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Why did you name your pet that?

4K views 52 replies 48 participants last post by  spruce 
#1 ·
I'm always curious to know where people came up with the names for their pets.

Why are your pets named what they are named?
Mine are...

Toothless-Dragon tailed bata fish. Got the name from How to Train your Dragon, because he is a dragon tail.

Comet-9year old female cat. DH got her for me for christmas 9 years ago, him and my best friend named her after the rain deer. Although I always think of the golden from Full house with that name.

Gozer- 8 year old male cat. We got him from the humane society and he came with that name. We assume it is from Ghostbusters. Gozer the Gozerian is the bad guy.

Milla- 8 week old golden. We wanted a christmasy name or a name from a movie like our other animals. After looking up a ton of names and going through the characters in our hundreds of movies the only one DH and i could agree on was Milla as in Milla Jovovich, the actress from Resident Evil.
 
#31 ·
I didn't get to name either of my 2 girls. My mother named them both. I did get to give them their nicknames though lol.

Ginnie's full name is Virginia Snowstorm. Back before i knew about reputable breeders and our family were looking for a dog and had decided on a golden retriever my mom found a add in the paper for puppies. I already knew that our future dog would be named Virginia because mom wanted to name her after her great aunt who had lived to be 92 in hopes that the future pup would have a long life as well. She called the woman that evening and arranged to go meet the pups while i babysat my little sister and brother. Normally they could have made the trip 1 way in about a hour and a half. when they left that evening it was cold *day before valentines day* but clear. 20 minutes into the trip it starts snowing but they kept going. arrive at he house and pick out ginnie and on the return drive home mom said it was a horrible snowstorm and at times were driving home at 20mph. I waited up for them and at 4am they came home to 6 inches of snow in our front yard and mom announced then that she had brought home Virginia Snowstorm.

Gracies full name is Lady Grace. Her previous owner for 2 weeks had named her honey but none us liked that name and since she was only 9 weeks old it was easy to change names. Mom named her Gracie because ever since my daughter was born she has said her next grandbaby would be named Grace since she got her way with naming my daughter. Well she had decided that if she does get another granddaughter that she more then likely wont get her way so she gave that name to the puppy.

And the cat Annie was named by my daughter, she was almost 2 at the time and have no clue why she wanted that name but i liked it and let her name the cat.

I'm sure one day i'll get to name my own dog, and i've had the name picked out for years. It'll have to be a boy and his name will be **** Five Card Stud with the call name of Joker.

Becky
 
#32 ·
Jack was already named when I got him & it turned out that was the name of my Grandfathers dog so I kept it.
Sweeties name was Tiki when I rescued her & my wife didn't like it.So after just one night of being with her there was no dought she was a "Sweetie".Now when we go places people always say "What a sweetie!" we just smile & say "You're right!" LOL
 
#34 ·
LiquidAmber (Amber) was named after a plant. And her coloring was Amber. I did threaten to name her horehound (after the herb) but figured it was beyond the pale. ;)

Maddie's name is Madrone, again a plant name. She is red after all.
 
#35 ·
Lilly is named that because if i had another daughter it would have been that name..but no more kids so she got the name! Lol i liked it, i kept seeing a commercial with a kid named Lilly in it and i just really liked it.

Sanford ..well hubby named him from Sanford and Sons.,because he is a junkyard type dog..lol he will eat anything and he barks at everything!

Hank, the newest one, also named by my hubby, he kept saying he wanted to name a dog Hank, he even got to calling Lilly Hank..lol i told him when i heard about the new dog and told him that he could name him that..just so i could bring him home!

Tiara, my cat..well you know what a Tiara is.. The crown on top of a princess or queens head..shes royalty..suits her well with her calico sassiness. Lol

My bridge dogs:

Toby came with the name and it fit himand being 10 yrs old didnt want to change it.

Charlie was a name from all dogs go to heaven, always loved that name. His full name was Charlie Thomas..and when I had told my dad that he told me that his parents neighbors name was that too!

Julie was named by my mom..not sure where she came up with it but I liked it so it stuck.

Ruby was orginally Red, i felt it was more of a boy name, so my aunt cindy said why not Ruby Red.. It fit her as she was red colored.

Rusty was named by my sister as she liked the Rusty brand clothing at the time.. He fit the name though!
 
#36 ·
Sagebrush was a puppy when we had to comb all of the sagebrush out of his puppy fur.

Buckskin looked and felt like soft buckskin.

Brewer was a gift from a catcher (Bobby Hughes) who played for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Now we have Nugget - he's just a gorgeous lump of gold.
 
