So the name we liked was too masculine...

February 1, 2014 8:27 AM

Mr. Kitty and I are adopting a puppy this Sunday! What do we call her?

Originally, i had asked this question and we are adopting a rescue Belgian Malinois/Shepard mix. But, the name we liked, Beauregard, is too male for our pretty girl puppy. I do not have the internet savvy - so here is a link to the rescue website with their adoptable dogs. Her given name is Juliet. We are trying to find a name for her that we like.

The Rules
1.) No human names. People names are for people.

The closest we come to a human name we like is Stella, since it's not a common for people right now, she's Belgian, and screaming her name at the night will amuse me every time.

2.) No silly names. Butters McPuffinstuff, the Glorious Terror ESQ need not apply

3.) We like literary/movie names for strong females. I want to name her Bennett, Starbuck, or Ripley...Mr. Kitty not so much.

4.) She is coming from a Missouri shelter (and have no fear - we thoroughly researched this rescue, she is not a puppy mill dog being sold as a rescue) so keeping her Southern Heritage would be a bonus perk.

So - what should we name our adorable little girl?

posted by Suffocating Kitty to Pets & Animals (38 answers total)

Biscuit? Sweet Tea?
posted by GenjiandProust at 8:36 AM on February 1, 2014

Well, Not-a Kitty would be very descriptive. But in case your last name really isn't Kitty, how about Miss Marsden (or just Marsden)? That's the name of the southern girl played by Bette Davis in Jezebel, so you have your literary thing, your strong female thing, your southern thing, and for a bonus, the character's first name was Juliet.
posted by ubiquity at 8:42 AM on February 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Flannery?
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:43 AM on February 1, 2014 [11 favorites]

Ligeia
posted by Rash at 8:48 AM on February 1, 2014

Dixie?
posted by jayder at 8:48 AM on February 1, 2014

Scout, of course. From To Kill A Mockingbird.
posted by HeyAllie at 8:49 AM on February 1, 2014 [12 favorites]

Kudzu?

(Southern heritage)
posted by jayder at 8:49 AM on February 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Magnolia (MaggIe for short)
posted by salvia at 8:49 AM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

I was once told by man who raises and trains bird dogs that a dog's working name should be two syllables, the second syllable an open vowel sound, so that the dog's name is easy for the beast to learn and to recognize, and easy for the handler to bellow when the dog has lost the scent of a well shot pheasant or has been spied snortling the waste bins.
posted by notyou at 8:56 AM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Maybe this list of Missouri city names has something you'd like in it.
posted by sciencegeek at 9:02 AM on February 1, 2014

Mizzou
Bijou
Scout
posted by brilliantine at 9:04 AM on February 1, 2014

Violet
posted by changeling at 9:16 AM on February 1, 2014

Portia, Rosebud, Tulip, Myrtle

(Stella is pretty common name for little girls these days. FYI.)
posted by bluedaisy at 9:17 AM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Apropos of nothing, when I looked at her picture, my first thought was "oooooh little smurf..." I mean, she's not blue or anything, and she certainly isn't going to stay tiny. I'm sure that came out of the part of my brain that calls my own dog "bug" and "pizzabagel" when I snorgle his ears. (BTW, you have great taste in snorgleable ears!)

But legit name ideas:

Peanut Butter, or PB for short.

I always suggest Xena for a pet name, and it meets your "literary/movie" names idea.

Likewise Atreyu (also fun to yell!), but Atreyu was male if that matters.

Bloom?

Leia?

Billie?

Raven?
posted by Sara C. at 9:20 AM on February 1, 2014

Peanut?
posted by dilettante at 9:27 AM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Fluffdemon
posted by bostonhill at 9:31 AM on February 1, 2014

Mark Twain was from Missouri. Maybe a Twain character?

Polly
Sawyer
Huckleberry
Muff
Becky

Another Missouri place name is Onandaga, the name of a cave and corresponding state park. You could spell it OnanDOGa.
posted by Ostara at 9:36 AM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

See, in my family Beauregard IS a people name.

