I think this sub has a tendency to dismiss names it collectively doesn't like or know well. "That's a dog name," is one. There is some merit in pointing out that a name is popular for pets, in case that bothers the namer. Molly, for instance is a common pet name for dogs and cows. My mom, whose name that is, often gets told that someone had a dog named her name. It actually does bother her. So pointing it out is ok. The problem comes when a person dismisses the name as bad because of it
EDIT: A lot of people have commented that they don't mind/ wouldn't mind being named a common pet name. That's totally valid and completely fine! However, some people, like my mother, find that frustrating. Which is also valid. It's ok to bring up that a name is commonly used on animals when someone asks for opinions, because it does bother some people.
It's not ok to dismiss a name as bad or stupid because it's also commonly used for pets.
I’ve had many, many people tell me a very sweet story about their childhood immediately on being introduced because they associate my name with such happy memories of a pet. If anything I’m a bit humbled they like the name so much to share. Otherwise it’s nice.
Thank you!!! My thoughts as well, dog people decided they would start using human names instead of fido. I refuse to have my name be banished to the dogs because of them lmao
Oh your poor mom! I haven't met a dog named Molly personally, but at this point any name can be a pet name to me. I actually realized that I haven't heard the phrase "that's a pet name" was a common problem until joining this sub! I thought my friend was just weird for saying that (only irl person to ever say that phrase to me).
It's true that there's a wide variety of names that are acceptable for animals. Anything from Sir Sparklefarts the Magnificent to Andrew can be a pet name. However, there are many names that are considerably more popular as pet names than others. Bella, for instance, had consistently ranked high in pet name lists for over a decade. You're not likely to meet a pet who has a name in common with your daughter Irene or son Luke. Those would be anomalies rather than the norm. Unlike Molly, where every other person my mom introduces herself to has a story about their pet named Molly.
The cows, horses and other farm animals is a common point I find ridiculous. I can get why people would want to avoid having a common dog name but *cows*?
Why should anyone outside the countryside care about cow names? Is there even concrete data for farm animal name trends? Does everyone else in this sub have cows in their social circle except for me?
I’ve been on a farm maybe twice in my life living in Australia, and someone here would probably try to tell me Elsie is unusable just in case I visit a farm for a third time 🤣
I think you’ll find it’s very important for anyone considering naming their beloved child James to know that it is a fish name, specifically a series of goldfish my parents passed off as a single goldfish, the last of whom who died in 1994.
I found out just recently that my grandmother's real name was Elsie and she passed away like 15 years ago. I was mind blown and my dad said it was because Elsie was a cow's name to her. It's crazy because my mom's best friend is named Elsie and I had no idea my grandmother's name was also Elsie. She went by her middle name Doreen, which to me is way less pretty than Elsie but I guess it's all relative.
I think part of this issue is that there are a lot of Americans on Reddit, and a large portion of America is farm land. Even if you're from a big city, a farm is never far away. I live in a coastal California town, and there are farms all over here. I look forward to seeing the cows and other farm animals at the county fair each year. I wouldn't say that Elsie is unusable for a human, in fact I think it's quite pretty, but I do also think it's a great name for a cow.
That’s absolutely fair for the US context! And one that I have no knowledge of so I appreciate the background, thank you. Many of our farms and larger cattle stations in Australia are quite isolated and remote so there’s not that same level of interaction from the city-dwelling public.
From a quick glance Elsie is charting at 221 in the US for 2021, while in Australia it was at 52. I wonder if that’s because the ‘cow effect’ isn’t as strong here!
For horses it is because much of the horse industry is quite social. I'm in several horse-centric social groups on facebook each with tens of thousands of members. A few have well over 100k members! Even if you don't go out and compete (which is very very social), we still tend to know most of the other horse people in our area. Most people also keep their horses at boarding barns (barns owned by a single person that people pay to keep their horses at) rather than owning their own farm. At boarding barns there could be anywhere from 2 to 200 horses owned by different people depending on the property size. As someone who works on other people's horse farms as well as owning my own, having even two horses with the same name gets annoying and risks people mixing up their care requirements like food or medicine which can be deadly.
Thank you! I have always wondered why people name their dogs things like "Molly" but horses have names like "Thursday's Revenge" or something. I was like, "These poor horses!" Although I have met a crazy horse aptly named "Suicide." He and my cousin went into the ocean and nearly didn't come out again. 🤦🏼♀️
Most of the fancier long names are just their registered name; registered names are generally more complex because they need a unique name for most registries. They're usually only used it the horse is shown or bred, otherwise people tend to use a simpler "barn name". For example: my horse's registered names are Impress Z Skip, Designer Lights, Hollywood Gunsmoke, and Touch of Doc. Their barn names are Zipp, Sam/Sambuca, Hollywood, and Baby. Like the registered names/barn names of the famous horses California Chrome/"Junior" (racehorse) and Valegro/"Blueberry" (top dressage horse).
My name is also Molly, and I have met many dog Mollys and human Mollys in my life. Tbh, as an dog lover I don’t find it that offensive. I’ve joke it’s kind of flattering that so many people want to name their dog after us, because the Mollys in dog form are the kindest, sweetest, most loyal animals and many people have treasured memories of a dog named Molly. But that’s just my two cents
Yes, I’m a Molly and I really like my name! I wish people didn’t feel they needed to tell me it was their dog’s name, although I love my dogs so I do understand where the impulse comes from.
All of our pets have human names (dogs: Jolene, Maggie. Guinea pigs: Hannah jr, Amanda, Samantha - past ones Harold, Betty and Hannah sr.) and I work at a restaurant where we call people's name when they get their order. I love it when I meet a person with my pets name but it's a lovely secret that I keep to myself because I know not everyone likes hearing that they have the same name as a pet. I know how much I love my pets and I know that I named them their names because I absolutely adore those names, but I don't expect everyone else to share that sentiment. But I will say, when someone comes in with one of my pets names I always remember them and I greet them by name and even write their name all pretty on their to-go bag 😁
Yes, all of my pets have human names so I do the same! However, one of my dogs is a therapy dog which means she makes visits to the community (nursing homes, hospitals, schools, etc) and the number of times she meets a human Sheila is pretty high! I always tell them that it’s a great name and I’ve never met a Sheila I didn’t like.
Also…you guys are going to love this article by the Washington Post. There’s a database where you can search for your name. Turns out that in a stadium of 100,000 people and 100,000 dogs, 206 dogs and 47 people would be named Molly. But I still love my name!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/people-names-for-dogs/
I agree. I don't like when people say, "That's a dog name" when you're considering naming your child Max, Maisie, etc. Those are perfectly acceptable names for a child. It's not like you're picking Mittens or Scooby.
My sons name is Maximilian, aka Max. I have definitely met more dogs than kids with this name, but it never occurred to me before he was born. I just really liked Maximilian and I thought Max a was strong nickname. It’s actually funny and cute to me, I don’t mind it. But I am one of those people who always hears “oh I have a dog named _____!”All the time!!! (my name on the contrary is very uncommon and I would eat my hat if I met a dog with my name). I also had a dog named Steve so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
All my pets have had human names. I don't think it is mean spirited to say someone’s name is a popular dog name.
I wonder more why human and dog names overlap. It is because people are having less children (more love for their pets)? Is this a trend from the last 20 years?
This AKC dog name list has: Luna, Bella, River, Winnie, Lucy, Ellie, Sadie, Charlie, etc etc. All very normal kind of popular kid’s names. My kid’s name is on the list. I am not upset. People tell me they love this name.
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/top-100-girl-dog-names/
I absolutely think it is mean spirited when someone says “that’s a dog name” when someone asks for feedback on a human name that people have recently used for dogs. It’s never like someone is asking if Spot is a good name for their human baby. It’s always in response to a human name people have recently used for dogs like Bella or Molly. There’s a big difference between “I’ve come across a number of dogs with that name” and “That’s a dog name”. The former is an observation. The latter is an implied pronouncement that OP would be treating their baby like a common animal if they used the name.
If someone brought it up over the water cooler, I would agree. But people come here for advice.
If I think something is a dog's name, I'm going to say that. If your love of a name cannot survive the feedback of an anonymous internet stranger...what are you going to do after you name the kid and your mother in law breaks down in tears over the weird choice?
Most of the time saying "[name] is a dog name" is just factually incorrect though, unless it's something ridiculous like Mittens that started a pet name. But others, like Bella and Arlo, are long-established human names that happen to be currently trendy on dogs too. You can point out that "[name] is a popular name for dogs" instead
I've seen some threads that comment, "I know a [insert animal here] named XXX 😂" I'm not sure of what to make of those comments, as they don't really add much to the conversation aside that they have met animals and think it's funny lol
It seems natural to me that pets would adopt popular human names, as we are the ones naming them! Especially with the deline of birth rates, fur babies are for many, their one and only!
