# Interesting Pet Names Based on Literary Figures



## Blanche (Jan 4, 2010)

I was reading through the thread on “Horrible Names for Children” and got to thinking about the literary-based pet names I have heard over the years…

My neighbor had a cat named “Mr. Wickam,” from Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”    Mr. Wickam (the cat), like Ms. Austen’s character, was amiable, attractive and self-serving (always looking for a handout).  He was also a well-known rake and debaucher.  Mr. Wickam used to sashay over to my front porch whenever I was out and about and flirt with me until I gave him attention and a treat.  He would then shamelessly head onto the next house on the street and repeat the pattern.  Isn’t that a great name for a cat?  

I would love to hear of other clever names like this….


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

We had a dog named Bronte.
deb


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

If an when I ever get around to getting a kitty, his/her name will be Weasley.  Fighting with my GS over the name.  But my desktop is Fred, my laptop is George and my netbook is Ginny.  The kitty has to be Weasley.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

We've had dogs named Sherlock, Watson, and Dickens. We had Siamese cats named Romulus and Remus. 

Right now we have two frogs named Fred and George. Our dogs have names from movies/TV shows. Maverick and Galatea (Galatea was a character in the movie Bicentennial Man)


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

luvmy4brats said:


> Right now we have two frogs named Fred and George.


How appropriate.


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## loonlover (Jul 4, 2009)

My first Siamese cat was named Py-Wacket.  Another Siamese I adopted came to me with the name of Hawthor (sp).  We changed it to Sasha at Intinst's suggestion.  When my son presented me with a snowshoe cat, I couldn't think of a name so I named him Py-Wacket also.  We called him PW for short.  He was interesting because he bonded with our greyhound more than he did with the other cats.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

When I was in junior high a neighbor and girl I went to school with had a cat named Napoleon that I thought was named after Napoleon Bonaparte. But then I found out it was named after Napoleon Solo from _the Man from U.N.C.L.E._ Her other cat was named Ilya. And I thought she had a crush on me!! But I had lost out to _*the Man*_ in the tuxedo.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

The CKCS in my avatar is Jack. He will soon be joined by Jill.


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## crca56 (Dec 20, 2008)

i have a shih tzu nicky,. just lost a brussels griffon nora (charles of course, from the thin man).
formerly had a brussels griffon named whimsey, after lord peter.


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## freelantzer (Apr 28, 2010)

My dog's name is Sawyer. He's named after the character on Lost, but most people think it's a literary name. 

I'm also on a dog racing team and we have dogs named Finn, Huck, and Boo.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Our dog is a pound puppy. When we got him, someone had botched the tail chop, and while it has chopped, what was left of it was also broken. So, we named him Bazil Broketail after Cristopher Rowley's series.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Does Paddington count? Had a Sheltie named Paddington. I was not opposed to calling him Paddywagons or Honeybunches-of-Paddywagons-of-Joy.  That would be an interesting thread - nicknames for pets.


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## freelantzer (Apr 28, 2010)

MichelleR said:


> Does Paddington count? Had a Sheltie named Paddington. I was not opposed to calling him Paddywagons or Honeybunches-of-Paddywagons-of-Joy. That would be an interesting thread - nicknames for pets.


Oh, I have millions of nicknames for my pets! My mom makes fun of how many different names I call them.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Nicknames: I call my cat Achmed or Satan's Mistress. Her name is Hope. She is evil. I call my daughter's cat His Lardship


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## maryannaevans (Apr 10, 2010)

I guess this person is more of a historical figure, but I'm sure he's figured in many historical novels.

My mother was trying to name her miniature dachsund.  She wanted to call him Charlie and was thinking his full name should be Charlie Brown.

Then I thought of the perfect name for a weenie dog with the nickname of Charlie:  Charlemagne.  You know...King of the Franks.


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

Ours isn't too obscure, our poodle Harry is named after Harry Potter.


