I always named my pets by a name appropriate to the breed, or from what I observed of their personality - sometimes by their size or coloring.

Myndi was the exception - I got her when she was 10 months old and her previous owner had named her Mindy. I just kept that name since she already knew it - just changed the spelling.

As for future pets - there probably won't be any. I plan to have these pups around for a long time to come, and at my age, a new pup or kitty would most likely out live me, and I wouldn't want to go and have them possibly pine away for me.