Help me name my puppy!

What should I name my puppy?

  • Spencer

    Votes: 9 33.3%
  • Gibbs

    Votes: 6 22.2%
  • D'Artagnan

    Votes: 4 14.8%
  • Other (please specify!)

    Votes: 8 29.6%

  • Total voters
    27

Yasaibatake

is her own imaginary friend
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
1,735
Reaction score
188
Location
KC
That's right, I'm a new mommy! :D

Yesterday I adopted the world's cutest Welsh Corgi puppy. Hopefully my picture link will work: picture of my baby! (It was taken on my cell phone, so it's not the clearest, sorry) He's like most puppies: super energetic, happy, and very friendly. He's a little bit unsure of his new home still but he's being very brave about it all. And he's super smart! My mom's joking that my expectations are just lower than usual (her dog was the main family pet before this, and he had seizures when he was a puppy so even though he's very sweet and friendly he's a little brain damaged) but of course I think my baby's a genius :D

But despite all this, I can't come up with a name! So far I'm debating between:
Spencer (after Dr. Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds) who is a genius and my TV husband)
Gibbs (after Agent Gibbs (NCIS) who's the smart, silent protector type)
D'Artagnan (for the 3 Musketeers, of course! And as a French teacher, I'm a little extra partial to French names)

Any other suggestions? What do you guys think?
 

Ari Meermans

MacAllister's Official Minion & Greeter
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 24, 2011
Messages
12,853
Reaction score
3,051
Location
Not where you last saw me.
Congratulations! Why not ask the little one? When I come up with about three names I like, I call out the names a minute or so apart. The name that gets a physical response or the strongest physical response—tail wagging, cocked ear and direct look, or pup comes bounding over—is the name we settle on. I've had 14 dogs over the years and this has been our naming method for all but the 2 who came to us already named.

Just a thought.
 

TudorRose

not napping... brainstorming!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 18, 2011
Messages
491
Reaction score
69
Location
UK
Can't see the pic I'm afraid - just takes me to a google account login.

I'd be inclined to go for something Welsh - something traditional like Morgan, or mythological (try here), or named after a famous Welshman eg Dylan (Thomas), (Richard) Burton or (Anthony) Hopkins.
 

Vito

Recalled to life
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
6,491
Reaction score
524
Location
California
If you're going for the French thing, you can name him Jean-Louis but call him "Jack". Just like Jack Kerouac. :Thumbs:
 

Pistol Whipped Bee

Now what?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Messages
1,530
Reaction score
115
Location
Oregon Coast
Website
jenniferplace.wordpress.com
I'd pass on the names you've picked so far and instead let your dog tell you his name. If you're patient - it'll come to you. I named my dog Rumi. I'd never read a word of his before I named him, but the name fits him like a glove. His nickname is Pooh - after Winnie. He's smart and nothing but love and play.
 

Chris P

Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
22,611
Reaction score
7,289
Location
Wash., D.C. area
I agree the dog is in more command of this situation than you are. When I got my dog in high school, I was unsure between Pavlov, Pasteur, or Rutherford (yes, I'm a science junkie!). Pavlov ended up fitting him better, and he agreed.

If I ever get a borzoi, however, his name will be Tolstoy since these gorgeous dogs are so prominent in War and Peace.
 

regdog

The Scavengers
Staff member
Moderator
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 27, 2008
Messages
58,075
Reaction score
21,013
Location
She/Her
Bumblebee


Transformers fan here
 
Last edited:

Komnena

In Honor of Peter Tomich,USS Utah
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 5, 2007
Messages
13,917
Reaction score
2,071
Location
King Louie's town
Llelo after a character in Sharon Penman's books set in Wales.
 

Soccer Mom

Crypto-fascist
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 5, 2006
Messages
18,604
Reaction score
8,039
Location
Under your couch
I refuse to answer until you posts puppy pics or a working link. Must. See. Puppy. Now.
 

Ambrosia

Grand Duchess
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 4, 2009
Messages
26,893
Reaction score
7,269
Location
In the Castle, of course.
Personally I think a name with two to three syllables works the best, something you can say quickly and won't get you tongue tied when you are giving the dog a command.

I named one of my dogs Angel, because she was an angel... very sweet and good. We got her from another person who had named her Cocoa because she liked the marshmallows in cocoa. But the name didn't fit her so we changed it. The vet remarked that unlike most dogs named Angel, the name fit her perfectly.

My husband and I named the puppy we got for Angel to train Attila the Hun-ey. We simply call her Attila, though. Believe me, it fits her. :D

My baby and traveling companion is named Amber. We named her according to her color -- amber waves of grain. Everyone comments to me how beautiful she is and when they find out her name everyone says how well it fits.

Go through a few names and play with the names... say the names and see how it sounds to you and if your dog is intrigued by the sound. You will know when you find the right one if you pay attention to how it makes you feel inside.

Good luck.
 

Victoria

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
912
Reaction score
75
Location
Columbia, MO
I voted Gibbs cuz I love him! Also, in one episode, there was a Corgi that Gibbs rescues from an about to be exploded trailer. No brainer.
 

Voxtrot

Registered
Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
38
Reaction score
3
Location
New Zealand
Well I chose Gibbs because it has a certain ring to it, but it does have its detractors: could be construed as referring to Turley giblets, or Mel Gibson (sorry Mel Gibson fans). Spencer reminds me too much of a spoiled kid from private school (no offence Spencer's, lol). And D'Artagnan... Too much of a mouthful to be practical, in my opinion.

But what does you dog like the best? Have you tried calling him each name and testing the reaction?
 

Yasaibatake

is her own imaginary friend
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
1,735
Reaction score
188
Location
KC
Okay, first off, pictures!
Gibbs009.jpg

Gibbs002.jpg


Second, thanks for all the help! At the end of the day he...actually still doesn't have a name :D I let my students come up with lists of possible names today (hey, it's almost finals, a little extra fun never hurt anyone). After I vetoed all the crazy ones I got like "Thermostat" or "End of the World", I added a few more I found on baby name websites over my plan period and sat down with puppy to test them out. Turns out puppy's just as indecisive as I am! He reacted to 5 of them pretty consistently:
Remi
Ari
D'Artagnan (though that might have been because he's heard it the most now)
Anoki
Jethro (of course, still after Agent Gibbs!)

Hmmm...how did I end up with more names tonight than I had this morning...?
 

Yeshanu

Elf Queen
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 14, 2005
Messages
6,757
Reaction score
2,410
Location
Up a Tree
I'd say if you used D'Artagnan, you could shorten it to Artie, which would work better for calling him.
 

Fruitbat

.
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 15, 2010
Messages
11,833
Reaction score
1,310
He looks like a Lawrence to me.
 

Eudoxia

The Undead Bookworm
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
Messages
788
Reaction score
46
Location
Lost in space
D'Artagnan & Remi really stand out to me and I believe one of those names would work pretty well with the dog (so cute!).