How were your cats named?

[sirrahbed]

I just read about little Thumper and thought it would be fun to hear how some of you choose names for your cats. All of our cats, regular and foster over the years got "plain" names - they were Henry, Ralph, George(dog), Smokey, Freddie, Ebony(blacklab)Harvey, Eddie, Tascha, Bert, Ernie, Oscar (Sesame Street years with kids) My two newest babies are TS Eliot and Emily Dickinson because I am am/was a literature teacher and like American poets - I thought these names would be "dignified but cute and they fit the kitties! They came from the shelter as "Lucy and Louis" but I did not think they fit.
How about some of you guys?? Stories?

[CatDad]

The naming of my kitties are not that exciting.

Joey already had her name when we got her from the shelter. I figured she had gotten used to it and why add any more stress. She also responded to it.

Bob on the other hand had a different name when we got him and the shelter suggested that he get a new name to help seperate his old bad life from his new good one. My S.O. thought that he looked a little like a bob cat, and the name stuck. So I guess Bob really has to names, but the second one doesn't get used unless he is in trouble.;)

[Amber]

Maggie was named with a "M" because the shelter people sad it looked like she had the letter M on her forhead. Som Maggie just came up! :p

[kuhio98]

Meusette - I had just seen a cartoon where the main character had that name.

Velvet - Because that's what she felt like :)
Tomasina - Named her Tom and then she had kittens :eek:
Radar - He looked like Radar on MASH :D
Paul - Named after my mother's boyfriend :p
Cuddles - I named her Shadow but my brother called her Cuddles
Strutz - She strutted when she walked :cool:
Kuhio - Name of Hawaiian Royalty - She was my Princess :)

Halo - Kept saying "Hello" when she meowed and that morphed into Halo -- If we had thought longer we would have kept our Hawaiian theme going and named her Hilo

Cammie - Short for camouflage (Tortie kitty)
Molly - That was already her name
Seymour - Stray cat that showed up and we wanted to "See More" of him. WE DID! :D

[RedHedd]

My RB Goldie was named for her beautiful golden fur.

Mitzi was initially named Sweet Pea by Animalsavers. I didn't really like that name and it didn't take me long to come up with her new name. The minute she walked into my apartment one of the first things she did was start giving me the cutest little kitty high-fives with her little white paws. At first I thought she was polydactyl because her paws looked larger than I was used to - they looked like little white mitts .... and so she became my little Mitzi! :D

Mishi was named Mishigaas by Animalsavers; a misspelling of a Yiddish word meaning crazy, kooky, insane .... which he was and still is. :rolleyes: Diana at Animalsavers called him Mishi for short. Mishi is also a word that my sister and I had made up when we were kids - a combination of Russian bad grammar (we're Russian by origin) and kiddie-silly creativity. To us it meant something soft and furry, which of course applies to all cats. When I first saw Mishi on the Petfinder website his name as well as him being exactly what I was looking for (red Maine Coon), made me think that he was meant to be my cat. So Mishi came home to be with me and Mitzi and kept his rescue shelter name.

.... and they lived happily ever after :p

[Prairie Purrs]

Originally posted by CatDad
Bob on the other hand had a different name when we got him and the shelter suggested that he get a new name to help seperate his old bad life from his new good one. My S.O. thought that he looked a little like a bob cat, and the name stuck.

That's just how my Bob got his name--when he was a kitten he looked like a miniature bobcat.

As for the others, Kacey, Kiri, Katie, and Cricket all got "K" sounding names in honor of my sweet RB tabby Keke. Lily and Hagrid were part of the "Harry Potter" litter. Oz is a little bit tiger, a little bit lion, and a little bit bear (oh, my!). Gatsby seemed like a good name for a tuxie boy. And Angel was part of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" litter.

[FurMomx6]

Opie was named after Ron Howard. My dad was the one who thought of that name. I didn't even know who Ron Howard was when we named him. I was about 8 or 9 so I had never heard of him.

KC we got from some kids that were giving away kittens infront of wal mart. We couldn't think of a name for her and just always called her Kitty Cat or Kitty. So, my mom thought of the name KC. It's short for Kitty Cat.

And that's how are cats were named!

[jazzcat]

I picked Ripley because I thought it was a good cat name.

After searching the Internet for names my husband and I finally agreed on Jazz. I initially was going to call her Jinx because she was so sickly and seem to be having a bad run of luck but everyone thought that was cruel.

The shelter had named my Scout, Goldie but she didn't respond to it and I wanted something different. I wanted to call her Soliel but my husband hated it. Again after looking online for days for a name we agreed on Scout.

