How did you name your dog?

Question

I read a lot of answers here that say to name a dog based on personality. Personally, I find that very strange. All of my pets have always had names that are actually names- not adjectives. I name my pets based on liking the way a name sounds, how that name fits the dog (or other animal) and sometimes take personal experiences into consideration.

Here's how Sydney got her name:
When I was little, there used to be a Husky x Collie who lived a few houses away. Her name was Sydney. I've always visited neighbors' dogs if they were outside and Sydney spent most of her time in her yard. I visited her almost daily, starting from a young age. The entire time I knew her, she was very sick (don't know what she had) and it was thought she only had a few months left. However, she lived a long and happy life. She died a few years ago and I miss her a lot. I decided to name my Husky after her, in her honor.

Explanation of Louie to follow....

The origin of Louie's name isn't quite as heartwarming, but it's still important to me.

There's a particular band that I've been listening to for several years, called Sublime. I associate their music with a lot of very significant memories, as well as a lot of happy times. The lead singer of the band, who died, had a dalmation who made appearances in their photos, songs, concerts and album covers. If you listen to Sublime, you know about that Dalmation; his name is Louie. I didn't really name Louie "after him", but there is still an emotional association that I make with the name.

People always giggle when I tell them his name- they either think it's a silly name for such a cute, small dog or they associate it with King Louis (which is also appropriate since he was a French King and, go figure- Papillon is French.)

Answer 1

Miss Dora- Bernese Mtn Dog.. started out as the most insane Berner puppy anyone had ever heard of, and was named Pandora (it fit THEN). She grew up.. and is now a sedate sweetheart.

Nutterz- Miss Dora's 9 mos old puppy girl. The runt of the litter, my partner called her "pinhead" because her head had been squished narrow in the birth canal.. I changed it to Peanut and its since become Nutterz due to her wild off the wall non-stop bounciness. She's taller than her mom now. AKC name- It's Party Time!

Lou- Miss Dora's 9 mos old son. Sweet laid back big doof sort of guy.. Big and quiet like Lou Ferigno. AKC name- New Year's Resolution

Rico- 10 mos old Samoyed boy. Named him after my partner's bestfriend's nickname. Then everyone gave me grief about naming him after the song "Rico Suave'". Strangely enough, he's lived up to the song.. and now is called Mr. Charming by a few people (a judge called him that when he won his first Best of breed).

Answer 2

Harley Leecy Howie Scamper Angel Dailey Brody Chipper Rapunzel Maggie Minnie George Daisey Dally Patches

Answer 3

Coincidentally, I just realized a few days ago that all of the dogs I have had were given seasonal names. Frosty, a Yorkie, was a xmas gift, so was named for Frosty the Snowman and because they get silver fur as adults. Holly, a terrier x, we also got around xmas time, so named her for the plant. Autumn, a terrier x, I adopted in the fall, which is my favorite time of year. I didn't name her that because it's when I adopted her, the name just popped into my head when I saw her and it seemed to fit.

I did just get a cat a couple of months ago. I had the name picked - Wyatt - before I even met him. I just knew I wanted to name my next cat that and would unless the name seemed totally inappropriate for the cat. But it works for him!

Answer 4

Both of my dogs came from the animal shelter where I work. Their names are Dingo and Jezebel.

Dingo got her name:
Dingo, is actually and American Dingo or Carolina Dog, which most people have never heard of. When she came in to our shelter, every thought she was an australian dingo, and just started calling her Dingo. Which by the time I adopted her, she had gotten used to the name and it just stuck. So I kept it.

Jezebel got her name:
If you look it up in a dictionary, the word Jezebel is a biblical word for a tramp or whore. Jezebel is a fun loving pit bull who loves to be touched and loved all the time. When we brought her home, she would (and still does) roll over on her back and spread her legs, hense forth earning her the name Jezebel. Which I absolutely love.

Answer 5

I have two dogs:

First one's name is Virgo. She was named Virgo because she was born September 10th, making her astrological sign, a Virgo. I don't believe in astrology, but I liked the way the name sounded, it was either that, or Ginger, because she's the color of Ginger, and I didn't want something TOO girly, so I decided on Virgo.

Second one's name is Bryce. It took me a long time to figure out a name. I had searched high and low, went over some other names, and nothing really suited me or him. I finally decided to go to babynames.com. I did this because I knew you could search names by meaning. I wanted him to be named something that meant "spotted" as he recently developed spots ALL over his legs, head, chest, and belly (including his litte jelly bean sized scrotum!) It was the cutest thing. After searching on babynames.com for a name that meant spotted, and nothing came up, I tried the meaning "speckled" and BAM, the name Bryce showed up. I had ALWAYS loved the name Bryce, and had wanted to name my son this name, so I figured, how perfect is this name!?

Answer 6

I wish Snowball's story was more interesting and heartwarming! We named him Snowball because it's a generic name, easy to remember, and his fur is white. (I didn't name him, I was four years old at the time.) Snowball is now about ten, give or take a few months. (I can't remember his exact date of birth; the previous owner did not say.)

Answer 7

My Sampson (AKA the most beautiful basset hound in the whole wide world) was supposed to grow to be 75 pounds. I knew he needed a big manly name. The only one that kept coming into my mind was Sampson. I didn't like it at first, but it truly fits him. And when anyone sees him they know that there's no doubt why he's named what he's named.

Answer 8

We always name our dogs for real people. I got my beagles at the same time. Bogie is named for Humphrey Bogart "Bogie" and Bacall was named after Lauren Bacall.

My mininature dashie Eddie is named after Eddie Belfour who was the goalie for the Dallas Stars hockey team.

My black lab mix is named Lulu. She is named after the famous silent film star Louise Brooks. Louise Brooks had beautiful jet black hair just like our lab.

Answer 9

I always said tons of names in front of the pet and picked the one which the pet seemed to like the most. My oldest dog, Romeo squinted and rubbed his cheek against mine when I said Romeo so it stuck :)

Answer 10

I got a book of 1000 pet names. I had a Bichon, so I named her Qtip.