# your philosophy on naming



## alcmena (Mar 14, 2009)

What types of names does everyone prefer for their hedgies?

Character names from books? Movies? Cartoons? 

"People" names like Geoffrey or Linda?

Names that describe what they look like--Spike, Urchin, Koosh Ball?

Do you prefer to have a name all picked out before they come home, so as to hopefully grant certain traits and characteristics to him/her? 

Or do you believe that one should wait and see what his/her personality is already like, and name accordingly?

I'm interested to know!


----------



## sarahomnia (Feb 10, 2009)

I like human names I suppose, or it could be a cartoon name. But I like an old-world regal sound to them. Like mine is named Hector.

I like to name them after they get home and I've seen their personality.


----------



## LizardGirl (Aug 25, 2008)

Nearly all my pets are named after food (Nestle, Nabisco, Tillamook, SwissMiss, etc). Inky got named Inky because... well, I thought it was cute.


----------



## hedgieluver (Feb 18, 2009)

i am gonna name mine on personality, but see if it fits a candy name or sumin, like caramel, but i dont wanna post my names, cuz i dont want them to be stolen!!!!!! :shock:


----------



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I have always wanted to name my pets after characters from favorite books and movies, but so far I only have two pets. So Lily got named Lily after Harry Potter's mom in the Harry Potter books, but I also really like the name because it suits her so perfectly. She's such a sweet little girl.
I also want to name pets after mythological characters. I love Greek, Roman, just about anything mythology. I have a betta fish I just got a couple of days ago that I named Apollo. The other name I was thinking of was Bettawulf (Beowulf). :lol: But yeah, my future house is going to be a mix of book, movie, and mythological characters, lol.


----------



## flimflam16 (Mar 15, 2009)

i think you should wait and see the hedgehogs personality, that way you can pick out the perfect name for your hedgie.


----------



## iamdbf (Aug 28, 2008)

I just think in all categories, till i find the best name. I really liked the way Jade sounded. If i didn't find the right name bofore i got her, i would have checked the personality, or something the hedgie did when i got her. Pretty much i used all the categoies listed and more when i though of names. I may name a future girl lavendar, lav for short.
Smoothie or Oreo is a good name for a pinto.
I actually though to name Jade some of the names listed... ya...


----------



## Hedgie17 (Aug 28, 2008)

well i dont have a hedgie yet, but i already found some names that i might like.  I just went on google and typed in girl names, looked on a list, and found some names lol :lol:


----------



## zoologist (Sep 2, 2008)

personally i dont like people names for animals, and rarely pick them.

Torti had her name before i ever picked her out at the store.

Buck, Tabitha, Styles and Brownie were all named after we got them. I named Brownie and Tabitha in a heart beat (they just 'looked' like their names) and my boyfriend named Styles. Buck took some time to figure out. at first he was named Cheese and then Benjy before we settled on Buck.
Alton came to me with the name Alton and i cant change it now.

Cloud was named Bug for a while and then Cloud. It fits him better me thinks. However his full name is "Sonic Cloud Buggaboo Seefried" haha


----------



## Valley (Feb 12, 2009)

My animals are named with a mixture of characters from books, movies, real people, and cartoons.

I just got my first hedgie a few weeks ago (I need to post pictures but shes so squirmy for them lol) and I named her Popple. She's named after the 80's cartoon about little magical animals who rolled up in balls and bounced around. Popple's name fits her very well.

I named my cat Miss Kitty after the character in the old western tv show because she's very girly.

I named my momma's cat Cash after Johnny Cash.

And I named one of my momma's dogs Sally after Charlie Brown's sister and the other Emma after Jane Austen's Emma Woodhouse.


----------



## hedgieMate (Aug 28, 2008)

alcmena said:


> "People" names like *Geoffrey* or Linda?


Well, our hedgehog's name is Geoffrey, but we did not pick the name. He was a rehome and came with the name already given to him. We chose not to change the name because we didn't want to overwhelm him by changing too many things at once. 