My dog Disney got her name because I was having a hard time picking something and while I was trying to decide I saw a Disney World brochure.

[Craftlady]

Thumper.... because of her tail action :)

Butterscotch........ becaue of his color

Skinny......... because of his weight. Vet laughs when he puts on weight are you calling him "Fatty" and we said "no" :)

[Kirsten]

No, there's no special story behind the names Luna and Lily. Long before I got them I have decided my next cats' names would be Luna and Lily, because I just like the sound.

But my RB Katz has a story behind her name. When I got her, I wanted her to have a very special name, and then couldn't come up with one. So I started calling her "Katze", which means "cat" in German. After a while, she was just Katz, and she was called like that for the rest of her life (14 years). :)

And my RB Aysche... well, because she was a Persian, I wanted her to have an oriental name. :)

Kirsten

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Ally is so named because she was a street-cat (ie alley-cat) when we found her (well, sort of - she just arrived in the garden one day), and also because she is skinny and crazy like Ally McBeal (my fav TV program).

Connor came home from the shelter with the name Thomas. I just though it sounded a bit formal for such a cuddle-bug )and I also guess I wanted to have a "fresh start" when I brought him home). I went onto babynames.com and picked a few celtic names (I was born in Scotland). Then I posted the list here and my good friends here at PT helped me name him:D

[Tonya]

I was at the pool at our old apartments and some lady had a newborn baby named Raven. I thought that was such a cool name that I named Raven that. At one point I had all R's. Ricki, Rosco, Raven, and Ron. When I got Ron, I was trying to think of an 'R' name. I know it sounds odd, but I named him after my dad. My biological father passed away when I was 1 and his name was Ron.

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Tubby - Tubby is not quite as mean sounding as Fatty. ;) :rolleyes:

Peanut - that was what her first "mom" called her because she looks like a Peanut, and I kept the name because I thought she looked like a Peanut too. :D

[Samantha Puppy]

Sherman came to us already named.

[Vio&Juni]

We decided on name Juni for our Juni as Junior (male) or Junioara (female) - you see in Romanian there is difference. Juni sounded neutral.

Pichu got his name because he was so cuddly - and I always talk to kitties with so many names, so, I said - dechi, eshti un pichi gudurichi (so, you are a cuddly kiddo?) - and I realized this would be his name :D

[catlover4ever]

Well, let's see....

Tigger was named for Winnie the Pooh, and she really lives up to her name....she bounces everywhere.

Her brother was named Tony after Kellog's Tony the Tiger. So because they were brother and sister when we went to the vets with them the carrier said the T&T Express! ;)

My husband named Smokey because he was totally gray.

Tucker was the first thing I called her when I saw her.

Mystic I first thought was a boy so I had the name Merlin picked out....turned out he was a she so Mystic was chosen. She is a black cat so I wanted a name that would fit a black cat.

Abner....I have NO idea where that name came from. He happened to come to the house and Abner just stuck with him. Of course now, he goes by Abbey.

Tobias after Toby Keith the contry music singer.

And Cleo because I could never get close enough to see if she was a boy or a girl so I though Cleo could be either/or.

[sirrahved]

Marshmallow was easy--she's fluffy and has a white tummy. Pickles was one of the random names we came up with and then we let Marsha choose. I think she did a great job!:D My parents have some very interesting names in their cat past.

Pookie: Found us on Halloween, brother was 4 and had no front teeth. He couldn't say "Spooky" and the name stuck!

Greasy: Moved into my dad's shop (he owns a boat repair business) and fell into the test tank!

Fu: Greasy's baby. Greasy gave birth and 8 days later was hit (survived!). Mom and her friend were taking care of the kittens and Fu stuck his head out. Fu is black and white, with a mostly white face. He has a black moustache and beard. When he popped his head out, mom's friend said, "Look, it's fu man chu!" The name stuck.

My parents have had many more pets (14 dogs and 3 more cats) but I don't think you want to hear about all of them...

[NoahsMommy]

Noah James: Noah cause we like bible names and it kind of suited him when we first met him. James, because my hubby loves Jimmy Buffet

Noel Joy: Noel because we got her at the end of November, almost Christmas time. Joy because of God. :)

Basil Nathanial: Basil because my grandma was English and I loved the way she said the herb, basil. The name suits him quite well. Nathanial is a bible name.

Olivia Eve: Olivia just because I really liked the name. Eve...bible name.

Micah Jacob: When we first met Micah, his name was Mike. When David let me adopt him (one of the best moments ever!!) his Auntie Staci helped me pick that one. We wanted something somewhat close to his name so he'd learn it. I love both names...and they both happen to be from the bible.