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## Andra (Nov 19, 2008)

Well, it's not great literature, but one of my former kitties was named for a character in a book. The book was _Little Witch_ by Anna Elizabeth Bennett. The little witch's name was Minikin, but she was also called Minx. Later in the book, we discover that Minikin is really a fairy and her name means "dainty and delicate." That fit my little kitty to a T.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Okay, nicknames. 

Riley is the guy in my avatar, and I will always miss him. I called him The Good Cookie Boy after a line in a movie called Chances Are. Riles. Riley Coyote. He was so well-behaved. A certified therapy dog. 

Cinderella, another Sheltie, called to  me with her name, but we called her Cindy. (Her kennel name was actually Amorous Cinderella - how embarrassing.) Called her Cindy-bears. 

Mentioned Paddington earlier. He was a stray from the shelter where I worked. He was a Sheltie, but had this mellow personality. We joked that he was a Basset Hound who went as a Sheltie for Halloween and the zipper got stuck. 

We had another Sheltie from the shelter where I worked. She was ancient when we got her. She was way tiny for the breed and nothing about her was really a good example of her breed. You could also look at her and see that girl was not firing on all cylinders. I think the official name was Zelda, but we called her Granny. 

The current  dogs are:

Ferguson, another Sheltie (from rescue) - Ferg, Fergs, Fergie, Turkleton.  Dude.

Rhiannon, the greyhound. Before we got her her name was Goldie. Even though we named her Rhiannon, we call her Pony or Pony-Girl 98% of the time. Also a rescue dog, she came to us with a bad leg that needed surgery. Rescue actually paid for that surgery which is amazing. About a year ago she needed another surgery on the leg. Both times she too forever to heal and it was months of casts, bandages, and stitches. The leg is almost useless. She also recently had a toe removed. We joke that she warns Ferguson to always count body parts after seeing the vet, because you just never know. 

Violet the Dachshund. I'd decided many years ago to aways rescue -- Riley was the only previous dog that had been from a breeder. Violet was the violation of that rule. It was a day after Riley went to sleep and I was pretty insane and felt I needed a puppy. She's a good dog, but I still feel twinges of guilt. My grandmother, who initially was not interested in her due to her lack of Yorkie-ness, has completely stolen her. Those two are thick as thieves. Now Violet can do know wrong, even when she pees on the floor when she was just out - because, um, she's a baby. ::eyeroll:: I often call her Vivian as that's what my mother called her. I think both due to teasing and because she really could not remember her name. Also, Violence. "You're turning Violet, Violet."

Our current cat hates me as only a cat can hate. Her name is Dixie, but in retaliation I call her Ditzy. I only see glimpses of her anyhow. 

In the past, we had a long-haired black cat named Mitzi - called her Mitzerella. She was named after my grandmother, who has never appreciated the honor.

There was also Jack, a medium-haired gray cat. Jack the Kiiiy Cat or Black Jack Shellac. 

A long list, I know, but they all lived a long time, just never long enough.


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

Living in the shadow of Monticello, and being an alumnus of the University of Virginia, I wanted to name my dog after something associated with UVA. Everyone and their brother seems to name their animals Thomas, Jefferson or TJ. So I went with a famous student. Edgar after Edgar Allen Poe. He's a shelter dog - Jack Russell Terrier and Beagel. I've had him for 15 years.


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## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

Andra said:


> Well, it's not great literature, but one of my former kitties was named for a character in a book. The book was _Little Witch_ by Anna Elizabeth Bennett. The little witch's name was Minikin, but she was also called Minx. Later in the book, we discover that Minikin is really a fairy and her name means "dainty and delicate." That fit my little kitty to a T.


I have always loved _The Little Witch_ and still recommend it to my students.

Getting back to the topic, my daughter has a golden retriever named "Mr. Bingley."


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## Blanche (Jan 4, 2010)

> Then I thought of the perfect name for a weenie dog with the nickname of Charlie: Charlemagne. You know...King of the Franks.


  Absolutely Perfect! I like to watch the dog agility competitions. At one of them, a dachshund came out to run the course and his family that was in the crowed played the song "Low Rider" on their radio and sang along with the words.


