What's In a Name?

By Rose Smith

Naming a pet can be a real fun experience. Sometimes, the name comes to mind almost instantly. Other times, an owner likes to wait a few days and get a feel for the personality of the pet first, before choosing a name. In either case, a pet's name can not only tell someone a lot about the pet, it can also tell a lot about the owner.

Many owner's will choose names based on their own interests and personality as well. For example, a cat named Sir Eatsalot tells us this cat loves his food and that his owner has a great sense of humor. A tiny dog named Big Boy, might be a dog with a "huge" spirit and have an owner who is quite playful. People who are interested in sports may choose names such as Cricket, Soccer, or Puck.

In our case, our cat Salem arrived on our doorstep on a cold, dreary Halloween night. She's all black with big yellow eyes. Since it was Halloween, we wanted something that would be appropriate. Salem was very feminine (as she is) and also suited the occasion. It was an easy decision.

On the other hand, it took us a few days to choose Sir Didymus' name. It just so happened we had watched the movie Labyrinth just a few days earlier and in the movie, there is a character named Sir Didymus who is a curious fox who rides a sheepdog and guards a bridge. The fox asks a lot of questions and is quite hyper. After watching our new cat for a few days, my son said that naming our cat after Sir Didymus in the movie would be perfect. And it is. He's the most curious cat I've ever seen (and he's got a lot of energy to boot). And as you can see, we also have a sense of humor over naming our pets.

So, in keeping with that, here are some suggestions of pet names that might suit your own and your pet's personalities. Note; This is not a complete list, only some suggestions to give you some ideas to help you get started with naming a pet:

Do you love mysteries? How about:
Sherlock Holmes, Sir Watson, Agatha Christie, Nancy Drew

For the sports lover:
Soccer, Cricket, Bat Boy, Jock, Coach, Referee, Snooker Rugby, Fore, Ping Pong (or Ping and Pong if you have two animals)

Here's some for Shakespeare fans:
Romeo, Juliet, Anthony, Cleopatra, MacBeth (and Lady MacBeth), McDuff, Horatio, Oberon, Henry IV, Falstaff, Hotspur, Poins, Lucentio, Bianca, Olivia, Sebastian, etc...etc...

For those who love music:
Cello, Flute, Bongo, Trumpet, Harp, Banjo, Sax

And for the classical music lovers:
(Wolfgang) Mozart, Beethoven, Gershwin, Pachelbel, Chopin

Choose a name from songs and song titles:
Ruby, Rueben James, Billy, Bobby McGee, Angie, Angel, Brandy, etc.

For the extremely crazy pets:
Fruit Cake, Cashew Nut, Spaz, Bonehead, Dizzy, Ding Bat, Kamikaze, Nutcase, Bonkers, Doofus

And, finally, let's put a twist on some well known names and terms (some of the names can be for either a cat or dog):

For Cats:
Agatha Khittie, Alex P. Kitten, I. B. Normal, Bitsen Bytes, Aggi Tator, Ali McClaw, Bugsy Malone, Hairy Houdini, Midknight, Missle Toes, Sillyvester, Whodini, Catillac, Cleocatra, Dandy Lion, Diesel, Elvis Purrsley, Jenny Fur, Katsper, Keebler Kitty, Purrcilla, Robert Redfurred, Dr. Do Little, Sir Issac Mewston

For Dogs:
Digsalot, Barkley, Bitme Tail, Sherlock Bones, Bone Heart, Hot Dog, Lyks A. Lot, Pantster, Dash Hound, Coal Bee, T-Bone, Velcro, Ima Pooch, Fris Key

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