occurred to me today, that Cray-Cray and Po-Po would be good names for a pair of cats. And then the last sane bit remaining in my neural network surprised that thought from ambuscade and bludgeoned it to death. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/90 "2013-12-14T01:35:45Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > We had an Atilla when I was in grade school. Toughest tom in the neighborhood. > > Became Matilda very quickly when she produced kittens. 😃 She must have been really fuzzy “back there” to make a mistake like that!😛 ---
**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:** [December 14, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/91 "2013-12-14T02:13:45Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > She must have been really fuzzy “back there” to make a mistake like that!😛 Not sure how my parents, both experienced cat ownees, made that mistake. I was a kid at the time, I think I can be excused :). Yeah, she WAS a very fluffy longhair. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/92 "2013-12-14T02:17:33Z")
Bela, lab mix from a shelter. Based on estimates of her age, she was born around Beltane. Tallulah, dlh. She was found as a wee kitteh on the sidewalk across from my old house in Fairburn, Georgia. Named in honor of Tallulah Bankhead. Nini, short for Phoenix, dsh. I chose Phoenix as a name because she was a baby stray found with her mama (who got away) in my back shed at the same house where I found Tallulah. For all I know they have the same papa but they look nothing alike. Anywho, where I found her was mere feet away from where I had burried my dear, sweet Peaches. He had been taken down by stray dogs. She was the Phoenix from his ashes. _sniff_ Mango - dsh, orange tabby. Obvious reasons, but prophetic as she is a complete fruit loop. Willow, dlh. She was named in honor of Pussy willow, a favorite plant of mine as a kid. I don’t recall which species we have along our rivers and streams around here, but I spent many long hours as a girl, walking country roads rubbing pussy willow buds against my lips and thinking of… cute kittehs…yeah…ahem. Gypsy, Syrian hamster. When we decided to take her home from Petco, Fleetwood Mac’s Gypsy was playing. Brimli, Dwarf hamster. She looks just like Wilford Brimley with her poofy white whiskers. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/93 "2013-12-14T02:18:48Z")
We need pictures. I’d especially love to see Brimli. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/94 "2013-12-14T02:26:38Z")
I was told years ago that dog names should be two syllables, as it makes it easier to train. Commands are one syllable, so a two syllable name makes it easier for them to learn their name. Previous dog was a lab mix, obtained from a co-worker as a stray. His daughter had taken to calling him Larry. The co-worker was named Perry Caray (no relation to Harry). His wife was Mary. I named the dog Larry-Caray, much to the dismay of Perry and his wife, but they never saw Larry again. It made for a confusing time at the vet Vet Assistant: What is the dog’s name? Excavating: Larry-Caray VA: Have you been here before, I can’t seem to be able to find his file, Mr. Caray. Ex: Oh, I’m Mr. Mind. Larry-Caray is the dog’s name. VA: Oh, here he is, Larry-Caray Mind. Larry (which is what I called him for short) was a good dog. Lived 12 years, until he twisted his intestinal track and had to be put down. Like a kid, he learned when I called “Larry” I wanted him. When I called “Larry-Caray” I wanted him NOW! After Larry left this world, I got married and my life changed. Five years later, my darling wife thought we needed a dog. Problem was, she was allergic to most dogs, we had to either get a Poodle or nothing. I told her I’d rather have nothing than to have another Poodle; my family had one when I was growing up and (IMO) Poodles have personality problems. She did some more looking and decided that an Australian Labradoodle, while not an official “AKC recognized” breed, were very personable and had few allergy issues. So we got a Labradoodle (from the most expensive breeder she could find in a 250 mile radius). His fur isn’t kinky, like a poodle, but kind of wavy. Except for his head. While not kinky like a poodle, more curly than his body coat. We went through a lot of potential names, the one that stuck, Cosmo. Most people assume for Mr. Kramer, of Seinfeld fame. Nope, although he does have the hairstyle. My wife thinks it for Mr. Topper (she is a TCM fan). She’s wrong. It’s for Mr. Spoetzl, and it’s actually spelled Kosmos. In honor of a German immigrant that settled in Shiner, Texas. Out of 100 people who meet Cosmo, 98 think of Mr. Kramer. Two will think of Topper. Nobody thinks of Shiner. Ok, his hair and expression fit with Kramer, and people who really know us (or have never seen Seinfeld) will go for Topper. Spelling his name with a “C” and leaving off the “s” makes it hard to get Spoetzl, but honest-to-God, that is where he got his name. excavating (for a mind) ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/95 "2013-12-14T05:11:52Z")
Grey tabby, Scatcat - I was three. Grey tabby, Scatcat II - and missed my kitty I think there was a III Sealpoint Siamese, Simey - unimaginative Lavenderpoint Siamese, Ming - Well, Siam is Asian, right? Calico, Chata - Catface Sombra - Black as a shadow Long hair white and tabby spots, Brandy - daughter named all four of Sombra’s kittens after food Oreo - self-explanatory Orange Tabby, Pooh - my Grandcat from daughter Black shorthair, Spam - another Grandcat,. Guess she was extraneous. Black longhair, Bunny - daughter named him for the vampire rabbit, Bunnicula, because his fangs hung out. Tortoiseshell, Ellie - Because it was a gentle name for a fragile kitten whom we put to sleep after three days at the advice of the vet. Black-brown tabby, Emily - as a replacement/reminder of little Ellie. Orange Tabby, Saami - when I learned that I had Saami relatives. Incidently I use none of these names for passwords. Heh. Of course the ones I’ve had in my adult life all have at least three other names. Not to mention their secret names for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/96 "2013-12-14T05:16:54Z")
> [@Astroboy14](#): > > My dog was found with the rest of his litter in a garbage dumpster north of San Diego. :mad: Good thing he was found, though. Tuxedo got his name because he looks like he’s wearing a little feline tuxedo. Abigail came to me from the shelter already named, and I saw no reason to change it. 🆒 \<3 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/97 "2013-12-14T14:18:44Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I have 15 non-human family members currently. You don’t really want the origins of all those names, do you? > [@saje](#): > > Alrighty then! > …snip… > > So **Flander** , sorry you asked now? 😃 Not at all!! I looked at every picture. Wonderful animal family. That little b&w kitten- what a precious heartbreaker. 🙂 This thread is sadly lacking in pictures… ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/98 "2013-12-14T15:15:56Z")
I had a lilac Siamese whose original name was Lilac Lou. He had been abandoned by his mother at birth and raised by a dog who had puppies. Lou thought he was a dog. Someone remarked “Trust you to get a Puppy-Cat.” And Puppy-Cat became his new name. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/99 "2013-12-14T16:45:04Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > :mad: > > Good thing he was found, though. To be fair I got no details; for all I know his mother crawled in there to give birth… Still it’s worked out well for both of us. He’s the best dog ever! ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301/100 "2013-12-14T16:50:38Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Many, many, many years ago I worked with a woman whose son was named Zebulon, and I always thought it would be a great name for a cat. Zebulon, then, enjoys the higher climes? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-name-your-pet/674301.md?page=6)