Pet Names
For many people, choosing the right name for a pet is as important as picking the right kind of animal, be it an iguana or a kitten. Some people choose a theme for their pet names, perhaps the owner’s ethnic heritage or the animal’s country of origin, such as a German Shepard called Fritz, or in my family’s case vegetable names.
According to www.bowwow.com these are the top twenty pet names in the United States based on their Bow Wow Meow pet i.d. tag business: 
1. Max 11. Molly
2. Tigger 12. Bailey
3. Jake 13. Sassy
4. Tiger 14. Shadow
5. Buddy 15. Simba
6. Smokey 16. Patch
7. Maggie 17. Lady
8. Bear 18. Lucky
9. Sam 19. Sadie
10. Kitty 20. Misty
Out of all the lists of pet names I found on the internet, my favorite were the non-gender ones including Anchovie, Boink, Conquistador, Kafluffle, Hernia, Mollusk, and Pork Chop. Check out the pet naming guides on www.pet-net.net for help with a new pet’s name.
How about you? How many of the top twenty names have you used? Is there a pattern to your pet naming? What are some of the most unusual pet names you’ve heard?
Labels: pet names
posted by Mo H @ 6:49 AM
11 Comments:
I named my cat Jake because that's the name of the hero in my book. I didn't realize it was a common name for a pet.
All of our dogs were 'hand-me-downs' so they came already named.
We had a ferret named Frank Burns. People always had that moment of pause before the named clicked for them.
We also had a parakeet named BRGL. Don't ask why - it just sort of happened.
Frank Burns? LOL! That's great! Nope, I haven't used any of those. My friend breeds Appaloosas. Because of the variety of their "blankets" (spots), they all have names referring to rainbows and/or light.
I presently have a cat named Tigger and one of my dachshunds is Sassy.
Sassy's sister is named Adelaide after the heroine in my first book.
The meanest chihuahua ever is named Frodo. His vet gets a kick out of such a rowdy, mean dog being named after such a serene hobbit.
I have two big blond dogs - nicknamed the Idiot Brothers - whose real names are Clyde (short for Clydesdale) and Zorro (he has a black mask)
I have another dog named Grumpy because she has grumbled and been grumpy all her life!
MicheleKS,
Yes, I was surprised to see Molly, the name of our scottish terrier when I was growing up. There were few I didn't see that I expected--Midnight and Spot!
Terry,
I remember Frank Burns the character in M.A.S.H. What a great pet name!
Judy,
I like the light and rainbow theme for your friend's appaloosas.
Louisa,
My favorite of your pets' names is Zorro. I can picture your big blonde dog with the black mask!
I'm loving these naming stories. Frank Burns--LOL :-)!
My Arabian mare arrived with her own exotic name: Jurnada. When left to our own devices, I see we're absolutely average--we've used a couple of common names and a common method of choosing them.
We tend to stick with Irish names (Palmer is an exception, but he's actually our son's dog): Molly & Martin were a pair of geese; Duffy and Maggie were goats; Riley and Casey were cats; Cory, Kelly, and Hogan are names we chose for our dogs.
One of our neighbors had a sheep named MacGregor--I always liked that name (and the sheep, too).
My father-in-law bought a dozen beef heifers when we moved to our mini-ranch. One of them quickly became Moldy because she reminded him of a block of blue cheese. He called another Rodeo because she was a little wild.
I've had a Simba and a Bud. Usually we go with pop culture: Bimini (when Gary Hart was running for prez), Dukey (after the beer commercial--"Yo, DOOKIEE!"), YaYa (Divine Secrets...), Eliza from The Wild Thornberries, Napoleon from Napoleon Dynamite, Skippy from the Skippyjon Jones picture books.
I've never used any of the names in top twenty pet names list. We've had numerous dogs, cats, fish, hamsters and birds. We are down to one pet--a cat named Nomar. He was my daughter's cat, and she named him after Nomar Garciaparra, when he played shortstop for the Boston Red Sox. He's not with the Red Sox anymore, but we still kept the name.
Post a Comment
<< Home
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]