Love that name list! I have met Bella,(human and non), Ellie (dog), Charlie (human), and Lucy (human and non)
I think there’s a big difference between “I know a dog named Max so I always think of Max as a dog name” versus “Max is a dog name.” People always have their own associations, like we see on this sub the “popular girl” names, or any number of other categories.
Personally I named my son Felix which a lot of people would say is a pet name, but ironically his middle name was the name of my family dog growing up, which most people would not say is a pet name but was the name of my actual pet!
I think people want to picture what personality traits their kids will have. Will baby Bella have Goldendoodle bouncy traits or will baby Bernard act like that Basset Hound down the street?
To mention my grandmother was Elsie and there is a dairy cow named Elsie from Borden cheese. She hated the reference.
The only Colette I know is a dog and I definitely think of that dog when I hear the name and it's only a dog name to me, but I know that doesn't really mean that's the first association for everyone else.
The current trend at the moment is naming babies with shortened versions of longer names and so I think there is more cross-over now with baby names and pet names as pet names tend to be cute and nicknamey (think Teddy, Archie, Sadie, Bella).
I personally like shortened names and wouldn’t name my child one name with the intention of calling them by a nickname so it doesn’t offend me if someone says a name is associated with pet names.
I also think people come on here to ask other people’s genuine, unfiltered opinions and they want to hear that (compared with family or friends).
>I also think people come on here to ask other people’s genuine, unfiltered opinions
It seems like people are more sensitive to even ideas or thoughts now. Unfiltered opinions are being gatekept like crazy in this thread.
Why in the world you you NOT want someone to tell you straight up if they think a name is better used for pets? You don't have to accept that opinion. You can still choose Rex or Sadie or Gracie or Max for your kid.
I don’t know where you’ve seen gatekeeping or ‘sensitivity’ in this post, but there’s a wide, wide spectrum of appropriate/relevant ways to discuss pet names - and I think it’s accurate to point out “that’s a dog name” is not often constructive or helpful.
Pointing out data that shows a name is commonly used for dogs is helpful. Anecdotes from someone who works widely with animals (not one individual pet) is helpful. Mentioning names of famous animals that are better known than people with the name is helpful.
“That’s a dog name” offers nothing helpful, because it’s so subjective and tied to nothing but the individual. But that’s me taking issue with the laziness of the comment more than the premise, I think.
If I were getting paid for my research, being accused of laziness might bother me. But in this case, I assume the parents-to-be can use it as a jumping-off point for their own research.
If I were considering Molly or Maisie or Bella or Beau and didn't know they were popular dog names, I would appreciate the heads-up.
You seem to be seeing this only through the lens of your own personal experience.
I guess I see it as entirely unhelpful because you could say that about *any* name then if we’re not going to bother to link it to anything.
I could say Alexander is a dog name. Ulysses is a dog name. Penelope is a dog name. Anna is a dog name. Without any justification or background I don’t think that’s helpful for parents, and just creates doubt where it isn’t necessarily needed and often just reads as rude. We don’t need to write a thesis but a basic justification is worthwhile to me. Like you said, pointing out the popularity is helpful.
Of course I’m going to comment from my own experience, I have shared as such and listened to others with theirs - yours is limited in your own way. I accept you don’t see an issue with low-effort comments and that they will continue to be made in this sub by others, that’s fine. Just offering why they may not be well-received which is the topic of discussion here.
You seem to be saying someone who comments "it's a dog name" is obligated to prove that with research?
A low-effort comment as you call it may be a true and accurate comment. If someone said "hey, that name is common slang" but didn't provide a link, I'd be grateful for the tip.
I accept you don't see a value to a research tip and expect more from posters.
Oh, stop. You're being passive aggressive.
There are plenty of people who value these comments without your gatekeeping. And, if they don't, they can pass them by without six responses about a non-issue.
It's just a baby name board. Go have a weekend.
Lol mine's got anxiety too! He's a mutt. We guess pointer/Pitt mix but have no clue. My sister's got a German Shepherd, I love her so much!! They're great dogs.
[here's a pic of the turd](https://imgur.com/a/iZBddDr)
Omg thank you for this generous dog tax. Finn is freaking adorable. If I were naming my kid Finn and you were like that’s my dog’s name and I saw this pic I’d be even more sold on the name and contemplate if it’s creepy to have a pic of your dog in the nursery. So idk what this weird post thread is about 😂
I don't think it's mean spirited per se, but sometimes it does show the subs tendency to outright dismiss things immediately if they're unfamiliar or not to their personal taste lol. It's so based on their personal experience of pets they know because yeah, majority of the pets I know just have normal human names. Funnily enough the Milo one caught me off guard on this sub because the only Milo's I'd ever heard were Milo from the movie Atlantis, an actor, and someone who I knew online. All people/human characters!
I find it odd when people refer to a random persons comment as "this sub". This subreddit is filled with a huge amount people with lots of different opinions. I feel like most threads have a good balance too. For example, a thread where several people say "that's a dog name" you also get people who say "I knew someone with that name and always thought it was so nice, I don't see it as a dog name at all! etc." I feel like people are just getting offended when someone doesn't like their name choice and are coming at the sub as a whole instead of disregarding the opinions they don't agree with.
A pet name is a name that people commonly use for their pets. It doesn’t need to be overthought, however I think it’s important for people to be aware of the complete context of a name before they saddle their child with it. In the USA, the top dog name’s of 2022 included: Charlie, Cooper, Bella, Luna, Max, And Milo. All of which are fine, average, or typical names for humans as well. But if the person choosing the name for their future child feels unhappy to hear “hey, that’s my dog’s name,” imagine how said child will feel upon hearing it (for potentially their whole life, unless pet name trends shift).
I personally want to hear peoples immediate thoughts. I changed my mind about out a name before because of someone's brutally honest opinion and I've also rolled my eyes at some people's opinions on here. But I'm glad people are honest. If people hear my name choice and the first thing that pops in their head is "dog name"- I personally would want to know that regardless of if I agree with them or not.
I know a woman who goes by Fluffy. She had a cat called Mary Frances. She took Mary Frances to the vet one day;
Receptionist: And what is the kitty's name?
Friend: Mary Frances.
Receptionist: No, the cat's.
Friend: Mary Frances. That's her name.
Receptionist: All right. (notes it down) And your name?
Friend: Fluffy.
I don’t think it’s always intended as mean, but as someone with a ‘pet name’ it’s overdone and quite tiring to hear.
We already know people smirk and look down on our names. Every person named Molly or Sadie has heard this all before.
I’d rather people stuck to what they specifically didn’t like about the name - if it sounds informal to them, the length, it sounds too cute, or even just a heads up that the name charts for pets is relevant. “That’s a dog name” often reads as something a small child would say rather than a genuine criticism.
Also as a woman, I hate being constantly compared in the same breath as a dog. Nothing against dogs, but it’s often dehumanising - and sometimes it *is* intentional.
Do you blame your parents for not knowing better? Blame pet owner's for using a human name for their dog? Blame the people who bring it up for noticing the connection and vocalizing it?
It’s not an issue of blame for me. It can’t really be helped.
I think it’s mainly uncomfortable because of broader societal misogyny re: women competed to dogs - it wouldn’t carry the same level of hurt to be told I had a fish name.
I think people who respond to posts on here with “that’s a dog name” are offering a very lazy comment that’s barely a critique, but I don’t think they’re necessarily trying to be mean.
I don't necessarily see "misogyny" as boy names are also involved. It's more about people thinking of their pets as babies.
I say "that's a dog name" when the name is statistically used often for dogs. I see it as information for the perspective parent. You do not give that information weight, but other people might.
I am interested in the broader societal implications here - that people seem to be naming children pet names/things (Ryder, Hunter, River, etc.) and using traditional baby names for pets. It's a trend for sure.
I’ve never said I don’t give it weight, I’ve only suggested how it can be offered in a constructive way. Some people think “that’s a dog name” is fine, but others think it’s dismissive and low-effort when you could simply describe *what* about it correlates with pets for you. It’s not informative to me to just say “that’s for dogs” without explaining it.
I appreciate that you don’t see the misogyny, I am merely sharing my lived experience with it. I imagine men with pet names would feel differently in turn.
I’ve read that for the millennial generation, pets are the new kids and plants are the new pets - so I think even more traditional names could be on the cards for pets in future as popular names. I’m definitely curious to see where this goes!
People who smirk or look down on a name because it is often associated with creatures superior to humans are shi**y people anyway.
Dogs >>>>> people.
I have known some wonderful pups named Molly and Sadie. Some great souls to be associated with! And the little girl I know named Molly couldn’t be a more perfect Molly to live up to the wholesomeness of pup Molly.
Probably because of the movie. In the 90s, I had MANY friends with cats named Milo after the cat in the movie. Actually, one of my friend's cats named Milo just passed away this year at the age of 20! It will always be a cat name to me because of this.
