I need you all to do me (well, really my mom) a favour. While I was home over Christmas, my mother asked me to put out a call for help to all of my blog readers. She and my dad are looking into getting an English golden retriever puppy, which would be much lighter in colour than a standard golden retriever. They've pretty much decided on the breed, and now they're trying to think of a name for the puppy, which will most likely but not definitely be a boy.
They want to give the dog a name that is not common and most likely not a person name, unless it's a relatively obscure one. Past family dog names have included Pineapple, Vanilla, Velvet, Cava, and Lexi.
English golden retrievers look like this when they're puppies:
And this when they're adults:
So... any suggestions? My mom is eagerly awaiting the results.
No ideas, but everyone posting their dog pictures is NOT GOOD FOR ME! For some reason, I like old man names for dogs - Rupert, Frederick, etc.
ReplyDeleteI like old-man names for dogs, too, Stephanie! They usually shorten well for a calling-out nickname. My husband is pretty die-hard in choosing people names for dogs, but they can't be names too common. Our dog's name, Ted, came from a TV show, so it works out. Do you have any favorite characters from books or movies? Our in-laws' dog is named Watson, for example. Gatsby? Holden? Polonius?
ReplyDeleteBut ... when I was brainstorming up dog names, I considered a few food names, like Miso, Portabello, Adobo, and Wasabi. I think I like Miso the best for your kind of dog, even though it's Japanese, which I suppose is kind of incongruous.
For what it's worth, my math-teacher husband contributed totally obscure suggestions in the form of famous mathematicians: Fermi, Cauchi, and Euler. I just didn't think it was worth it to have an odd dog name that you would always have to explain with some postulate.
(Er, sorry for the novel of a comment...)
Aww. He looks like that flying dog from The Neverending Story.
ReplyDeleteI knew a dog named Coach once and he was the sweetest golden retreiver.
I don't know why, but the name Shepherd instantly came to mind. They could call him Shep for short.
ReplyDeleteAww...Shep.
will it be a boy or girl?
ReplyDeleteI also love old man names for a dog! I would like to name a dog murphy, but my old bf's last name was that, so i can't. We're going to name our first dog "Charles" (with nicknames of Chuck, Charlie, Chaz haha) - and I also like the name "Fiona" for a girl. Or maybe elsa. Another boy name - Magnus. Thankyouverymuch.
wow that is one beautiful dog! i have had the "new puppy" itch lately. this is not helping!! lol
ReplyDeletei like franklin. or sherlock. or humphrey. ooo watson maybe? yeah i like that one :)
i'm no good at naming things. my cat is named oliver wood, after.. um.. the harry potter character. AND i usually just call him "cat" anyway.
ReplyDeletei do like the old-man names, though! and the literature names, like holden and gatsby.
i know, i'm fantastically helpful, as always ;-P
How about Beauregard, Beau for short?
ReplyDeleteThe puppy picture looks sort of like a marshmallow, if your mom likes food names.
How about liquor names? Kalua, Vodka, Rum, Schnapps, Bourbon, Scotch?
Beer names? Budweiser (Bud), St. Pauli, Heineken, Sam Adams, Yuengling?
Oh, wait. What about English names that aren't used much in America? Like Chauncey?
ReplyDeleteChesterfield (as in Lord, are those cigars)?
Winchester? Remington? Colt? Smith and/or Wesson? Browning? Weatherby? -- gun names make cool dog names, though Wesson is also a cooking oil that just HAPPENS to be the color of the dog!
I like the name Laurel. Just saying.
ReplyDelete:)
Oh, I was so going to say Chauncey! That's hysterical. Or Quincy or Quinn.
ReplyDeleteCute puppy!!! So fluffy and roly poly. I can't wait to see what they decide.
I'm not usually a big "dog person" But that dog is soooo freakin cute!
ReplyDeleteUm, what about Powder? or frosty? or fluf?
