All,

What were your inspirations in naming your pets? I have had the new kitty for 3 weeks and she still doesn't have a name!
I thought it would come to me but it hasn't yet. Maybe part of the reason is that she is still coming out of her shell, having been afraid of humans, and I still don't quite know her personality.
But I need to find a name!

how did you do it? Anyone have any stories about how they found their name?

thanks
Tammy

I always name them after a writer... Edgar (Allan Poe), Arthur (Conan Doyle), Oscar (Wilde)... Jesse came with his name intact as an adult and Tom was a stray we tried to save but had to have put down....

Hi Tammy. I'm afraid we aren't real original when it comes to naming our pets. It seems that almost all of the animals I've had in my lifetime have had "people" names. I'm not sure why that is, but it's strangely true. My oldest dachshund, Chess, was about the color of Chess Pie when I got him as a pupster. I couldn't decide on a name at all. Actually a friend of mine named him. I'd never even heard of, much less seen Chess pie. But I liked it and it stuck.

My cat, Angel, or "puss" as she's lovingly called was named after a username I had on another site. I was a moderator and had become rather fond of the people I'd met and learned so much from. Again, when she was born in my closet to my momma cat, Jasmine, the name "Angel" just seemed to stick. Puss is something my husband began calling her a couple of years ago and for some reason that was easier for my son to say than Angel so that's what she's called most often. "Prissy puss" is another favorite nickname.

Then there was my sweet Frankie. Not real original on this one at all. I knew a girl in HS who had a dachshund named Frankie. Obviously there have been many a dachshund in this world named Frankie and Oscar. But his registered name was "Baker's Brand Frankfurter" and we called him Frankie and often times just called him "Furter". He was a sweet one. I still miss him so very much.

We have a lab that I named Maggie. Her registered name is Julie's Steel Magnolia. "Steel Magnolias" is my absolute favorite movie of all time. So I named her that and shortened it to Maggie.

We had a stray cat I named Tom. My son fell in love with him and after seeing that he was going to stick around and not run off or get run over, I made the comment that I was going to take him and get him neutered as well as vaccinated. The next day he was gone, never to be seen again. Dh laughs and says he overheard me say the "n" word and ran like a banshee to another location!LOL

Over the years some of our dog names have been Henry, Abner, Clyde, Oliver, Daisy, Pepper, and Walter. Again, I'm not sure why my family has always been partial to people names. Cat's seem to have more of the animal theme. We had a cat named Tater, Freckles (who lived to be 19 years old!!), Poppy, Tigger, Elizabeth, Jasper and Jasmine. Each of our animals always had an underlying reason for their name altho it escapes me now. It's been a while since I had to think about some of them.

Maybe you could post a pic and we could help you out?

Good luck and congrats on the new kitty!

I heard two hilariously cute names today for pets. The first was "Butters" and the second was "Pearl". Hope that helps......I think you either love those or hate them!!!

Parker's Mom,
Kerry

I know exactly what you mean, whenever I get a new pet it takes me weeks to name them. When I first got Zody I went through so many names, he was this gorgeous little black fella, with a sprinkle of silver hair, he looked magical. So I tried Merlin, wizard, midnight, ninja, zorro I can't even remember the multitude of names I went through until my dad for some reason had come up with Zodiac (midnight zodiac), and somehow it fit. Nymph came a little easier, she was this beautiful silver etherial creature and I went into names like fairy, elf, dryad and then somehow Nymph (twilight nymph). Spicey came next and she was the easiest, tiny and fiesty she almost died at birth, Hexie was another consideration but I settled on sugar and spice, Spicey.
My next challenge was the kitty I got after Zody died. The kitty I was so detached from and actually tried to find an alternate home for until after about 4 weeks I realized that he had screamed his way into my heart. The original plan was to call him "Bhodi" as a sort of tribute to Zody but that didn't suit him at all. So I went through all the names I had rejected for Zody but none of those fit either. The little guy was such a mischievous imp it was really hard to name him until one day I remembered a name I had always put aside for a possible dog somewhere down the road...LOKI-Scandanavian God of Mishief. It fit to a tee and he has certainly lived up to his name. His nickname is Hobgoblin, Gobby...since when he grew older one of his bottom fangs grew out up over his lip...it doesn't bother him but gives him a very unique comical look (see below). There is a website dedicated to cat names: http://www.petrix.com/catnames/
Good luck...and let us know what name the lucky kitty gets.

Tammy, what about Olive for a little girl. I've been catsitting of late and one of the big fat ca'ts names I can't remember so I've started naming her Mimi which is really cute I think too. If it was a boy, I'd tell you to name it Mike.
Good Luck
Luna

we named our siamese ORLANDO because thats where we got him.

i named my dog Picasso because it was a good name, and he was very interesting looking LOL kinda like a Picasso, he was pure white, 10 pounds with blue eyes and the biggest ears ever on a chihuahua mix

our dog stinky, well u can guess why thats his name

and our dog candy, she is named after a dog my husband had until a few years ago, because they look alike and are both really greedy for food

I vote for the name "Gidget," cute, sassy, and to the point!

hmmmm...I'm thinking now abot Stinkybutt cause she has gas if you pet her for more than 2 minutes at a time! But that would be embarassing when I go to the vet and they ask her name.