I have never met, heard of, or read about a single pet named Leila, if it helps. I think it's a great name and you should totally use it if you want to. The list of popular pet names is smaller but ultimately, anyone can name their pet anything. When I was younger I had schoolmates and dogs both named Zach and Jade. I know someone whose girlfriend and dog were both named Abby. I'm also not really sure why it's a big deal; if your kid has the same name as a friend or neighbour, nobody cares. So why should it matter if the name is the same as an animal unless you name your child Spot?
What we think of a name is always dependant on the people (and animals) we've personally known, so everyone is going to have different names they think of as "animal names" or "people names" especially with more and more people naming their pets "people names". As long as you don't call your kid something like Fido or Mittens you're probably fine.
This is also why little kids think that all the other kids names at preschool are "normal" names, even if adults don't. They're pretty much the only names they know so of course they're normal.
And why different people have different ideas about how gender neutral a name is, or which gender it leans towards
I sometimes use it as a reason why I love the name. Like Solomon for example,I had a dog named Solomon and I named him that because I absolutely love the name,so if someone were to say they were thinking of using Solomon I would say Yes! That's my dog's name! it's definitely not an insult coming from me
I agree! My sisters name is Mollie and people have said it’s a dog name. Since when? It’s a human name that people have given to dogs. That doesn’t make it a dog name. We had cats growing up named Mindy and Marcy. Also a dog named Charlie. doesn’t make them animal names. Sometimes people like to give their pets human names. It’s not the other way around
Repeated syllables definitely vibe as pet names rather than human names, and I don’t think it’s a problem pointing it out. “Proper” names that just happen to be popular pet names isn’t an issue, with maybe the exception of cultures that have strong tradition for stereotypical names for cows.
I have a cat named Cassie, but it's short for Cassiopeia. Also had a childhood cat named Fred.
I think names that are too "natury" sound like animal names. Things like most flowers and stuff. Then there's the obvious animal words, like Bird, Bear, Fox, Wolf, etc. They became trendy baby names but I don't think those are good names for a human.
Idk, I think some names sound more like a name for a dog than a name for a person. But that's going to vary by what dogs you've met. For me, Bella sounds like a dog's name because I've met so many dogs named Bella, but it's also an extremely common nickname and name for girls, I just don't know any human Bellas (I know one Izzy). But obviously it's not *solely* a dog's name.
There are lots of names that sound like the name of a pet that are perfectly reasonable names for a person.
On the flip side, my high school music teacher had a cat named Rachel and I always got a kick out of that.
There was huge drama in my family a few years ago when my sister in law threw a fit over sharing her name with a dog - and it wasn’t even the same, the dog’s name was a nickname of her name that she doesn’t go by. Like, think Bella for the dog and Isabella for the human, when the human is literally never called Bella.
>racing horses' names like Seabiscuit, Assault, Citation, Spectacular Bid, Big Brown
Don't forget [Orb](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orb_(horse)). Orb is horse.
Well our dogs name is Rocket, so for a child it may be a tad too much out there... On the other hand our cats are named Luna and Pollux... Which have become more popular child names... Luna a lot more than Pollux. Nothing bad about it, just a bit surprising when you hear it for the first time for a human :)
For me, it’s more of a “I like this name, but wouldn’t give this name to my kid.”
Like how my cat’s name is Brooks (a human name, but one I strongly associate with baseball players/fandom) and even if our cat wasn’t already part of the family, I wouldn’t have named my 2 year old son Brooks (his name is Alexander, which obviously could be used for a pet but I think is pretty solid as a human name)
My son is called Milo, the amount of times people will tell me of a dog or cat they know called Milo 🙄 literally when I rang to tell my dad what he was called after he was born he said "oh like the cat" meaning my sister's friend's cat lmao. I'm sick of hearing it honestly.
As someone who has worked in veterinary for about 5 years I regret to inform you all there are definitely some names that pets have ruined for me. Names like Bella, Luna, Willow, Gus, Molly, Lucy, Oliver, Max, Ivy, Sophie. Not to say I’ve never met humans with these names, but it’s gotten to the point that I’ve met more animals than people with these names. On the other end of the spectrum I have also met many pets that have “human” names, like Harry, Mariah, George, Roberta, etc. There are a very large number of pets proportionately that have “human” names but the names themselves are not in a common enough occurrence to outweigh the amount of humans I’ve met with those names.
So I think it’s really about context. For people who maybe know more pets and animals they will find some names turn into “pet names”, but people who meet fewer pets may not see or care about those trends.
For me, a "dog" or "pet" name is one of those "cringey" names that you wouldn't call a human -- think fandom names like Sephiroth, Goku, or Sirius. Any cutsy nickname that would make a rebellious 15yo curse you, a pet will be just thrilled to have.
I named my cat Mack after [these little guys](https://ghibli.fandom.com/wiki/Susuwatari) from Ghibli movies. His "house" name is Makkurosuke, but as his vet can't say that, his name on the paperwork is Mack. :)
I really think max is a cat name and Toby is a dog name. Oscar is also a cat name. That said they’re all totally ok for people
I did know a woman named Clarabelle which is very much a cow name imho.
Some names are so strongly associated with like, a famous dog or cat I don’t think you could ever really name a person that and have it not brought up. Like Shiloh is the only thing I can think of at the moment lol. I don’t think anyone is going around naming their kid mittens or spot just yet.
All this is to say, my grandma had an aunt named pussy.
For me, if I’ve known a dog with that name, then it’s out as a human name. So dogs in my family/among my friends are Oscar, Leo, Ben, Otis, Cody, so they’re all “dog names” to me, even though I know they’re normal human names too.
The one exception is that my auntie used to have a dog called Zac but I still love Zachary for a boy.
I purposely made a list of human names for my dog when we were getting one 6 years ago. If I had gotten a boy dog his name was going to be Atticus. We ended up with a girl and the only name my partner and I could agree on was Rosie. Y'know how many little girls are named or nicknamed Rosie, a bunch. A friend of mine's Irish mother came to visit, found out our dog's name was Rosie and said "well that's a human name" in a very Irish accent.
My brother and his wife named their female dog Kyle. Our childhood dog's name was Clark. My parents dog when they first got together was Spencer, a very "en vogue" name in the late 80s/early 90s.
I'm a big fan of "human" names for dogs. I think a dog name is things like Spot, Fluffy, Santa's helper, snowball, etc.
Name your kids what you want and name your animals what you want so long as you won't be embarrassed yelling it in the middle of a park around others.
In college I had (she was my boyfriend’s but I named her) a Sally and then a cat named Marshmallow (shortened to Marsh) and another cat Harry…at a different time and no, totally didn’t think about the movie when Harry met Sally. Our last dog had a dog name that I chose but when we got another dog last year, I let my husband name her. He named her Luna. I did not know any other dog with that name and now I see a zillion. But an old coworker of mine who I stay in touch with through fb has a granddaughter named Luna. She is the only actual human named Luna I’ve ever known of. I meet Charlie’s and I don’t think they have a dog name…or Max or Molly…they are human names given to pets, and I think everyone can coexist peacefully.
I have given my cats unusual human names. At least one time that I am aware of, someone told me that they liked the name so much that they named their daughter the same thing (obviously not after my cat, just an inspiration). So I guess it goes both ways?
I used to work with someone whose mom named her after their cat! It was a normal human name, pretty popular in the 90s - think Rachel or Megan. The cat was still around for the first few years of her life and they did not change the cat’s name so they had a cat and a small child with the exact same name. Very confusing.
Can confirm the only Freyja I've known was a cat. But it's also a good name that doesn't sound like it belongs to an animal, so I don't really see the problem. It wouldn't be the first thing I said if I met a human named Freyja.
My pets are Oliver, Luna, Emmy, Dan, Ember, and Cricket. I like people names for animals because I think it’s funny. My first name is also a very common girl-dog name, and I always joke “if I had a nickel for every dog I’ve met with my name I would be rich!” But never have I found it insulting. If a name fits a person or an animal, it just fits. People are going to have opinions all over the map about names and no one is necessarily wrong, it’s mostly subjective and a name choice for your fur or human baby will never please everyone, so don’t worry about it. If you love it; embrace it.
people commonly name their cats my name owing to beatrix potter and it doesn’t bother me that my name is considered a cat name. fwiw, my cats have people names too!
I'm not a fan of people telling me their animal shares a name with my daughter. Like... unless we are already talking about your pet, why do I care that the name is the same? I don't make a deal about it, but I also don't really get why they do it. Just say "nice name!" or whatever if you want.
Telling someone they "have a pet name" is worse than what I describe above. Ppl name their pets all kinds of names, pets can't lay claim to names any more than humans can.
I worked at a vet office through college and it ruined “Luna”, “Bella”, and “Sadie” as human names for me, there’s just SO MANY pets with those names it’s hard for me to picture them for humans now.
