What is the general consensus on giving a child a name you had previously used on a pet? (considering you gave your pet “human” names). Is this tacky/weird? Or just the same as honouring a family member?
Very curious to hear your thoughts!
This seems strange to me… I wouldn’t have given a pet a name I could see myself naming a child… and my dog is part of the family- I wouldn’t use his name again. It would come off more as “I really love this name and used it twice because I didn’t really think it through the first time” to me rather than “honoring” a pet by naming a child after it.
I wouldn’t name my child after a pet. There was a berry who a while ago remarked that her mother gave her the same name as her dead cat and that she always found it odd. I agree. I can understand that naming your dog [name]MAX[/name] was a great choice and that you love the name [name]Max[/name] but I’d find something else to name my son - and I don’t mean [name]Maxim[/name] or [name]Maximus[/name] but instead [name]Sebastian[/name] or [name]Felix[/name] or [name]Theodore[/name] or [name]Peter[/name].
Likewise I doubt you’d consider naming your pet after your dead brother or daughter or whatever. Wouldn’t it feel weird?
I love pets with human names! But I always have to be careful and pick a name I don’t want to use on a child in the future. To me, naming a child after a pet would be similar to naming a child after another child. I loved the name [name]Liam[/name], but it became too popular so I named my dog [name]Liam[/name]. I do regret that I used [name]Toby[/name] for another dog in the past because I won’t be using it for a kiddo now. To me that’s a no no.
It depends imo on the type of animal. I don’t think fish have the same attachment as dogs and cats. So I would say it was okay if it was a fish. It would seem silly that you couldn’t name your daughter [name]Serena[/name] because fish #5 was [name]Serena[/name] (assuming you had a lot of fish)
If it was a cat or dog, then I probably wouldn’t since to me they are family.
I agree with this. But I’m going to take it a step farther. I very briefly had a dog when I was a child and I named him the same thing I named everything else (dolls, stuffed animals, blankets) at the time, because I loved the name. My parents got rid of him (because they loved to do this when I was a child), and I don’t really associate the name with the dog. If I still loved the name, I would probably use it.
I do think it is weird to “honor” a child after a pet, though. [name]Even[/name] though when I was a child I honored my deceased great-grandmother with a cat.
After my pet? No. Something similar? Perhaps. For example, my lovely lady-rats are named [name]Rosalind[/name], [name]Beatrice[/name], [name]Gwendolen[/name] and [name]Cecily[/name].
I would consider naming a future girl [name]Rosalie[/name], [name]Beatrix[/name], [name]Guinevere[/name] or [name]Cecilia[/name]. But not all four. That would be a little weird.
Yes, we had a dog named [name]Sophie[/name] and if the name wasn’t so popular I would give her the name without any hesitation, I would even do it to honor that dog because she was amazing and we loved her so much it was ridiculous. I would see it more as we love the name and associate it with something wonderful in our lives.
Thanks for the great feedback!
I think I agree with agent99 on this one. I think if I were to use the same name as one of my cats on a child it would be because I love the name, and because I associate it with something that made me happy in the past - not as a replacement of a loved one.
I do, however, completely see the the point made by catloverd that cats/dogs/(insert other animal here) are such a big part of your life, that they really are family members, and it would be weird to have 2 family members with the same name. (even though this happens often with Srs. and Jrs. - but maybe a completely different idea? Gah i’m confused!)
I guess I’m still on the fence. I think if I fell in love with a name that would lead themselves to the nicknames [name]Maggie[/name] or [name]Holly[/name], I wouldn’t discard the name because it used to be my cats name - in fact, it might push it further towards the top of the list.
Any more opinions?
I personally wouldn’t but I can see that pets are such a close part of your life/family that it is almost like naming the child after a family member. I do think that it must be a human name though… unfortunately I do know a little girl called [name]Loulou[/name] Spook - Spook being the name of her father’s beloved cat!
My mum named our cat [name]Gemma[/name] a few years before I was born so when it came to naming me, she couldn’t use her favourite girls name. I give my pets names I like but ones that I don’t mind giving up using for future kids.