The Amazing Adventures of Archibald Esq.

Move over Rover! Unusual Names Rule in America

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Move over Rover! Americans are throwing over the notion of traditional names for pets. For some, the pet name trend is more toward the unusual — or just plain bizarre.

After years of tracking the most popular names for pets, Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) — the USA’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance — set out to find the most unusual dog names (and cats) from among its more than 465,000 pets insured nationwide - according to PRNewswire.

VPI employees selected 50 unusual dog names and then voted for the 10 most unusual names in each category. The resulting top-ten of strange dog names are:
1. Rush Limbark
2. Sirius Lee Handsome
3. Rafikikadiki
4. Low Jack
5. Meatwad
6. Peanut Wigglebutt
7. Scuddles Unterfuss
8. Sophie Touch & Pee
9. Admiral Toot
10. Spatula

“The dog park would definitely be a more interesting place if you heard people saying, ‘Fetch, Rafikikadiki,’ or, ‘Come here, Meatwad,’” said Curtis Steinhoff, VPI’s senior director of corporate communications.

Experts often advise new pet owners to choose short pet names that can be easily distinguished from common commands such as stay, sit, or kneel. Which explains in part the appeal of ‘Max’ — the most popular choice in recent years.

While a pet may not confuse Sparklemonkey with a common command, people also need to consider that they may need to call out their pet’s name in public places. If Scuddles Unterfuss gets out of the backyard it may make for an awkward evening calling out for the missing hound around the neighborhood.

Sometimes unique names are the result of unusual looks or even an uncommon behavior. Lisa Lazzaro of Tampa, Fla., went with Low Jack for her corgi mix due to the dog’s short legs and close proximity to the ground.

Christine Edwards of Columbus, Ohio, named her dachshund Peanut Wigglebutt when she saw how the little puppy shook her tail so hard she would fall over.

Still, other names have more involved origins. Buena Silverman of Holicong, Pa., decided to name her dog Rush Limbark after she noticed that her dogs appeared to enjoy listening to the conservative radio talk show host as much as she and her husband did.

“For many .. naming a pet is an opportunity to express personal creativity,” said Steinhoff. “We often highlight the popular names, but the truth is that the majority of pets have a unique name or a name shared by very few other pets. When we began looking into this, we came across so many unusual and eccentric pet names that it was difficult for us to narrow down our lists to just 10.”

To see if you agree with VPI’s favorites, view the complete list of 50 unusual dog names at www.wackypetnames.com.

Awoof! Archibald Esquire

P.S. And in case you’re curious ’bout my own personal favourite - well, it would have to be Sirius Lee Handsome, which I can’t quite believe didn’t come in at first place!

Posted 16 Nov 08