Keep in mind this isn’t going to happen but anyways, my husband and I had a dog named [name]Sofie[/name] when we got married, for 10 years she was our baby, we were those ridiculous people who took our dog to have pictures with [name]Santa[/name] and bought a special backpack so she could go on bike rides with us. Basically she was our child and we loved her to pieces. I was telling a friend the other that because I love the name [name]Sofie[/name] and have such a great association with it I would use it in a heartbeat if I was pregnant and the name wasn’t so popular.
She thought that was completely bizarre and inappropriate. Personally I wouldn’t care if someone named their baby after a beloved pet and I wouldn’t care if I had been named after a dog especially since it means my name would’ve been [name]Angelique[/name] which is pretty cute [name]IMO[/name]. If it helps I wouldn’t purposely name a baby [name]Sofie[/name] as a namesake (though my dog was awesome) as much as a great association for a name I still love.
So do you think using a pet name (not one like Fido) for a baby name is a horrible thing to do?
Honestly yeah, I would feel kind of insulted if my parents had given me the same name as their pet. I mean, how weird would it be when they were telling a story involving the pet and they kept on saying your name? If it was the name of a childhood pet then it wouldn’t be so bad (ie, your mother named her kitten [name]Katherine[/name] when she was six because it’s always been her favorite name) but a pet that your parents owned together? Yeah, that’s a bit too much for me.
i wouldnt care.
i would find it a bit weird though if the pet had recently passed away, or were still living, but in your case…no. i wouldn’t mind being named after a pet.
I wouldn’t say its insulting but it may be a little strange. However it would depend on the name of the pet and the pet couldn’t still be around when the child was named- way too confusing!
I would say you could use it as a middle name as a great way of honoring your beloved pet but maybe not as a first name! It would be like having 2 children and giving them the same name (I actually know someone who did that!)
I don’t think that it’s horrible at all! To me, it’s almost the same as honoring a family member: if it’s someone you really care about, then why not? The child would probably feel honored (assuming it’s a normal human name) knowing that it was named after something so special to their mother, and would love hearing stories about them. Hardly anybody would know where you got the name from anyway - I mean, it’s not like you’re going to say that you named her after your dog while introducing her to people.
I plan on naming a future DD after my dog, [name]Hannah[/name], because she’s helped me get through a lot in life and I would love to hold on to all the good memories I have of her. Anyone close to me knows what my relationship with my dog means to me – and if they think it’s weird, then that’s their problem!
The only way I would ever think that naming a child after a pet is weird is if that pet were still alive. And you know what – I know a guy that did that anyway! He had a dog named [name]Sarah[/name], and a few years later named his daughter [name]Sarah[/name] too. Personally, I would not go that far with it…but it worked for him!
Liking a name so much that you give it to your pet and then, years later, still love it so much you’d give the name to your child- makes sense to me. I always gave my goldfish “people” names that I liked, and I wouldn’t knock any of those names out of the running if I found out I was expecting.
Where I would draw the line is if it was actually naming the child that to be the namesake of the beloved pet- that would be odd. And I have also knocked names off my list because family members currently have pets with those names. I wouldn’t want my toddler running around family events confused whether someone meant he, [name]Charlie[/name] or the dog, [name]Charlie[/name].
I can’t imagine the confusion that would ensue if you named a baby after a live pet lol. @arilee_sc I understand your desire to use [name]Hannah[/name] and I’m fine with it, I don’t see the problem in honoring any person or pet that has helped you as long as it’s a human name
I’m obsessed with my dogs, personally I’d use a special pets name as a middle name in a heartbeat, but let a child have a first name of her own. It could create an awkward conversation down the road so I think you’d need to be upfront with your kid about it as soon as they were old enough to figure it out…
My aunt is naming her baby after their dog that ran away 6 months ago. It rubs me the wrong way, but that’s just me. I absolutely [name]LOVE[/name] my dog, [name]Monte[/name]–but wouldn’t use that name for a child since he’s held such a special place.
I think it’s weird. I’m all for naming kids after meaningful events, ideas, places or people, but after a pet just seems weird. I’d feel like my parents saw me as another fun pet rather than a person. If you just really love the name, maybe, but actually in honor of a dog seems kind of inappropriate.
I wouldn’t let it bother you. I want to name my daughter after my beloved dog [name]Hazel[/name], who passed away. If anything, I hope my child becomes just as much of an animal lover.
No. If your dog had been named [name]Fifi[/name] or Fluffy then it would definitely be insulting. But [name]Sofie[/name] is a pretty name. If you feel really worried about it,maybe go for the [name]Sophie[/name] spelling?
But on the whole,I would say,no it is not insulting. You really loved your dog,she was an special part of your life.
I don’t find it offensive. We almost named our dd [name]Juliana[/name] and were going to use the nn [name]Jules[/name] bc we thought it was cute. Well, we also happen to have a beloved dog named…[name]Jules[/name]. she is such a sweetheart, and neither of us cared that her nn was going to be the dogs name. I guess some ppl would have thought it strange. We ended up using a different name bc dd just didn’t look like a [name]Juliana[/name] when we saw her. Now, my weirdness comes with, for instance, the name [name]Sophie[/name]…our close friends had an annoying and naughty dog named [name]Sophie[/name]. I didn’t like the dog at all (I don’t think they did either lol) but I do still like the name [name]Sophie[/name]. But when I think of that association, I’m not sure if I can do it. Plus I think the friends would find it weird. So I guess it matters if the animal had a nice personality and so forth.
A member of my family was named after a dog and he honestly hates his name. I only found out recently how very hurt he was when he found out why he was given the name, and it shocked me. I don’t know if that would be a universal reaction, but he has always wished he’d gone by his middle name (the much more unusual [name]Ambrose[/name]) and still feels very hurt that his parents named him after a dog, and he’s in his mid-thirties! [name]Just[/name] something to think about. (He loves dogs, too, treats his dog like a child, takes it everywhere, lets it sleep in his bed, so it’s not an anti-animal thing!)
I don’t think it’s horrible at all, especially if it’s a cute name, I find nothing wrong with using a former pet’s name, as long as it fits on a person.
I personally don’t like it, I kind of feel like if you loved the name so much you should have “saved” it for any children you might have in the future. I know it does happen - I know of someone who had a dog named [name]Bailey[/name] then named their first child [name]Bailey[/name] for example.
Having said that, I would think it fine to use it as a middle name, because then the connection isn’t so obvious. And it’s not as bad if you don’t have the pet and the child at the same time. You want them to know who you’re calling when you say their name
Ultimately it’s up to you, so I guess the question is does it bother you?
I don’t think it’s a problem at all in terms of causing offence - as others have said, it’s more likely to show a long-lasting love of that name which is definitely a plus when deciding on a name for life! Plus all the good associations. Must admit I’ve knocked my former (and current) pets’ names off my lists, because to me they just ‘are’ that particular animal. But if it really was my favourite name, I’d use it (have considered it with [name]Polly[/name], [name]Felix[/name] and [name]Linus[/name]). On the other hand, I like the relative freedom of pet-names, so deliberately choose ones that I think work on a pet better than a human (I’d hesitate before using Peppin, Munnin, Huggin, [name]Loki[/name] and Grimalkin, for example!). Did you read the post on people’s pet names a while back? Fascinating stuff!
Personally, there’s nothing wrong with naming your child after a beloved pet! Especially if that pet was sepcial to you. I have a cat named [name]Grace[/name] who has helped me through so much and I would consider naming my daughter [name]Grace[/name].
