Naming a Pet Can Be Doggone Difficult

By Deborah Lambeth

When people have a baby, the parents go through nine months of trying to figure out, "What do we name the baby?" They look at historical names, ancestry, meanings of names, etc., and it is almost never a simple, straightforward decision.

I remember when my mom was pregnant; my siblings and I all had a voice in what name to use. We looked in baby books, thought of names, and then we wrote down the names we liked. I remember my father picking out one if it was a boy (Harold…need I say more?) and we all just groaned. We all compared notes. My father said to write the name down to see how it "flowed" when it was written. He told us to look at the initials to make sure the initials weren’t weird. This was not an overnight process…it was over the course of nine months. My mom, of course, watched all this while mulling things over in her mind. So that fateful afternoon when we all stood around the phone and listened to my mom and dad announce the baby’s arrival, we all immediately knew that we had a brother and his name was Stephen.

When a person gets a pet or makes the decision to get a pet, sometimes they don't put a lot of effort into thinking ahead of time about what to name the animal, but it's not a trivial decision. Obviously, some names won't work just because of what type of animal you're naming. For example, there probably aren't too many pet lizards named "Fluffy" or gerbils called "Bruiser." So how does one go about finding the right name for their pet? Here are some ideas you might want to consider:

• Think about finding a name that reflects the color, appearance, size, or demeanor of your pet—such as Rusty for a golden retriever, Speedy for a turtle, Tiny for a Great Dane, Velvet for a Persian cat, Slinky for a boa constrictor, or Rocket for a yappy Pomeranian.
• Think about when you go to the vet and you’re standing in line telling them your pet’s name. Do you really want to name your pet Stinky?
• What is an easy name that your pet will respond to? Animals respond to the pitch of your voice when you say their name, and you probably shouldn't pick a name that's a word you'll be saying often in regular speech because it might be confusing for your pet.
• Ask other people what they think your pet’s name should be. Sometimes, believe it or not, other people see things about a pet that the owner might not see—and voilà, a name.
• If you’re single and have a pet that could double as a ring bearer when you get married, do some forward thinking so that "Roughy" is not your ring bearer.

Several years ago I got a kitten and I thought it was a boy, so I was going to name it Spike. In the first vet visit, we determined that Spike was a "Spikette" so I changed her name to Spice. My current feline’s name is Boo…a name that fits her purr-fectly! Having a pet is a wonderful experience and finding the right name is important, so don't just call your pet Blackie or Spot. Be creative! Your pet will love you all the more.