#37 ·
We went through so many names before we settled on Sage.

I had a long list and whittled out the common names, and then picked up a name meaning book and looked at the rest. We chose Sage, as it is a healing herb and wanting to use her for Therapy we thought it was fitting. I still haven't settled on her AKC name

We have had a dog named Maggie, Katie, Jake, Gus and Emma. All were because we like human names.

Our first dog was Bear...She was a black lab mix and looked like a black Bear cub when we brought her home.

Our cats, Maddaline, is a gorgeous Tortie and we felt needed a name to fit her. Claire, was named for my favorite character in the Dianna Gabaldon books, Grace..well she has none lol!
 
#38 ·
Jamie,my first golden,was named after jamie lee curtis, haley was after the comet,she was a old english sheepdog, SPENCER ,WAS FOR PRINCESS DIANE, kooper,after dr. koop, spirit,because he is spencers grand nephew,hoped he would be some what like spencer, not that he is, cambridge, after duke and duchess of cambridge.
 
#40 ·
Murphy - We had a long list of names chosen for him but none seemed to fit. When I had my last visit before gotcha day I was sitting in the whelping box with my boy snuggled up in my lap. I asked him "what is your name little puppy, I can't find you a name!" A little voice popped into my head that said "My name is Murphy" I asked him is Murphy your name? That little puppy looked up at me and barked just once. Murphy it has been for 9 wonderful years and hoping he lives as long as his grandma which was in excess of 14!

Saffron -She was named by the service dog kennel she was born at (Guiding Eyes for the Blind) the name suits her to a "t"! She is a deep red and has a little mowhawk on top of her head and snapping dark eyes! She is "spicy" in temperament just like her name! I would not change her name, it is the only name that suits her personality!

Jenn, Murphy and Sassy Saffron
 
#41 ·
Our first Golden was named "Buddy". We couldn't figure out what to name him, so everytime we called him we said "come here buddy". Somehow the name stuck, and it was perfect for him

Finlay's breeder had a military theme for the litter. My husband's family is Irish, so we tried to find an Irish or Gaelic name that would fit with the theme. That's how we came up with "Finlay" which is a Gaelic boy's name and means "Blond Haired Soldier".
 
#42 ·
Ranger - Because I wanted a Polaris Ranger so bad I couldn't stand it. I also named a rabbit Ranger and a turtle Ranger. The subliminal messages didn't work we still ended up with a Yamaha Rhino instead. lol.

Roxie - I had no say so in. I let my daughter name her. Her name is Roxie Carmicheal Rosebud. (My daughter was 8).

Fifi - Same as with Roxie. Her name is Felix Flower. (My daughter was 3).

We're flexible. Just go with the flow. Had a rabbit once name Foxy Louise. Lol.
 
#44 ·
When I rescued "Terence" from our local shelter back on 10/19/12, I certainly wasn't going to call him Terence! So I renamed him "Renny".

At the time I didn't even know if "Renny" was a real name. So I looked it up, and sure enough this is what I found on one site:

Irish Meaning:
The name Renny is an Irish baby name. In Irish the meaning of the name Renny is: Mighty.
Latin Meaning:
The name Renny is a Latin baby name. In Latin the meaning of the name Renny is: To rise again.
French Meaning:
The name Renny is a French baby name. In French the meaning of the name Renny is: To rise again.

SoulUrge Number: 5 People with this name have a deep inner desire for travel and adventure, and want to set their own pace in life without being governed by tradition.
Expression Number: 4 People with this name tend to be orderly and dedicated to building their lives on a solid foundation of order and service. They value truth, justice, and discipline, and may be quick-tempered with those who do not. Their practical nature makes them good at managing and saving money, and at building things in the material world. Because of their focus on order and practicality, they may seem overly cautious and conservative at times.

I love how his name means "To rise again" since I rescued him. :)

Renny certainly is "mighty"! He's quite strong, enjoys riding in the car and going on "adventures"! Not sure yet about how "orderly" or "disciplined" or "frugal" he is, but I guess I'll find out in time! ;) :D
 
#45 ·
I always thought "Max" was a cool dog name, but we never had a male dog before, so we named or first male dog Max. I think he really looks like a Max, now.

We named our previous Golden, Chewbacca, after the Star Wars character. She was a girl and we called her Chewy for short. Turned out to be appropriate, after she ate a leather recliner.

Out first Golden we named Golda, because she was golden in color.


