Clever Pet Names

Unique Strategies for Naming your Pet

Mar 10, 2008 Christy Mroczek

Here are several categories for brainstorming pet name ideas. Find the perfect name for your new pet whether it is a dog, cat, bird, fish or other animal.

One of the greatest joys a family can have is the addition of a pet. However, with a pet comes the unique problem of deciding on an appropriate name. Should it be clever or cute? Funny or serious? Being inspired by the pet’s personality and looks are tried and true methods for identifying a name, but here is a list of categories to help you to find the perfect name for your pet.

People

Naming pets after people names is a trend in the U.S. that has been growing since the late 1990s. The trend might be due to the fact that Americans view pets as members of their family who are just as important as their human mates. To put a new twist on this category, though, you might name your pet after a famous person in history. Think Washington, Lincoln, Grant, Wilbur or Orville Wright, Einstein, Che Guevara, Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth or Jacques Cousteau.

Places

Think of a place that has special meaning to you. It might be a location from your college campus, country you’d love to visit, city where you lived or traveled, or even a park, mountain river, waterfall or street name.

Some examples include the following.

Cities: Vienna, Vegas, Boston

States: Utah, Maine, California

Streets: Broadway, Beale, Rodeo

Parks: Forsyth, Hyde, Lincoln, Tivoli

Mountains: Everest, Rainier, Kilimanjaro

Rivers: Nile, Amazon, Ganga, Avon

Music

John Grogan, author of Marley and Me named his Labrador retriever after the musician Bob Marley. You might name your pet after a band, popular artists, or artist of the past. Examples include Mozart, Bob Dylan, ELO, Mariah Carey, Prince, Jerry Garcia, or Louis Armstrong.

Song titles and lyrics can also be name sources. Listen to one of your favorite songs for inspiration.

Authors, Book Characters, and Classic Stories

Do you have a favorite author or book? See if the author’s name or one of the characters names fits your pet. You might look at contemporary or classic literature, Greek or Roman myths, American folklore, children’s literature and even cartoons. Name ideas include Cinderella, Pip, Jane Austen, Dan Brown, Nancy Drew, Charlie Brown, Paul Bunyan, Mrs. Dalloway, Harry Potter, Zeus, and Prometheus.

Theater, Movies and Actors

Naming after pets in movies is a traditional choice, but what about your favorite human actors and roles? Names can come from movie titles, characters, and actors. Some examples include Ratatouille, Owen Wilson, Ben Hur, Romeo, Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Taylor, and Lloyd Dobler.

Food

These names tend to be sillier, but can also fit a pet’s personality to the tee. Name examples include burrito, spaghetti, nachos, fish sticks, cupcake, butter, and goulash.

Using these brainstorming techniques will aid you in your quest for finding a unique and meaningful name that fits your special pet.

How to Name your Cat

Naming Your Dog

Pet Adoption

The copyright of the article Clever Pet Names in Dogs is owned by Christy Mroczek. Permission to republish Clever Pet Names in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.