Norbert

How did you decide what to name your pet? Or was it your decision at all?

The dozens of cats we’ve fostered all had names already. Even though one of them has ended up staying with us permanently, we didn’t feel we should change her name. So, the question never really came up until we adopted a six-week-old kitten a few years ago.

Even then, it was mostly a matter of deciding which Harry Potter character to name him after. We tried “Alastor” before settling on “Norbert”. (You know, Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback dragon?)

How do other people name their pets? There are lots of good cat-naming stories at Petplace.com, and here’s an interesting article on trends in dogs’ names. (It also explains where the name “Fido” came from, and gives some dos and don’ts.)

Looking over these resources, I see several categories of pet names:

· Human names and nicknames. These may reflect how much our pets feel like family, but they can backfire. I remember reading about a woman who had given her dog her favorite girl’s name – then wondered what to do when she had a daughter.
· Famous people’s pets’ names. This is how “Fido” and “Max” became popular names for dogs. No statistics yet on “Bo”.
· Names that reflect personality. “Rascal” and “Spaz” are self-explanatory.
· Biographical names. One of the Petplace stories tells about a stray cat who was found sleeping on a pile of tires – and named “Retread”.
· Appearance-based names. Of course, “Spot” is the most obvious. I also know of a cat named “Everready” after the black cat on the battery logo.
· Reused names. Some people just give the same name to every dog or cat they ever own. Maybe it’s laziness, but then again, maybe it’s a loving memory.