What’s in a name?
Mar24
on 03/24/2016
at 12:01 am
Names are important, aren’t they?
So far, my pet names have been/are… Mocha, Maxine, Bernie, Toby and Mouse. Mocha, my Springer Spaniel was very jumpy… so appropriately named. Kitty cat Maxine was named after Peter Max, even though she was black and white… Bernie and Toby were cockatiels named after my Aunt Bernie and Toby… I’m not sure where I got Toby from. Our Mouse (cat), well, she came from the shelter with that name…. happens to be that fella who had a crush on Randie… I think that cemented the deal… but also, she is a rather skilled mouse-catcher.
One of my favorite jazz vocalists of all time… Ella Fitzgerald. Of course.
There are three kinds of names for pets: (1) pet names, (2) people names, and (3) I-can-name-my-pet-anything-I-want names.
There are three kinds of people to go with these three kinds of names…
Examples: 1. Fluffy 2. Waldo 3. Star Princess Pumpkin (should sound familiar) .
Our pets have been: Hildegarde, Ragnarok, Ariel, Thomas Stearns Eliot, Nutmeg, and Miho.
Hildegarde was a rat. My girlfriend-turned-wife loved Norse mythology.
Ragnarok was a kitten. Same Norse pattern but with an unusual name as a nod to T.S. Eliot.
Ariel was a Dalmation. She was eight month old when we got her, so we had to keep the name.
Nutmeg is a Yorkie-Poo. We got her from a friend who couldn’t care for her, and came with the name.
Thomas Stearns Eliot was a kitten. Rescued from a construction site, he lived to nearly 17. He is named in homage of the poet who wrote “The Naming of Cats”. We called him Eliot.
Miho was a Dachshund. (Died only a week ago.) “Miho” is Japanese for “beautiful flower” but also for “beautiful cannon”, which she could be both of at any time.
Wow! You DO take names seriously… but then again… you are a writer and I would expect nothing less! Symbolism is tres important in writing and art. And I am sorry for the passing of Miho. My Gram had a Dachs named “Cookie” but he was a BEAST!
hugs for Miho.
I’d like to say how much I appreciate your comics. It’s like a little corner of happiness on a much jaded, cynical web. I read things like this a think “There is still hope for the inner optimist.”
I thank you so very much JJ88. I am glad that this site is a respite from the un-ness-ness that floats about! And let me say that this comment really made my day! (And my apologies for the late replies… I was out of town and my Springy Break was very FULL…) so let me just say thank you from the bottom of my heart.
My cats tended to have somewhat…literary names. At least, if I named them. I once had a gray cat named Polgara (the ‘Mallorean’ series by David Eddings was a favorite at the time.) So when she had kittens, they were also named from characters from the book.
Tripod’s last litter had help from my siblings. There was Dobby (the runt; adorable baby with huge ears), Bander (just tossed that at him once; it stuck) Oddthumb (she was a little tortoiseshell with a patch of lighter color on one thumb), Precious…and Azog the Defiler. (One of my siblings liked ‘The Hobbit’ movie a little too much.)
Ha! Yes… Those are some crazy names. Azog?! I wonder if Azog the Defiler lived up to his name? Dobby would always be in service to his master… unless given a sock. OH… too much fun!
My kitties are Turtle and Voodoo Alice.
Voodoo Kitty!!!! One of Randie’s favorite companies… from time to time you’ll see in the comic (especially Squid Row) that she has a mug and t-shirts.
My family’s cats were all named “Mavrick”. I, II, III…
Mine have all been named “Misty”.
They’ve all thought their names were “DammitCat”.
“DammitCat, get off the table!”
“DammitCat, quit clawing the furniture!”
I have an imagination, but my memory stinks.
Hahahaha…. “Play (with) Misty for me” … and I am sure that you’ve seen the meme with the woman yelling at her cat to get off the table … the cat replies “YOU’RE NOT MY REAL MOM!”
