Half of pet owners give pets human names

[SuzSee-PLP Creator]

This is an interesting article... but poses a fun question. What caused you to name your pet the way you did?

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By Megan K. Scott • The Associated Press • July 30, 2009

Almost half of American pet owners gave an animal a human-like name, such as Jack or Sophie, according to an Associated Press-Petside.com poll of more than 1,000 pet owners released this month.

Some of the more unusual names: Hollywood and Chichi Mittens, both cats; Vegas the Labrador Retriever; Jibber Jack the dog; the Beagle named Talulublue, and Louis XIV, the Yorkie.

In all, 49 percent of respondents, including 51 percent of dog owners and 50 percent of cat owners, had given at least one of their pets a human-like name.

The most popular? Max got more mentions than other names in the AP Poll, but not enough to give it any broad claim of popularity (less than 2 percent of all mentions). One database of pet names, maintained by Veterinary Pet Insurance, also finds that Max pops up more frequently than any other name.

There has been a move away from classic dog names such as Spot and Lassie, according to VPI spokesman Curtis Steinhoff. There were 13 Fidos in VPI's database in 2008, placing the name at No. 2,866. Rover was No. 2,534, behind names like Grendel, Ginger Snap and Munchie.

Steinhoff said the trend reflects a stronger bond between people and their pets.

Pet owners who give their pets human names are more likely to see them as full members of the family, said Wayne Eldridge, veterinarian and author of "The Best Pet Name Book Ever!"

But he cautions against reading too much into pet names. Many people choose names based on the animal's appearance, he said. One of the most unusual names in the VPI database was Snag L. Tooth for a cat with a "snaggle tooth" that protrudes.

For some it's all about being creative. Susan Jacobs, 45, of Long Beach, Calif., named her black poodle Kingston for her best vacation ever.

"It was beautiful, the people, the music, the warm weather," she said of her trip to Jamaica a decade ago. "Now whenever I say his name, I think of that time of in my life."

[SuzSee-PLP Creator]

So I don't know if I ever shared with anyone why OzSee is named OzSee. When I originally went looking for a schnauzer, the first little boy I was going to adopt had an ear infection. At the time, the Osbourne Show was popular on television and Ozzie Osbourne and all his glory was being shown each week. If you know anything about Ozzie Osbourne, it's that he's missing a few brain cells and walks a little -um - funny. So... the little puppy I wanted had a name before I brought him home. Unfortunately, he was so sick that I ended up not being able to purchase him. Good thing because I ended up with such a special little guy. The name stuck -- the dog changed. Also, since my last name is See, the spelling had to be special and that's why he is OzSee.

[Carolyn Turner]

Oh Yes...I actually name by animals 4 dogs and 7-8-9 however many cats I have any givenday more by their personalities when I first have contact with them. Not knowling their original names when I get some of them we do have to name them. and some of themdo have human names but most don't. Very interesting Suz

[Ronda Fenlon]

In my family we have:
Rose (Chihuahua)
Clementine (Chihuahua)
Maggie (AQH)
Benny (Paint)
Max (AQH)
Jake (yellow lab)
Manny (Chihuahua)
Sadie (Mutt)
Soon Lilli (Chihuahua) will be joining the extended family....

[Barbara C. Black]

Well, I generally look at them and whatever / whomever they remind me of is how I end up naming them. My ferret (God rest her soul) I named Edgar Winter. She was an albino ferret, so I gave her an albino name. I named her BEFORE I got her to the exotic vet and found out she was a girl. But her name stuck and she was Edgar all her life. I love you!