Here are some I think might fit that same mood:

Marbella
Normandy
Savannah
Harriet
Bergen
Hortensia
Hortense
Basil
Penelope
Sadie
Talulah
Tara (gone with the wind)
Athena
Peregrine/perry
Winnifred
Wilhelmina
Quincy
Ruby
posted by amaire at 9:45 AM on February 1, 2014

Harper
Finley
Rebel
Arya
posted by MadMadam at 10:10 AM on February 1, 2014

Here are a few ideas, in different categories. Bolded a couple that seem particularly likely.

Southern or similar:
-Clementine
-Cleo
-Delilah
-Talullah!

Kind of like Stella:
-Mae
-Luna
-Ada/Ida
-Hopper
-Luca

Literary-ish:
-Beatrice/Beatrix
-Beau
-Isadora
-Cordelia
-Karenina
-And, as mentioned above, Scout

Let us know what you decide!
posted by leitmotif at 10:10 AM on February 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Luna. And I love Xena for her. Very handsome dog. Oh, and my daughter wants to name our next dog Purple, just because it is silly. I like it.
posted by karlos at 10:50 AM on February 1, 2014

Seconding Ruby. Or Pearl
posted by lois1950 at 10:51 AM on February 1, 2014

Lucky!
posted by mon-ma-tron at 10:52 AM on February 1, 2014

Rosie
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:27 AM on February 1, 2014

You know, your dog doesn't know about human concepts of gender roles and will not be traumatized by a masculine name. So why not go for it and call her Beauregard? As a bonus you can confuse people who think of Beauregard as a masculine name by using it for a female dog. (Personally I would have no idea that a name that means "pretty look" is supposed to be masculine, so ymmv.) You can fight the binary gender paradigm AND use your favorite name. Win-win!
posted by medusa at 12:07 PM on February 1, 2014 [2 favorites]

Ozark?
posted by jferg at 12:17 PM on February 1, 2014

Ophelia
posted by wherever, whatever at 1:21 PM on February 1, 2014

Hell, spell it Beauregarde and now you have a girl dog name.
posted by Sara C. at 1:32 PM on February 1, 2014

As far as I can tell, in the South at least one of everything is named some version of Ashley.
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:06 PM on February 1, 2014

sciencegeek's list is great. I particularly like "Bellflower" "Cassville" (I can hear you calling "Cassy!"), (Ms.) Billings, Alma, and Amoret. There are so many great ones from which to choose!
posted by bluespark25 at 4:25 PM on February 1, 2014

Boadicea Celtic Warrior Queen... Boo or Bo for short.
posted by BoscosMom at 5:15 PM on February 1, 2014

RE: literary names, what about Bronte, Emerson, Eliot, Tennyson, or Zora?
posted by naplesyellow at 9:15 PM on February 1, 2014

Blanche
Talulah
Lady
Belle (feminine form of beau)
Elsie (because Beauregard the calf was Elsie the cow's son in the Borden commercials!)
Beulah (Beau's sister)
posted by misha at 9:28 PM on February 1, 2014

Literary names:
Austen
Bronte
Browning

Movie names:
Sif or Freyja (not Southern at all, I just like them!)
posted by misha at 9:32 PM on February 1, 2014

Fiona.
posted by ADave at 10:27 PM on February 1, 2014

Response by poster: Thank you for all the responses! So we watched "The Secret of Roan Inish" last night (one of my favorite childhood movies) and agreed she is a Selkie.

Thanks for all the great answers!
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 7:41 AM on February 3, 2014 [1 favorite]

Calpurnia
posted by janey47 at 9:44 AM on February 3, 2014

Oh, you meant her name is Selkie LOL For a minute I thought it was a dog breed.
posted by janey47 at 9:45 AM on February 3, 2014 [1 favorite]