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I like Xanthe and Tessa. I think Tessa is cute and works perfectly as a golden retriever name. I like the name Willow but I'd prefer it for a human. Xanthe is less "cute" and a little more "badass" or "cool". I'd definitely love to meet a dog named Xanthe, while a dog named Tessa wouldn't surprise me. My reaction to Tessa would be "aww, that's a sweet name" and my reaction to Xanthe would be "woah, awesome! Pretty and unusual."

I think Tess would fit a golden retriever perfectly

Xanthe

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My friend had lovely golden retriever called Blossom and another called Biscuit

I like Willow. Off Topic: This made me think of how I always wanted to get a golden retriever dog and name it Goldilocks.

I like Willow. Off Topic: This made me think of how I always wanted to get a golden retriever dog and name it Goldie Locks.

Tbh I don't like any of those names! I think Goldie, Queenie or a tv character your kids love are better options. I am not a big fan of human names on animals.

Willow, if I could only choose from that list, but if there was the slightest possibility I'd have another daughter and would want to name her Willow (or Tessa) I'd have to skip.

Xanthe. The other two seem too "people-namey" to me. Xanthe is a name that you're less likely to see on a real person than the other two, and that's the type of name I like to give to animals. Plus the meaning is so appropriate.

I think Xanthe is a bit too complicated. I like Willow the most of your suggestions, but I can't really see it for a dog. And it if were me, I would probably save that name if I were to have another baby girl someday in the future.

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So, Tessa. I've known a couple of dogs named Tess and Tessie, so Tessa fits right in :)

Tessa. Lovely name, easy to call.

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Might you consider Shadow? Always a good dog name.

Tessa, definitely!

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It's lively, not too sensible/mature sounding for a dog... I think it works well.

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Willow is okay. I don't know if Xanthe's one of those rare names that I can't picture on an animal or not, but for some reason it's my least favourite of the bunch... but I still like it as a name.

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I agree with Sjayne, it's better to name based on her personality - if she's a lively, energetic dog, Tessa or Xanthe would work best, if she's calmer and more subdued, Willow would suit better.

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This message was edited 11/16/2014, 3:28 AM

Ohhhh both great names. I'm leaning towards Willow. I really love that name. But I would choose based on personality. Willow is a very mellow carefree kind ofname whereas Xanthe would be spunky and sassy.

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Also just a thought, I did read an article once that said you shouldn't name your dogs ending in the "oh" sounds because dogs only hear vowels not consonants so if you use the word "no" a lot as a reprimand they may get confused between that and their name. I'm not sure how valid that theory is though, probably not a huge deal.