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com App
 
#47 ·
My first golden was named Sandy Beaches..got her when I lived in FL
The two that I have now are
Misty Morning....got her when I lived in CA &
Holly Belle....she was born on Christmas.
....and yes my pups always have a first and middle name!
I love this thread!
 
#48 ·
Ginger, our first golden, mom and dad picked out the name for her!

Sadie and Sydney the labs we all had to agree on their names. Sydney we had picked out since we knew we were getting her. Sadie was a surprise as we went to pick up Sydney and then ended up coming home with two puppies!

And Lastly, Beamer is named after the head football coach at Virginia Tech, Frank Beamer.

For the cats-
Nip was named after one of the beanie babies. Her name did fit her as she wasn't very nice at the vet! I miss her a lot.

Cali- Named after California, my sister named her.
Orion- I named him and had always loved that name.
 
#51 ·
I named my first golden, Jake just because he looked like a Jake.

My second one was named by my daughter. The movie "Titanic" was big when he was born and my daughter (who was 13 at the time) was in love with Leonardo DiCaprio so she said we should name him Leo which was also his astrological sign and he looked like Leo the Lion so how could we go wrong? Leo he was!

My current golden is Helo. His name was Trevor at the rescue and he does not look like a Trevor so I knew I wanted to change his name. My son and his girlfriend thought we should name him after a character in a TV show so we wracked our brains trying to think of a good name and Lexi said "you should name him Helo from Battlestar Galactica!". I mulled that over for a bit and decided he was Helo. (It's the call sign for a helicopter pilot). He learned his name quickly even though he was probably 6 or 7 when I adopted him.

My dog Marilyn was named by my ex-boyfriend. He is a big Marilyn Manson fan so he wanted a black dog that he could name Marilyn. Thankfully she is the total opposite in personality from Marilyn Manson.

Another kind of funny pet name we had (courtesy of my daughter again) was her pet guinea pig. She named it Popples G. G. Pig. Popples (from the cartoon back in the 80s early 90s) and G.G. is Gertrude Guinea. Remembering Popples and that name always makes her (and me) smile.

Our last cat was named by my son when he was 4. He wanted to name her Cobra the Running Cat (he was into Cobras at the time). We called her Coby.

This is a great thread. Very interesting reading how people come up with names. :)
 
#52 ·
I named my first Golden Einstein. I never had a dog before. I was trying to decide between a Golden and a Lab. I read the book Watchers, about a Golden named Einstein. By the time finished the book, I knew I wanted a Golden named Einstein! Not quite as smart as the Golden in the book but still a great dog. He was almost 15 when he died.

My second Golden was Farley. He is named after the dog in the comic strip For Better or Worse. Farley was aging in the strip, at the same time Einstein was getting older and slowing down. He was my first dog and I never really believed he would die. Farley, in the comic strip, died after jumping in the river to save his little girl. I cried for weeks! Right then I decided my next Golden would be named Farley. He died last May from pancreatic cancer. He was almost 10.

My new Golden is Mickey. He is 6 months old and is entering the terrible teens! When I was a kid I babysat for a family who got a puppy and named him Mickey. He was part Bassett Hound and who knows
what else. He had huge paws and he tripped over them all the time. He was a happy, friendly,goofy dog. He wasn't allowed in the house and had to stay on the back porch (enclosed and heated). When I babysat I would leave the door open a crack and he would nose it open and run down the hall (tripping several times) and jump in the chair with me and watch tv. I loved that dog. Unfortunately, the family had 4 small kids and no time for a dog. He was tied out in the back yard and some of the neighborhood kids used to tease him. He finally bit one of them and was put to sleep.

This Mickey will have a lot better life than my first Mickey!

Sorry for the long winded answer but your question brought back a lot of memories!
 
#53 ·
Bridger - long before getting him, I was thinking of things "gold", thought Golden Gate Bridge, that evolved into thinking of famous mountain man Jim Bridger.He came to us with same name as neighbor dog (Bear) so I had no qualms in chainging it to my chosen name - which he picked up quick!
Sadie - DH named her after his wonderful dog's (Sara - RIP) mother.

bridge dogs:
Obi - his legal owners named him - I was his emotional owner
Sara - we kept calling her Sadie (her moms' name) & it was close
Hoover - bassett that walked in our lives (snarfed around like vacuum cleaner)
Ford - it was part of my maiden name & we just got married, also stood for Found On River Dike (where DH found him)
Dan - named phrase in Randy Newman Song (got a big, black dog - his name is Dan)
Jake - just cuz; he was my 1st dog & lst experience with loss - lost to cancer at 18 months.
 
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