Comments on: Help us name our cats.

Question: Help us name our cats.

baby beluga — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:32:34 -0800

We just acquired two new kittens from the shelter. Problem: we are stumped as to what to name them.

Obligatory cat photo provided by the shelter. I haven't taken any yet because they're both still hiding inside the carry case we brought them home in.

They're four months old, both female. Names we have batted around, with varying degrees of seriousness: Lucy, Wallace (after Alfred Russel Wallace), Marie Curie, Lorenz (after Ed Lorenz -- this one was not my idea), Harriet. We like scientists and "human" names. I have been informed that I am under no circumstances allowed to name them something "stupid" like Bagel and Cream Cheese. But please provide these anyway and I will sweet-talk my partner into going along with it.

By: dotgirl

dotgirl — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:37:43 -0800

If I had two cats I wanted to name after scientists, I'd go with Tesla and Feynman.

By: honey badger

honey badger — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:37:55 -0800

They're fog-colored: how about London and SF?

By: Tomorrowful

Tomorrowful — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:38:41 -0800

How about Marie and Curie?

Or Grace and Ada, for two groundbreaking female computer scientists?

By: tel3path

tel3path — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:40:19 -0800

One of them seems to be naturally soft-focus and the other one higher definition.

What about Monet and Renoir?

By: bcwinters

bcwinters — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:40:52 -0800

The Nobel-winning neurologist Rita Levi-Montalcini just passed away at the age of 103 at the end of December. Her identical twin Paola was an accomplished painter.

By: RRgal

RRgal — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:40:54 -0800

If you admire one of the world's premiere anthropologists (who happened to be female), how about Margaret and Mead?

By: katypickle

katypickle — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:47:16 -0800

They look like Muffin and Snuggles. Sorry it's non human and cheesy :(

By: Etrigan

Etrigan — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:50:32 -0800

Ada and Marie.

By: 4ster

4ster — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:54:34 -0800

Tegan and Sara

By: hat_eater

hat_eater — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:54:45 -0800

Hypatia and Alexandria

By: hat_eater

hat_eater — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:56:47 -0800

(I used this list)

By: jaimystery

jaimystery — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 13:57:11 -0800

Bistre and Isabelline (both are shades of gray)

By: carsonb

carsonb — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:00:05 -0800

Ellen and Muffie, clearly.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:00:59 -0800

That is *not* what I meant to put there.

Edie and Ewing is what I meant to say.

By: wolfgirl

wolfgirl — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:02:54 -0800

Dian and Rosalind? (Taken from a list of female scientists.)

By: DarlingBri

DarlingBri — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:03:05 -0800

Paired names featuring kick-ass women:

Lucy and Linus (Peanuts)
Lucy and Ricky (I Love Lucy)
Victoria and Alfred (Queen Victoria)
Vera and Vladimir (Nabokov)
Marie and Pierre (Curie)
Harriet and Quimby*

*Not a pair name

By: sldownard

sldownard — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:09:19 -0800

Ada (Lovelace) and Grace (Hopper)?

By: calgirl

calgirl — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:11:16 -0800

Kit and Kat
Lois and Lane

By: A Terrible Llama

A Terrible Llama — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:12:34 -0800

Cumulus and Cirrus?

By: bessel functions seem unnecessarily complicated

bessel functions seem unnecessarily complicated — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:14:33 -0800

They look tiny. Femto and pico?

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:15:41 -0800

Rosalind and Hildegard

By: Currer Belfry

Currer Belfry — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:16:44 -0800

What beautiful eyes! Jade (inspired by the eye color) and Bianca.

By: quodlibet

quodlibet — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:17:59 -0800

Shirley and Ann (after Shirley Ann Jackson)

By: anya32

anya32 — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:19:31 -0800

Cherríe and Gloria?
Carson and Goodall?

By: Sara C.

Sara C. — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:21:13 -0800

I like:

Tesla and Fibonacci

Sappho and Nefertari

Heisenberg and Schrodinger

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:22:26 -0800

Rosalind (Franklin) and Grace (Hopper).

By: beau jackson

beau jackson — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:26:37 -0800

Ursula,

after her

By: special-k

special-k — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:28:57 -0800

Machu and Pichu.

By: saraindc

saraindc — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:41:26 -0800

Smoke and Ashes.

By: discopolo

discopolo — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:49:33 -0800

Rudy and Kipling

By: seanmpuckett

seanmpuckett — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:54:39 -0800

But what are their personalities? I mean just looking at them I think Emma (grey) and Esther (tabby), but what are they really like? It's so important their names suit them. Maybe wait a week until they relax into the home?

