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Kid Names Get Used Up On Pets
There was a list of names I couldn’t use for my daughter – not because they were bad, per se, but they’d been used. Once a four-legged member of the family has a name, I’m sorry, but it’s been used up.
Indiana Jones we are not. But half of Americans in a recent poll confessed to giving their pets “human” names.
The Associated Press-Petside.com poll showed fifty-one percent of dog owners and fifty percent of cat owners copped to people-izing their four-legged friends. Leading the pack is Max.
Is it any wonder Max is not nearly as popular in humans? Its highest spot on the Social Security Administration names list in the past decade was still well out of the top one hundred (it’s gone as low as one sixty five, as high as one twenty-six).
A little informal poll of my friends showed most folks share my views on name recycling. There was some serious namers regret for people whose pets pre-dated their kids. Worse are the parents angry at THEIR parents for using perfectly good names up on the family Cocker Spaniel in the seventies.
I confess it was easier at my house. I fancy Olivia (my dog’s name – for the Ian Falconer books), but it was never our plan to go with an “O” name for our daughter. Ditto Madeline, the moniker of one of our cats (again literary – not named for our own Madeline Holler!). Our other cats have all been boys, with the exception of Veruca (yes, another children’s book name!) and that’s one I wouldn’t bestow on my worst enemy . . . but it works for a little black ball of fur.
Did you lose out on one of your favorite names?
Image: Junius
Source: NBC
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8 Comments
Shana commented on Jun 29 09 at 12:56 pmI went to school with a girl named Sara, after her mother’s deceased dog. That dog in the picture is pretty interesting.
Susan commented on Jun 29 09 at 1:41 pmMy pets have generally had non-human names – the current three and my husband’s previous dog were all named after places (street signs, counties, lakes). Franklin is the only human-worthy one but I wouldn’t saddle my kid with that one. And I doubt I’d use my childhood cats’ names either – Scooter, Marbles and Daisy. Phew!
Brittany commented on Jun 29 09 at 10:04 pmI always wanted to have a little girl, and name her Daphne. And then I decided it was the perfect name for my chihuahua. Do I regret using that name for my dog? A little bit. But I’ve since found other names I like, and those are on a strictly no-pets list.
Kayt commented on Jun 30 09 at 1:50 pmI have a list of names that I adore, but I couldn’t bring myself to use on a person. I have a dog named Roxie, and if I got another dog in the future, they would be Rufus, Boudicca, or Phaedra. I had a dog named Simon with my husband. I love the name, but my husband didn’t like it, so I at least got to use it for a dog.
LightHorseman commented on Jul 03 09 at 2:28 amI’m named after the damn dog. My mother’s dog when she grew up was Timmy, (Timoshenko) after a famous Russian General of the time. I’m Tim, named after the dog, but I didn’t find all this out until I went to name MY dog “Timoshenko”, after myself, ‘cos I’m Tim, AND the Russian General, because he was a Siberian Huskie (the dog, not the general) The Christmas after I got the puppy, and named him thus, the whole sorry story came out. Indiana Jones jokes abound. I named my daughter “Aubrey” with a standing death threat to any family member who uses it as a pet name.
elohveeee12 commented on Jul 27 09 at 12:42 ammy sister’s dog is sophie and I love that name, but will never use it. then my aunt named her very large, very drooly and very ugly dog Madison just before i had my daughter. that happened to be one of the names on my list, her dog is very sweet but is definetly not a Madison. And my dad’s dog, which i named, is Charlie. not a name i would normally use, however i loved the idea of naming my daughter Charlotte and calling her charlie. I just couldnt help but think of the dog everytime i said it.
now i am hoping that no one gets any male pets in the next few months so that my son’s name doesnt get stolen too!!
Tiger commented on Oct 07 09 at 6:00 amMy first dogs growing up were Adam & Eve. & I loved them. Lots. Unfortunately I don’t think it was too forward-thinking of my parents to ask 3-year-old me for my favourite boy’s name for our beautiful black and white male staffie. It’s still my favourite boy’s name years later, and forever out of the baby-name-book.
Rebecca commented on Oct 19 09 at 4:54 amMy dogs are Diocese and Endymion. Cats are Simba, Rumor, and Schafer (named after some kind of alcohol by MIL). Rats are Rhyme, Reason, and Atticus the Ratticus. Gerbils are Rhythm and Blues.
I think our kids will be fine. =P
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