Mine are varied. My first Calico is Cleo – short for Cleopatra, because she fancies herself queen of the realm. Second Calico is Squeek, because of her funny, squeaky voice. The third, the black one, is Little Bit, because he was a funny little bitty thing when he first showed up in the parking lot at work, before I brought him home In spite of the fact that he’s grown to be a big sucker, and has taken over the position of alpha from Cleo). The fourth is Bitsy, who used to be my Mom’s cat is a tiny little thing, even though she’s one of the oldest.
Cleo … the Queen… I picture the cat sitting on the foofy purple pillow from the cat food commercials… that wet and expensive stuff. She’s the ruler of all your little felines, eh?
She’d like to be, but Little Bit pretty much took over as teh Alpha. For almost two years, cleo would hide out in the kitchen, but I’m happy to say, in the last 5 or 6 months she’s finally started coming out to the living room and even hanging out in my lap like she used to do. Even better: she used to be an antisocial, imperious little bitch, wouldn’t even allow Squeek (the second to arrive) to get near her without hissing and swatting, but after 3 years of watching Squeek and Little Bit grooming each other (the way that siblings should) Cleo and Squeek will even sit in my lap grooming each other and cuddling up together! It’s very cool.
I had Spike (a midget hound, like a literal midget), Spear (a goldfish with a funny dark stripe), and Scathach (A cat, which I had to leave with a roomie when I moved because of allergies). I named the first two, and an Irish friend named the cat. Spike was too friendly for her name, Spear got it from a birthmark, and Scathach……. well, in irish folklore she was a mighty warrior woman. I still have scars on my ankles from numerous ambushes.
May Ella prove less prone to games of ‘Attack the feets’ than Scathach!
Yes, Scathach sounds Irish. Poor ankles… NOW THAT’s another good name for a cat…
When I was in Ireland, they have this Black Bog Cat folklore… (or maybe it’s just a way to sell trinkets to tourists)… anyhow… if you see the Black Bog Cat, it’s supposed to be good luck. While I didn’t see one in Limerick… I did see the little Black Bog Cats in the gift stores… does that count?
Omg loved the bath and formal adoption/name comics (these last three in a row). The one with Ella getting her first bath, I foster kittens from time to time and that is exactly how they look during bath time! Very adorable!!
Thank you, Heather… and good on you for fostering kittens! I’m sure that you have lots of happy in your house with all those cute little kittens around! Bath time gets less fun as they get older, yeah?
I’m glad that you are enjoying the series… I’ve been having fun drawing them!
Fostering kittens is the best! You get to see them go from squirmy fuzz balls to a few weeks later they look like mini cats…when their ears start to align to the proper places on their heads…its a slow but magical process watching them transform and grow. And the best part is knowing they’re going on to new homes at the end…I have 10 fish tanks, 5 cats, 2 dogs, and 3 guinea pigs…lol So, very important that any new kitten that comes into our household is just a foster and going on to new homes afterwards! 😀
Our spring crop of lambs is just starting and already the naming competition is on. My wife noted that the granddaughter, who has been a quick-name leader, makes the call off the phase of life she’s going through. Most of our three years bear the names of dolls, two year-olds are named after Disney princes and princesses and this years crop are named after CSI and NCSI characters.
Your current Kitten arc is not only “Potato-chippy” (a bloggers term for something that keeps you wanting to come back for more) but is really pro comic art. Nicely done Brig!
Aww… I am just getting all verclempt over these/your comments… I am so glad that you are potato-chippy on these. Sigh… sniff.
Yes, the Disney princesses are super big in the naming area… but this is the first I’ve heard of the Prince-ing … and I’m glad… they are under appreciated. … Now… if I could just remember the name of the Prince in The Little Mermaid… hmmm.
You gots lambies? How adorable! So… are these, um… pets? or do these lambs “move on” ? Is this a business? I’m all curious.
Ella would also be a good name for an elephant. You know, Ella-Phant Gerald?
I will quietly go away now…