By: hydropsyche

hydropsyche — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:02:17 -0800

My nephews have a grey cat who they named Sylvie, short for silver, which I think is such a great cat name for a grey cat that I am sharing it. Their Sylvie looks like your grey cat, but would be a great name for a silver tabby as well.

By: DoubleLune

DoubleLune — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:04:12 -0800

Sonya/Sonja and Blaire.

By: baby beluga

baby beluga — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:14:30 -0800

Seanmpuckett, you're right, of course -- I just feel somehow negligent to let them go nameless for too long! It's like taking a baby home from the hospital with no name.

Great names so far, everyone. Thank you!

By: Sassyfras

Sassyfras — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:14:39 -0800

Petra, for one of them.

By: Fister Roboto

Fister Roboto — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:16:13 -0800

Ozzie and Harriet!

By: infinitewindow

infinitewindow — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:20:52 -0800

Florence and Olive

or

Phoebe and Jay

By: radwolf76

radwolf76 — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:30:20 -0800

It's like taking a baby home from the hospital with no name.

Had two kittens once that were variations on Kitten 1 and Kitten 2 for about two days, until they started actually responding to the words Ace and Deuce, at which point we decided that we needed to come up with real names. Fortunately in those two days, we had a good enough feel for who they were as kitties.

By: Melsky

Melsky — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:34:47 -0800

Tesla and Petri

By: marylynn

marylynn — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:37:45 -0800

I was also coming in to suggest Grace and Ada.

By: oneear

oneear — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:45:08 -0800

Ash is a great name for a gray cat, short for Ashley which may be better for yelling at them. A fun grey cat name we passed on was Poupon.

By: Kronur

Kronur — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:53:50 -0800

Pepper & Pattie - Like peppermint parties. Which is what I think about when I see gray kitties (I don't know why).

And I love alliteration with animal names - it's why my own kitties are named Texas & Trixie (they're both torties & Texas has the state on her face), and I helped my boss name his rambunctious, hurricane-like chocolate labs Hazel & Hugo (especially significant to my area of the country).

By: d11

d11 — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:02:01 -0800

Strange & Charm!

By: scratch

scratch — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:19:34 -0800

Sweetness and Light.

By: JohnnyGunn

JohnnyGunn — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:28:06 -0800

Lucy and Ricki

By: easily confused

easily confused — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:37:13 -0800

N'thing the votes for Grace and Ada. Specifically, the grey one (the grey of Navy ships!) as Grace and that elegant little tabby as Ada.

By: and so but then, we

and so but then, we — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:51:24 -0800

Naming pets after historical figures is so last year. The new hotness is* naming pets after species to which they do not belong. I vote for Bufo Bufo and Gulo Gulo.

*Well, okay. But it SHOULD be.

By: argonauta

argonauta — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:56:14 -0800

How about Joule and Curie? (J and Ci for short)

By: missjenny

missjenny — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 17:03:58 -0800

Ramona & Beezus 'cause they are sisters.

By: lwb

lwb — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 17:44:06 -0800

Curled up little gray one looks like a Grace to me (and oh so cute!)

Not sure about the other one, but I'm sure they'll let you know their names once they're settled in :)

By: amileighs

amileighs — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:07:14 -0800

Cinder and Ashe
Cinder and Ella

Something gray related?

By: Kid Charlemagne

Kid Charlemagne — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:08:06 -0800

If you're going to name a cat after a female scientist might I recommend Maud Leonora Menten? She's half of the team that gave us Michaelis Menten kinetics (before physical biochemistry was cool). She followed it up by being the first person to separate proteins by electrophoresis, invented dye coupled alkaline phosphatase and was first to characterize three bacterial toxins. (Whereas, if I had an equation (or even half an equation) named after me, I'd wander around some research institution patting myself on the back for the rest of my days.

By: travelwithcats

travelwithcats — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:15:57 -0800

What a great idea to name them in honor of accomplished women! And those kitties are adorable!

My faves so far: Rita & Paola or Rosalind & Grace. And Ada.

I trow in the mix:
Hedy (she led a colorful and adventurous life, her "frequency-hopping idea serves as a basis for modern spread-spectrum communication technology, such as Bluetooth, COFDM used in Wi-Fi network connections, and CDMA used in some cordless and wireless telephones".

By: robi

robi — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:16:22 -0800

Upon viewing, the obvious names are Chunkback and Boogieboard. (Chunkback is on the right.)

