“People” names vs. “Pet” names

[rexanater]

 So today, one of my friends, well I wouldnt really call her a  friend, but whatever, laughed at me for naming my bunny Houdini. Saying,

“wtf..

wtf

o.o

WTF

AHHA

WHO NAMES A BUNNY

THAT

LOL

TROLOLOL”

 

This was via google chat. So, obviously I got pissed at her. Oh, she has two guinea pigs named Marshmellow and Cookie. So what do you think about “People” names; Allison, Robert, Houdini, etc. vs. “Pet” names; marshmellow, cookie, fluffy. 

[RabbitPam]

It sounds like she was hungry when she named her piggies. If I were them, I’d be nervous.

Whatever name your bunny answers when you call them is their name. Houdini is an excellent name for a bunny since they can suddenly disappear and reappear at will.

[Sarita]

Maybe she just thought Houdini was a funny name. If it was through Google chat, I don’t think I’d take it too personal. Sometimes on-line it’s difficult to really distinguish if what a person is saying is in jest or is fun or really anything else.

That being said, I like both types of names for my pets. I just kind of let their name come to me unless they have already come with a name and I usually just call them that.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Yeah, I gotta agree with RP… Houdini is an awesome name!

We always thought Sherlock would be an adorable name for a puppy, especially something like a beagle who loves to explore and discover things.

Marshmallow and Cookie are super cute, but Houdini is more unique ; )

[Kate Monster]

Lol, well I named Kate and Spence after people, so obviously I’m a fan of ‘people’ names for pets. But I also like food names, naming them for other animals, description names ( I have a friend who named his cat ‘trouble’ in arabic, I like that too!). As long as it feels right to you, whaat does it matter really?

[Monkeybun]

Well, I name mine after different animals… Moose, Squirrel, Monkey. Sooo…

[LBJ10]

I only get annoyed when people name their Scottie Scottie. LOL

 

I’m kidding!

Anyway, my dog has a people name and Leopold I guess has a people name. Mr. Wooly isn’t really a people name.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

We named ours after movie/television characters: Remy from Ratatouille and Momo from Samurai Champloo.

Also, Momo is from Ezo Momonga, a Japanese flying squirrel. Google image them… IF YOU DARE.

[angelicvampyre]

Mine always telll me their name so i have a mix of everything.

Bugz – Bugs Bunny
Anya – Anya from buffy as she was scared of rabbits
Rufus – Cause he told me that was his name (or I was watching to much Gossip Girl)
Nell – Cause it is a little old lady’s name and she is a little old ladies dog on crack
Mac – Named after my dads fav dog he had growing up
Lemon – Cause she is yellow
Lime – cause he is green
Tommy – Named after my grandfather
Joy – named after my grandmother
Myles – Came with the name
Nikki – Came with the name
Miss Kitty Fantastico – We called her kitty for the first 8 weeks as i was not going to keep her then watched the buffy ep and it got extended
Ginger Ninja – Was a joke that stuck
Carrot, Onion and Celery – All the makings for a chicken pie (they are three chickens)
Danger Mouse – A duck who is white it a black mask and also beats up all the other animals

So i am a but of both.

[Silly Sungura]

I like both, but for people names I prefer unusual ones, not ones that my friends have or names they are likely to use for their children. One of our cats was named “Nick” when we got him. Since I grew up with some guys named “Nick,” I thought it was too common to use, so I changed it. Personally, I think it feels weird when you ask someone their pet’s name and you find out that you and the pet have the same name.

[rexanater]

@Pam, That was actually one of the reasons why I named him that, but later I discovered he was also an escape artist. 

 

[Michelle&Lolli]

I think you should name your pet whatever you want. lol

Eddie was named after the dog on the show Fraser. He was originally named George but it didn’t fit. I had no clue to what else to name, was watching reruns of Fraser one night, looked at him, called him Eddie, he perked up, so that was his name. LOL I wanted a super sweet name for Lollipop cause she’s a super sweet girl……with rabbitude thrown in.

[Lis]

 I’ve been (lovingly) cursing Navi and telling her I should have named her Houdini. She ALWAYS gets out of that pen and is driving me mad. 

I like both people and pet names. I think once HJ and I are done with the gaming theme (we’ve thrown around Kortana, Master Chief, and Chell as possible future names) we’ll move on to human names. Or maybe we’ll go with human names next – get all of his awful naming ideas out of his head. He told me the other week he wants to name his son Vincent Vader (insert last name here). 

