opinions, please

[ladydiddymus.livejournal.com]

So we just found out that my cousin is naming her daughter-to-be Penelope. My mother and I think it sounds like a prissy little dog name. What do you all think?

On the same note, I know it's really common to give pets people names, but does that bother anyone else? And I mean specifically somewhat common names, like Jake, Zoe, Max, Chloe etc. I mean, nobody wants to be introduced to someone and then hear, "Oh, that's my dog's/cat's name!"

Comments

[chippyjem.livejournal.com]

i really like the name penelope...especially for a human.

[la-bellisima33.livejournal.com]

I like Penalope too, especially with Pen (Penn) as a nickname, I think it's cute!

[breathbox.livejournal.com]

i love the name penelope. had my baby been a girl, i would have pressed for that name...i think the nickname lo is sooo cute for penelope.

becky*

[kissxmexsweet.livejournal.com]

=/ no i don't like it either..

[straight-outta.livejournal.com]

i love penelope, also for a human. it offers great nicknames, like poppy, or penny.

[waitingonsunday.livejournal.com]

I like Penelope. Penny's cute. Unless you have a last name like mine (Coin).

The pet thing, I kind of agree on. I guess it depends on the name. Years ago, my family had three dogs named Apache, Cheyenne, and Dakota (shh, my dad named them). Those names weren't so common then, and he wasn't attempting to give them human names.

[a-groovy-gypsy.livejournal.com]

I like the name Penelope. :)

Our 2 dogs, I guess have "human" names. But they were changed from other "human" names that were ridiculous. Our long-haired dacshund's name WAS Clifford, but that so didn't suit him, so we changed it to Harley. So much more suiting for him.

Our bull terrier's name WAS Larry, but we changed it to Milo. (Funny enough, when we were re-thinking his name after he was given to us, he never responded to any of the names we called out until I called out 'Milo'. So the name stuck.)

My sister's dogs names are Medic, Skippy, and Biskit.

[cuzmickeyluvsya.livejournal.com]

I love the name Penelope, in fact it's one of the names I have on my list.

[hotchpot.livejournal.com]

I love it. Penelope in The Odyssey is a faithful woman who never gives up hope even though her husband has been lost at sea for many years. It's a name with character (much better than these interchangeable Madisons, Addisons, etc). A strong name: not wishy washy like Ayla or Kayla or anything like that. It will never go out of style and Penny or Nellie as a nickname is dear. Love it.

[omgzits--tam.livejournal.com]

I kind of like Penelope.

And I'm totally for naming pets "real" names. It seems kind of degrading to them if I were to call my hamster 'Fluffy' or 'Hammy'. :/

[minimepending.livejournal.com]

Our dog's name is Zoe... but I get what you're saying. Since my daughter has been born (7 months ago) I've had THREE people tell me their dog's name was Lily (2 were chihuahuas)

Hubby's earlier dogs were named after North Carolina cities (but were people names too)

[ladydiddymus.livejournal.com]

Apparently many don't agree, but I just don't think telling someone your dog has the same name as their child is as flattering as if say their own child shared the same name. Not that I don't consider my animals a part of the family... and not that there is anything wrong with Lily, I think it's very pretty. You get what I'm saying :)

[minimepending.livejournal.com]

Right, I get it!

[aquilinum.livejournal.com]

Penelope is dignified, different, and still easy for most Americans to remember and pronounce WITHOUT being trendy. Now that is a good choice for a name. Kudos to her!

[zoe-rules.livejournal.com]

It's true, I do get "Ohh, that's my dog/cat's name!" a lot when I introduce myself as Zoe, but I don't mind it at all. Probably because I love my name and am actually kind of flattered when people use it for their pets.

As for Penelope, I really do like it. It's got a lot of options in terms of nicknames, it's known but not common, and it does not remind me of a prissy dog at all.

[miss-tee.livejournal.com]

I like Penelope for a little girl.

[decim.livejournal.com]

Aww, I like the nickname Penny. I wished Penelope was my name for the longest time.

[sweatydog.livejournal.com]

I love Penelope. My pet names are Ruby (cat), Rusty (her brother), Pookie(cat), and Billy (bunny)... I met someone named Billy and it wasn't weird at all.

[zorianna.livejournal.com]

I love the name Penelope! I definitely don't think it sounds like a dog's name. And Penny and Ellie are both cute nicknames.

