# New puppies name is the same as the dead ones **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 8, 2020, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083 "2020-03-08T04:39:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2020, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/21 "2020-03-08T22:27:30Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I have a friend who was given the same name as an older brother who had died as a toddler. Years later, when he went to get a passport, he was told “you’re already dead!” It was a hell of a mess to clear up. Wow! In my classmate’s case, the family wanted a child to carry forward the name of the parent, and so when the first one died (I think at about age 7, but not sure), they recycled the name. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/22 "2020-03-09T01:12:45Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I have a friend who was given the same name as an older brother who had died as a toddler. Years later, when he went to get a passport, he was told “you’re already dead!” It was a hell of a mess to clear up. I guess the five sons of George Edward Foreman are gonna have to live with staying in the USA… ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/23 "2020-03-09T01:33:58Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I guess the five sons of George Edward Foreman are gonna have to live with staying in the USA… Only if one of 'em has already popped off! ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/24 "2020-03-09T01:56:30Z")
My childhood cat was a male black tuxedo shorthair named Toby. When I was in my late 20s a close friend married a soldier and almost immediately followed him to an oversea station. I ‘inherited’ her cat, a male black tuxedo shorthair named Tobie. (Pure coincidence. She’d gotten and named him years before we had met.) Their white markings were of course similar, but not identical or anything. Eight years later, about two years after Tobie Two had died, a neighbor found a starving stray kitten. She couldn’t keep the poor thing – her dogs were cat aggressive – so… Yes. Black tuxedo short hair. What’s the point in fighting fate? Toby the Third she became. Yes, she. Cats don’t get huffy over misgendered names. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/25 "2020-03-09T02:30:13Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Yes. Black tuxedo short hair. What’s the point in fighting fate? Toby the Third she became. Yes, she. Cats don’t get huffy over misgendered names. 😉 Um…I know a woman named Tobey who is about 50. It’s not a nickname for anything. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/26 "2020-03-09T02:39:35Z")
I wouldn’t do it myself, but I wouldn’t be judgmental about someone like your sister doing it if it makes her feel better. The reason I wouldn’t name a new dog after a deceased one is that dogs have distinct personalities, just like people, and I will always want to remember and associate the original name with the original personality. I would want to consider a new dog, same breed and appearance or not, as an entirely new experience deserving of an entirely new name. (Or, as the saying goes, you can never go back to the past.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/27 "2020-03-09T04:47:18Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Toby the Third she became. Yes, she. Cats don’t get huffy over misgendered names. 😉 Toby is, as I understand it, a not-entirely-uncommon name or nickname for women, and apparently is derived from the Hebrew given name Tovah/Tova. One of my favorite musicians is a woman named [Toby Lightman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSANCAdASuI). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/28 "2020-03-09T11:53:01Z")
Didn’t George Foreman give all his sons the same name? When I got my 1st dog, I named him Bowser and said I would name all future dogs the same, simply because it was the best dog name. Well, I was 22 at the time. Just got a new pup (Lincoln) last Friday. I find I frequently slip and call him Buster - our last pup who died last month. My wife has a friend who names all of his dogs Buddy. He is the only person I know who named all dogs the same. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/29 "2020-03-09T15:08:23Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Toby is, as I understand it, a not-entirely-uncommon name or nickname for women, and apparently is derived from the Hebrew given name Tovah/Tova. Huh. Never came across that. My first Toby was formally Tobias. I’d had a book that was a collection of folk stories, and one was about a traveler who’d accidentally witnesses a big group of cats holding a funeral for (name I’ve forgotten, but it started with a “T”) who’d been “King of the Cats.” The next night the traveler stays at an inn and at some point it comes up that the inn’s cat was named Tobias. So the traveller tells about the funeral for T-whatever-the-name he’d seen, and immediately Tobias leaps to his feet, shouts “Then _I_ am now the King of the Cats”, and he leaps up the chimney and is gone. ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/30 "2020-03-09T15:41:21Z")