From what I know, the family of Geoffrey's previous owner came from England and her father had an orphaned wild European hedgehog as a pet when he was a little boy. We speculated that was probably why she chose to spell the name the British way - we also thought a British name was fitting because of the Mrs. Tiggy-Winkles-connection in the Peter Rabbit books by Beatrice Potter.

I like human names for pets perhaps because it gives me a sense of treating them as our equals. But I also like cute pet names, clever names, names taken from a book or movie.

If I ever get a hoglet to which I have naming privileges, I'd make a list of names l like before taking him/her home but wait for a couple of weeks to see which name fits the best - a hedgehog often picks his/her own name by displaying a certain personality or behaviour, I think.


----------



## thelovelywitch (Apr 10, 2009)

I usually have a list on hand of names I like, and what animal companions I plan to have. I feel bad calling them 'animals' or 'pets' because once you get into the larger rodents and mammals (I've never had a bird, but did have iguanas once, yes, they count), the really are very personable. Exotic, yes, still animal, yes, but they DO have a personality all of their own.

I typically go for less common, interesting human names. I have a rabbit right now who is Abner.
But for the hedgie I'm in the process of getting, I'm looking at Rhys or Basil (even if it's a girl). I won't set the name in stone until I get the HH, and can get a feel for how the name will match up, though.


----------



## kandyhedgie (Mar 23, 2009)

My pets have all been very randomly named. No real pattern, its all based on each individual pet.

My dog was named Buffy because she ate mosquitos as a puppy (aka, Buffy the Mosquito-Eater... get it? mini-vampires?... I was in gr4...)

My first cat was named after her previous owner who passed away and then we rescued the kitty from the abandoned home.

My second cat was named Kahlua because her color looked like the liquor

My hamsters were named a variety of things when I was little.. Gloria, JubeJube, Frisk....

Anddd...my hedgie is probably going to have a very exotic sounding name, for such a unique little guy.


----------



## Nicole (Mar 6, 2009)

I'm really obsessed with music, so I like to name pets after musicians. I named my hedgehog Bonzo after the drummer of Led Zeppelin. His name was John Bohnam but his nickname was Bonzo. Also, when I get another pet, I want to name them Ozzy, haha.


----------



## Litch (Sep 4, 2008)

We name dogs what seems to fit them Hunter likes to hunt and roamed through ivy when we took him on walks to try and flush birds and lady was supposed to be more lady like then queen like. 

Prick.. I couldnt think of much. I didnt want to name him sonic or spike but I did want a name that matched a hedgehog and since you can be (and I have been a few times) pricked by them, the name just fit.


----------



## AAdict (May 2, 2009)

interesting how names come about - my oldest was called Ripley by his previous owners before they sold him to me and he knows his name so it was cruel to change it - the 2nd one was named Tidgey Toes by his breeder because of a problem with his feet (he does indeed have tidgey toes!!) but we shortened it to Tidge and the 3rd hog is because hubby is an Arsenal football fan and apparently young Arsenal fans are Gooners so he is unfortunate enough to be called Gooner :lol:


----------



## GoodSmeagola (Apr 6, 2009)

I got tired of the naming game.
The last pet I gave an actual name to was my dragon Isis.
Now, I have 3 Baals - Snakes
and I named the hedgehog, BAAL... 
Nice and original


----------



## drpepperheather (Dec 19, 2008)

I work in PetsMart on the weekends, and basically just wonder around the store. There is a New Puppy Center in the main isle with all sorts of puppy stuff that I walk by constantly, and on it are these treats by Kong called Puppy Ziggies. I thought to myself one day, "Hey, Ziggie would be a cute name for a Hedgehog" and later asked my hubby what he thought. He agreed (I've trained him well, lol), but I decided to end it with a "y" instead of an "ie" because that's how I name everyone. (My son is Kory, my dog is Murphy, and my tortoise is Timmy.) 