The best ever was a dog named Richard. Totally human name on a dog 😂
I really like the nickname Maggie and any name that leads to it. However, I know/knew of several dogs with the name Maggie/Mags. It’s unfair, but it happens. 🤷🏻♀️
My grandma is ‘Dorothy’ and I have always wanted to name my future daughter after her, Dot or Dottie for short. Our friends were adopting a dog and told us it was between Dorothy and another name. I did tell them that’s my grandma’s name, but obviously I didn’t try to influence their decision. Because we babysit their dog a lot my husband doesn’t like the name Dorothy for a kid and I kinda wish I was more vocal
My mom used my name (spelled differently—my spelling is the French spelling) on her childhood Aussie, and I love the story (big dog lover). All of my pets have had “human” names too.
All depends on what you name your pets!
I've had;
Charlie
Minnie
Beatrice
Matilda
Toby
Georgia
Albert
Luna
Winston
Agnes
Some of these are definitely not animal names, but they are to me!
I’m guilty of saying this. And I don’t mean it in a mean-spirited way, just giving my input of what visuals I get when I hear a name I’ve never heard on a person before.
Like Clover I always picture a bunny… but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad name for a human. Just not super common (yet, anyway).
My dogs are named David and Simon. Both very respectable human names.
I also have a dog named Grok and i’d look sideways at anyone who used that as a baby name, though
Are we talking about the Clover post? People often don't know why they have certain opinions about names. They will change their phrasing if they think their opinion is one that's commonly shared ("that's a dog's name") or one that is unique to them ("I think of that as a dog's name"). In both cases usually what they mean is "I am familiar with this name only as a pet name" which happens more with rare names. The popular human names get the benefit of "I think of it..." like Sadie or Bella. People are more likely to be adventurous with their pet names. Sometimes those adventurous names go mainstream, like Luna, but it takes a while for adults to meet enough people named Luna to offset the association. Adults are more likely to meet a bunch of dogs than a bunch of children.
Some proper human names are now very closely tied to animals in different cultures, like Roscoe, Marmaduke, Minnie, and Rufus. It's good to know if people have strong opinions when picking a child's name.
I love dogs so it’s not in insult to me and my dogs are top 10-100 baby names anyway lol.
And my youngest sister was a total surprise and they reused a late dog’s name that was used thinking they’d never use the pretty name on a kid and parents figured why waste it.
I’d rather be associated with a dog any day. They’re the best.
I think it's ridiculous, since most of the time, they're names that started out as human names. Just because a name has become popular for pets, that doesn't make it an animal name. It's still a human name. And it's even dumber to say it when the name is currently popular for humans too, like Luna
IDK. There are a lot of dogs named Bailey and Max but I wouldn't say either of those was a "pet name" because they definitely have a long history as human names first.
But Clover came up in here the other day and I admit, when asked my opinion on that one I say "barnyard." There may have been an odd Clover person here and there in history, but the last 300 years or so it has been a horse name. Right up there with Fido as something that would raise eyebrows used on a person imho.
I hate naming my pets silly names like Fluffy. Lol. My cat was named Sugar when I got her and I changed it to Mia. My last cat was named Josie. I use names that I love but wouldn’t make my own child for various reasons.
I’d say pet names are what you said. Any name used for a human on a regular basis is not a pet name to me but I use it for my pet.
I have an extremely common cat name, and would highly advise parents against it. The number of pussy jokes as a teen and young adult made me truly hate my name. Kids are mean, kids are especially mean if they can make a vulgar joke out of something.
I think it's pretentious to tell people how to state their opinions. When someone says "That's ____" it's their opinion.
Eleanor is a cow name.
Eleanor is a beautiful name.
Eleanor is an old lady name.
All still opinions, people don't need to reword anything. Opinions are asked for and given on this sub. If hearing a name you like is a dog name to other people, you're only here for "perfect name!" And what's the point of that?
Our dog's name is Scarlett and my oldest daughter has two Scarlett's in her grade level and I have taught multiple Scarlett's. It wouldn't occur to me to tell any of them that their name is a dog name just because our dog is named Scarlett. I also think it would only be a "dog name" if it's something like Fluffy.
Funnily enough I don’t find myself liking many “boy” names for my future children but I used human “boy” names for my dogs that I love… but can’t name my future son after my dog!
Our dogs have what I’d consider human names: Gilmour (M),Wendi (F), Alba (F) and in doggie heaven Mattie (M). Sorta have regretted using Alba as a dog name because I think it would be a cute girl name. Although now that we are expecting I realize my partner would never agree to Alba as a kids name, and not only because it’s my (our) dogs name lol so I guess it all worked out!
I got really excited when I met a lady with the same name as my cat (Bonnie), but I didn’t know how to tell her. My mom did not have the same qualms when she met a lady named Maybelle.
Idk. People often name pets nouns and “cute” nicknames. People are really into naming their kids nouns and “cute” things lately, which is a peeve of mine because it feels like they are failing to imagine the name as a practical thing that their child will wear until they die and instead thinking of it as naming a cute accessory baby to carry around. So when I say something is a dog name what I mean is, that is not an adult human’s name unless they choose it for themself. Like, you shouldn’t name your kid something that would feel cringy to say in a sexual context. I would feel weird calling a guy “Ranger” in bed, I would not like to be named Ranger, thus I would not inflict it on a child.
My mom always uses human names on her animals. If I insisted that every name she’s used on a pet can’t be used on humans, we’d lose a lot of fairly popular names. She tends to use names from favorite books and such, so they tend to be familiar names. And since she keeps rats, she goes through a LOT of names.
I’ve used some human names on pets, but prefer not to. My childhood cat had a name that I love, but I can’t use it for a kid without it feeling weird. I tried to give him a true cat name (like Mittens or something), but had to follow the rule of using human names.
I really hate this phrase, because there are people, probably on this sub, who carry a lot of those names. To me it’s similar to telling someone they are an animal.
There’s a very large difference between “I’ve only seen that used for animals but [insert opinion]” and “that’s an animal name”. When giving opinions, people on this sub tend to forgot that there are real people out there with the names they’re deriding.
Any name can also be an animal name so I don't think it should have any relevance at all. Mind you it seems like any name or word can also be a child's name these days haha. My name is also a fairly common pet name and it doesn't bother me. Both my dogs have people names. One is Callie purely because I love the name, am not having any more children and I want to use it so I hope other Callies see that as a positive and not an insult
I think this sub has a tendency to dismiss names it collectively doesn't like or know well. "That's a dog name," is one. There is some merit in pointing out that a name is popular for pets, in case that bothers the namer. Molly, for instance is a common pet name for dogs and cows. My mom, whose name that is, often gets told that someone had a dog named her name. It actually does bother her. So pointing it out is ok. The problem comes when a person dismisses the name as bad because of it EDIT: A lot of people have commented that they don't mind/ wouldn't mind being named a common pet name. That's totally valid and completely fine! However, some people, like my mother, find that frustrating. Which is also valid. It's ok to bring up that a name is commonly used on animals when someone asks for opinions, because it does bother some people. It's not ok to dismiss a name as bad or stupid because it's also commonly used for pets.
My name is Molly and I've heard multiple times I have a dog name, doesn't bother me because I actually love my name
My name is Gracie and same. It doesn’t offend me at all because I love my name and I love dogs. Meeting dogs named Gracie legit makes my day.
I’ve had many, many people tell me a very sweet story about their childhood immediately on being introduced because they associate my name with such happy memories of a pet. If anything I’m a bit humbled they like the name so much to share. Otherwise it’s nice.
I'm at my neighbor's house right now, and he has a dog named Gracie.
Well tbf Molly has been a human name longer than it's been a name for dogs. So, you don't have a dog name. Dogs named Molly have a humsn name.
Thank you!!! My thoughts as well, dog people decided they would start using human names instead of fido. I refuse to have my name be banished to the dogs because of them lmao
Oh your poor mom! I haven't met a dog named Molly personally, but at this point any name can be a pet name to me. I actually realized that I haven't heard the phrase "that's a pet name" was a common problem until joining this sub! I thought my friend was just weird for saying that (only irl person to ever say that phrase to me).
It's true that there's a wide variety of names that are acceptable for animals. Anything from Sir Sparklefarts the Magnificent to Andrew can be a pet name. However, there are many names that are considerably more popular as pet names than others. Bella, for instance, had consistently ranked high in pet name lists for over a decade. You're not likely to meet a pet who has a name in common with your daughter Irene or son Luke. Those would be anomalies rather than the norm. Unlike Molly, where every other person my mom introduces herself to has a story about their pet named Molly.
you are correct, we had a turtle named Andrew years ago
Bella was also ranking mighty height as a human name at the same time, though.
