Being at somewhat of a quandry, I thought I'd enlist everyone's help here.
I've come to be the owner of an adorable little black cat here in Japan. I never named her because I was planning on finding another home for her. That, months later, hasn't happened. As I feared, we've become pretty attached and I'm gonna keep her and take her back to Australia with me.
Just lately, last few days or so, I've been thinking it's about time I gave her a name. My other cat in Australia (in my avatar) is called Marley in a tribute to my love for SoMI. I want my new cats name to also reflect something I'm passionate about, game-wise or music-wise, etc. I also wanted something that would be cute, rather than just calling her "Blacky" or "Noir" or some other name that has something to do with the fact that she's black.
So, help me out here. I've come up with two names that I both really like and I wanna know what you think.
ALICE - In a tribute to Alice Cooper, whom I adore. It's also a very girly, cute name.
MALON - In a tribute to my favourite character from the Zelda series (also called Marin) and also by sheer coincidence my absolute favourite flavour of anything in Japan (Malon/maron is "Spanish chestnut")
(http://kabocha.futariba.com/photos/misc/small/jiji003.jpg)
I could go for a cute name like Scribbles or Custard but for me, a name needs to reflect one of my hobbies/passions.
EDIT: For anyone who recognises the cat doll, no, I'm not calling her Jiji. For one, Jiji is a male cat, but mostly because EVERYONE in Japan wants me to call her Jiji and it;s way too cliched.
I'd like to help, but I can't. I'd call her Cassandra, me, because that's the name of the female black cat in Cats.
Between those two, as novel as it is to name her after a VG character, I like Alice best.
You mentioned you like Secret Of Monkey Island. Then I got this thought that Somi would be quite a cute name for a cat. :D But probably not what you're after.
I think Malon is a nice name.
QuoteYou mentioned you like Secret Of Monkey Island. Then I got this thought that Somi would be quite a cute name for a cat.
Or Elaine. ;D
It's been said by vets that it's better to name the animals with a less than 3 syllabes names. It's better for them to recongise its name. If you like calling them black, or something related with black, I'd recommand to ask for the names of the word "black" in different lenguajes. As far as I recall, negro in Spanish (sounds horrible, though) and negre in catalán (doesn't still sound good...). Schwarz in deutsch? Anyway, go and ask to the agsers... maybe in arab or some other lenguaje sounds cool.
You can go and name him after something that recalls you to something black, or black people, but not necessarilly black. For example, when people tell me "black people" I automatically think "Jazz". Could sound good for a cat.
Hop it helps.
Quote from: Kinoko on Sun 06/11/2005 09:21:44
I could go for a cute name like Scribbles or Custard but for me, a name needs to reflect one of my hobbies/passions.
custard being a fine name ;)
If I got a new cat I'd call her Savia (pronounced like sAh-via), because that's the name of the girl I have a crush for at the moment. So far, all my cats were called with names like "cat", "black", "white", "fat", etc.
Robocop
HAHAHA! Robocop is great.
Bob Marley.
No, seriously... Anyway, my two older cats are called Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, after the cats from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Elliot. The "grampa kitty" that spawned them all is named Macavity, after the feline godfather of crime from the same book (I think these are also the names in Cats... Rui???) ... None of them good names for a female cat. However, I like Alice, and here's why: I named my two youngest kittens (both eight weeks old) after young girls from popular literature: Wendy from Peter Pan and Lucy from the Chronicles of Narnia. I might just name my next kitten, if I ever have one, Alice, after Alice in Wonderland... (Or after Squinky's female orc)
btw: Is Jiji the cat from Trigun, or is that a different cat?
Esper - sure, Cats is based on T.S. Elliot's book.
As regards Alice - I'd forgotten, but it's also the name of a videogame character. One which, like most cats, is rather cute on the outside but can get up to all kinds of mischief. Did you enjoy "American McGee's Alice", Kinoko? :D
Jiji is from Kiki's Delivery Service.
I like Ginger-nut bunny foo.
You mentioned both a favorite flavor and being open to something like "Custard." So, I'd suggest you give it a food-ish name... Supper rolls quite nicely off the tongue.
