Horses, cats, dogs, you name it. For me, it seems kinda anathema or bad luck to reuse a name for a new animal. What do you guys think?
No canāt say that I ever have reused a name. Not for dogs or cats or birds or horses or any companion animal Iāve ever loved and lost. To me it would be hard and weird.
2 Likes
When I was little, everything was named Petey. Parakeets, puppies, whatever, it was named Petey.
I havenāt reused names at all until just recently, when I started calling one of my feral kitties Tasha (her brother is Trouble). I had a cat when I was little named Tasha, and one of my horses was named Tasha as well (she came with the name, though).
But otherwise - no, I donāt think I could do it. Especially not one that had passed recently, and/or was very special to me.
2 Likes
George Foreman has 5 sons and theyāre all named George.
I have never re-used a name but I have stolen names. I think āHammieā is a great name and I might steal it one day. 
Sometimes I have also changed names if they didnāt really fit the animal. One of my cats started out as āOscarā but that name didnāt stick so he became āRoughyā which is a perfect name for him.
2 Likes
@Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom, I read the original post and thought āwho reuses pet namesā, but your post reminded me that I do. All random feral cats that appear at my place to eat (cat food out for my cats) are named Interloper. Sometimes with a color qualifier if there has been more than one random feral cat about recently. But always Interloper.
5 Likes
I have, only once.
It was designed to āhonorā my beloved Shetland pony ~ I āgiftedā her name to my new special puppy.
- I did go back and forth a bit, but this re-using of the name has worked out perfectly, and Iām so glad I did this !
3 Likes
My grandfather had a black cat show up at his house. He named the cat Spooky.
Eventually he came to realize he had two black cats, not just one. So he named the other one Spooky Too.
My parents bought the house after Zayde died. Mom had a black cat show up. His name is Spooky.
6 Likes
I try not to reuse any names I have given my pets (cats, dogs) but I have worked with 100ās of animals and do my best to not have any repeats.
Each dog I have ever owned gets a color. Kip was purple, Riley is royal blue, Buma is yellow, Oli was light blue. (collars, jackets, etc) and I donāt reuse colors either.
When I was a kid, my aunt and uncle always had a male Dalmatian, one at a time, and always named Skippy. When the dog died, the next Dalmation would be named Skippy. I think there were a total of four Skippy Dalmatians.
have done the same, back around 1978 my wife was a vet tech for a vet, one of the dogs boarded there was named Sucha which we thought was odd so asked the owner where that name came fromā¦ oh she is Such A Good Dog I just shortened it down it just Sucha
The current Sucha is a therapy dog that was helping immigrants from the Middle East learn to read ā¦ one told my daughter that sucha (or something like that) was in his naive language meaning something good
6 Likes
I have reused names often. I used names from my grandparents horsesven. Even among my own I had a dog then a horse with the same name, a sheep and now a cow with the same name, some names are too good not to keep in circulation, as long as the animal lives up to the name. I kinda feel names are important, the same horse named Georgie or named Fiery could be a different horse. Weird I know.
One fabulous mare I had took me about 4 names and three months to find a name that worked for her.
2 Likes
I donāt reuse them, but I have been known to call the current dog by a past dogās name by mistake!
4 Likes
I tend to keep names if an animal comes with a longstanding one, unless itās something super awful (which hasnāt happened yet) or is just a random placeholder name assigned by a shelter. So I suppose I could possibly end up with a duplicate name at some point just by chance, but I wouldnāt do it on purpose.
My grandfather had two different beagles named Kelly, but they were a few decades apart and he had several other ones in between with different names. I also believe the first Kelly was male. The second was female.
Only for orphan, bottle bull calves. Theyāre all āLittle Dudeā. Makes it easier when they ship out. For an actual pet, nope, I havenāt reused a name.
3 Likes
Unless the critter passed by violent or tragic death?
I mean, I share the name with one of my late grandmotherās late dogs. My mom denies I was named after the dog who was there firstā¦
On the other hand, as we age, maybe naming everything the same is helpful.
Not to call my mom old, but she has at least the 2nd Paula right now.
One was a cat who sadly met her end in the street in front of the house, the other is a pig that mom raised from a piglet after her mum was killed on the road.
I play it by ear, the given name rarely sticks. All our animals have many names.
Case in point: Calvin āThe Dudeā Butterballā
He was the pudgy kitten in the litter (donāt ask, poop happens)
then he ran off, and at some point came back, then he was rather skinny (and turned into Butterstick). The Kid named him Calvin ) (where he came up with that, who knows.) and I have been calling him DUDE ā¦
So there.
2 Likes
Sometimes nicknames devolve down to the same name, I randomly refer to my two equines as Pony A and Pony Bā¦ Only one of them is actually a certified pony 
but it dates back to years ago when I had two little ponies who were both pintos, shared a stall and more or less were a single unit.
I also had two Maine coons until 18 months ago, Zifu and Zazu. Zifu, now gone was the Big Z (because he was). But lately Iāve started calling Zazu the Big Z, which I think means that open wound of loss is starting to heal.
But no, never reused a name, which is no small feat when you insist on using a Z name for all your Maine coons to honor the first one, Zeke, from 56 years ago!
4 Likes
I havenāt yet but I might for cats. Iām not a cat person, but we try to keep one or two barn cats to live in our crawl space. So far weāve had a Kiki and a Minnie, and Iām content to reuse those names for all future cats.
I donāt reuse actual names, but I do shift titles from animal to animal. My eldest horse will always be referred to as The Old Man. First Doc, who I owned from age 18-29, then Apple (11-25), then Finny (14-21). Now that title is bestowed on Trapper who is only 13. My youngest cat(s) is always The Kitten. Right now my youngest are a year old, but they are still my Kittens.
2 Likes
My uncles did the same thing with their farm dogs. There was always a Kelly, even if the dog was male 
I canāt imagine why anyone would do that. Itās not like there is a shortage of good names!
All of my horses came with names, so I kept them. But naming the dogs is always a planned effort with intention. To reuse a name would seem incredibly lazy.
1 Like
