Several friends of mine have recently added new pets to their households and I’ve been following their posts on social media about how they’ve decided what to name their new family members. I decided to ask more friends online to share their stories about how they chose their pets’ names.
I asked: “How did you pick your pet’s name? Tell us how you decided!”
I added: “First—what is the pet (cat, dog, rabbit, hamster, bird, fish)? Second—what is the pet’s name (full registered, nickname, many variations of the same name, maybe)?”
I detailed: “Why this name (or names)? What was your inspiration? Did you ask friends and family for help? When you picked the name, what did you hope it would convey to anyone who heard it? As it’s turned out, did that happen? Have people misheard or misunderstood the name?”
I encouraged: “More stories, please, about how your choice of a name has become important in your pet’s life! Thank you so much for answering—join in and enjoy the fun!”
They came through, with answers that fill this week’s blog … and will fill several more!
Alisha Ardiana (California) My wife is an Italian chef. She owns a restaurant called “Ragazza”—which roughly translates as ‘girlfriend.’ I learned that Civetta means ‘little owl’ in Italian, but it’s also slang for a girl who gets in trouble. The Google translate is “hussy.” It’s pronounced chee VET uh. Like cappuccino. And she is SUCH a trouble maker!!!
Photo by Alisha Ardiana
Jaxon Riley (Washington) Could not make a decision. Looked in the fridge and said, “What do you want to name her … Pickle?!” And we did.
Kathleen Huggins (Washington) Shadow because that’s what he did. He shadowed me. Oh, and he was black. Skamper because that’s what he did. Scampered everywhere.
Nathalie Mosbach Smith (California) Cats and dogs have Star Wars names. Yes, we are geeks. Don’t regret it!
Karen Schlosberg (Massachusetts) When I adopted Roo, her name was Ruby, but the cat I had just lost two weeks previous was named Ruby and I just didn’t want to have two cats in a row named Ruby. So I thought of Kanga and Roo and I chose Roo.
Telani Lasoleille (Tennessee) Because I have Hawaiian roots, I wanted to give my dogs Hawaiian names. My boy is really fearful, so I named him “Koa,” which means brave or warrior, because it’s what I aspired for him to become. My girl’s name is Kalea, which means joy, which is what I wished for her as well, as she had been adopted and returned to the shelter so many times. I wanted to be the guardian that would give her stability and happiness.
Jennifer Grant (New Mexico) I usually go through the alphabet and try different names until I find something that seems to fit. Spoon was one and it seem to suit her well. Sometimes they get two names in time, a first and last.
Therese Malone (Ireland) I adopted Kalli when she was 8 years old—she’s now 18 years! I always intended to rehome a senior dog, preferably a bitch. She had been surrendered just after giving birth to three puppies. She was in a pound/shelter where there is a limited time frame. Here in Ireland we have rescue centres who will take dogs from pounds and have them rehomed. They generally never leave a pregnant bitch or a mum with puppies behind. I didn’t give her a second thought on the website as she was listed as being 2-5 years old. When I visited the rehoming floor, I made a couple of choices but Kalli wasn’t one of them. On my second round I was passing an empty kennel when suddenly a movement caught my eye — Kalli bounced in from outdoors, I rocked back on my foot—“Where did you come from?” Love at first sight! I checked her details, was delighted to see she was a senior, and that was it. She is also black, which is my favourite colour for my dogs. Given her traumatic past (the vet at the rescue centre said she had been heavily bred) I wanted a special name for her. She was listed as “Kelly” which was very close to what I had in mind—“Calli.” I researched the meaning of “Calli” and discovered that, written as “Kalli,” it exactly described her. With a Sanskrit root it means “the black one” and with a Germanic root it means “the free man”—ergo “The black free (wo)man”! She has been an absolute joy and I’m so lucky to still have her at 18 years 3 months. She of course has some health issues but generally is doing good for her age. She attends hydrotherapy sessions every week, followed by two to three days’ rest before we resume her walks again, which are limited to 20 minutes. I’m attaching a photo of her “Gotcha Day.” She’s always raring to go after her rest periods. She’s the love of my life … which is lived around keeping her well and happy for as long as possible.
Photo by Therese Malone
Terry Kaye (California) My nine-month-old puppy is named Ellie Joy. I got her just over a year after losing my two fur babies, Belle (my soul dog), and Delta Dawn (a wonderful, joyful, ball of love). Took a while to be ready to open my heart again. Landed on the name Ellie because the “Elle” sound honors both of the babies who came before. And middle name Joy because she is bringing joy back into my life. Turns out to really suit her. I see so much of Belle and Delta in her (while she is still very much her own self) that it seems like either their souls have come back to me, or that they sent her to me. And she is a very joyful dog.
With Belle, we went through many names, and eventually decided on either “Bella” or “Belle” because her face was so pretty. And, after watching her (probably six weeks old) trip over her own paws repeatedly, decided that the less-elegant “Belle” was her proper name. It was perfect for her throughout her life, because it told people that she was sweet, friendly, and LOVING, which she was in exponential terms!
Delta Dawn came to us at about a year and a half old from a foster, and that was already her name. I remembered growing up listening to the Helen Reddy recording “Delta Dawn” and I also didn’t want to change a name she was used to, so kept the name. Most of the time she was just “Delta” but the full name was Delta Dawn and it suited her. When she passed, I played the song in her honor and cried my eyes out. Delta was a beautiful, happy, love-every-moment-of-life soul.
Rubin Dietz-Gilpin (Washington) Oscar was a street dog who came from Costa Rica. We took the letters in Costa Rica to create his name. Oh, and when he came to our house the first day, he ran through the house, out the back door to the backyard where we kept the garbage can, and sat down as if to say, ‘I know where to get the next meal!’ Reminded us of Oscar the Grouch (though he’s not grouchy at all).
Tom Quinn (Washington) I named my first cat Felicia, after the Latin felis catus. I’m a fan of Les Misérables, so I named my second cat Cosette and my third Fantine. I had been wanting to name a cat Eponine, after another character from Les Misérables, but I had also been wanting to name one Eppie, after the child in Silas Marner, so I gave her both names, one for long and one for short.
I began to favor names of queens instead of literary characters, so I named my next cat Guinevere. The next cats were a pair of littermates. I decided to name one of them Dido, Queen of Carthage, and the other Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. I call them Dido and Cleo for short.
The only tomcat I’ve ever adopted already had a name—Enzo, from The Godfather. I decided it was as good a name as any.
My future cats will be named after goddesses: Athena, Circe, Juno, Flora, Freya. Maybe I’ll adopt another pair of black cats, like Dido and Cleo. I think I’ll call them Diana and Aretha. The only cat anyone got inappropriate about was Felicia. I had a neighbor who made a smutty double-entendre from her name. That was outrageous. They’re usually polite about the others.
NEXT WEEK: More pet guardians chime in with their answers to the simple question: how did you decide what to name your pet? Interesting answers, fascinating stories … more to come for several weeks!
