How do/did you name you your pets?

[SoTier]

My current dog is mostly an Australian Heeler/Australian Shepherd named Leroy Jethro Gibbs that answers to Gibbs.  I found him at an Amish farm, but didn't buy him that day because I had a road trip to an event at RIT planned the next day.  Somebody had texted me while I was on the road that I should name my new pup Jethro, which didn't impress me.  Then on the way home, we passed the Thruway exit for Leroy, NY.  Being a fan of the early NCIS, what else could I name my new little boy but  Leroy Jethro Gibbs???   By sheer chance, naming Gibbs after the lead character in the original NCIS is a perfect fit because both have kind of "unique" personalities.  In the case of my Gibbs, a lot of it is related to his genetic make up:  he's OCD when it comes to balls (he will fetch balls until he drops, and he also hoards them); he hates rakes, mops, and brooms as well small wheels on baby buggies, lawn mowers, etc. trying to get them to stop; and he "smiles" when he meets his favorite people (a notable trait linked to Heelers).  While Gibbs will chase squirrels and woodchucks, he's not a killer; he tries to herd them.  He's also very vocal, letting the world know when he's unhappy, especially when he can't go everywhere I go, but also when he's playing with various squeaky or chew toys.  He also takes his job as watch dog very seriously, not just at home, but at the local dog park, while walking in the neighborhood or in the park. The world is full of suspicious things like pigeons, flapping laundry, boats at the ramp across the street from the dog park, etc that he needs to warn me about.  He also sings to sirens and joins his besties at the dog park in community howls.

[Roundybout]

Ours was adopted from a rescue agency that saves dogs from kill shelters. He was rescued from Lennox County, Tennessee. We named him Lenny. 
 

He’s some mix of American fox hound, Labrador, and maybe Pitbull? Not sure. He’s very intelligent but fiercely defensive of the house and us. Hates cats, squirrels, and mail trucks. Rather apathetic towards rabbits, though. 

[Draconator]

Calvin was already named Calvin when we got him at 6 weeks. We liked it. 

Emery showed up in our back yard and wouldn't leave. My stepdaughters named her Emery, and I got to give her her middle name. All black cat, so she's Emery Cygnus. 

Chloe was named Punkin when we rescued her from 10 Lives Club. We didn't like Punkin but kept it as her middle name. Chloe was a group decision. 

Millie and Maggie were already named that when we rescued them. We were told they were a bonded pair, but there's no bond between them lol. We didn't mind Millie and Maggie. 

And Riley our dog was actually named Recon. I mean he's a Staffie so I get why Recon, but we were going to rename him. We wanted to keep something similar, so we went with Riley. My stepdaughter said Cooper went well with Riley, so he's called Riley Cooper. No affiliation to the former Eagles WR. 

[Simon]

We've got a 9 month old half Golden/half Bernese named Raina June.

Raina because my wife loves Mt Rainier and June because it makes her initials RJ for a good friend that I lost.

And when she is in trouble she gets her full name; Raina June Carter Cash. 

 

[Augie]

I chose from the names that my wife hasn’t put on the verboten list.  I really liked the name Maggie for a dog, but it was my MIL’s “Americanized name”, so I knew that would never fly. There are several others, like Bailey. We voted 3-1 to name one dog Bailey, but that was the name of a red headed girl who threw up in my MIL’s car when the wife was young. 🤢  🤮 They couldn’t get the smell out, so they had to trade the car in. (I know, it sounds like a Seinfeld episode.) Apparently that left a lasting impression with my wife. 

 

I guess it’s fair to say we both have veto power, but somehow it still feels like the wifey gets her way. I have to pick my battles. 

 

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Edited yesterday at 08:54 PM by Augie

[The Jokeman]

Color pattern plays a part. First cat was black and named Midnight, second cat was gray and named Smokey and third cat was tuxedo with a black "mask" on ears and upper face with white mouth area was named Bandit. Current cat a tortie named Chloe before we met. 