Oh yes. I can just imagine. Bring your friends home, invite them for dinner.
"Hey, when do we eat?"
"Don't worry," says Kinoko with a kitchen knife in her hand, "supper will be along soon."
Enter the cat.
"Hah! Speak of the devil. Here comes Supper. Here, girl."
Phonecall to PETA, anyone?
Farlander: Actually, I think I specified that I specifically DON'T want to call her something cliched as a name relating to her colour :P But thanks.
Okay, true, Custard is cute. My favourite cute cat name is Cinnamon, which is also the name of Matt Greoning's cat so I don't wanna steal it from him.
Elaine is no good because I already have a cat called Marley. It would be too competitive.
Rui: Actually, I despise that game. I also don't like Alice in Wonderland (the book). I'm a big Oz fan though but I'm not naming my cat Dorothy.
Oh! I didn't read the "NOT" part, sorry.
Call him Farl.
I'd call it Doormat, cause then it serves a dual purpose.
I'm a practical thinker.
Farlander: She's a girl, so, no.
may i suggest "tantomile"? taken from old possum's book of practical cats too- she's the witch's cat. in the musical she's tricolore, but witches use to be shown with black cats... and i think it's a great name.
How about Indipity. Then you chould call her Indi as well :)
My girlfriend's name is Sara. But she has no middle name (which is a pretty standard thing over here in the US for those that don't know). So I told her that her middle name should be Indipity ... then her name would be Sara Indipity.
The name sort of stuck and I occasionally call her that. (It's also the name of the female love interest character in JP & Cosmo II)
I vote for Indipity ... it's cute :)
Hmm, it's a pretty cool name but doesn't have any personal meaning to me so I'm not so mad about it.
Another name I always wanted to give something but my fiance won't let me (he hates it) is Brandywine. Of course, a hat tip to Kyrandia.
Heh, if you're going to go Kyrandia, why not Zanthia?
I once had a fish .... it was all black with a nice white dot on it. I called it (not sure if it was a boy fish or a girl fish) Pixel.
You could try something clever with it like, Pixellia (picks'ul'E'uh).
Of course the other three fish in the tank were RAM and ROM (they looked alike) and Backslash.
The thign with cats and dogs, you have to call them something thats not embarrasing to shout when you'r calling their name out loud... so "Ivana Shag" is a bad choice.
My mum's cat is called "Echo"...
How about "Panther"?
Brandywine = Kyrandia? I thought Brandywine = The Shire? Well, plus, there's several Brandywine rivers I know of right here in the US...
How bout a part of everyone's name whose posted in this thread? Like Farlesperpheedarthghostrui the twelfth?
splodge
black splodge
I'm sorry, but I think "Squinky" is a perfect cat name...to choose anything other would be foolish....
My cats are named BB and Goku....After Kill-Bill and my three year old named Goku after dragonball Z....
Other than that I vote Alice, because it's a cool name.....
Call it Mee-Maa. It sounds funny.
Evilwizardington.
Name it the Korean verb for "to eat a cat."
Name her Gatica! (Little female cat in Spanish...)
either that, or Edmunda :=
CJ? Or maybe Christina?
My best friend named his cat after one of the Weezer albums, Pinkerton. Though I dont think Alice Cooper albums would work so well.
"Hey, Stoopid."
Why not name her "neko"? I always liked the word of the sound and it will remind the cat that you took it home from Japan.
how about Nemo?
Quote from: Evil on Sun 06/11/2005 17:09:14
Though I dont think Alice Cooper albums would work so well.
Killer?
School's Out for Summer?
why not call her Piru? I heard of an old woman who had a cat called Piru... And she always yelled after it.
Or Ripuli?.... Miuku? get a boy cat and name them Romeo and Julia... what then... Viksu? sorry, that's something saw in my room just now... Mansikka is also a cool name.. or strawberry...
My neighbor had two dogs named Mac and Roni. Then Mac died. I think they got another dog, but I don't remember it's name. Rice?
If you pronnounce the names fast it sounds like "maccaroni"... Was it on purpose?