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## Nicolas (Apr 25, 2010)

Well, I called girlfriend's cat Rambo once, and it stuck. The kitten is that aggressive when it comes to eating 
When I'll have a dog, I most certainly will name it after historical figures. Now Belisarius (Byzantine general) is the favorite, but it'll depend on the dog as well.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

I can't forget to post about my dearly departed English Cocker whose registered name was Legend of Sherwood Forest. We called him Tuck (Friar Tuck, of course).


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## Blanche (Jan 4, 2010)

> Getting back to the topic, my daughter has a golden retriever named "Mr. Bingley."


Love the name "Mr.Bingley." Implies a sunny personality. We had golden retrievers growing up. They were all sunny and fun-loving family dogs.


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## AFS_NZ_IT (Feb 3, 2009)

I had a cat named Toodles from Peter Pan.  Toodles' "happy thought" was his bag of marbles.  My cat lost his eye a couple years after we got him.


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## ValeriGail (Jan 21, 2010)

Love this thread!  

Currently I have two litters of kittens (yeah I know! should have gotten both momma's fixed before we moved, but put it off thinking I had a bit more time! I was wrong).  So I have 10 kittens in my home right now, and 8 of them are girls.  I have this insane need to name every animal, so ALL of them had to have names even though we will be re-homing them.  Plus, when I say "hey, get so and so and take him to the litter pan" my kids know exactly which of the ten kittens it is! 

Anyways, So while trying to find 8 girl names I happened upon a disney princess site looking for something for my daughter, and it hit me!  7 princess, 8 female kittens... perfect!  So we have Cinderella (call her cindy), Jasmin, Pokahantas (we call her pokie), Arial (who is a calico with large orange spots!), Bella (bell, but I like bella better for her.).  Three of them already had names that stuck, even though we tried to start calling them a princess name.  We have Baby Grace cause she looks just like a cat that ran away when we moved here.  Little Gray, cause she was the tiniest of the gray kittens, and the only fully gray one in her litter (the others where in the other litter).  And hen there is Mouse, who I oringinally called smudge cause she has an adorably dirty looking nose.  But mouse just fits her better.  Hubby wants me to call her mickey mouse! HAHA

My dogs have generic names.  Nilla cause when we got her almost 10 years ago, she looked like a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Jake is our great dane, and hubby named him.  And then there was Harley, but we lost her in march.  Harley Marley was her name cause she was fast as could be, loud, and reminded me of the dog on Marley and me, but I couldn't bring myself to actually name her straight out Marley. I miss her something fierce.


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

I named our Abyssinian Kimi after a fire lizard in Anne McAffrey's dragon books. I gave him that name as a kitten because he was golden and constantly on the go. When he got a little bigger, we found that he loved sitting on my husband's shoulder, so the name was even more appropriate than I'd realised  It's also a Maori name, so quite fitting for a Kiwi cat.

Here's my much-missed golden boy:


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## freelantzer (Apr 28, 2010)

Shayne Parkinson said:


> I named our Abyssinian Kimi after a fire lizard in Anne McAffrey's dragon books. I gave him that name as a kitten because he was golden and constantly on the go. When he got a little bigger, we found that he loved sitting on my husband's shoulder, so the name was even more appropriate than I'd realised  It's also a Maori name, so quite fitting for a Kiwi cat.
> 
> Here's my much-missed golden boy:


He's gorgeous.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

A cat I had a brazillion years ago was Emma and named after Emma Bovary.  

After her, while not quite literary, I had a cat named Audrey (Little Shop of Horrors), one named Dudley (Do-Right from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show) and Boris (Badenov also from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show) ...

My current baby is Rex but he's a rescue dog and came pre-named ....


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

If comic books and Little Golden Books count, I give you Yogi Bear.


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## 1131 (Dec 18, 2008)

My cat Zazzer Zoo was a child's version of Dr Seuss's Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz (as you can plainly see).


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## Shayne Parkinson (Mar 19, 2010)

freelantzer said:


> He's gorgeous.


Thank you


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

My cat is Pippin (Pip for short) from "The Lord of the Rings." It was going to be either Pippin or Spike from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Pippin won out this time!


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