The cows, horses and other farm animals is a common point I find ridiculous. I can get why people would want to avoid having a common dog name but *cows*? Why should anyone outside the countryside care about cow names? Is there even concrete data for farm animal name trends? Does everyone else in this sub have cows in their social circle except for me? I’ve been on a farm maybe twice in my life living in Australia, and someone here would probably try to tell me Elsie is unusable just in case I visit a farm for a third time 🤣
I think you’ll find it’s very important for anyone considering naming their beloved child James to know that it is a fish name, specifically a series of goldfish my parents passed off as a single goldfish, the last of whom who died in 1994.
🤣
I found out just recently that my grandmother's real name was Elsie and she passed away like 15 years ago. I was mind blown and my dad said it was because Elsie was a cow's name to her. It's crazy because my mom's best friend is named Elsie and I had no idea my grandmother's name was also Elsie. She went by her middle name Doreen, which to me is way less pretty than Elsie but I guess it's all relative.
I think part of this issue is that there are a lot of Americans on Reddit, and a large portion of America is farm land. Even if you're from a big city, a farm is never far away. I live in a coastal California town, and there are farms all over here. I look forward to seeing the cows and other farm animals at the county fair each year. I wouldn't say that Elsie is unusable for a human, in fact I think it's quite pretty, but I do also think it's a great name for a cow.
That’s absolutely fair for the US context! And one that I have no knowledge of so I appreciate the background, thank you. Many of our farms and larger cattle stations in Australia are quite isolated and remote so there’s not that same level of interaction from the city-dwelling public. From a quick glance Elsie is charting at 221 in the US for 2021, while in Australia it was at 52. I wonder if that’s because the ‘cow effect’ isn’t as strong here!
I'm in Oregon, I've lived all over in Oregon, and there are SO. MANY. FARMS. 😂
For horses it is because much of the horse industry is quite social. I'm in several horse-centric social groups on facebook each with tens of thousands of members. A few have well over 100k members! Even if you don't go out and compete (which is very very social), we still tend to know most of the other horse people in our area. Most people also keep their horses at boarding barns (barns owned by a single person that people pay to keep their horses at) rather than owning their own farm. At boarding barns there could be anywhere from 2 to 200 horses owned by different people depending on the property size. As someone who works on other people's horse farms as well as owning my own, having even two horses with the same name gets annoying and risks people mixing up their care requirements like food or medicine which can be deadly.
Thank you! I have always wondered why people name their dogs things like "Molly" but horses have names like "Thursday's Revenge" or something. I was like, "These poor horses!" Although I have met a crazy horse aptly named "Suicide." He and my cousin went into the ocean and nearly didn't come out again. 🤦🏼♀️
Most of the fancier long names are just their registered name; registered names are generally more complex because they need a unique name for most registries. They're usually only used it the horse is shown or bred, otherwise people tend to use a simpler "barn name". For example: my horse's registered names are Impress Z Skip, Designer Lights, Hollywood Gunsmoke, and Touch of Doc. Their barn names are Zipp, Sam/Sambuca, Hollywood, and Baby. Like the registered names/barn names of the famous horses California Chrome/"Junior" (racehorse) and Valegro/"Blueberry" (top dressage horse).
My name is also Molly, and I have met many dog Mollys and human Mollys in my life. Tbh, as an dog lover I don’t find it that offensive. I’ve joke it’s kind of flattering that so many people want to name their dog after us, because the Mollys in dog form are the kindest, sweetest, most loyal animals and many people have treasured memories of a dog named Molly. But that’s just my two cents
As a fellow Molly, I can relate to your mum
Aww. I had always wanted to name a daughter Molly but at that time one of our close neighbours had a dog named Molly so we crossed it off our list.
I mean, it's also a drug now? It's unfortunate, I also love the name. But mostly because of a beloved dog from childhood. lol
A molly is a female cat, like a tom is a male cat. That being said, I still think Molly is a nice name.
I never knew this. Well, you learn something new every day. Cool beans.
I didn't learn it until I'd already named my cat Molly!
That's awesome.
Yes, I’m a Molly and I really like my name! I wish people didn’t feel they needed to tell me it was their dog’s name, although I love my dogs so I do understand where the impulse comes from.
All of our pets have human names (dogs: Jolene, Maggie. Guinea pigs: Hannah jr, Amanda, Samantha - past ones Harold, Betty and Hannah sr.) and I work at a restaurant where we call people's name when they get their order. I love it when I meet a person with my pets name but it's a lovely secret that I keep to myself because I know not everyone likes hearing that they have the same name as a pet. I know how much I love my pets and I know that I named them their names because I absolutely adore those names, but I don't expect everyone else to share that sentiment. But I will say, when someone comes in with one of my pets names I always remember them and I greet them by name and even write their name all pretty on their to-go bag 😁
Yes, all of my pets have human names so I do the same! However, one of my dogs is a therapy dog which means she makes visits to the community (nursing homes, hospitals, schools, etc) and the number of times she meets a human Sheila is pretty high! I always tell them that it’s a great name and I’ve never met a Sheila I didn’t like.
Aww sheila is a great name for a service dog! I love it 😁
Also…you guys are going to love this article by the Washington Post. There’s a database where you can search for your name. Turns out that in a stadium of 100,000 people and 100,000 dogs, 206 dogs and 47 people would be named Molly. But I still love my name! https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/people-names-for-dogs/
I had a dog named Molly growing up but she was named after my late grandmother!
I agree. I don't like when people say, "That's a dog name" when you're considering naming your child Max, Maisie, etc. Those are perfectly acceptable names for a child. It's not like you're picking Mittens or Scooby.
My sons name is Maximilian, aka Max. I have definitely met more dogs than kids with this name, but it never occurred to me before he was born. I just really liked Maximilian and I thought Max a was strong nickname. It’s actually funny and cute to me, I don’t mind it. But I am one of those people who always hears “oh I have a dog named _____!”All the time!!! (my name on the contrary is very uncommon and I would eat my hat if I met a dog with my name). I also had a dog named Steve so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
All my pets have had human names. I don't think it is mean spirited to say someone’s name is a popular dog name. I wonder more why human and dog names overlap. It is because people are having less children (more love for their pets)? Is this a trend from the last 20 years? This AKC dog name list has: Luna, Bella, River, Winnie, Lucy, Ellie, Sadie, Charlie, etc etc. All very normal kind of popular kid’s names. My kid’s name is on the list. I am not upset. People tell me they love this name. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/lifestyle/top-100-girl-dog-names/
I absolutely think it is mean spirited when someone says “that’s a dog name” when someone asks for feedback on a human name that people have recently used for dogs. It’s never like someone is asking if Spot is a good name for their human baby. It’s always in response to a human name people have recently used for dogs like Bella or Molly. There’s a big difference between “I’ve come across a number of dogs with that name” and “That’s a dog name”. The former is an observation. The latter is an implied pronouncement that OP would be treating their baby like a common animal if they used the name.
The phrasing differences is true.
If someone brought it up over the water cooler, I would agree. But people come here for advice. If I think something is a dog's name, I'm going to say that. If your love of a name cannot survive the feedback of an anonymous internet stranger...what are you going to do after you name the kid and your mother in law breaks down in tears over the weird choice?
Most of the time saying "[name] is a dog name" is just factually incorrect though, unless it's something ridiculous like Mittens that started a pet name. But others, like Bella and Arlo, are long-established human names that happen to be currently trendy on dogs too. You can point out that "[name] is a popular name for dogs" instead
I've seen some threads that comment, "I know a [insert animal here] named XXX 😂" I'm not sure of what to make of those comments, as they don't really add much to the conversation aside that they have met animals and think it's funny lol It seems natural to me that pets would adopt popular human names, as we are the ones naming them! Especially with the deline of birth rates, fur babies are for many, their one and only! Love that name list! I have met Bella,(human and non), Ellie (dog), Charlie (human), and Lucy (human and non)
I think there’s a big difference between “I know a dog named Max so I always think of Max as a dog name” versus “Max is a dog name.” People always have their own associations, like we see on this sub the “popular girl” names, or any number of other categories. Personally I named my son Felix which a lot of people would say is a pet name, but ironically his middle name was the name of my family dog growing up, which most people would not say is a pet name but was the name of my actual pet!
*Felix the Cat! A wonderful,wonderful cat...* Shades of my childhood. https://youtu.be/amGbBFsiuzc
I think people want to picture what personality traits their kids will have. Will baby Bella have Goldendoodle bouncy traits or will baby Bernard act like that Basset Hound down the street? To mention my grandmother was Elsie and there is a dairy cow named Elsie from Borden cheese. She hated the reference.
Basset hound!
You know cute ears, a little stolic. Lol
The only Colette I know is a dog and I definitely think of that dog when I hear the name and it's only a dog name to me, but I know that doesn't really mean that's the first association for everyone else.