I'm so creative (not) in naming animals one of mine is Kitty. And I cant use Butters cause my mom already has that reserved for her future dog.
This kitty is a female; I saw a zillion boy names I liked. She's grey and white, not a tabby, but marked like a cow (cant use cow cause my friend's cat is cow). She's very polite, likes to talk. Oh and she has really big eyes.
I'm worried she's doomed to be called "little cat" !

thanks for the ideas...

Tammy, I got it. How about Bessie cuz she has the markings of a cow.

Luna

I agree, if you think she looks like a cow with her markings, a cow name might be the right way to go. You can call her Stinkybutt (LOL!) all you want at home. I think Lil Squirt is going to stick for my new kitty, that's what always pops in my head when I see his little face.

A quick Google search yielded these names for starters:
Astre, Bessy, Bossy, Halley, Rose, Molly, Flower, Violet, Nanet, Toots, Apple, Presto, Britney, Star, Coco, Gem, Cowella Deville, Daisy, Lily, Taffy, Cleo

Loki actually got his name from the movie Dogma. He was one of the fallen angels along with Bartleby, which I wasnt too keen on. Didn't like the idea of yelling Bartleby or Bart outside for the cat to come in. What would the neighbors think???? But Loki is also a name for one of the Norse gods, the God of mischief, which is appropriate for him. And because I adopted Loki and Odin from some nuns, we decided to stick with the religious theme. So we picked the name Odin, which in Norse mythology is the father of Loki and at times considered the blood-brother of Loki. All that wonderful knowledge and I still can't remember my own cell phone number!!!! Sometimes the name come right at you, sometimes it takes a little work. Good luck in choosing!


Cynthia

If she's marked kind of like a cow, you could always call her MaryMoo, Jersey (like a Jersey Cow), Amoo, (I actually have a friend who has a cat named amoomoocowski and she calls her amoo for short.), or MaggieMoo is the name an ice cream shop in Houston, TX. Or maybe Elsie after the Borden Cow. DairyQueen and call her Queenie or just DQ? I'll keep thinking.


Julie

Frankie 2/14/02-9/7/05

Ok, so don't laugh, I was in a comic book/fantasy game whatever you call it store with my boyfriend, and they had some porcelin 'Pocket Dragon' figurines (anyone heard of them?). There was a really cute one of a dragon with his head as the middle of the flower and yellow petals around his head and he was called Dandelion.
So that's the cats name - Dandelion, or Dandeline... She's very light/petite, and has puffy fur around her face, so that's how it went.
Thanks all for your suggestions, they were all great!

ps to Julie - they used to have a maggie moos in austin - not sure if it's still there though. amoomoocowski is hysterical! my aunt has cats with silly names like that... such as Ibber McGibber

Gee am I the only nut to name my cat after my mother? Millie named for my mom Mildred. And Tinky was named by my daughter who was 9 at the time. The new cats came with their own names. Frankie we kept cause he is a little Frankie. And Sheeba was named Louella. That name just had to go. We picked Sheeba for Sheeba queen of the jungle cause she is exotic looking, kinda like an Abyssian, with her big ears and long face. She is very graceful and long and lean, just like a queen, lol.
Dandelion, very cute and appropriate. Good job.
Deb

I think that's a great idea and very clever. I know someone whose dad died and mom got a dog and named it after the dad. My friend said it was so weird to hear her mother call the dog or fuss at the dog and call it her dads name. I'd have to admit, I'd probably be worried if my mom did that. But I think Millie is a PRECIOUS name!!

Julie


Frankie 2/14/02 - 9/7/05

My kittie's names are:
Chinook Kiera
Rosa Marie
Bella Lou
Sunaina Charu
Spanky Rascus-he's the male of them all

For Sunaina's name I had to search for it and finally found what I was looking for. Sunaina is a beautiful 3-mo old kitten that I've had since she was 7-wks. She's beautiful with really pretty eyes, gray medium long haired. Her brother, Spanky, was already named and so I left it at that and it fits him. He's gray with somewhat long hair. I couldn't come up with a name for Chinook untill someone suggested the name to me. Chinook took to her name instantly just as Sunaina took to her's. Of course Rosa and Bella are commom names and the names do fit them..........they are Tabby kitties. Sometimes finding the perfect name takes awhile but it's well worth the the time put into it.

Wanda

i know that this is to late but i just heard to names that i love maisy moo and daisy doddles!!! i just think they are so cute it i ever get a girl kitten i will be calling here maisy moo!!!!!

I think Dandelion is precious as well Tammy. Is that what you finally decided on?

Julie

Yep, her official name is dandelion. Although since she didnt have a name for so long, I still catch myself calling her "little cat" or "little girl".
She's never going to answer to me if I don't call her by the same name!!