When naming I tend to go exotic. Names I would have for pets are ancient civilitazation's gods names or a mutation thereof, like Osiris or Illyria...maybe Artemis.
Video game manual are also a source of inspiration, the credits have many tantalising name offerings. What about naming her Noob, after the shadow ninja from Mortal Kombat? There's the advantage of the "n00b" joke in it for you :P
Quote
When naming I tend to go exotic. Names I would have for pets are ancient civilitazation's gods names or a mutation thereof, like Osiris or Illyria...maybe Artemis.
Well since she's a girl kitty Isis pops in to my mind.
How about calling her Davidson and then your cats would be Marley & Davidson :=. Yeah ok, not too funny I know. So here are some more serious suggestions:
- Lenie - After that loveable character in "Of Mice and Men" who loved playing with mouses.
- Jorgie - After Lenny's freind (see above).
- Corazona de Noche - Heart of the night
- Amorcita - Love...
- Ratona, Ratoncita - Kind of cruel to call her mouse
- Ojo - Big, beaytiful eyes? (pronounced o-ho)
- Rosita - A variation of my mom's name
- Tomacita - I grew up with a black cat named Tom. He was by best friend ever and I miss him very much.
- Bandida - For stealing her way into your heart and home.
That's all I can think of now.
Ooooh, exotic names?
How 'about Quetzalcoatl?
(http://geotourweb.com/Quetzalcoatl%202.JPG)
As an alternate, I nominate Fasadeculo.
Why not call it Kinoko? Hell, I name all my pets and most of my furniture "Ponch", helps me remember when it's time to log on.
Quote from: YakSpit on Sun 06/11/2005 18:49:10
Ooooh, exotic names?
How 'about Quetzalcoatl?
As an alternate, I nominate Fasadeculo.
Quetzalcoatl's rep was ruined by final fantasy (8?) as far as I'm concerened...Naming an animal that is cursing them to lameness...
I feel strongly about this...Seriously...
How about Jenna? Somehow it suits her... ::)
Quote from: Squinky on Sun 06/11/2005 19:12:34
Quetzalcoatl's rep was ruined by final fantasy (8?) as far as I'm concerened...Naming an animal that is cursing them to lameness...
Wasn't that one of the Guardian Forces? Eh, I changed the names of all of them. I think I named that one "Akingbola".
I havn't read any of the other posts but i say call her chicky :D
She reminds me of one of Lynx's cat minions from Chrono Cross. So if it were me I'd name her Lynx, as it's also the name of a sort of wildcat.
Shroom. Or how about Zale?
I like the sound of 'Malon', but that might be because it's one letter away from my surname.
Sophia. Or Sophie. Short for Sophiana Jones (much weirder than Sophia Hapgood ;D ) . I can't really thing of anything cat related in the adventure games I've played.
Or you could call it Billy as a joke. Billy also means cat in urdu (well, it's Bil-lee actually).
Make sure you name it soon. We dilly dallied too long with a cat once, and it ended up being named Fluffy. Nekojinron.
Didn't go through all posts neither, but for a black cat, "Evil" for a name fits like a glove.
Or "cuppie", since you already bothered to ask here :D
'Mencat'
Buttmaggot
lockthread
Hmm, some great ideas but nothing clicks yet. Still torn between Alice and Malon >_<
What I physically -call- her has nothing to do with the name. I never call my cats their names... just 'baby' or 'pussycat' or something cutesy like that. The actual name is for bragging purposes really, and to make me feel cool.
I've already called one of my past cat's Neko, before I knew any Japanese so in was wrongly pronounced 'Neeko'... still cute though. Before that was Socratess, Misty (oh, so cliched) and Sylvester (I didn't name that one). After Neko came Ark, named after the hero from Terranigma.
You know what. I just sat here thinking and wondering about more video game heroins I liked... Babar, that name is PERFECT! Not because of Indy, but because my second favourite author of all time is Diana Wynne Jones, who wrote, among others, Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air. Anyone who's ever read the latter will know, coupled with the knowledge that adore that book to pieces, why I'm going to name her Sophie (though, I hesitate to say why exactly because you should READ those books and I don't wanna give anything away... though I'm sure I've already done that by mentioning them in this context).