[narelle gow]

oh my god i have ferrets too its unusual to have ferrets hey i have 2 at the moment & one is named fred & the other one is daphne they are unwanted pets as well as 1 dog named orchie who is a foster dog here in australia she got her name cause she was nicknamed granny but thats my nickname too so i changed it to ohohohgeeee but it didnt sound nice so i changed to to orchie she loves it she is a little timid foxie cross who is just adorable she has been with us for over a year now she might be here for keeps no-one has asked about her yet she was attacked by my other dog maggie a staffy but they used to play together all the time but this one time orchie had broken her toenail & i was putting a bandaid on her sore foot & she growlked at me & maggie thought orchie was going to attack me so maggie grabbed her & i thru myself on the ground on my knees over the top of orchie to protect her but maggie came in from under my arnm & she broke orchies nose, the vet was very good with orchie he wired up her top jaw & she could only eat soft food for 8 weeks & then they took off the wire & now she's doin fine but maggy & orchie are kept seperate orchie stays inside during the day & maggy stays inside during the night while orchie sleeps in the bathroom each night & when maggie is let out of the house of a morning orchie is put out the front fro the toilet & a feed & then she stays inside for the day they still growl at each other thru the gate but are seperated by the gate & the fence hey!!!
cheers narelle from downunder

[PJ]

In my family of furry babies we have
Kachina ( Paint)
Loloteay (Paint)
Seirra (Cat)
Boomerang (Cat)
Smokey (Cat)
Freckles (Miniature Horse- Pintaloosa)

[Mickey]

Very interesting information about pet names. I've always named my pets by the feeling I get when I see them for the first time.

Feather is my oldest cat. She is all black. When I first got her she was so tiny and when I picked her up I thought she's as light as a feather, hence her name is Black Feather

Layla - tortoise mix cat - my daughter had a dream that my next pet was going to be called Layla so obviously that was her name.

Muggles (shortened to Muggsy) while & black tabby. He was one of a colony of cats that I take care of who got hit by a car and had two broken legs. I had named him when he was part of the colony and when he got hurt and I adopted him obviously the name was already his.

[Tegwedd ShadowDancer]

When I named my cats, I named them Pyewacket and Greymalkin, which are traditional witches' familiar names. I guess I'm just an old-fashioned girl.

[Laura- PLP Admin]

Well lets see, I will start with the most recent and work my way backwards...I named Angel because I truly feel that all of my little angels who I have loved and lost over the years sent her to me. I named Destiny, because when I went to look at some puppies I told my friend that if one sticks out for one reason or another to me, then its my Destiny to have her. Brandi...well, she was all black ( with a tiny bit of white that you couldnt see) and I kept saying blackberry Brandy..so I named her Brandi. Then Nicky..he was named that because I found him on Christmas eve eve...so I thought Saint Nicholas...so I named him Nicky. As for Punkin...I rescued him off of the street around Halloween...so I thought pumpkin,,but decided on Punkin. Peanut...well she was so small and I got her around Easter time..thought about all of the candy you get and decided peanut. As for my first baby Precious...well, I just thought that she was soooooooooooooo Precious...so there you go. LOL

[Regina Dickerson, Event Planner]

Well, I could tell you about all of mine but I don't think I will. Just the only ones I have left. Bob- fullname is Bobcat because she reminds me of a bobcat(my female manx): Jedi- named after Star Wars- male half french bull dog/half min. pinscher; Princess- after Star Wars(also my husband named her, too)- female chihuahua mixed; and Dax-fullname Jadizdax (named after a character in Star Trek-DSN)- American Pit bull.

[Anastasia]

I also enjoy people names for animals, as you say, it makes it feel like family.

I lost my sweet Sandy 9 months ago...and two weeks after he left for RAINBOW BRIDGE, I fostered a little guy they calledMo Mo at the Shelter....well, it did not fit him and in honor of Sandy, I named him "Randy"...just changed the s to an r...

As a matter of fact, since it is so close to his name, I often call him Sandy and I smile either way, as they both so precious and my family...yes to people names...Here is a picture of Sandy & Randy

Anastasia

[Paula]

I'm not so sure about hidden meanings in pets' names. I think it's a question of like it or not or that they remind you of someone or something. My two blue roan English cocker spaniels are called Pierrot and Bentley. While Pierrot was named after the French stock character of mime, Bentley has no similarity whatsoever with the car (he looks more like the Italian Cinquecento in size!). My late Jasper was named after the spaniel in Daphne du Maurier's novel "Rebecca". I also had a spaniel called Snuffy, after the cartoon character Snuffy Smith, a cat called Schnurri, a German word that has to do with their purring (this was in my German days, when I spent a lot of time in Germany) and a cat called Remina, after an Italian boyfriend I had called Remo when I was 20.