People Names, Yay or Nay?

[TexasRanger]

What is your opinion of naming dogs using "people" names?

I'm fine if the name is super common (John, Tim, Dan, etc) or super rare (Axel, Persephone, Maximilian, etc). I don't like it when the name is a popular one (Brittany, Justin, Micheal,etc).

So do you like it, hate it, or like is certain circumstances?

 

[Laurelin]

Well.... *glances down at dog names in signature*

I've never had a dog not named a people name (well except Shack but people thought we had named him Shaq so...)

As long as it's not a food name I'm ok. And even then it depends. Squash is ok. Princess Cupcake is a no.

I also dislike a lot of the sport dog names. It's a weird contest of who has the most dangerous/badass/fast/scary hellbeast sounding name. So many just don't sound like names to me.

 

[Red.Apricot]

My dog's Elsie, so. :rofl1:

The other names in the running were Charlotte and Sawyer. I like people names.

 

[Elrohwen]

I prefer human names for my pets. I like names that are a bit uncommon, but recognizable. I've had pets named Otto, Hannah, Rory, Oliver, Sebastian, etc. Except for childhood pets, Watson is the only one I've had without a human first name, but it's a last name so that's not a very big deviation.

 

[SpaceMutt]

I'm not a fan of human names, especially frequently used ones (Max, Sadie, Sasha). I can get into character names (hence Astro) and human names that are also "things" if that makes sense (Rose, Summer). And historical human names - Napoleon and Churchill feel different to me than Brittany or Rex. I really like floral names. Tulip, Poppy, etc.

There is a mini Dachshund I know named Arthur that just suits his name perfectly, so they're out there, but generally it's not for me. Don't know why.

 

[PlottMom]

I used to hate them, then I ended up with a Daisy and a Liz... we have a friend with a dog named Jeffrey, and I think it's hilarious.

 

[Slick]

I put Depend on the Circumstance. I don't like People Names if they are really common names, but think they are fine if they are fairly uncommon

Leo technically has a people name, but I am ok with it because it is not a common name. I probably would have never called him that on my own, but he came with the name and it fit.
I wouldn't give a pet of mine a people name from my own initiative, but I have met plenty of dogs where I liked the name that they had.

Basically, the more common, the less I like it, and the less common, the more I like it.
I wouldn't like it if a dog was named Sarah for instance.

I personally tend to like nature names. Names like Willow, River, Sky, Hawk etc.
The two pets that I have owned previously (both birds) were Lemon and Dandy(lion).

 

[JacksonsMom]

I should have said it depends, but I selected 'I like them'.

Personally, I wouldn't like/want super common human names for a dog. Like Mary or John.

But overall I would prefer 'human' names (but I'm more into human last names used as first names, like I do love Watson ^ and obviously Jackson) over 'Cupcake' 'Princess' or 'Tinkerbell' -- things like that. I also would never have a Max or a Buddy. It's not that I even dislike the names (I actually really like the name Max for a human, lol) I just hear them SOOO often in dogs. (Jackson's become really popular over the past few years and it makes me angry )

Overall I think I like historical type names, a lot of last names used for first names, TV characters names, etc.

There's some names that could likely only be used for an animal that I *like* but I don't think I could ever call my own dog them, ya know? Like some of the sporter dog type names... some of them are cool but I could never imagine actually calling out to my dog using it in public

 

[Georgygirl]

Well, considering I have a Joey, a Lucy, and a Walter it's pretty obvious that I like people names. My family tends to mostly use people names for pets so I guess I'm continuing the tradition.

 

[Julee]

I like them for certain dogs. Mostly hounds and pointers, but I love Hank's name for him and I love Watson's name for him.

 

[GoingNowhere]

See, I voted "depends on the circumstance", but I've never considered myself as the kind of person who likes people names for dogs. That said, after hearing a lot of your responses, I've started thinking that there are some people names that seem as much like dog names as like people names.

From the above posters, names like Max, Sadie, Sasha, Otto, Rory, Oliver, and Daisy seem to be somewhere in the middle in my opinion. Yes, it is technically a "people name" in that there are people out there with the name, but I don't think that anyone would give you a second glance if you were to put that name on your dog. On the otherhand, a dog named "Rachel" or "Robert" might get some comments.