Here’s a list of the pet names we’ve come up with in my family (in order from most recent):

Navi (bun)

Link (bun)

Ninja (hamster)

Stormy (bun) (Tin Whiskers was his “real” name according to mom – it’s a thing that happens to satellites – she works with them) 

Starsky (dog)

Rusty (dog)

Little (bun) (who was large for a full size rex – he was a baby when 5 year old me named him)

Shelly (turtle)

Pumpkin (bun)

 

Other pet names given to them by others:

Rosie (horse)

Jay (horse)

Schatze (dog)

 

[Sonn]

I name my pets both people and ‘pet’ names. I named Dini after Houdini so I like the name =)

I have never really cared what people thought about my pets names when I was 16 I had a Rat named Ninja Rooster lol!

[FluffyBunny]

I like people names when they fit the pet, but otherwise, I prefer pet names – although I don’t like food names or very common pet names, like Thumper, Domino, Spotty and Fluffy.

One thing I don’t like is when people name their pets after the pets’ species, like Catty or Kitty for a cat, Rattie for a rat, Goldie for goldfish, etc. (I know that this is coming from someone who named their bunnies Bunny and Rabbit, but that’s different. )

[Monkeybun]

How about different species, FB

[MimzMum]

Thanks, LizzieKnittyBun, you just had to issue the challenge, didn’t you? 0_o GAH…dying from cuteness…..
I see where they got the character Emonga for Pokemon Black and White.

I have to admit to having named our most recent cat ‘Hello Kitty’, and she just gets called Kitty all the time. I take it on the chin from my son the most about that.
Honestly, her true personality did not reveal itself until it was way too late to change her name. Otherwise I would’ve named her Bellatrix or something equally evil. I like pet names to reflect personalities or temperaments.
That being said, my rabbits are named after movie or book characters. Although I mostly end up calling them bun-bun anyway…doesn’t make any difference, they summarily ignore me.

I think I would change my Yorkie’s name if I could. She was Jenny when she came to us (rescue) but we made the subtle change to Jenna (after Jenna in Balto) just so as not to confuse her. I would’ve rather called her Spazzy McBeanMuffin…oh wait…I do that already…lol.

I don’t particularly care for human names for pets, but that’s just me. I would think it rude for me to say, “What kind of name is that?”

Could you imagine ‘pet’ names for kids though? lol Most of the time I call my cats Goofball and Mugwump and they answer to these just as well as their given names. They know I’m talking to them. Especially if I have food in my hand. Pretty much the same thing for my kids. ^_^

I like Houdini. It’s classic AND classy. Better than calling your bun Chris Angel or David Copperfield, IMO. Any name spoken with love is a good name.

[LoveChaCha]

I like pet names… I just wanted my bunny to have an Asian food name, as I like the way some names sound in different languages.

So my little bunny is ‘black tea’ – Koucha.

Her nickname is Chacha and it sticks.. it gives a sort of diva attitude to it.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

ohhhh MimzMum, did you look? Did you DIE?!

[LittlePuffyTail]

I like both, but for people names I prefer unusual ones

I feel the same way. Right now most of my pets have people names: Olivia, Bindi, Andy, Savana, Mystee (well that’s sort of a people name) and Winnie. I didn’t name Andy or Mystee. Stormy is more a pet name but I saw a little girl named Stormy once. I think it’s cute, actually. The animals I name myself usually have weird names that make vets say “How do you spell that?” Two of my faves are my bridge cat “Nefera” and horse “Tovarish”. Most of the names I pick have some meaning behind them.

[Beka27]

I am strictly a people name person, and I come from a family who uses people names. Some family pets I’ve had in my life:

Benny (my dearly departed pup)
Sheila
Oliver
Misty
Timmy
Jimmy
Samantha
Tabitha

And the rabbits I’ve had:
Stephen (he was given to us by a friend, don’t remember his previous name)
Meadow (her previous name was a cage number, she’s named after “Meadow Soprano”)
Max (his previous name was “Mugwug”… um, NO. That had to change.)

Stephen’s name always made me laugh… I mean really, who names a rabbit Stephen?!  

Like people who are always coming up with baby names for their future children, I’m always making mental notes of people names I like for new pets in the future…

[Meg Pressley]

I guess, for me, it depends on the pet and what name seems to fit them at the time…
I’ve had various pets, and unfortunately I have bad memory and can only remember several of their names – even though I’ve hardly ever NOT had a pet in my life.

