What's In A Name?

[Glacier]

I don't get to name most of my dogs. They all tend to arrive here with names and usually they know them so I don't change them.

Most mushers give their litters theme names. My Sundin comes from a litter all named after Toronto Maple Leaf players. Pingo's litter was all named after Yukon geological features. Paxil's litter is all named after anti-depressants! Sleet are all some form of weather.

Stuart likes First Nations names--Muskwa and Heyoka are dogs he named. I named Earle after my other obsession, Steve Earle!

Deuce arrived here named Bandit, but I already had a Bandit. Calling him Two just didn't work so he became Deuce!

When I was a kid, my Mom had a little terrier named Babes! My Dad always refused to call her if there was anyone around....picture a very tall man wandering around calling "Come here Babes!"...ROFL!!

[Kfamr]

It's all in personal preference.

I generally don't hear, or don't recall ever hearing, someone calling their kid.."HERE SADIE, COME HERE SADIE, HERE GIRL!" and am usually able to distinguish as to wether or not someone's calling their dog or a human.

My mom had a Saint Benard growing up named Barney. Dad had a Doxie named Peppy. NEVER would I name a dog either of those, nothing wrong with em... just not my personal preference!


I notice a lot of owners with more unique/different dog names rarely actually call their dog by their full name. Mine for example... Simba is Sim, Kiara is Ki or Kiki, and Nala is Horse. Nala's name doesn't fit in this, but I generally like names that can be shortened to a nickname. When recalling my dogs or telling them do to a command I usually use their full name.

A few names I'd like to use in the future...
Mufasa & Sarabi.

Mu (moo) & Bibi (beebee) for short.

[joanofark]

I didn’t have a lot of say when we got Duke, so I don't know where his name came from. Hobo, was picked by me. We just though it was cute (). And Ace's name is a Nickname for one of my dad's favorite Ultimate Fighters . But we usually we like to keep names that are short. Only one or two syllables.

So I guess you could say be don't have human names. And they're just plain ol’ ones like Jack, Max and Blue.

Future names for me might be Aslan (For a male cat). Lmbo, get it? From the Narnia series??

[BOBS DAD]

I didn’t have a lot of say when we got Duke, so I don't know where his name came from. Hobo, was picked by me. We just though it was cute (). And Ace's name is a Nickname for one of my dad's favorite Ultimate Fighters . But we usually we like to keep names that are short. Only one or two syllables.

So I guess you could say be don't have human names. And they're just plain ol’ ones like Jack, Max and Blue.

Future names for me might be Aslan (For a male cat). Lmbo, get it? From the Narnia series??

YES... I like those! (Not that I "don't" like all of the pets, their humans and their names here). Yer critters would have fit right in to my ol' neighborhood!!!

[ParNone]

Great post Bob's Dad!

Whenever I hear the name Sadie, I think of Barbra Streisand and Funny Girl... "Sadie, Sadie Married Lady"... 20 or 30 yrs ago, Barb had a poodle named Sadie, who adorned the cover of one of her Albums. So maybe Barb started the trend.

I like to ponder people's choices in names and breeds and what it says about them too. I notice a lot of people like to name their dogs "people names". But I figure having a dog is the perfect chance to be creative and not worry that the other dogs will tease them about their name.

Wouldn't you know though that when I named Maddie, Madison, after the mermaid in Splash, thinking I'd picked something unique, it turns out that now, every other lil' girl seems to be named Madison.

I don't think I have to worry so much about running into a slew of kids named Murph, Oz or Gulliver, but they're gaining in popularity amongst pet names, especially Murph. Although his full name is McMurphy, which is still somewhat unique. Because of Wizard of Oz and Ozzy Osbourne, I guess Oz never really had much of a chance at being unique. But you'd think I'd have had a shot with Gulliver. But dang if I haven't run into 3 or 4 puppies named Gulliver in the last 2 weeks. Ah well, I guess you just gotta name'em what sounds good to you and not worry about the rest.

Anywho, I loved reading your post. Very well written.

Par...

[Uabassoon]

According to listings on Dogster these are the top ten female dog names.

Lucy
Molly
Daisy
Maggie
Bella
Chloe
Sadie
Bailey
Zoe
Lola

Here are the top 10 male dog names.
Max
Buddy
Jake
Bailey
Charlie
Rocky
Toby
Jack
Buster
Oscar

[Uabassoon]

I like to give my pets names that aren't very common. I know that it doesn't really matter, but I think I feel like there name is special if I give them something that isn't very common. Or maybe I'm just bitter because I have a very common name!

[BOBS DAD]

I like to ponder people's choices in names and breeds and what it says about them too. I notice a lot of people like to name their dogs "people names". But I figure having a dog is the perfect chance to be creative and not worry that the other dogs will tease them about their name.

THAT... is a very funny line!!!

[luvofallhorses]

my first dog's name was Lucy..I had a dog named Daisy. I have a Buster and a Rocky. and I had a basset hound named Buddy.

Jenny is Jenny because my mom wanted to name her after my grandma (my mom's mother..) They spelled it Genny and my grandma's name was Geneva. I spelled it J-e-n-n-y, because it looks better!

