View Message

I have mixed feelings about it. Sometimes it seems weird, sometimes it doesn’t. Ultimately, I think it’s fine, especially if your pet is really dear to you.

If you just name your child Samuel/Sam because you like the name, I think it's fine. If you'll name a child "after" a cat, well, that's a bit weird (and I'm a huge cat lover myself).

My daughter was very much almost named Daphne, which was the name of one of our rabbits along time ago.. now it's her middle name..

---

If this baby is a girl, we are about 99% sure on Winifred, which was the name of our guinea pig years ago. Really shouldn't have used all our favourite girls names on animals!

I'm a strong believer that you should never give a pet a name you would give a child. Because then you can never use that name for a child. The association is just too strong. You've been living for years with Sam meaning your cat. Yes, it would be weird for Sam to subsequently also be your kid.

I've been wondering the same thing. To me it came down to the age of the pet; is it likely that the pet will be around for another few years, or is the end near? I decided not to use the names of my pets since they can be around for another 6 years or so, and it would feel weird to me to have such a big kid and a pet with the same name.

Yes, I think it would be weird. Even though the boy Sam would never know the cat Sam personally, it doesn't seem right. I mean, it sounds like a gag in a sitcom. Like Seinfeld or something.

I'd find it weird. I used to have a dog named Lorna, and now I can't so much as look at the name without thinking "dog". lol

I don't think it's weird, as long as the cat is no longer with you, of course.
I once had a dog called Oswald, and I considered Osvald for my son. I didn't go with Osvald in the end, but I don't think it particularly weird to name your child after a former pet.

For me personally I would never give my child my former pet's name, just for the fact that I no longer see that name as a human name. For example, I liked the name Milo before I named my cat that, but now I can only see that as a pets name, even when I hear it on other people.

---

But for you I don't think that would be a problem because Sam is such a classic name. As long as your cat is very precious to you, it could be a cute story to tell your kid in the future.

If the cat has passed away, it would be okay. I think it's awkward if the pet and the baby are living in the same house with the same name. I don't think it would let me stop me naming a child a name I really loved if I didn't have any other names I'd liked remotely as much, but it would make me hink about it really hard.

I used Alice and Dinah for two cats and if it had been at all likely that I'd have had two daughters, both names would have been considered very seriously.

---

A friend of mine's elder sister was named Josie after the midwife's Labrador. apparently a most excellent animal.

---

A good name is a good name. Why restrict it to one species?

I don't think it's weird but rather endearing. After all pets are part of the family! Though, I really think it depends on the name itself. Sam\Samuel is perfectly fine. My cat on the other hand (16 year old tortie, had her since the very moment she was born) and as much as I love her, I don't see myself naming an actual child "Diamond"

As long as the cat isn't still alive, it would just be a regular honoring name, like naming your kid after your friend (which it would be, since presumably you're friends with your cat :P) It would also be somewhat distinct because it would be short for Samuel and not Samwise. More like "same name" than "named after", although being sort-of named after the cat would be a cute little trivia thing for him to know about his name.

---

I haven't named a pet anything I'd want to use for a human, but if I did end up having a kid and wanting to use the same name as a former pet, I'd use it.

---

(OT, but Siouxsie is such a good name for a black cat!)

It would be really weird to name your kid in honor of your cat, but it would probably be okay if your kid and a former cat just so happened to have similar nicknames. As long as Samuel does not feel that he was named after Samwise the cat, it shouldn’t be to big of a deal. I don’t know how old your cat is, but he may have past on before you have kids, so you won’t have to worry about calling for your son and having the cat come meowing .