So, that is how Ziggy got his name, after a puppy treat! =)


----------



## Shelbys Mom (Mar 27, 2009)

It just depend on the individual animal to me.
*Shelby* I named, well because I like Mustangs. lol I couldn't have a Shelby mustang so I got a Shelby Hedgie!  
My other girl I had a name picked out before I got her and then I was looking up names on the internet for the other girl I was caring for (because I didn't like calling her "the white one") and was looking up meanings for names. And I thought *Wasabe* looked like a little teddy bear in the face so searched for "Bear" as the meaning and Wasabe was on of them. 
It's Native American and means "Black Bear" 
"The white one" I was caring for I named *Rowena* (her new daddy kept the name too) it is also Native American and it means "White Spear" I thought it fit since she was albino.


----------



## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

I let mine name themselves.


----------



## GoodSmeagola (Apr 6, 2009)

Hedgemom
Do you take a piece of paper with letters on it, dab your hogs feet in finger paint, and let it walk around the paper?
Haa, name them selves...
And this ones name is...
hjedasjuran
Uhmm, could get complicated to pronounce


----------



## HedgeMom (Nov 7, 2008)

No, silly, hedgehogs can't spell in English.  

Seriously, you spend time with one, sit quietly during play time and the hedgehog will tell you their name. They are excellent communicators, if one is open to listening.


----------



## hedgielover (Oct 30, 2008)

I don't usually give animals people names and I especially don't name them after people I know (I just think it's weird). 

Anyway I'll go in order 

1st cat was mustard because of his colour and because my parents were really into the game Clue when they got him

Dog was named Budgie because that's the name she came with from the humane society

2nd Cat was cuddles because she looked so cuddly (she's totally not) 

3rd cat was checkers because he was black and white (that's my dad's fault don't ask me why black and white = checkers) 

4th cat was named Pebbles because of her gray colouring with darker grayish-brown spots
this cat had three kittens that we called snap, crackle and pop, because they sounded like rice-krispies when they were nursing

1st bird was named Addy because I got it off a name list that I googled 

Mouse was named Bianca (only exception to the human name rule thing) after Ms. Bianca from the rescuers (favourite kids movie) 

2nd Bird is named Duke because that's the name he came with from the family I adopted him from 

Hedgehog is named Quilgley because we thought it was cute. I was looking for a Disney animal name for the hedgehog as well (because we had one for the mouse) but couldn't find a good one.


----------



## pighog (Jun 23, 2009)

I chose Celine, its a too much of a long and strange story to repeat in full on here but basically Celine is a french stalker on the internet who made me laugh and she was at the forefront of my mind in the week prior to getting her. So it stuck.

I live with my sister & friend and they now want two goldfish, can you guess what they want to call them?
Whitney and Mariah!! :shock: 

:lol:


----------



## silvercat (Oct 24, 2008)

I go with 'people' names. Every pet (with the exception of my 2 gold fish hamburger & hotdog when I was 5) have had real names. PJ & Darby were/are the the family dog. Shannon is the horse. Sam is my sister's dog. & Sylvie is my hedgie. 

Sylvie really had her name before I even had her. When I made the decision to get a hedgie & found a breeder in my area the name rushed into my head & she's been Sylvie since.

My mom always calls her Sophie though, because "she looks like a Sophie"

In due time I want to add a Chinese crested hairless pup to the brood who will be "stan."


----------



## thelostsock (May 27, 2009)

When I got Billa his name was Scratch. I see here that many people do not rename rehomes but I think this is the exception. I believe Scratch got that name because he would scratch a lot (thats what I was told by the previous owners). Well lo and behold he also had very dry skin, bad ears and lived in a wooden house. Any guesses why he was so itchy?

So we renamed him Billa. Some people ask me if I mean "Bella" and I don't, then they say that Billa is a girly name. I dont think it is either masculine or feminine. It suits him.