Rocky is Rocky because we got him in a town named Rocker.

Buster is Buster because all would come out of my mouth when we first had him I would say "Buster Button" or get out of there Buster..so it stuck

Ginger is Ginger is because of her color. My mom's mother (my grandmother) named her that. My mom inherited her from my grandma (her mother) when she passed away in 2003.

and for the cats..

Miagi was going to be Simba, but my mom said everyone's cats are named that or dogs. She said Mowgli and the next thing that came out of her mouth was Miagi.

Tiger was already named, I wanted to name him Tigger, but Tiger just stuck.

According to listings on Dogster these are the top ten female dog names.

Lucy
Molly
Daisy
Maggie
Bella
Chloe
Sadie
Bailey
Zoe
Lola

Here are the top 10 male dog names.
Max
Buddy
Jake
Bailey
Charlie
Rocky
Toby
Jack
Buster
Oscar

[Aspen and Misty]

My animal's names are not very unique besides my rabbits, Sharra and Jaxom and my rat, Butternutt. However, I have heard of some pretty creative names at my work. Here are some of my favorites:

Rain (Bernese Mountain Dog) [Favorite name]
Princess Lollipop, Lolli for short (Maltese)
Black Dog, ok, not original, but funny (Rottie Mix)
Laner pronounce Lah Near, he is named after a near by lake (Standard Poodle)
Sport (Fox Terrier) [never have heard of a dog named this before, he competes in agility]
Manny (Shepard Mix)
Major Tiao, pronounce Tie Oh (Pug)
Puggy (Pug)
Pao (Pug)

Some families even name there dog's with a theme (Kay):

Adriane and Rocky (Boxers)
Simba and Nala (Dobermans)

I personally prefer unique names, they are much more interesting.

Ashley

[Cincy'sMom]

Why Sadie?

Well, for us, before we ever went to meet our baby girl, we had narrowed it down to two names, Sadie, after my husband's neighbor's dog growing up, and Panada, becuase she was black and white. After meeting her, Sadie fit so much better (even before I knew it meant princess!). IT wasn't until a year or so later I relaized every black lab mix was named Sadie!!

Cincy is our most unusaly name of the three, but she was named for the UNiveristy of Cincinnati, where my husband and I met.

Spot, well you just don't get much more classic then that!!

[BOBS DAD]

Spot, well you just don't get much more classic then that!!

That also is very funny!!!

And oh well... yes, seems that most black lab mixes are Sadie (that was my brother's dog mix too).

P.S.
Dog-Names.us list these as their top 50???
1. Rocky 2. Lily 3. Amber 4. Jasper 5. Cinnamon 6. Princess 7. Max 8. Duke 9. Cody 10. Case 11. Dickens 12. Zoe 13. Sierra 14. Felix 15. Ace 16. Oliver 17. Wilson 18. Andrea 19. Jonathan 20. Hermione 21. Seth 22. Hudson 23. Daisy 24. Bryan 25. Bonnie 26. Ginger 27. Molly 28. Monica 29. Prince 30. Buster 31. Carly 32. Storm 33. Duchess 34. Sebastian 35. Lucy 36. Mickey 37. Jasmine 38. Jack 39. Clare 40. Muffin 41. Sammy 42. Willie 43. Mackenzie 44. Kiki 45. Madison 46. Salem 47. Sydney 48. Ziggy 49. Fido 50. Bucky
http://www.dog-names.us/popular-dog-names/

I think Uabasson's (Or maybe I'm just bitter because I have a very common name!) list is closer, BUT... I doo see an awful lot of our (PTers) names on Dog-Names' list!!!

Geeesh, I gotta get back to work!!!

[Kfamr]

26/50 on that list are PT dog names.

[Suki Wingy]

I like both. Some names people think are "creative" actually turn out to be quite common. I just don't want to have a dog with the same name as some dog he meets in the park. Future call names I have picked out are:
(from Firefly and Serenity) Jayne
(from the german soft drink Mezzo Mix) Mixer
(from the book The Bean Trees) Pachico (the book says it means like a "bad boy")
Luxor (??I guess after the hotel in Vegas )
Vertigo (got the idea after watching this show about the Bermuda Triangle)
there are a LOT more

Wouldn't you know though that when I named Maddie, Madison, after the mermaid in Splash, thinking I'd picked something unique, it turns out that now, every other lil' girl seems to be named Madison.

Same with my 12 year old cousin!

[Iilo]

I have yet to meet another dog with the same spelling as my boy, Orien.

I usually call him Rien, pronounced Ryan, or just Ri (Ry).

I've met a few Orions, all of them huskies. I guess it's a nordic dog name.

His name came from a Cynthia Voigt book called On Fortune's Wheel. The character Orien is the name of the Lord that comes to the protagonist's rescue and is generally her knight in shining armor and true love. That topped with the fact that his bellflower blue eyes are commonly mentioned made me really want to name my puppy that (blue eyes are a disqual in Mals, I have the weirdest sense of humor).

And of course, my knight in shining armor, no matter how I pronounce it, fits his namesake well.