[qwksilver]

We had Zoey, a brindle boxer pit mix. Zoey because it fit her. She is 8. Then we adopted an Akita belgian malinois mix when he was 3 months. We went with Zeus because that means both dogs begin with a Z. Also Zeus is a cool name for a dog of his looks and size. He's about 5'8 when he stands on 2 legs just under 80 pounds

 

[Augie]

 

I had the family dog with me in college when my parents started traveling for work. Her name was Brandy, chosen by my parents. And yes, I would serenade her when the song came on the radio. 

 

Brandy was friendly with one of my buddy’s dog, an Irish Setter named Teisha. When I turned 21 my parents gave me a Golden puppy, and Brandy was not fond of the addition to the family. It was touch and go for a while, more so than any experience I’ve had since. Brandy was old and very grumpy. I had to make Brandy spit the puppy’s head out of her mouth. (Truth be told, I tried to get something nasty from her as a kid, and she scared the crap out of me! 😂) It was not my proudest moment. I swear it helped that I named the puppy Teisha. I was desperate.  🤷‍♂️

 

Other than that, we just pick (eligible) names, usually starting with a hard consonant. 

 

 

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Edited yesterday at 10:12 PM by Augie

[Behindenemylines]

When my daughter was young she was at a competitive swim camp called Peak performance.   After the weeklong camp when we picked her up she saw an ad to come “ pet the kittens” at a shelter.  So we went to pet the kittens and came home with a dog!  Sold us hook line and sinker.  She named her “Peak”  after the swim camp.  Peak is now 13 and the best dog we have ever seen. Tons of energy but super gentle and playful still at 13.  She has been helping patients at nursing homes since we got her and if she sees someone in a wheelchair or using a walker she is their instant best friend.  She’s amazing like that. 

[ExiledInIllinois]

 

[CookieG]

Like   Draconator, our jackabee was named at the  shelter.  Garth.  We decided to keep it.  The lady who named him said she was on a country music kick that week. 

For a jackabee, he has the true coloring of a beagle.  Except his ears are shorter, is legs are longer, his eyes are more almond shaped, he's not as broad in the shoulders and he's thinner.  

 

He was about a year old when we got him.  IF  we took him to the dog park for an hour, he'd be at a full sprint for 55 minutes. He'd want to chase, or be chased by the other dogs.

 

And fast.  the other dogs couldn't keep up.  Well until the day someone brought in 2 Italian Greyhounds.  After chasing them for 10 minutes, he stopped and looked at me and I could hear him saying, "did you see how fast they are"?

 

I used to say, "he was listed as a stray at the shelter, but I know  what happened.  Where ever he lived he got out one day and just started running.  By the time he stopped, he looked around and said,  'where the hell am I?'.

 

He's 10 now so not quite as fast as he was, but he still has his moments.

 

If I had had the time, he would have been great for the dog Olympics, where they do the obstacle course.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Edited 17 hours ago by CookieG

[WotAGuy]

Named the dogs the same way we named the kids - tossed Scrabble pieces around until they formed a rough approximation of a name. To this day, Mikshell loves her pooch Rober. 

[muppy]

my animals have had cool names and they were all inspired differently

 

I had a cat named FREEBO after Bonnie Raitt s tuba player 

 

I had a dog named Doobie after the Doobie bros

 

I had 2 brother tuxedo kitties whom were are and IRREPLACABLE

 

Ive yet to own more cats.  The badass one with neurological deficit was Handsome, his baby meek wimpy 2 pound less weight brother was Guapo

 

Angel was a white boxer whose name I changed from the rescues given name Cracker. How rude

 

we had Ali and Lickie Billie 2 more boxers. Ali was after ahem the boxer of course. Lickie Billie was a rescue with a tragic backstory (owner committed suicide) Good Lord. He loved to lick

 

Bella was a black pittie who when adopted were told was a "Boston terrier mix" PFFT

 

Pumpkin is my last pet and she is PERFECTION in canine form. Her name came up on family vote. She is a full fawn pitbull white chested Gorgeous dog. the calmest most gentle dog I have ever owned. she does NOT pull. She and her son were rescued together from Coachella Valley animal services. They were both adopted within the rescue.  DNA test on the son showed he was a purebred Staffordshire terrier 3 generations. Holy cow that is Rare. Unless a dog breeder . Who bred my pumpkin who knows how many times and NOT treated well by all the scars on her body. **** that previous owner. She is the QUEEN now and spoiled rottenly by moi.