Interesting cat story! I had adopted a siamese named Toby who came with the name. Years ago we had a favorite aussie named Jack, we now have a new rescue mix terrier (who turned out to be a fantastic dog, so dog folks dont hesitate to go to the pound.) We went through a TON of name searching…finally gave up. Named him Jackson 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/31 "2020-03-09T17:26:47Z")
“There’s nothing so odd about that! Kemal Ataturk had an entire menagerie called Abdul. Marcel Proust had an 'addock. So, if you’re calling the author of ‘A la recherche du temps perdu’ a looney, I shall have to ask you to step outside!” Regards, [Eric the Pet Halibut](http://www.montypython.net/scripts/fishlic.php) ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/32 "2020-03-09T18:24:08Z")
I seem to recall we had a series of beagles named Sam when I was growing up. The first dog I really remember was a sweet mini poodle named Dinky. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/33 "2020-03-09T18:36:19Z")
Does your sister read classic SF? Is this dog named Duncan Idaho? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/34 "2020-03-09T19:51:25Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Wow! In my classmate’s case, the family wanted a child to carry forward the name of the parent, and so when the first one died (I think at about age 7, but not sure), they recycled the name. Yes, it was the same in my friend’s case; a family name that they wanted in every generation. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/35 "2020-03-09T22:19:11Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I guess the five sons of George Edward Foreman are gonna have to live with staying in the USA… > [@Dinsdale](#): > > Didn’t George Foreman give all his sons the same name? His five sons are named: George Edward Foreman, Jr. George Edward Foreman III (Monk) George Edward Foreman IV (Big Wheel) George Edward Foreman V (Red) George Edward Foreman VI (Little Joey) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/36 "2020-03-10T03:30:51Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Or perhaps that’s exactly why it was a joke, because people (generally) don’t do that. (At least that’s why I found it amusing.) To the contrary, from my volunteering with the humane society & a cat rescue operation, I would say that it IS fairly common. My guesstimate is that around 20-25% of adopters want a pet looking like a previous pet, and plan to name it the same, often with a modifier like Jr., II, etc. added. (Once even a classics professor seeking a black tixedo cat to be named _Felis Novis_.) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/37 "2020-03-10T04:00:25Z")
Well, I’m thinking it’s going to weird people out when you show them how you taught the new dog to roll over and play dead. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/38 "2020-03-10T16:36:30Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Didn’t George Foreman give all his sons the same name? > [@Omar\_Little](#): > > His five sons are named: > > George Edward Foreman, Jr. > George Edward Foreman III (Monk) > George Edward Foreman IV (Big Wheel) > George Edward Foreman V (Red) > George Edward Foreman VI (Little Joey) Don’t forget daughter Georgetta. Personally, I won’t even get the same _kind_ of dog. I had a yellow lab mix; I might get a black or chocolate at some point, but no more yellows. I sometimes call her dog (a female shepherd hound mix) by the name of my male yellow lab mix & he’s been gone seven years. [This couple](https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/27/us/california-family-clones-dog-trnd/) paid $50m to get a clone made of their dog. They say it’s basically the same as the old dog; even liking the same toys. I wonder how much of that is nature vs. nurture though; did they subconsciously encourage him to play with certain toys? ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/39 "2020-03-11T00:13:23Z")
[Sometimes it _really_ doesn’t work out like you hoped.](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/291/reunited-and-it-feels-so-good/act-two-5) > [@](#): > > We found three or for deep holes in the yard where he had missed me… He was really attacking. I highly recommend listening to the entire story if you haven’t heard it. I have a few times and it’s so colorfully told, I still had trouble pulling just the single quote. ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2020, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083/40 "2020-03-11T00:49:57Z")
I don’t see a problem with it. My grandpa’s parents named him the exact same name as his brother, who was born, and died, before my grandpa was born. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-puppies-name-is-the-same-as-the-dead-ones/849083.md?page=3)