It's been a little while since my last post, so I wanted to get something fun out there. For context, I grew up in a dog household (alongside numerous fish, frogs, and the occasional gecko), but hope to one day have a cat or two of my own. Over the holidays, my younger brother bought a gorgeous new pup, which got me thinking about good pet names.
There are a bunch of different approaches when it comes to pets. Some go with descriptive names: think "Boy", "Stripes", or the legendary "Spot". These are easy to remember and help differentiate when a number of pets are involved.
Some people go with something slightly more personal. This can vary between something unique to the pet, like "Bucket" for a cat that only sleeps in plastic buckets, something special about the relationship, or in honor of a favorite memory. These names are often reserved for pets you know are special from the start.
The third approach is to take inspiration from a famous book, movie, or franchise. I've heard of "Volditort", "Percy" or "Nico" (for you Percy Jackson fans), or maybe "Butters". A popular avenue with cats is to name them after a favorite food or candy, which I consider to be under this category as well.
The last main category, which is partially touched upon in the third approach, is to give them a human name. "Susan the three-legged rabbit" is pretty hard to forget. Sometimes the name just fits, like "Gregg", your lazy Newfoundland, and sometimes they're meant to be funny or ironic, like Susan the male Dobermann with a spiked collar, or Titus the adorable Pomeranian.
A good name needs to fit the pet. Maybe it's how they look. Maybe it's personality. Regardless, a goofy cat should have a goofy name, and a serious rat should have a serious name.
Keep it consistent. Sure, it's fun to call your rabbit every Warrior Cat name under the sun, but it'll never be who they really are.
Own it. If you can't take Flapperdoodle to the vet and give them his honest name, you've got two options. Get over yourself since you named them Flapperdoodle, or go with something you're not embarrassed of, like Spike or Red.
I could go on with what I'd consider important, but really what matters is what you're cool with. It doesn't matter if they're Gorgax the Devourer, Steve the parakeet, or Plankton the goldfish (all of which I think are fantastic). Do what makes you both happy, and give them all the love and attention they deserve because they're putting up with whatever crazy name you come up with. In the comments, let me here your favorite pet names or any changes you'd make to what I laid out above. Let me here it, #petparents!