 

the only thing she doesn't like iswhen she hears coyotes. she will low level grrrrr just out of nowhere,. a LOT of coyotes around here.  they howl in canyons all around my house here in socal

 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by muppy

[US Egg]

11 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

 

Guessing you heard the joke about the Indian chief explaining to his son why he was named two dogs *******.

[Johnny Hammersticks]

Cricket came to us already named.  She was on “death row” in a shelter down in South Carolina somewhere, and was brought up to Vermont to a shelter where we adopted her.

 

It was abundantly clear right away that she had been horribly abused.  It became clear that she was abused by an adult male.  It took probably 6 weeks before Cricket would even look at me.  She would interact with my wife and children, but would tuck tail and hide behind the couch when I came in the room.

 

I didn’t force her to accept me.  Every day, two or three times a day, I would literally crawl a few feet into the room she was in and let her see me leave a treat for her on the floor.  I progressively made it closer and closer without her fleeing.  Eventually she would let me pet her a little bit and now we’re pals.

 

She still follows my wife around the house all the time, but I’ll take it.  She’s a sweet old girl.  Just turned 14 years old in March.

[SinceThe70s]

22 hours ago, Augie said:

 

 

I guess it’s fair to say we both have veto power, but somehow it still feels like the wifey gets her way. I have to pick my battles. 

 

.

 

The above applies to every decision made in my household.

 

Growing up I had a Black Lab-German Shepherd mix named Pepper - basically a Black Lab with Shepherd ears. Either me, my sister or both lobbied for Peppy but there wasn't consensus. Mom came up with Pepper because he was black with a small white stripe on his chest.

 

Best name ever for a fish is Gil (with acknowledgements to the movie What About Bob?)

[Behindenemylines]

8 hours ago, muppy said:

my animals have had cool names and they were all inspired differently

 

I had a cat named FREEBO after Bonnie Raitt s tuba player 

 

I had a dog named Doobie after the Doobie bros

 

I had 2 brother tuxedo kitties whom were are and IRREPLACABLE

 

Ive yet to own more cats.  The badass one with neurological deficit was Handsome, his baby meek wimpy 2 pound less weight brother was Guapo

 

Angel was a white boxer whose name I changed from the rescues given name Cracker. How rude

 

we had Ali and Lickie Billie 2 more boxers. Ali was after ahem the boxer of course. Lickie Billie was a rescue with a tragic backstory (owner committed suicide) Good Lord. He loved to lick

 

Bella was a black pittie who when adopted were told was a "Boston terrier mix" PFFT

 

Pumpkin is my last pet and she is PERFECTION in canine form. Her name came up on family vote. She is a full fawn pitbull white chested Gorgeous dog. the calmest most gentle dog I have ever owned. she does NOT pull. She and her son were rescued together from Coachella Valley animal services. They were both adopted within the rescue.  DNA test on the son showed he was a purebred Staffordshire terrier 3 generations. Holy cow that is Rare. Unless a dog breeder . Who bred my pumpkin who knows how many times and NOT treated well by all the scars on her body. **** that previous owner. She is the QUEEN now and spoiled rottenly by moi.

 

the only thing she doesn't like iswhen she hears coyotes. she will low level grrrrr just out of nowhere,. a LOT of coyotes around here.  they howl in canyons all around my house here in socal

 

 

Wow.  Some serious pet loving.  Well done!