Pet names

My mom says that I pick weird names for my pets. (No, Mom, a weird name would be Ulysse Nardin. ;-)) For example, I named my second cat Autumn. Her original name was "Dr Pepper" but after trying to explain to several Peruvians what "Dr Pepper" was I nixed that idea and changed it to Autumn. Of course, naming her after a season that doesn't exist in Peru probably wasn't the greatest idea either. :-)

When I got my two most recent cats, I set about for a long time to figure out a perfect name. I always wanted to name my cat "Whiskey". I thought it would be such a cute name for a little kitty! My mom told me a missionary kid shouldn't have a cat named Whiskey. Her suggestion was "Oreo" for the male and "Cuddles" for the female. Well... Those are nice names, Mom, but I was looking for something a little different. :-) I was thinking an author would be nice... My first thought was Tolkein, which didn't seem to be a good cat name. I moved on to C.S. Lewis from there, and thus got the name for my kitty Lewis. I'm pretty satisfied with that name, and I think it fits him!

Ebony's name was a bit easier because she was all black, and the Ebony tree is known for its black ornamental wood. That fits her too; we usually call her Ebbie. (And Lewis is often shortened to Lewie.)

With Jera, we picked her name from the white "J" on the back of her neck. We had a friend by that name, and it seemed to fit. I like naming my animals unique human names. (Misty, Autumn, Lewis, Ebony, Jera, Zoey) We got a lot of strange looks at the dog park, though, when people would ask us about Jera's name. Also, Paul's brother is named Jeremiah and nicknamed "Jer" so sometimes it was confusing. ;-)

With Zoey we picked the name after the TV character, and also I really like how it's Greek word meaning "abundant life". I think it fits a beagle puppy very well! Also, I think Zoey is a cute name for a puppy. I chose to spell it with a "y" because I thought it looked prettier.

So how you do choose a good name for your pets? Do you pick an old classic - Rover? Fluffy? Kitty? Rex? Or do you come up with something unique and unusual?