What's in a name? They say a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I
think I'd have a harder time swooning for a guy named Barney than say, a Logan
or a Connor.
When it comes to naming characters, I'm always trying to find the perfect name
that fits the characters, and when it comes to naming their pets, I'm just as
picky. Dakota, my heroine in READY TO WED, is a super
organized wedding planner who loves watching happily ever afters. Only that
excitement for her clients' weddings gets a huge dent in it after she's stood up
at the altar. She needs her dog by her side to help her get over her heartbreak,
but she's still looking for a new place to live that'll take a big dog. Enter
her childhood friend, Brendan, who's recently moved back to Vegas, has a place
with a big yard, and would be happy to take in the black lab while Dakota gets
the rest of her life in order.
So, what did Dakota name her cute furball? I'll go ahead and use some lines from
the book to show his and Brendan's introduction.
"Cupid, Brendan. Brendan, Cupid."
"Sorry about the name, dude," Brendan said, holding his hand in front of my
dog's snout before petting him.
I shot him a dirty look. "Hey. His name rocks."
"Right. Very tough. Who's a tough boy?" Brendan scratched behind Cupid's ears
and his tail thunked against the coffee table.
"Cupid is a god. He had arrows," I added when Brendan failed to look impressed.
"And I'll have him shoot you in the ass if you don't shut it."
Cupid plays a big role in Dakota and Brendan spending more time together and
getting closer, which leads to her thinking about how sexy her now all grownup
friend is, so I think his name is even more fitting. After all, what girl can
resist a guy who's nice to the animal she loves?
So, how do you choose names for your pet? Unique? Standard? Special meaning to
you or your family? Any names from pets you have or had that stick out? My
brother named one of our cats Swampthing because it was every color under the
sun with long mangy hair and a rattly-sounding purr. (I totally used that cat in
a book, too, because he was such a character.) I want to hear them all, and if
the name ended up fitting, or if you later thought a different name would've
suited him or her better.
My Husband named our one dog Bandit, because she was a Dalmatian mix, with black spots around both eyes. As for other animals, mainly cats, I watch their mannerisms, and try to come up with a name that way. My current cats are named Sugar Ray and Gizmo. Sugar Ray was named Sugar originally by our Landlords' Wife, and I added the Ray, when we found out our mostly white cat was a male. I picked out Gizmo, because this cat is just "all over the place, and into everything." At the time, we had 8 kittens to name, along with the 2 mama cats, so you can imagine what we were up against. For reasons known only to my Husband and I, the names were Callie, Mia, Luke, and the others aren't coming to me this morning. It was a while ago, and unfortunately, we had to give them to a no-kill adoption shelter. We live in a small apartment, and were only able to keep 2 of them, which was a hard decision to make. Naming pets is a bit hard to do, and I think it's a bit harder to do when you get a dog, because when you have to call out their name, you don't want to sound stupid. I never would have thought of the name Cupid, but it fits the story line of your book, and I'm looking forward to reading your book!! (Peggy Roberson 10:51am July 23, 2014)
We've had all sorts of names for different dogs and cats -- sometimes the critter has lived up to their names (so think twice about names). We currently have Bounder a golden retriever who does indeed bound everywhere, and Bandit a torti cat who had a reverse bandit mask in light blonde over her eyes who is a little thief. We've got several other furry ones, but they don't do as good a job living up to their names. (Glenda Martillotti 10:52pm July 23, 2014)
I try and choose a name that suits the pet, something unique and fitting. For instance, out latest furry baby, a black kitten, is named Crook for the crook in the end of its tail. The name has turned out to be quite fitting as he has certainly stolen my husband's heart. One of our dogs we called Blue, short for Blueberry as he looked like a blueberry muffin cut in half, all blue-grayish and speckled. (Debbie Kelly 3:16pm July 24, 2014)
sadly, we haven't been very creative - we've had several cats named 'Kitty'; others came to us already named, thereby sparing themselves the indignity of yet another Kitty....My mother used the first initials of her children to name a dog or two, but as she points out, she would have named a boat the same contrived name! (Beth Fuller 4:36pm July 24, 2014)
Usually there's too much input on a name for the cat from all the prime or immediate relations. Jerold or Jerry had a few including Percival, but I have no idea where that came from. The dog thought any word that began with a "B" meant we were talking about him, go he'd give us this quizzical look since his name was Barney or Barnels. (Alyson Widen 5:58pm July 31, 2014)
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