# What is your cat-naming method? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076 "2003-07-08T20:03:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/41 "2003-07-09T22:35:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MrTuffPaws \* > \*\*Something Japanese. Just ask Nyanko-chan and Maneki-neko. IOW, too much anime. \*\* Hey, how about a Chinese name, like **Mousey Tongue**? Get it? Huh? C’mon, it’s _funny_ damnit! ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/42 "2003-07-09T22:46:51Z")
I ran with famous orphans for a while, as they were all foundlings: (Artful) Dodger, Oliver, & (Little Orphan) Annie. The next was named for the T-Shirt my wife was wearing when we adopted it (it had Winnie the Pooh on it) and the latest was named for his color, Shadow. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/43 "2003-07-10T00:21:12Z")
Cat names must have a “v” in them, **or** be a country. Ex.: Vox, Namibia. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/44 "2003-07-10T01:20:00Z")
All my cats, in homage to my very first one (Romeo), names must end in O. So now we have Toto and Indigo. Someday, I can’t wait to have a Mondo and a Mojo. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/45 "2003-07-10T01:30:29Z")
Everytime I see this thread, I think it says, “ **What is your cat-maiming method?** ” ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/46 "2003-07-10T02:30:12Z")
We named them after Japanese rubber monsters (Godzilla, Rodan, Monster Zero, Gamera). I’ve always though the physicist bit was good too (Schrodinger being, of course, the first) ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/47 "2003-07-10T10:41:13Z")
“Dog food” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/48 "2003-07-10T11:02:52Z")
Kitty. As in "Here, Kitty, come into this burlap sack with rocks in it…:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/49 "2003-07-10T11:03:19Z")
Had a cat named Bailey that went into get fixed and had a sex change operation instead. Bailey was a very furry cat that we were told was a female, we never checked. When she went into be spayed the vet couldn’t find the proper parts, a few seconds of searching and she became a he and a spay became a neuter. Probably should have renamed the cat after a transvestite or something, but we didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/50 "2003-07-10T11:51:22Z")
Just wanted to thank you guys for all the suggestions; this has been an entertaining thread. And welcome **kimmie kay**. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/51 "2003-07-10T12:05:33Z")
I’ve had a number of cats over the last 8-9 years. Three of them are with my ex-wife. The first one we got was named Sonya, out of a book I was reading at the time. The ex thought I had named her after Mortal Kombat. The next one was named Sasha. The third one was called Vaxa, I think that’s how it’s spelled, it’s Russian for black shoe polish. Her name was soon changed to Ozzy because we were watching an Ozzy Osbourne video and she sat down in front of the TV and looked at us and she looked just like him. The current cat’s name was Ramsey, of which I liked, he looked kinda like an Egyptian statue so I was going to keep it. Then a few weeks later I was hearing this sound “whaaaa’?” like Moe from the Simpsons says. He’s got the same color hair as Moe and so now that’s his name. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/52 "2003-07-10T19:21:57Z")
The best cat names I’ve ever heard: Abernathy. and Checkers. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/53 "2003-07-10T20:05:54Z")
Famous politicians and political scientists. The more obscure, but well-regarded, the better. Examples: Metternich (the german guy who came up with the Concert of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars), Mackinder (one of the founding fathers of traditionalism in international relations, asserted that “he who controls the world-island [Eurasia] controls the world”, Kennan (wrote NSC 68 back in the forties, advocating a wait, see, and contain strategy vis-a-vis the soviet union, because it would evntually fall apart). Those are all good names for well-behaved kitties. For more rambunctious ones? Well, Berlesconi is an obvious choice, isn’t it? 🙂 Maybe good for a mischievous kitty who’s good at the “who, me?” look. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/54 "2004-02-16T16:35:34Z")
> [@Eva Luna](#): > > My first single-parented cat was named Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin; he was very regal, a longhaired mostly black cat with a white bib, paws, and whiskers. He always looked like he was wearing a tux. And he was very temperamental; he only liked me, and on rare occasions, my boyfriend at the time (and oddly enough, my landlord at the time). He hissed at almost everyone else. Cool, I named my first cat (sadly departed, remembered in my username) Pushkin too. And he did have a regal, pompous touch to him sometimes 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jellytoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb9ed0/32.png) [@jellytoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellytoes)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/55 "2004-02-16T16:51:14Z")
My cats have always been named after other creatures. Bear and Coyote are with my ex. My beloved Bobcat died two years ago. And now I am currently owned by Bumblebee. We are thinking of adopting another cat as a friend for Bumble, he would be named ‘Cricket’. All of the names have fit them very well. Bobcat had a howl like a bobcat. Coyote was originally named SUTA (acronym for spring-up-the-ass) but she grew into a more adult name as she calmed down. And Bear is a big, black, fuzzy, cuddly teddy bear. Bumblebee is very large with impossibly skinny chicken legs, thus bringing to mind the poor bumblebee who doesn’t look like it should really be able to fly. I am wondering if the convention will hold when we get our first dog this summer. ---
**Author:** ![SpaceGhostofArrakis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@SpaceGhostofArrakis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpaceGhostofArrakis)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/56 "2004-02-16T18:29:17Z")
We named our Cats William and Mary. I’d offer a cookie for the reference, but this board is too smart. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/57 "2004-02-16T18:31:48Z")
Ezell was named for the crackhead in the movie Friday by an ex. Appropriate, I must say. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/58 "2004-02-16T19:51:55Z")
My cats are usually named after fictional characters. Khan, my oldest, was named so in a compromise with my ex-roommate. I wanted to name the cat Rasputin, he wanted to named the cat Dogfood. Then William Shatner got all pissed on the tv, and we had our name. My younger cat, Sirius, was named after the Harry Potter character. I sat and stared at him the day I got him, trying out cute names for a black cat. Ishamael, Torak, and Sith got no reaction, but as soon as I said “Sirius,” he looked at me and mewed. So I come up with the options, and they pick the name. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/59 "2004-02-16T20:42:36Z")
I gave my cat’s classic white-trash names to remind me of my roots. The big one is Sweetie Pie (and is a boy, dang it!) and the more recently aquired and smaller one is Puddin’. Although sometimes, I make it Fluffmeister Pussy (he’s a long hair). What do I actually call them? Cat and Kitten. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076/60 "2004-02-17T02:20:36Z")
To begin with, I love cats - mostly because they don’t need people. I like that in an animal. With that in mind I really believe the old saw, “It doesn’t really matter what you name them because they won’t come when you call them anyway.” Our (my wife and me) cats over about 30 years. Beau - Female named after a dog I once had Dumb “BO”. Spam - named after the dinner we (and it) were eating at the time. Jill - Came prenamed was half of a Jack and Jill set. Futrue - On the evening he adopted us we were eating Chinese food and the fortune cookie said “There’s happiness in your futrue.” (This one could be embarassing when calling for it a person shouting “Futrue” can get some strange looks). Lord Byron - As a kitten he was climbing in our bookcase and dislodged a copy of the collected works of Lord Byron. Honey - We had a foreign exchange student who learned English by watching old American sit coms in his home country. When this cat adopted us, he insisted on naming it (a grey male) “Honey” so he could come into the house and say, “Hi Honey I’m home.” Rascal - My wife insisted we have one cat with a pet-like name. Livestock - Named after we moved to a rural area and when I went down to the local watering hole for old timers, all of them were always talking about their livestock. Now I can say, “Yep, my livestock is doing well.” Or “Our livestock seems off its feed. Wonder what I should do.” TV [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-cat-naming-method/187076.md?page=4)