Billabong is an Australian word for a oxbow lake and is in the first line of one of my favourite songs called "Waltzing Matilda" which goes like this "Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong" and although I am Canadian I still think Billa suits my little hedgie. He seems like a Billa. He is like the creation of an oxbow lake when there is all of this movement of the water around various bends during its creation and in the end it ends up being just stagnant pool of water. This is like my little hedgie, who will actively and energetically explore all around me and the blankie we are in during bonding time only to tire himself out and fall asleep in the blankie that he spent so much time exploring. Once he has found his little spot he will not budge until I put him back into his cage.


----------



## magenh (Jun 14, 2009)

I do a little of all of the options in choosing animal names.

Our dog Sophie came with her name (from my sister,so we didnt' change it). 

My husband named his can Imp because her eyes were huge and so dark amber they were reddish when she was a kitten. 

My calico is Emma because she chose that name over Coral (she responded to it everytime I said Emma). 

Our newest cat, Mao, got his name because that's what my friend's 1 year old called him.

My Cairn terrier is Buster because I wanted a name related to "The Wizard of Oz" and that's one of the actors who played a flying monkey, and we thought it would be funny to warn people not to make me mad or I would sic my flying monkey on them! :lol: :lol: 

Our snake is Cuffs because she likes to put you in handcuffs when you hold her.

My husband suggested both of the names for our hedgies being a smart-aleck and they stuck. Mac was named because I wanted to name him PC after the leader of the Popples. My husband, being a Mac person told me we already had too many PCs in the house and we needed another Mac.

Tak got her name from a character on the old Nick-toon "Invader Zim".

If any of the pre-chosen names hadn't fit our pets we would have changed them, but we got lucky and they have all fit perfectly!


----------



## LilacCity (Jun 24, 2009)

I started off giving all my hedgies Algerian names that I found on baby name websites.....Ameerah, Xavier, Inara, Noya, etc. But, as I added hedgies from other breeders to my herd that had already been named, I just started picking names I liked. I named one of my most recent hedgies "Baya", which I thought was a beautiful name, until I discovered it means "ugly looking" in Swahili- oops! :lol:


----------



## sagesmommy (Sep 25, 2008)

hah! oops! 

I name my animals more recently after Anime. I have been getting really into anime so , yeah!
Chihiro my cat after Spirited Away , Sophee my rat after Howls moving Castle , Toola my rat after Origin Spirits of the Past .
I also pick names from other movies , like Meesha , from Hannibal Rising. 

But a few are just random , they just fit. Like Sage the hedgehog! hehe I thought her name was going to be Bella , then I saw her , she looked at me , and I said ... okay , Sage it is! 

Then sometimes i just name them cause its funny .... like my algae eater in my fish tank , his name is buster ( after a dust buster!)


----------



## hdcross (Jul 11, 2009)

I just got my Hedgehog 4 days ago.. and when going to name him i asked all my friends for ideas

They sent in a whole bunch and I compiled a list from most popular to least
Most was Shadow, next was Hide/hyde, 3rd was devil/demon (he has 2 white spots that resemble horns)

Then I looked for a name to incorporate them: there is a line form the musical Jekyll and Hide that goes"the shadow of hydes evil will forever ruin the good of my intent" 

Therefore I named him"the shadow of Hyde's evil" But I call him Hyde (after the character and the natural behavior"


----------



## raisinsushi (Jun 13, 2009)

I have realized over the years that my pets have been mostly named after food, with the exception of the very original name of "Fluffy" for my Pomeranian 

Raisin Sushi was a suggestion made by one of my friends, she suggested Raisin and then Sushi, and i thought the combo would be amusing 

My hamsters before my hedgie were named Butterscotch, Waffle, and Caramel 

As you can tell i happen to be a fan of food LOL


----------



## gyaku (Jul 9, 2009)

Well I guess you could say I named mine after two movies, Sonic the Hedgehog and Captin Tiberious Kirk the rest of my hedgies later on might be from my own stories... Like Gyakudoshi, Mikeau, Kain, Threshia... Yes I have lots more


----------