I might name a dog one of the aforementioned dog/people names or other "people" names that seem to straddle that line. The line is extremely arbitrary and for my purposes, I will draw it as I see fit

Some examples:

I would not be likely to name a dog Isaac or Elena or Caroline. Those to me are truly just "people names."

I might name a dog Maggie, Max, or Lucy. These to me are names that could be considered "people names" or "dog names."

I might also name a dog Boo or Buddy or Frasier. These to me are just "dog names"

 

[DJEtzel]

I chose "in certain circumstances"

Love Edgar. Knew a spaniel named Hank and loved that.

It just has to be very fitting for me.

 

[JacksonsMom]

I would not be likely to name a dog Isaac or Elena or Caroline. Those to me are truly just "people names."

I might name a dog Maggie, Max, or Lucy. These to me are names that could be considered "people names" or "dog names."

I might also name a dog Boo or Buddy or Frasier. These to me are just "dog names"

I was thinking about this too. Because names like Max, Maggie, Sadie, Lucy, etc, to me are equally both. You're right, nobody would think twice if your dog was named Sadie or if your daughter was named Sadie.

If you had a kid and named him Buddy or Rover, I think people would look at you funny. LOL.

I meet so many young babies/toddlers/prek aged kids named Jackson these days, I hate it but I guess it is more of a 'people name', however still not 'weird' if you name your dog that either. So yeah guess somewhere in the middle. I've only ever met two or three other dogs named Jackson, but I've heard on here that it's popular in doggy daycares, etc, but I personally don't "know" any others.

 

[JacksonsMom]

I chose "in certain circumstances"

Love Edgar. New a spaniel named Hank and loved that.

It just has to be very fitting for me.

I agree. Those are 2 names I likely wouldn't have looked twice at or even thought about using it, but seeing the two chaz dogs named as such, has made me LOVE both names. And both have dogs very fitting with the names imo.

I was just reminded of another "last name used for first name" and I love and that is Patton. Love it. If Jackson had a 'full name' or registered name, I would definitely be using 'Stonewall' in there somewhere.

 

[Linds]

It's a really depends on the animal situation for me. Sometimes a dog/cat/ferret/etc. seriously needs a human name.

Like Fergus. Fergus could not have been anything other than Fergus. Edgar is another name that's perfect. We had a cat that was named Clarence and seriously was perfect for him.

 

[Toller_08]

Depends on the dog, for me. Generally not a huge fan but sometimes it's super cute. Like if I had a Schnauzer I always thought the name George would be good a good Schnauzer name lol.

I tend to like unique word names for dogs that are not heard often though. I failed at that with Journey haha. But I tried. Didn't know at the time that it was so common.

 

[Elrohwen]

I honestly kind of regret Watson's name because of the association it has with my company. I picked it because of Sherlock and Watson, but obviously knew about the company connection too. It wouldn't be so bad if all of our friends weren't at the same company because they tease us about his name Everyone else who meets him thinks it's perfect for him.

 

[Shai]

As long as it's not a food name I'm ok. And even then it depends. Squash is ok. Princess Cupcake is a no.

I also dislike a lot of the sport dog names. It's a weird contest of who has the most dangerous/badass/fast/scary hellbeast sounding name. So many just don't sound like names to me.

^pretty much this. Although I also like Squash, Fig, etc. Mira's mother is Cake and it just works for her, though I tend to think of it like the band Cake rather than the dessert...

And yeah I am not a sport name person at all. HypeZipSprintFlashForceScreamPsychSuperFelonyExtreme etc. just do not work for me at all.

But yeah, people names (or as I prefer to call them, "names") do not bother me. Obviously.

 

[Southpaw]

Not usually. I wanted to name Lucy something else.

I love them for cats though. Absolutely love it.

 

[JacksonsMom]

Depends on the dog, for me. Generally not a huge fan but sometimes it's super cute. Like if I had a Schnauzer I always thought the name George would be good a good Schnauzer name lol.

I tend to like unique word names for dogs that are not heard often though. I failed at that with Journey haha. But I tried. Didn't know at the time that it was so common.

If I had a Westie, I'd totally want a Winston. lol.

But yeah I tried and failed with Jackson too on the uncommon thing haha. Fwiw, I have never met another Journey.