By: feral_goldfish

feral_goldfish — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:22:00 -0800

For all the Ada Lovelace & Grace Hopper fans: be it known that the Corpse family already boasts two female cats named Ada & Hopper. If you go this route, be alert for muddled future AskMe trails.

By: maniactown

maniactown — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 18:58:36 -0800

My 2-year-old says their names are Weak Saving (left) and Gina Green (right).

By: Multicellular Exothermic

Multicellular Exothermic — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:18:01 -0800

Arwen and Galadriel? Tolkien describes the elves in his books as always wearing silver and green.

(Those are totally adorable-looking kitties. We are from the internet, and we demand more pictures of kittens!)

By: lemniskate

lemniskate — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:39:14 -0800

luna and selene :D

By: vitabellosi

vitabellosi — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:39:38 -0800

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

By: fshgrl

fshgrl — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:01:13 -0800

Jamie Lee and Emmy Lou, after two famous gray haired women?

By: JujuB

JujuB — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:05:19 -0800

I vote for Luna and Selene! Those names are perfect lemniskate.

Famous sisters:
Magda, Zsa Zsa, or Eva, The Gabor sisters.
Kate and Pippa

By: HotToddy

HotToddy — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:17:39 -0800

You've got two gray cats and are looking for a sciencey name, therefore there is no choice but to call them Louis(e) and Harold, for British physicist Louis Harold Gray, after whom the SI unit the gray is named.

My work is done here. (And Harold is such an awesome name for a girl, too.)

By: xyzzy

xyzzy — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:20:55 -0800

Frick and Frack
Bubble and Squeak
Kit and Kaboodle

By: Etrigan

Etrigan — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 20:29:41 -0800

My 2-year-old says their names are Weak Saving (left) and Gina Green (right).

I am writing my Congressman to demand a federal law mandating that when a 2-year-old names a pet, that pet is named.

By: cat_link

cat_link — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 21:22:50 -0800

You could name them after two of the seven sisters in the Pleiades:

Alcyone ( al-SY-ə-nee )
Electra ( i-LEK-trə )
Maia (MAY-ə, MY-ə )
Merope ( MERR-ə-pee)
Taygeta ( tay-IJ-i-tə )
Celaeno ( sə-LEE-noh )
Sterope, Asterope ( (ə)-STERR-ə-pee)

By: growabrain

growabrain — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 22:44:28 -0800

I was in exactly the same situation, with two similar looking female kittens 8 years ago, and I asked the same question on my old blog. They ended up going unnamed for quiet a while, and eventually they were named by my girlfriend 'Pink' & 'Blue', after the colors of their collars.
Sadly, one died a year ago, and the other one just the other day.

By: a humble nudibranch

a humble nudibranch — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 22:48:06 -0800

Bosun and Higgs

By: two lights above the sea

two lights above the sea — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 22:48:42 -0800

Vivienne and Zelda

By: Alaska Jack

Alaska Jack — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 23:38:38 -0800

Itchy and Scratchy.

By: NoraReed

NoraReed — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 02:43:43 -0800

I always wanted two cats named Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Vladimir and Estragon would work too.

By: platinum

platinum — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 02:52:03 -0800

Valentina and Svetlana for the first two women in space, though Sally is acceptable too as the first U.S. woman in space!

By: winston

winston — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 04:46:18 -0800

Smoke and Fire (especially if they tend to stick together)

By: Dolley

Dolley — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 05:57:23 -0800

Ash and Silvie. Ashcan and Sylvester for more formal occasions.

By: Medieval Maven

Medieval Maven — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 07:18:51 -0800

Valentina and Sally has appeal! I also like Rita & Paola.

I am all for weird cat names, but be aware, if you name yours something totally weird (like, I love naming them after the Pleiades . .) you will never, ever have an easy time at the vet and you'll be constantly correcting people about what to call them. Our boy has spent a very stupid amount of time at the vet, and no one can say his name (Daksha). Whether you ought to consider this in your naming process goes along with what your tolerance for that sort of thing may be.

By: mule98J

mule98J — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 12:15:40 -0800

The heroine of a SF radio show in the 80's had two cats:

Onanoff & Offanon.

By: Multicellular Exothermic

Multicellular Exothermic — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 12:49:36 -0800

Vivian and Marian?

By: BoscosMom

BoscosMom — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 15:16:47 -0800

Bernadette Rostenkowski and Amy Farrah Fowler?
My cousin called her grey cat Willow because she looks like a pussy willow bud.

By: baby beluga

baby beluga — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:49:03 -0800

Final update: we settled on Lucy and Ada -- Grace was out because my beloved childhood cat was named Gracie. Thanks for all the input, everyone! It was very useful.