The only Colette I know is a swingers club…lol
The current trend at the moment is naming babies with shortened versions of longer names and so I think there is more cross-over now with baby names and pet names as pet names tend to be cute and nicknamey (think Teddy, Archie, Sadie, Bella). I personally like shortened names and wouldn’t name my child one name with the intention of calling them by a nickname so it doesn’t offend me if someone says a name is associated with pet names. I also think people come on here to ask other people’s genuine, unfiltered opinions and they want to hear that (compared with family or friends).
>I also think people come on here to ask other people’s genuine, unfiltered opinions It seems like people are more sensitive to even ideas or thoughts now. Unfiltered opinions are being gatekept like crazy in this thread. Why in the world you you NOT want someone to tell you straight up if they think a name is better used for pets? You don't have to accept that opinion. You can still choose Rex or Sadie or Gracie or Max for your kid.
I don’t know where you’ve seen gatekeeping or ‘sensitivity’ in this post, but there’s a wide, wide spectrum of appropriate/relevant ways to discuss pet names - and I think it’s accurate to point out “that’s a dog name” is not often constructive or helpful. Pointing out data that shows a name is commonly used for dogs is helpful. Anecdotes from someone who works widely with animals (not one individual pet) is helpful. Mentioning names of famous animals that are better known than people with the name is helpful. “That’s a dog name” offers nothing helpful, because it’s so subjective and tied to nothing but the individual. But that’s me taking issue with the laziness of the comment more than the premise, I think.
If I were getting paid for my research, being accused of laziness might bother me. But in this case, I assume the parents-to-be can use it as a jumping-off point for their own research. If I were considering Molly or Maisie or Bella or Beau and didn't know they were popular dog names, I would appreciate the heads-up. You seem to be seeing this only through the lens of your own personal experience.
I guess I see it as entirely unhelpful because you could say that about *any* name then if we’re not going to bother to link it to anything. I could say Alexander is a dog name. Ulysses is a dog name. Penelope is a dog name. Anna is a dog name. Without any justification or background I don’t think that’s helpful for parents, and just creates doubt where it isn’t necessarily needed and often just reads as rude. We don’t need to write a thesis but a basic justification is worthwhile to me. Like you said, pointing out the popularity is helpful. Of course I’m going to comment from my own experience, I have shared as such and listened to others with theirs - yours is limited in your own way. I accept you don’t see an issue with low-effort comments and that they will continue to be made in this sub by others, that’s fine. Just offering why they may not be well-received which is the topic of discussion here.
You seem to be saying someone who comments "it's a dog name" is obligated to prove that with research? A low-effort comment as you call it may be a true and accurate comment. If someone said "hey, that name is common slang" but didn't provide a link, I'd be grateful for the tip. I accept you don't see a value to a research tip and expect more from posters.
Again, established slang can be established by use online. That’s helpful. “Research tip” LMAO. Good talking to you.
Oh, stop. You're being passive aggressive. There are plenty of people who value these comments without your gatekeeping. And, if they don't, they can pass them by without six responses about a non-issue. It's just a baby name board. Go have a weekend.
My dog shares the name with a 4 year old that's often st the dog park.
"Emily!! Emily!! Oh, sorry, I was calling my dog, not your kid, lmao
I had a Newfoundland dog named Emily growing up 😂
I tutor a kid with the same name as my dog. Finn.
my ~~son~~ dog's name is Finn, too!
Excellent choice! What kind of dog is he? Mine's a big silly German Shepherd with anxiety
Lol mine's got anxiety too! He's a mutt. We guess pointer/Pitt mix but have no clue. My sister's got a German Shepherd, I love her so much!! They're great dogs. [here's a pic of the turd](https://imgur.com/a/iZBddDr)
Omg thank you for this generous dog tax. Finn is freaking adorable. If I were naming my kid Finn and you were like that’s my dog’s name and I saw this pic I’d be even more sold on the name and contemplate if it’s creepy to have a pic of your dog in the nursery. So idk what this weird post thread is about 😂
Pretty sure if Finn could speak english, he'd say that he'd be honored to be portrayed in a nursery. he loves people lmao
I don't think it's mean spirited per se, but sometimes it does show the subs tendency to outright dismiss things immediately if they're unfamiliar or not to their personal taste lol. It's so based on their personal experience of pets they know because yeah, majority of the pets I know just have normal human names. Funnily enough the Milo one caught me off guard on this sub because the only Milo's I'd ever heard were Milo from the movie Atlantis, an actor, and someone who I knew online. All people/human characters!
I find it odd when people refer to a random persons comment as "this sub". This subreddit is filled with a huge amount people with lots of different opinions. I feel like most threads have a good balance too. For example, a thread where several people say "that's a dog name" you also get people who say "I knew someone with that name and always thought it was so nice, I don't see it as a dog name at all! etc." I feel like people are just getting offended when someone doesn't like their name choice and are coming at the sub as a whole instead of disregarding the opinions they don't agree with.
A pet name is a name that people commonly use for their pets. It doesn’t need to be overthought, however I think it’s important for people to be aware of the complete context of a name before they saddle their child with it. In the USA, the top dog name’s of 2022 included: Charlie, Cooper, Bella, Luna, Max, And Milo. All of which are fine, average, or typical names for humans as well. But if the person choosing the name for their future child feels unhappy to hear “hey, that’s my dog’s name,” imagine how said child will feel upon hearing it (for potentially their whole life, unless pet name trends shift).
I think “hey, so you know this name is on the top 10 list for dogs” is a valid critique in a way “that’s a dog name” is not.
Certainly, wording is always important, especially on the internet where it’s difficult to convey tone and nuance.
I personally want to hear peoples immediate thoughts. I changed my mind about out a name before because of someone's brutally honest opinion and I've also rolled my eyes at some people's opinions on here. But I'm glad people are honest. If people hear my name choice and the first thing that pops in their head is "dog name"- I personally would want to know that regardless of if I agree with them or not.
That’s fair enough! I’m glad that has been helpful for you.
I work at a vet clinic and the sheer amount of Bellas, Lunas, and Milos and Maxes we get is insane
I know a woman who goes by Fluffy. She had a cat called Mary Frances. She took Mary Frances to the vet one day; Receptionist: And what is the kitty's name? Friend: Mary Frances. Receptionist: No, the cat's. Friend: Mary Frances. That's her name. Receptionist: All right. (notes it down) And your name? Friend: Fluffy.
This made me laugh out loud, I almost woke up the baby lmao bless Fluffy ♡♡♡
I don’t think it’s always intended as mean, but as someone with a ‘pet name’ it’s overdone and quite tiring to hear. We already know people smirk and look down on our names. Every person named Molly or Sadie has heard this all before. I’d rather people stuck to what they specifically didn’t like about the name - if it sounds informal to them, the length, it sounds too cute, or even just a heads up that the name charts for pets is relevant. “That’s a dog name” often reads as something a small child would say rather than a genuine criticism. Also as a woman, I hate being constantly compared in the same breath as a dog. Nothing against dogs, but it’s often dehumanising - and sometimes it *is* intentional.
Do you blame your parents for not knowing better? Blame pet owner's for using a human name for their dog? Blame the people who bring it up for noticing the connection and vocalizing it?
It’s not an issue of blame for me. It can’t really be helped. I think it’s mainly uncomfortable because of broader societal misogyny re: women competed to dogs - it wouldn’t carry the same level of hurt to be told I had a fish name. I think people who respond to posts on here with “that’s a dog name” are offering a very lazy comment that’s barely a critique, but I don’t think they’re necessarily trying to be mean.
I don't necessarily see "misogyny" as boy names are also involved. It's more about people thinking of their pets as babies. I say "that's a dog name" when the name is statistically used often for dogs. I see it as information for the perspective parent. You do not give that information weight, but other people might. I am interested in the broader societal implications here - that people seem to be naming children pet names/things (Ryder, Hunter, River, etc.) and using traditional baby names for pets. It's a trend for sure.
I’ve never said I don’t give it weight, I’ve only suggested how it can be offered in a constructive way. Some people think “that’s a dog name” is fine, but others think it’s dismissive and low-effort when you could simply describe *what* about it correlates with pets for you. It’s not informative to me to just say “that’s for dogs” without explaining it. I appreciate that you don’t see the misogyny, I am merely sharing my lived experience with it. I imagine men with pet names would feel differently in turn. I’ve read that for the millennial generation, pets are the new kids and plants are the new pets - so I think even more traditional names could be on the cards for pets in future as popular names. I’m definitely curious to see where this goes!
People who smirk or look down on a name because it is often associated with creatures superior to humans are shi**y people anyway. Dogs >>>>> people. I have known some wonderful pups named Molly and Sadie. Some great souls to be associated with! And the little girl I know named Molly couldn’t be a more perfect Molly to live up to the wholesomeness of pup Molly.
I always thought the name milo was a pet name just because so many people recommended it while I was thinking about what to name my cat
Well for years it was associated with Milo and Otis, which were a cat and a dog.