I had a dog named Charlie. A cat named Romeo.
I’ve had fish named Molly, Midnight, Goldie, Frenchie, and Arnetta.
I had hamsters, but I cannot remember their names.
I’ve had a more recent cat (but since we couldn’t have cats my granddad owns her) named Casslynn Juliette.
And now my girls Pixie Marie and Aria Skye (bunnies, caged, so they’re okay to have – ironically enough).

For Pixie it took me a while to name her but all I did was say names out loud that I liked and looked at her to see which one was best and which one she seemed to respond to most. It was quite funny, because with most of them she glared at me and I was like, “I guess that one’s a no.” But at first we thought she was a guy, so for the first week I was calling out guy names… Then we checked, and for the next two weeks I was calling out girl names. Go figure. When I called off Pixie her ears perked up and she jumped to the cage door to be petted, thus she is now Pixie Marie, my little diva.

Aria was first Theodore Xavier… But when I brought her home we found that she is definitely a girl – but just in case we’re wrong when I take them to the vet I’m going to definitely ask for a closer, better check to be sure. Well, it didn’t take as long for me to name her. The night I had gotten her I looked up names online. Thought Aria Skye worked well together because of the meaning, and it seemed to fit in my head with my little Lionhead…

For me it’s just which one seems to fit the personality of the pet, rather than what I’m more accustomed to; people or pet names.

[Elrohwen]

I always name my pets people names. I don’t know why … I just like the sound of people names and every pet I’ve named since I was 10 has had one (my mom did name “her” dog Dusty, but his sister was Cindy, from Cinders, so she ended up with a people name anyway). I tend to pick slightly unusual names that I love, but wouldn’t necessarily name my kid (like Otto!). I’m not a fan of super common people names, because it just makes me think of people I know with that name (which can be funny, or make me cringe). I really want to name a pet Henry, but I’m trying to convince DH to use that for a kid so I want to wait and see if we have a boy before I go using the name on a dog  I guess I’ll be waiting a while to use that one!

bunnies: Otto, Hannah

gerbils: Rory, Oliver, Sebastian, Rowan, Somerset (after W. Somerset Maugham, the author, so kind of a people name, and I called her Summer for short), Emma, Daphne, Thomas, and two others with non-people names Cafe au Lait and Night Streaker (I was little when I got those two)

[Elrohwen]

Lizzie, I just read your comment – my mom had a sheltie named Sherlock as a kid! She’s always been obsessed with mystery novels and stories. I think Sherlock is the cutest name.

[Sarita]

Beka…Stephen? That is a funny name for a rabbit :~)

Of course, I think Bobby is a funny name for a rabbit, but I didn’t name him. It doesn’t matter anyway, he doesn’t listen to me.

My current rabbits are all food names except Bogie (didn’t name him either). I have Mango (he came with that name), Toffee, Peaches, & Peppermint.

However I have had rabbits with the names Charlie, Brando, Maxine, & Emmy, so I like people names. There are also various other names as well so I’m all over the board.

The good thing with pets is that you can name them anyway you want – not like children who might suffer a certain stigma if they have a more unusual name like Apple or Chastity or Paris, etc….

[Silly Sungura]

Elrohwen: “Otto” and “Hannah” sound good together. Good German names. I get a mixture of surprised looks and compliments when I tell people my dog, a German Shepherd, is named “Heinrich.” I like ethnic names, and I wanted to name him something easily recognizable as being German. I am amazed at how many people say they’ve never even heard the name before, though! Quite a few mispronounce it. LBJ10, “Leopold” is a great name. I only thought of it after Heinrich was named or we might’ve used it for him instead.

Sarita: When I was four or five our neighbor gave me a rabbit for Easter. (Ugh.) I named it “Bobby” after the youngest Brady Bunch boy. Ha, ha. My first crush.

[Elrohwen]

Sarita, or Moon Unit? 😛

Silly, we picked Otto’s name first, and I knew I wanted a girl bun named Hannah some day. They are good German names and our last name is German, so it fits. Also, there is a great children’s story I read in school that teaches about palindromes and has characters named Otto and Hannah. And I love Heinrich! Henry is my current favorite boy’s name and Heinrich is very similar.

Hannah came to us with the name Merlin. It’s a cute name, but I prefer people names for my pets (and it seemed like a boy’s name) so we changed it to Hannah. We still call her “The Mer” and “Mersical” a lot.

[Sarita]

Hansel and Gretel are also good German names Elrohwen :~)

[Elrohwen]

Hahaha. I think Gretel is super cute, actually!