Hermoine Abigail: Hermoine because we love Harry Potter and that specific character. Its utterly amazing how much she's actually like that little girl. Abigail, because I just love the name...which also happens to be in the bible. :)

****Fosters****

Emma Camille: I just am in love with both those names. :) She's delicate, just like they are.

Pheobe (Peony): I call her both at home. :) She's very much like a peony, light, airy, delicate and gorgeous.

[lynnestankard]

Dan - came already named - tried to change it - but he wan't having any!!

Bagel - 'cos her gorgeous tail curls up into a bagel shape!

Ketchum - he has a 'gormless' (daft) expression on his face - and I love Hal Ketchum - country singer.

Lynne

[BastetsMum]

Bastet got her name because she looked lik my egyptian statuette of Bast the godess of laughter, music and dancing.

She got the surname desertsands because when she is asleep in the sun her fur looks like the rippling effect of sanddunes when the wind is blown.

Bastet suits her down to the ground.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Storm was already named and I thought it was a good masculine name and suited him well so I kept it.

RB Pepper- I named him this because he was black, full of energy or pep, and was sneezing a little.

Sunny- I had already picked out this name for my next orange male cat. The name fits him purrfectly because he's my little ray of sunshine. :)

Cirrus- I want a weather theme and asked for help her at PT. I also wanted it to have an s sound. Naomi (Nomilynn) helped me name him.

Sky- I named him after his sky blue eyes. I also wanted to stay with the weather theme and s sound.

[wolfsoul]

Sara was my favourite name when I was little. I always wanted it to be my name, and I said if I ever had a baby girl I'd name her Sara. So when we got a cute kitty, there was my chance. We named her Sara Sue.

[carole]

I think I have answered this before on another thread, but for those who did not read it, Ash was named by my daughter, after Ash on the animated series of pokemon, he just happens to be grey as well, so perfect.

Both my children named RB Sooti, yes he was pure black, and I named my newest cat Lexie, after a scottish actress who played the character of lexie on Monarch of the Glen, it is also the pet form of Alexandra, and of course Scottish.:)

[catcrazylady]

Oh my, this could take a minute! hehe http://petoftheday.com/talk/images/our_smilies/biggrin.gif

Sammy- we thought Sammy was a girl and I named her/him Sally. He developed a couple of, well you know, and Sammy was close to Sally. He already knew his name and my husband was having none of that "A boy named Sue...whoops...Sally" stuff.

Leroy- when he first started to visit us he would sit on a table on the porch and look into the house. He was so little that all you could see were his ears and eyes. My husband starting calling him Leroy and it stuck

Peanut Butter- He is the color of a jar of fuzzy Peanut Butter!

Stubby- She is a very tiny and furry girl and so her legs look like little stubs sticking out of a ball of fur.

Lucky- Simply because he survived a very traumatic kittenhood.

Maggie Sue- She just looked like a Maggie Sue.

Pete- He got his name because when he "kneads bread" he does it with one foot for a few minutes and then he does it with the other foot for a few minutes. Kind of wierd. I started calling him Crazy Feet Pete. So we just call him Pete for short.

Pervy-She got her name because she was the most terrified feral I have ever seen. We referred to her as Nevous Pervous before we were able to catch her. It just got shortened to Pervy and stuck.

Pepper Jack- I was trying to come up with a name for him and decided Pepper because of his color. My husband added Jack because he said Pepper Jack cheese is spicy like our little guy.

Ok...*shew*... thats all.http://petoftheday.com/talk/images/our_smilies/wink.gif

[adamjai]

Eddie came already named. We got both of our cats from my mom and she had named her after my brother, Dustin Edward, Eddie for short, and the name fits her somehow so we kept it. (I don't think she knew Eddie was a girl!)

Azriel started out as Eeyore, and we didn't like that too much, so we tried to come up with a new name and remembered that Gargamel's cat was Azriel. (Hopefully you've seen the Smurfs!) She was almost Eggroll--I'm glad I was there to stop that!

Those are there given names, but the each have had at least ten nicknames by now. Eddie is still usually Eddie or Schmoe, when we call her (and yes, she does come!), Azriel is almost always Zonk from my husband and Zoeykins from me. (Azriel--Azzy--Azzo--Zo--Zoey--Zoeykins) I'm not sure why I call Ed Schmoe!

My mom has at least 18 cats, last count. She probably has more than that. Six of her cats had kitties this past spring, so who knows how many she really has. You'd be amused by some of the names. She's had so many cats over the years, it gets hard to pick out names. One time she closed her eyes and let her finger drop on a package of heart worm medication, and the poor kitty has been Worm ever since!