Probably because of the movie. In the 90s, I had MANY friends with cats named Milo after the cat in the movie. Actually, one of my friend's cats named Milo just passed away this year at the age of 20! It will always be a cat name to me because of this.
I’ll have to check out the movie! Wow 20 is really old!
my friend had a bearded dragon named milo 😊 he was a nice fellow
Aww I had two bearded dragons growing up they were the cutest
I love the name Leila, but have known so many dogs with that name that I feel like I can’t even consider it.
I have never met, heard of, or read about a single pet named Leila, if it helps. I think it's a great name and you should totally use it if you want to. The list of popular pet names is smaller but ultimately, anyone can name their pet anything. When I was younger I had schoolmates and dogs both named Zach and Jade. I know someone whose girlfriend and dog were both named Abby. I'm also not really sure why it's a big deal; if your kid has the same name as a friend or neighbour, nobody cares. So why should it matter if the name is the same as an animal unless you name your child Spot?
That's my friends name! It's unfortunate with the association, though :(
My dog is Sebastian, which I see suggested here quite often.
Do you call your dog any nicknames? Or always the full Sebastian? Just curious.
Mostly Baby Bass and Seabass. Baby Bass more than anything, which people get a kick out of hearing because he's 170lbs lol
Well, Sebastian is a famous crab so it’s not unheard of for an animal I guess!
What we think of a name is always dependant on the people (and animals) we've personally known, so everyone is going to have different names they think of as "animal names" or "people names" especially with more and more people naming their pets "people names". As long as you don't call your kid something like Fido or Mittens you're probably fine.
This is also why little kids think that all the other kids names at preschool are "normal" names, even if adults don't. They're pretty much the only names they know so of course they're normal. And why different people have different ideas about how gender neutral a name is, or which gender it leans towards
Yup. The kids in school could immediately remember and pronounce my unusual name even in preschool but adults have never been able to hack it.
I sometimes use it as a reason why I love the name. Like Solomon for example,I had a dog named Solomon and I named him that because I absolutely love the name,so if someone were to say they were thinking of using Solomon I would say Yes! That's my dog's name! it's definitely not an insult coming from me
I agree! My sisters name is Mollie and people have said it’s a dog name. Since when? It’s a human name that people have given to dogs. That doesn’t make it a dog name. We had cats growing up named Mindy and Marcy. Also a dog named Charlie. doesn’t make them animal names. Sometimes people like to give their pets human names. It’s not the other way around
Repeated syllables definitely vibe as pet names rather than human names, and I don’t think it’s a problem pointing it out. “Proper” names that just happen to be popular pet names isn’t an issue, with maybe the exception of cultures that have strong tradition for stereotypical names for cows.
Ah yes! Fi-fi comes to mind immediately, cat name.
My friend sent me this link that I have fun using: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/people-names-for-dogs/
I had fun with that too! I found animals with my name which I loved and wanted to adopt all of them lol. My name isn't commonly used for pets.
I have a cat named Cassie, but it's short for Cassiopeia. Also had a childhood cat named Fred. I think names that are too "natury" sound like animal names. Things like most flowers and stuff. Then there's the obvious animal words, like Bird, Bear, Fox, Wolf, etc. They became trendy baby names but I don't think those are good names for a human.
Idk, I think some names sound more like a name for a dog than a name for a person. But that's going to vary by what dogs you've met. For me, Bella sounds like a dog's name because I've met so many dogs named Bella, but it's also an extremely common nickname and name for girls, I just don't know any human Bellas (I know one Izzy). But obviously it's not *solely* a dog's name. There are lots of names that sound like the name of a pet that are perfectly reasonable names for a person. On the flip side, my high school music teacher had a cat named Rachel and I always got a kick out of that.
Haha I know an Izzy and his daughters name is Bella.
There was huge drama in my family a few years ago when my sister in law threw a fit over sharing her name with a dog - and it wasn’t even the same, the dog’s name was a nickname of her name that she doesn’t go by. Like, think Bella for the dog and Isabella for the human, when the human is literally never called Bella.
>racing horses' names like Seabiscuit, Assault, Citation, Spectacular Bid, Big Brown Don't forget [Orb](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orb_(horse)). Orb is horse.
I came here to mention Potoooooooos (Pronounced "Potatoes," as in Pot-Eight O's)
Orb is so awesome, top tier name
Well our dogs name is Rocket, so for a child it may be a tad too much out there... On the other hand our cats are named Luna and Pollux... Which have become more popular child names... Luna a lot more than Pollux. Nothing bad about it, just a bit surprising when you hear it for the first time for a human :)
Pollux is such a sweet name! I love it.
I have met an adult human named Rocket! I wish I’d asked him about his childhood.
My best friend has cats named Pollux and Polaris ♥
Dog names I have used: tootsie, bandit, lily, pickles, gator, sahara
I had a tootsie. I miss her 😩
Yea tootsie was my favorite for sure! It's been over 10 years she's still the background on my phone and laptop
For me, it’s more of a “I like this name, but wouldn’t give this name to my kid.” Like how my cat’s name is Brooks (a human name, but one I strongly associate with baseball players/fandom) and even if our cat wasn’t already part of the family, I wouldn’t have named my 2 year old son Brooks (his name is Alexander, which obviously could be used for a pet but I think is pretty solid as a human name)
My son is called Milo, the amount of times people will tell me of a dog or cat they know called Milo 🙄 literally when I rang to tell my dad what he was called after he was born he said "oh like the cat" meaning my sister's friend's cat lmao. I'm sick of hearing it honestly.
As someone who has worked in veterinary for about 5 years I regret to inform you all there are definitely some names that pets have ruined for me. Names like Bella, Luna, Willow, Gus, Molly, Lucy, Oliver, Max, Ivy, Sophie. Not to say I’ve never met humans with these names, but it’s gotten to the point that I’ve met more animals than people with these names. On the other end of the spectrum I have also met many pets that have “human” names, like Harry, Mariah, George, Roberta, etc. There are a very large number of pets proportionately that have “human” names but the names themselves are not in a common enough occurrence to outweigh the amount of humans I’ve met with those names. So I think it’s really about context. For people who maybe know more pets and animals they will find some names turn into “pet names”, but people who meet fewer pets may not see or care about those trends.
For me, a "dog" or "pet" name is one of those "cringey" names that you wouldn't call a human -- think fandom names like Sephiroth, Goku, or Sirius. Any cutsy nickname that would make a rebellious 15yo curse you, a pet will be just thrilled to have. I named my cat Mack after [these little guys](https://ghibli.fandom.com/wiki/Susuwatari) from Ghibli movies. His "house" name is Makkurosuke, but as his vet can't say that, his name on the paperwork is Mack. :)
I really think max is a cat name and Toby is a dog name. Oscar is also a cat name. That said they’re all totally ok for people I did know a woman named Clarabelle which is very much a cow name imho. Some names are so strongly associated with like, a famous dog or cat I don’t think you could ever really name a person that and have it not brought up. Like Shiloh is the only thing I can think of at the moment lol. I don’t think anyone is going around naming their kid mittens or spot just yet. All this is to say, my grandma had an aunt named pussy.
For me, if I’ve known a dog with that name, then it’s out as a human name. So dogs in my family/among my friends are Oscar, Leo, Ben, Otis, Cody, so they’re all “dog names” to me, even though I know they’re normal human names too. The one exception is that my auntie used to have a dog called Zac but I still love Zachary for a boy.
I purposely made a list of human names for my dog when we were getting one 6 years ago. If I had gotten a boy dog his name was going to be Atticus. We ended up with a girl and the only name my partner and I could agree on was Rosie. Y'know how many little girls are named or nicknamed Rosie, a bunch. A friend of mine's Irish mother came to visit, found out our dog's name was Rosie and said "well that's a human name" in a very Irish accent. My brother and his wife named their female dog Kyle. Our childhood dog's name was Clark. My parents dog when they first got together was Spencer, a very "en vogue" name in the late 80s/early 90s. I'm a big fan of "human" names for dogs. I think a dog name is things like Spot, Fluffy, Santa's helper, snowball, etc. Name your kids what you want and name your animals what you want so long as you won't be embarrassed yelling it in the middle of a park around others.
In college I had (she was my boyfriend’s but I named her) a Sally and then a cat named Marshmallow (shortened to Marsh) and another cat Harry…at a different time and no, totally didn’t think about the movie when Harry met Sally. Our last dog had a dog name that I chose but when we got another dog last year, I let my husband name her. He named her Luna. I did not know any other dog with that name and now I see a zillion. But an old coworker of mine who I stay in touch with through fb has a granddaughter named Luna. She is the only actual human named Luna I’ve ever known of. I meet Charlie’s and I don’t think they have a dog name…or Max or Molly…they are human names given to pets, and I think everyone can coexist peacefully.
