I can’t be the only one who named a childhood pet, and now wishes they could have that name for their kids.
I really love [name_f]Zoey[/name_f] and [name_f]Maggie[/name_f]. They are both simple, but not overused, and match well with our surname. But I had a pug named [name_f]Zoey[/name_f] and a german short haired pointer named [name_f]Maggie[/name_f] for most of my childhood/young adult life. I love both names for other people to use and am so envious of them!
So, what are some names you used for an animal that feel unusable now for a human?
(PS I wasn’t really sure what category this fit the best in so feel free to move it if needed!)
I have used names that I like on pets, but my favorite names change so often that I don’t worry about regretting it in the future. I have used [name_m]Theodore[/name_m]/Theo (too common), [name_u]Finn[/name_u] (not really my style for kids), [name_f]Olive[/name_f] (I love this but it was a hamster so if need be I can reuse it), [name_f]Magnolia[/name_f] (middle name of my current dog, no one really knows its her middle name so I could reuse it)
@Kipperbo1 I also had a hamster named [name_f]Olive[/name_f]! And I had hamsters named Chestnut and [name_m]Bear[/name_m]… don’t ask. [name_f]My[/name_f] fish’s name was Bubbles (so original, right?), not really a human name but it was cute. [name_f]My[/name_f] rabbit’s name was [name_f]Chamomile[/name_f], and now my cat’s name is [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f]. I tend to reserve naturey-planty names for pets. None of these names are my naming style for people, but I could use [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f] or [name_f]Olive[/name_f] if I wanted to.
I don’t know how well [name_m]Champ[/name_m] & [name_m]Pancho[/name_m] work for humans
I did have a fish named [name_u]Chance[/name_u] which I now sort of love but only as a mn!
Would never use [name_u]Basil[/name_u] or [name_f]Daisy[/name_f], so not really an issue for me. Having said that, my mum did have a budgie called [name_u]Percy[/name_u] and I love that name, but probably couldn’t use it because of that.
I had a dog name [name_u]Charlie[/name_u](well mainly my mom’s) and another a dog for a short while named [name_u]Bailey[/name_u]. [name_f]My[/name_f] mom thinks it’s ok to reuse their names, so I might. Who knows?
I grew up hearing about [name_f]Katie[/name_f] Kitzemeyer (pron. Kit-zee-meyer) & [name_f]Tiffany[/name_f], my grandparents’ dogs (actually 1 was my mom’s & the other my uncle’s before they moved in with my grandparents permanently). I’m not a fan of either [name_f]Katie[/name_f] or [name_f]Tiffany[/name_f], so I won’t be using them.
Meka (pron. Mee-kah) was a dog my brother chose, who then chose me. She became my constant and faithful companion (& my confidante of sorts) for half my life before passing away. Meka was too dear to me to consider using for a human child, even though my fur child is no longer with me.
Cats-[name_u]Holly[/name_u], [name_f]Hayley[/name_f], Stretch, Spi(der), [name_m]Simon[/name_m], Spice, [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] ([name_f]Mia[/name_f]), [name_u]Artemis[/name_u] ([name_u]Ari[/name_u]), [name_m]Samuel[/name_m]. I named [name_f]Hayley[/name_f] when I was a kid, & [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] & [name_u]Artemis[/name_u] as an adult. The others my mom named or they came w/that name. Anyway, I love [name_f]Mia[/name_f] & [name_u]Ari[/name_u]’s names, & I don’t regret using them for my kitties. The only name that I would use for a human that is taken for a cat is my mom’s cat, [name_f]Lilia[/name_f]. It’s okay though. She’s a beautiful little [name_f]Lili[/name_f]!
Bunny-Whiskers. That’s the name she came with. It suited her well. I don’t think I’d use it for a human!
Bird-[name_f]Pixie[/name_f]. Loved him & his name, but it’d be weird for a human too. No issues there.
Dog-[name_f]Fiona[/name_f] mn [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f]. She’s the love of my life & a perfect [name_f]Fiona[/name_f]! I love her full name, but sometimes do wish that I could have [name_f]Beatrix[/name_f] on my list for a hypothetical human fn. It’d be too weird though.
All of our dogs growing up have been someone’s ex boyfriend so we have had
[name_u]Harry[/name_u] , [name_u]Bobby[/name_u] , [name_m]Jason[/name_m] and [name_u]Sam[/name_u] .
My current dogs are Gibbons and [name_m]Wilson[/name_m] and we’re named after baseball coaches and volleyball equipment but I guess could be associated with human names too, but not ones I would personally use.
We had a cat named Asker and people would always ask the cat her name after being told it
I might be in the minority here, but I don’t know if it would stop me if the pet were no longer living, especially if it had been many years!
[name_f]My[/name_f] family had a female dog, [name_f]Samantha[/name_f], who we pretty much exclusively called [name_u]Sam[/name_u]. She passed away when I was about 10. In my 30s, I chose [name_m]Samuel[/name_m] (also called [name_u]Sam[/name_u]) and didn’t even think of the connection. Maybe it was because it was a semi common name and in the 25 years or so in between I had met many other Sams both human and canine.