Those pictures scream "fluffy!" to me, but also names like "Bob" and "George" always have me rolling in the aisles. How about "Po" (pronounced "poe") - short and sweet, and also kind of chuckle-worthy.
ReplyDeleteSorry, not good with names, not even dog names.
You can never go wrong with Cujo.
ReplyDeleteFourteen years ago when I last named a pet, I would have said that people names were the BEST for pets. Now, having used TWO people names, BOTH of which I later wanted to use for actual people but couldn't because the cats were using them, I have come around to your parents' point of view.
ReplyDeleteMy 3rd grader suggests "Spot," which I think shows a nicely-developing sense of whatever sense that is, or else a need for glasses.
With animals, what I like to do is get the animal home, and then let a name emerge. But this is what led in our household to a cat named Mouse.
I think it would be funny to name him Sir.
He looks like a Flip. Or a Kip. Or an Edison.
It is so hard to name a pet without first getting to meet them and get to know their personality a bit.
ReplyDeleteThat said, for years my brother has tried to convince people to name a dog "Stay". As in "Stay! Come!". Hilarious, isn't he?
Hi again. I just can't stay away from this post. My brother likes to name his animals after other animals. As an example, his current cat is named "Goat." So, why not name the dog something like Bird or Fish? Or more exotically, Emu or Platypus.
ReplyDeleteI'm no good at dog names. Consider that my cat names are Tiger, Pixie, and Sissie.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I could think of that rang my bell this morning was George, but that's a sad name for such a beautiful dog.
My family only has Samoyeds so they all have snow names- like Glacier (Jökull), Snow (Fönn), Iceberg (Jaki) but they don't really translate well ... not to mention that we have about 15 different words for types of snow... and about the same for ice- so no problem with naming there.
ReplyDeleteYour mom could always go for some ancient hero names, like Hrothgar or Jarl... depends on what direction she wants to go in. For truly weird names she might want to check out old celtic names- cool and unlikely to be people names :)
Good luck!
I always wanted to get a big dog and name him Cat. I enjoy irony. Perhaps too much.
ReplyDeleteNo, but seriously. I always go with person names too, which is a mistake. My mother has ten cats, all of which have people names. She has taken three of the names I had reserved for future daughters.
If I had a dog, he would invariably end up with a solidly Irish name (shocking) - Bailey, Jameson, Killian (umm, maybe it's just a solidly alcoholic name) - or a solidly literary name - Milton, Dickens, Chaucer.
I'm not help at all. I do have good cat and horse names though!
My mother just saw your post and suggested "Bumble" (as in the Abominable Snowman aka "The Humble Bumble" from the 1960s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer).
ReplyDeleteJust thought I'd pass that along.
i like bumble!
ReplyDeletefor what its worth, we just called fergus "stinky." because he was.
i agree that personality would really dictate a name for me. in the past two minutes i've decided that "sassafras" ("sassy" for short) would be wicked cute. but i'm not sure if you can have that one, because i might want to use it sometime. hm.
I like Jaffa. Very cute. That breed is completely adorable!
ReplyDeleteHer gpuppy is beyond cute - I once had a dog named Sambuca and called him bucalu for short - unusual but being that I am italian it was a good fit!
ReplyDeleteohmygosh how ADORABLE!!! Now i want one!!!
ReplyDeleteOk so i heard a dog name I liked the other day: Echo. Its definately unique and kinda fun. I also like Levi or Foster.
Oh and let your parents know they must bring that puppy to visit me because it is waaaaaayyyy too cute for me not to play with. hehe :)
Oh, that puppy!!!
ReplyDeleteNo ideas on the name, just flabbergasted by the cuteness.
I'm a bit behind on my reading so the name may have been decided upon already, but I've always loved the name Clyde for a big, snuggly dog. Whatever the name, what a beautiful breed. Congrats to your mom and dad.
ReplyDeleteOMG THE PUPPY IS SO CUTE! I want one!
ReplyDelete