Hannah just looks like a big burly German woman (no offense against German women! :-P). Should’ve named her Helga.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Let me think of my past pet names… young me to now.

 

Fish – Aphrodite

Cockatiel – Sunflower

Hamster – Frodo

Ball Python – Princess Leia

Hermit Crab – Muad’Dib

Fish – Hurricane Hambone Satchmo (he evacuated with us when we left New Orleans for Katrina, when he earned the Hurricane part)

First family dog – Truffles

Second family dog (whom I felt was really mine) - Bella

 

And of course our little Remy and Momo <3

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m trying to think of all the names of my past hamsters:

-Sorbet
-Boo-Boo
-Phil C. Hamster
-Tangy Tangerine (He was orange)
– Emma

I named my Guinea Pig “Gibson” because he had a crazy mohawk so I thought he should be named something rock-ish so I named him after the guitar brand. My sister named my other piggy “Benny” which I found boring so I changed it to “Benjamin”.

[MimzMum]

Yup Liz…I died. This is me. Dead. Typing from my grave. Stone cold from imported cuteness overload. Until I become zommmbee and come to eet ur brainzzz….lol xD
Dang it was the most adorable flying squirrel I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a few, considering I used to want one for a pet as a kid.

Sarita, whenever I think of the name Bobby, it reminds me of that old cartoon show with Howie Mandel by the same name. I think the kids’ favorite lines from that show were:
Mom: Bobby, you hit Derek!
Bobby: I know. I tried to kick him, but I couldn’t reach him with my foot. ^_^

Of course, I think Bobby’s name fits him. He looks like a Bobby Bunny. But of course, I’d like to check to be sure. We need more pix of him, please.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

braaaaaaaaaaaaaainzzzzzz

[Elynsaks]

What is the meaning of Houdini . Its very different and unique name . My bunny name is Leo and Ronny the runner . I selected this name because it has 8 number which is lucky for us.http://www.babynology.com/meaning-ronny-f20.html

[Marie]

My dogs are called Alfie and Abby. I have a turtle called George,but my rabbits were named on the spur of the moment because i wanted to register them with the vet.  But will think of other names for them soon.

[Azerane]

I like both, but the name has to fit the pet.

Furry – my cat I named when I was five
Kitty – my brother’s cat he named when he was seven
Sparks – cat my sister names
Mick, Flick – Zebra Danios
Miracle Fish – fish that just kept living, 7 year old white cloud tetra
Alex – my first rabbit, named after my German exchange partner
Hazel-rah – My second rabbit, named after the Watership Down Character
Bandit – My third rabbit, named so because of his dark face and pale eye rings and the little dark mittens he had on his paws, like a Bandit.
Dory – Parrot, named by hubby, because we found her, and the movie Finding Dory.
Tony and Rosie – bunnies, came with those names, still can’t decide what to change them to!!

[beebun]

Chito is a mixture of both, albeit in a strange way..

I named him after one of my favourite characters, Richard. His nickname is Richie, and my SO likes to add silly endings to names, and when we talk about Richie, we call him Richito..and that’s..that’s where Chito got his name!

When I was young, I had a rabbit named Kinci (the Indonesian word for rabbit is Kelinci so it’s like calling your rabbit ‘Bit’), so I’ve always been really uncreative about names! Haha

But we have six (outdoor, stray) cats now:
– Kitty, our alpha male that gets in fights all the time
– Leutik (Small), a pregnant lady that came to our house when she was huge like a balloon
– Lukewarm, a pitch black kitten that can be really cute and mean on the next second
– Leutik’s kittens: Peanut, Butter, and Jelly

What does that say about me? Haha! I love all of your pets names!

[jerseygirl]

Posted By Elynsaks on 8/05/2016 4:54 AM

What is the meaning of Houdini . Its very different and unique name . My bunny name is Leo and Ronny the runner . I selected this name because it has 8 number which is lucky for us.http://www.babynology.com/meaning-ronny-f20.html

Elynsaks, I would say they named their rabbit after the famous magician / escape artist – Houdini. : )

I like both people and “pet” names. With pets, it’s an opportunity to have some fun with names. Most of my rabbits have kinda silly names. 

My bunnies now over the Rainbow Bridge are: Jersey, Maple and Jelly

My bunnies at home are: Rumball, TimTim aka Timbu, Potamus. Gooseman, who had a people name. His foster name was Ainsley. And  Ailís was Alice but I changed it to Celtic form of the name,

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