Sophie it is! Case closed!
Sophie... pfft...
Robocop was way better.
Gollymog!
Is she the eldest in a litter of three cats, and thus a certain failure?
Dunno, but I found her as a stray so she certainly started out in a bad position. Of course, then she found me and now she's fat and spoilt.
You sure you should be taking care of this cat? You seem to have gone through a lot of em lately....
Lately, meaning... throughout my whole life? Also, you're assuming I didn't have any of those at the same time.
I joke!
I know, I was just giving you a serious come-back... my bad ^_^
Call it insecurity because none of those cats did have a very long life. *cough*
Yikes, I'm sorry. I didn't think they died really....Bummer.
I'm pretty bad with animals myself, if it makes you feel better. My first cat was named Kelly, I kept it in my folks garage when I was like 16, fed it soda and nacho chips....It eventually ran off to the neighbors house and spawned a kajillion cats off of all the cats over there....Cats are like Mogwys dipped in water, I swear....
If they're inside cats it adds about seven years to their life, if that may be the cause.
I'd name the cat Dragon Slayer, but only because I wanted to name my cat that, but since he already came with a name, my roomates and I decided to keep it.
-MillsJROSS
Oh, totally. Like, all the cats before my current two were "family" pet and they were never inside cats so eventually they got run over or killed in a fight. Except that one that my parents took to a great farm somewhere when I was really little...
Now that I'm adult and looking after my own, I actually know how to take care of them properly and these are both inside cats. At the expense of much sanity and furniture, but still.
Woooh. The name I thought of was chosen. Heh...even though all I know of Diana Wynne Jones is the Chrestomanci books, which are admittedly awesome.
The Chrestomanci books are indeed awesome, but Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air (the latter particularly) are amazing. If you like Chrestomanci, you sould -definitely read these.
I think call it ... Kinoko?
;)
Well, I don't see what's wrong with "Yomi"... Ahem. :)
My brother gave one of his friends a cat for Christmas... the catch was he trained it only to answer to the commands "I have to use the toilet"(roll over) "Eat my pants all night long"(come here) and "I am Fagzilla, hear me roar!!!"(go somewhere, usually accompanied with a pointing gesture). My brother gave a list of horrible things for commands, and fortunately named the cat for him: "Meso Horny". The friend got it retrained after yelling several phrases in public looking for his wandering cat, but he still answers to the same name.
On topic, you shoulda named her Lemoni Fresh.
Quote from: Rincewind on Mon 07/11/2005 21:53:22
Well, I don't see what's wrong with "Yomi"... Ahem. :)
Good name but like the hundred or so other names I would have named her had she been not a 'her', it's for a male cat ^_^ I did consider Elle though.
Is this some kind of joke? I could swear that looks EXACTLY like MY cat.... :o
Damn those Japanese kitten kidnappers. I just hope they dont turn my cat into a Bonzai Kitten.
They all look the same to me.
... well I still hope they dont make my cat a Bonzai Kitten.
My older brother recently did a craft show with my parents at a cat show (I was at a high school selling jewlery with my dad, he was with my mom) and found himself a bag of catnip. He's looking for a cat right now to feed it to.
He's really a twisted human being.
When i got my kitten back in 1993, i had no idea what to call him, so i just called him "Little Von Vushi". I have no idea why, but it seemed to roll off the tongue so nicely. Then 2 years later my ex girlfriend named him "Fluffy", so that has been his name for 10 years. Sometimes i call him my Little Budder, because he's my buddy.
Fluffy is getting older as he is now 12 years old, but i love him like a child. He's my son.
How DOES catnip affect cats, anyhow? I've seen it in adventure games, but it was always rather cartoony.
my dog's name is tequila. She is the cutest thing alive ;D
Rui: Typically just makes them a little excited. I gave it to my cat Marley once and it just seemed that she got a little more active, played more ferverishly (?) and sniffed the toy it was on a lot, but wore off pretty quickly.
catnip affects male and female cats differently, I believe.My mum's old cat tigger used to go nuts with the stuff, trying to rub it all over his body, writhing around like a writhing thing