Names.

[leopardesspots.livejournal.com]

I'm really picky about names and tend to name all of my animals something "proper" -- as opposed to 'Fluffy' or 'Kitty', or other nonsensical names.  :]
 
If I ever have a daughter, I know that I would have to include the name 'Katharine' in her name.  I prefer that spelling over 'Katherine' and to me, 'Kathryn' seems like a completely different name.  I can't seem to really settle on a middle name, but I so far the only name that has stuck is 'Elizabeth'.
 
My mother died when I was fifteen and her name was Cathy -- I'm not too fond of that name, but it seems like it branched from the name Katharine (and its variants).  Elizabeth is my maternal grandmother's middle name.
 

These are names that I enjoy, not necessarily names I would give to my (possible) offspring!

Sara -- princess, Hebrew.
Laure // Lorien -- laurel, French.
Penelope -- weaver, Greek.
Clementine -- merciful, Latin.
Katharine -- pure, Greek.
Lilith -- belonging to the night, Babylonian.
Ariel -- God's lion, Hebrew.
Pele -- Hawaiian Goddess of fire and volcanoes, Hawaiian.
Llewellyn -- like a lion, Welsh.
Lucas [Luke] -- one from Lucania, Greek.
 
There are very few boy names that I'm fond of.  I always have a hard time with those.  :b
 
Pet Names
 
Phoenix -- dark red, Greek.  Male ferret -- though the name is feminine.
Phaedra -- bright, Greek.  Female ferret.
[A pair of ferrets I had in 2000/2001, brother and sister.]

Charity -- generous love, Latin.  Female rottweiler.
[My female rottweiler who was born November 2nd, 1999.]

Rupert -- shining with fame, Ancient Germanic.  Male GSD/Lab.  :]
[My little stray pup who I adopted and love-love-love.  His "middle" name is Bosley.]

Barbara -- foreigner, Greek.  Female cat.
[Stray cat my mother adopted.  I named her...when I was nine.]

Bella -- beautiful, Old French.  Female cat.
Balthaszar -- Baal protect the King, Babylonian.  Male cat.
[Pair of stray cats who wandered around the apartment complex I lived in, late 2006.  Balthy was black and Bella was a calico.]

Zingela -- to hunt, Zulu.  Female cat.
Ingonyama -- lion, Zulu.  Male cat.
[An ex-boyfriend's cat's first litter, June 2003.  Mama was named Sugar.]

Tobias -- God is good, Hebrew.  Male cat.
Leyla -- night beauty, Arabic.  Female cat [and yes, she's a black cat.  :b]
Josephine -- Lord's addition to the family, Hebrew.  Female cat.
[An ex-boyfriend's cat's second litter.  February 2004.  Sugar's.]

Lilybeth -- God's promise, Hebrew.  Female cat.
Solomon -- peace, Hebrew.  Male cat.
[An ex-boyfriend's cat's first litter.  April 2004.  Mama was named Cleo.]

Jeoffrey -- peaceful God, English.  Male cat.
Wilhelmina -- determined protector, Ancient Germanic.  Female cat.
[An ex-boyfriend's cat's third litter.  June 2004.  Sugar's.]

Dahlia -- the dahlia flower, Scandinavian.  Female cat.
Humphrey -- peaceful warrior, Ancient Germanic.  Male cat.
[An ex-boyfriend's cat's first litter.  February 2005.  Mama was Leyla, from Sugar's second litter.]

Shanti -- peace, Sanskrit.  Female African Grey parrot.
[My Shanti-bird!  She's been around since late '02.  I love her.]

* my ex-boyfriend's family apparently doesn't believe in spaying or neutering.  :(

I have a love/hate relationship with my own name.  It's Lana (precious, Ancient Germanic) but it's pronounced "LAN-ah", like...well, 'banana'.  My name is very often mispronounced as 'LAH-nah' or 'LAY-nah'.
 
I can never find any of those cool license plates with my name on them, or stickers, or coffee mugs, or anything that's sold with a name on it.  Boo.
 
...but, I've also never had to refer to myself as 'Lana L.' in classes to identify which Lana I was.  I have only met one other person with this name (though she pronounced hers as 'LAH-nah').
 
So, aside from the little meaningless quirks (mugs, stickers, license plates, the different/incorrect ways of pronouncing my name), I do like it and I'm very happy with it.  :)