[mystickiwi.livejournal.com]

My dog's name is Ariel too! She's a 15 year old, completely senile Lab mix

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Well, Penelope's my cat's name, so...

But seriously, I don't like the name that much, but I don't think it sounds like a dog's name at all.

[bugamok.livejournal.com]

I love the name Penelope and don't think it's fussy at all.
My mother thinks it's a very fussy name.

And my grandmother thinks it's completely strange for people to give their pets human names. She thinks pet names should be Rover, Spot, Fluffy, Tigger, etc.

[in_excelsis_dea.livejournal.com]

I hate Penelope. Not exactly sure why, I just really don't like it.

Our pets always have human names, but they're usually names you wouldn't see people using. Like the dog named Franklin or the cat named Chaucer. Our current dog is "Jake", but we're in Germany so there aren't too many American proununciations of Jake around and our former dog was Bess- same thing. Though in the states I never had anyone go and say "your dog's name is my/my sister's/cousin's/best-friend's name".

For some reason, if I end up with a guide dog, I want to name it Leaf. Don't ask. But I'll probably end up naming it something more human. I've always hated those "pet" names. Maybe something Latin or something foreign.

[mrsduryee.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not into naming pets people names, being the proud owner of brother cats named Pepper and Spice, but I don't see the problem with it. There are lot's of dogs out there named Rosie, which I go by sometimes, and I find nothing insulting about it. People LOVE their pets. We should be flattered.

I like the name Penelope though, and it doesn't make me think of a pet name, it makes me thin of Ms. Cruz. It has cute nicknames and it's totally unique. Good job to the new mom.

[ladydiddymus.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's insulting to share a name with a pet, I just don't find it at all flattering either. Also everytime I meet an animal with a human name I don't think OH WHAT A SILLY NAME FOR A DOG/CAT, I just don't prefer to do it.

[krosp.livejournal.com]

My cat is Pepper too :)

[mystickiwi.livejournal.com]

to the second part, not at all! In fact, I'd rather give my pet a person name then Fluffy or something. I work in a petstore, and if I had a PENNY for every animal that stuck with Hammie, Hermie, Fishy, Nemo, a color name, or anything along those lines, I'd be able to retire. and I'm 19. So many people treat their animals like family that I'd be kinda flattered. Unless they followed it with "yeah, my dog Hannah was nasty and ate children." I know I mean it kindly when I tell people that their name is one of my animals, because A)It means I like the name and B)I care about my pets!

[ladydiddymus.livejournal.com]

I don't necessarily like fluff pet names either... for example... my stepdad named his cat By'tor after a character in a Rush song, and I named my newest kitten Tybalt from R&J because his nickname in the play is "the Prince of Cats." Both are technically people names but not someone that you're going to meet off the street or that I would give to a person.

[mystickiwi.livejournal.com]

Yeah, obscure human names work great for pet names, and so do weird combinations. If only Moon Unit Zappa's dad had gotten a dog before he had her...

[godmod.livejournal.com]

I had a cat for 21 years named Penelope.

It's totally great for a little girl. Remember Punky Brewster? Her name was Penelope in the show. So, you can nickname the little girl Punky or Penny. Both are adorable.

My dogs now are Lucy, Chase, and Hunter. My other pets are Maya, Luca, Corey, Bob, Hudson, and Holden. My name is Holli and I've received comments about people's dogs being named Holly.

[priorincantato.livejournal.com]

I'm not a fan of Penelope.

As for the pets, my name is Tara and I work in child care. One child came up to me once and announced his dog is also named Tara. I hated it.

[ladydiddymus.livejournal.com]

haha Yeahhh I just don't think there are a lot of good responses to that.

[krosp.livejournal.com]

I quite like Penelope, but I wouldn't use it because it seems a bit complicated and I like other names much more.

Why would I be bothered by sharing a name with an animal? I love animals. It's not offensive or beneath my dignity if they carry my name, and it doesn't make me think my name is somehow "inferior" that it be given to an animal.

That being said though, I don't think Claire is a good pet name, it doesn't carry well if you yell it out. But I have known one cat called Claire and it didn't bother me at all. I've given my birds human names but they were mostly quite nicknamey... e.g. Billy, Bobby, Ricky, Jackie, Benny, Poppy, Millie, etc. although there has also been Lily, Andre, Peter, Oliver, Norman and Maestro.