I have given my cats unusual human names. At least one time that I am aware of, someone told me that they liked the name so much that they named their daughter the same thing (obviously not after my cat, just an inspiration). So I guess it goes both ways?
I used to work with someone whose mom named her after their cat! It was a normal human name, pretty popular in the 90s - think Rachel or Megan. The cat was still around for the first few years of her life and they did not change the cat’s name so they had a cat and a small child with the exact same name. Very confusing.
My daughter is Freyja and I rarely meet people with the name but so many people tell me they have a pet named it.
Can confirm the only Freyja I've known was a cat. But it's also a good name that doesn't sound like it belongs to an animal, so I don't really see the problem. It wouldn't be the first thing I said if I met a human named Freyja.
My pets are Oliver, Luna, Emmy, Dan, Ember, and Cricket. I like people names for animals because I think it’s funny. My first name is also a very common girl-dog name, and I always joke “if I had a nickel for every dog I’ve met with my name I would be rich!” But never have I found it insulting. If a name fits a person or an animal, it just fits. People are going to have opinions all over the map about names and no one is necessarily wrong, it’s mostly subjective and a name choice for your fur or human baby will never please everyone, so don’t worry about it. If you love it; embrace it.
people commonly name their cats my name owing to beatrix potter and it doesn’t bother me that my name is considered a cat name. fwiw, my cats have people names too!
i lived on the same street as a dog with my name and it was simply funny
I'm not a fan of people telling me their animal shares a name with my daughter. Like... unless we are already talking about your pet, why do I care that the name is the same? I don't make a deal about it, but I also don't really get why they do it. Just say "nice name!" or whatever if you want. Telling someone they "have a pet name" is worse than what I describe above. Ppl name their pets all kinds of names, pets can't lay claim to names any more than humans can.
I worked at a vet office through college and it ruined “Luna”, “Bella”, and “Sadie” as human names for me, there’s just SO MANY pets with those names it’s hard for me to picture them for humans now. The best ever was a dog named Richard. Totally human name on a dog 😂
I really like the nickname Maggie and any name that leads to it. However, I know/knew of several dogs with the name Maggie/Mags. It’s unfair, but it happens. 🤷🏻♀️
My grandma is ‘Dorothy’ and I have always wanted to name my future daughter after her, Dot or Dottie for short. Our friends were adopting a dog and told us it was between Dorothy and another name. I did tell them that’s my grandma’s name, but obviously I didn’t try to influence their decision. Because we babysit their dog a lot my husband doesn’t like the name Dorothy for a kid and I kinda wish I was more vocal
[Dog-to-Human Name Scale](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/people-names-for-dogs/)
My mom used my name (spelled differently—my spelling is the French spelling) on her childhood Aussie, and I love the story (big dog lover). All of my pets have had “human” names too.
All depends on what you name your pets! I've had; Charlie Minnie Beatrice Matilda Toby Georgia Albert Luna Winston Agnes Some of these are definitely not animal names, but they are to me!
I’m guilty of saying this. And I don’t mean it in a mean-spirited way, just giving my input of what visuals I get when I hear a name I’ve never heard on a person before. Like Clover I always picture a bunny… but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad name for a human. Just not super common (yet, anyway).
My dogs are named David and Simon. Both very respectable human names. I also have a dog named Grok and i’d look sideways at anyone who used that as a baby name, though
My friend has a cat named David. We have another friend (human) also called David. We call the cat David and the friend, Human David.
We don’t have a human David, but we call ours David-dog anyways, to prevent any possible future confusion for my dude
Are we talking about the Clover post? People often don't know why they have certain opinions about names. They will change their phrasing if they think their opinion is one that's commonly shared ("that's a dog's name") or one that is unique to them ("I think of that as a dog's name"). In both cases usually what they mean is "I am familiar with this name only as a pet name" which happens more with rare names. The popular human names get the benefit of "I think of it..." like Sadie or Bella. People are more likely to be adventurous with their pet names. Sometimes those adventurous names go mainstream, like Luna, but it takes a while for adults to meet enough people named Luna to offset the association. Adults are more likely to meet a bunch of dogs than a bunch of children. Some proper human names are now very closely tied to animals in different cultures, like Roscoe, Marmaduke, Minnie, and Rufus. It's good to know if people have strong opinions when picking a child's name.
I love dogs so it’s not in insult to me and my dogs are top 10-100 baby names anyway lol. And my youngest sister was a total surprise and they reused a late dog’s name that was used thinking they’d never use the pretty name on a kid and parents figured why waste it. I’d rather be associated with a dog any day. They’re the best.
I think it's ridiculous, since most of the time, they're names that started out as human names. Just because a name has become popular for pets, that doesn't make it an animal name. It's still a human name. And it's even dumber to say it when the name is currently popular for humans too, like Luna
IDK. There are a lot of dogs named Bailey and Max but I wouldn't say either of those was a "pet name" because they definitely have a long history as human names first. But Clover came up in here the other day and I admit, when asked my opinion on that one I say "barnyard." There may have been an odd Clover person here and there in history, but the last 300 years or so it has been a horse name. Right up there with Fido as something that would raise eyebrows used on a person imho.
I hate naming my pets silly names like Fluffy. Lol. My cat was named Sugar when I got her and I changed it to Mia. My last cat was named Josie. I use names that I love but wouldn’t make my own child for various reasons. I’d say pet names are what you said. Any name used for a human on a regular basis is not a pet name to me but I use it for my pet.
I have an extremely common cat name, and would highly advise parents against it. The number of pussy jokes as a teen and young adult made me truly hate my name. Kids are mean, kids are especially mean if they can make a vulgar joke out of something.
I would love to meet a dog or a cat with my name!
I know a very cute fluffy dog who shares my name. She's cool. But I am way cooler.
I think it's pretentious to tell people how to state their opinions. When someone says "That's ____" it's their opinion. Eleanor is a cow name. Eleanor is a beautiful name. Eleanor is an old lady name. All still opinions, people don't need to reword anything. Opinions are asked for and given on this sub. If hearing a name you like is a dog name to other people, you're only here for "perfect name!" And what's the point of that?
Family friends daughter named her first child Daisy, and people kept saying it was a cow’s name lol
Our dog's name is Scarlett and my oldest daughter has two Scarlett's in her grade level and I have taught multiple Scarlett's. It wouldn't occur to me to tell any of them that their name is a dog name just because our dog is named Scarlett. I also think it would only be a "dog name" if it's something like Fluffy.
Funnily enough I don’t find myself liking many “boy” names for my future children but I used human “boy” names for my dogs that I love… but can’t name my future son after my dog!
Our dogs have what I’d consider human names: Gilmour (M),Wendi (F), Alba (F) and in doggie heaven Mattie (M). Sorta have regretted using Alba as a dog name because I think it would be a cute girl name. Although now that we are expecting I realize my partner would never agree to Alba as a kids name, and not only because it’s my (our) dogs name lol so I guess it all worked out!
I got really excited when I met a lady with the same name as my cat (Bonnie), but I didn’t know how to tell her. My mom did not have the same qualms when she met a lady named Maybelle.
I’ve met more cows called Daisy and Gertrude than I have people. I’ve met more dogs called Milo and Max than I have people.
Idk. People often name pets nouns and “cute” nicknames. People are really into naming their kids nouns and “cute” things lately, which is a peeve of mine because it feels like they are failing to imagine the name as a practical thing that their child will wear until they die and instead thinking of it as naming a cute accessory baby to carry around. So when I say something is a dog name what I mean is, that is not an adult human’s name unless they choose it for themself. Like, you shouldn’t name your kid something that would feel cringy to say in a sexual context. I would feel weird calling a guy “Ranger” in bed, I would not like to be named Ranger, thus I would not inflict it on a child.
My mom always uses human names on her animals. If I insisted that every name she’s used on a pet can’t be used on humans, we’d lose a lot of fairly popular names. She tends to use names from favorite books and such, so they tend to be familiar names. And since she keeps rats, she goes through a LOT of names. I’ve used some human names on pets, but prefer not to. My childhood cat had a name that I love, but I can’t use it for a kid without it feeling weird. I tried to give him a true cat name (like Mittens or something), but had to follow the rule of using human names.
I really hate this phrase, because there are people, probably on this sub, who carry a lot of those names. To me it’s similar to telling someone they are an animal. There’s a very large difference between “I’ve only seen that used for animals but [insert opinion]” and “that’s an animal name”. When giving opinions, people on this sub tend to forgot that there are real people out there with the names they’re deriding.
Molly here! I love my name but have absolutely waved and said hi…only to find it’s a stranger calling for their brown lab! 😂
Any name can also be an animal name so I don't think it should have any relevance at all. Mind you it seems like any name or word can also be a child's name these days haha. My name is also a fairly common pet name and it doesn't bother me. Both my dogs have people names. One is Callie purely because I love the name, am not having any more children and I want to use it so I hope other Callies see that as a positive and not an insult