[Edwina's Secretary]

The other day someone was visiting who hadn't met Eddie. They asked how he came to have that name. My husband turned to me and said..."You know, that is a good question! How did he get that name?"

Cataholic??????

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Originally posted by Edwina's Secretary
The other day someone was visiting who hadn't met Eddie. They asked how he came to have that name. My husband turned to me and said..."You know, that is a good question! How did he get that name?"

Cataholic??????

Funny though, how he really hasn't "filled out" his Eduardo name. The way he is just so relaxed, and sleeps upside down all the time really lends itself more to Eddie than Eduardo. Where Edwina is definitely Edwina. Winny just doesn't seem to fit her as well - except when uttered by Gabe that is. :(

:D

[Lallypop11]

My twins came named as Sean and Amy and I thought those names were too human and not them. Plus it reminded me of how I used to name my childhood pets human names which I now think was a little silly (my first hamsters name was Cindy and my first cat was Lisa) and I wanted them to be unique. We picked out names before we got them and that was a mistake because the names didn't fit their personalities, we had picked out "Belle" for Priss for "southern belle" and "Sniffles" for Bubby since it sounded cute, but it didn't feel right calling them that. Then we changed Bubby's name to "Jordan" after Michael Jordan because of how high he jumps. We never called them their real names, we always called them Bubby and Priss as their NICKnames but then their real names got phased out.

Priss is named so because she is a princess and she "prisses" around the apartment being so cute that you can't help but admire her and give her whatever she wants.

Bubby is named so because I started asking Priss where her "brother" was and brother turned into "Bubby" which is what my cousin calls HER brother. Another reason is because I would call him "Buddy" a lot and "Buddy" turned into "Bubby". It was meant to be!

My friend that rescued Lucky (his "aunt") and I (the new mommy) wanted to find the perfect name for him. We decided he was LUCKY to be alive since she rescued him on the side of a road just before a car ran over him. He became Lucky :D

I love naming stories! :D

[Barbara]

Filou had the name of Mini and he was very mini then but I thought when he grows up it would be not ok -the other boys would laugh at him;)
I first thought of Minou which is french for pussycat (female would be Minouche) but then someone came up with Filou and that's purrfect for his character.

Tigris was Blacky but he was not black but striped. But I didn't want to simply call him Tiger or Tigger because Filou would then look down on him. So I chose Tigris -because then Tigris sounded to me like Thousend and One night.

[flippytale]

Originally I had wanted to name my kitten after a cartoon and any other cats afterwards. Timon (the yellow tabbby) gets his name from the Lion King. He was only a kitten then and as an adult cat really takes after that character. Six months later I adopted Tucker (the grey tabby), very different personality, very calm and quiet. I just couldn't find a name that stuck until I stumbled onto his current one. It stuck, but really unless I found a name that sounds like cat food hitting a bowl he doesn't respond to anything I say. I've had them eight years now and they are great companions and always entertaining!:rolleyes:

PS, I am new to the forum but not to COD...been enjoying seeing who is new for a long time now, a great way to start my day!
http://home.earthlink.net/~flippytale/_images/snuggle.jpg

[Candy16]

Lilly was named by my 5 year old sister - we gave her the option of choosing either Chyna or Lilly, and she picked Lilly.

Oliver was so named because of the cute little cartoon movie called "Oliver & Company" and Oliver looks just like the scruffy little Oliver.

Master Yoda's story is much more interesting. He was born in a litter of 5 kittens. My older brother "reserved" one to take to college with him next year. He named it Voldemort (after the Harry Potter villian.) Unfortunately, that specific kitten contracted a bacterial infection very early in life and died. :( My brother chose another kitten and also named it Voldemort. That kitten contracted the same disease and died a few days later. :( This devasted my brother, and he blamed himself for giving the kittens the name Voldemort, saying he cursed them! I then named the only male kitten left Yoda, because I knew Yoda in Star Wars lived a loooong time, (not to mention this kitten's ears were HUGE! ;) ), and believe it or not, Yoda also became sick with an infection, but the vet was able to save him! :D He is thriving now and is the cutest little kitten I've ever seen! :D

[Julie Grove]

Lucy came with her name and it suits her very much. Gigi - well it took me a number of weeks to decide her name because I thought she was so special that she needed something 'glamorous and continental' sounding. The film 'Gigi' came into my mind suddenly one day and I knew immediately it was right for her.

[Julie Grove]

Oh I forgot, Lucy is also called Tiger Pops and Ickle (long story but basically because she is tiny)