Something I noticed about us Cairn lovers...

[Sandi16]

We all seem to give our dogs human names. Why is that you think? I got a lot of guff when I went back home for having a Louie, and they really hated that our cat's name is Leah. My sister has a japanese chin names Sportcenter, if that tells you anything. (Basically, an agreement was made years before getting a dog that if my sister got a small dog her husband got to pick the name. He chose Sportcenter. LOL)

[SparkyJonesMom]

I'm one of the few that didn't use a human name. I liked the name Sparky because it's the kind of name that you associate with a dog all of the time (like Fido, Rover, etc.), but you never actually meet any dogs with the name. And then when I met Sparky for the first time, the name couldn't have fit any better. He's a little spark plug, alright.

A dog named Sportcenter? I bet all the other dogs at the park make fun. Poor thing.

[boats85]

Was going to name Skipper, "Spot". Run Spot run just didn't seem to fit. Skippers name did not come from Gilligan's Island, That came from many years in the Navy, 23 to be exact. However if I did get a female Cairn, I would surely call her Ginger

[Puddlesmama]

Puddles was named after her running to me when we first met and peed on my feet... I feel for anyone who would name thier human child that..lol

Iris was named after my favorite flower..

[Sandi16]

See now Sparky and Skipper? Those can totally be human names or at the very least human nicknames. I include them in the human name dept.

Boats... totally knew you were in the Navy at some point. My husband is Navy as well. I've heard the name Boats used by him a lot.

Puddlesmama... we had a dog named Puddles as a kid for that very same reason.

[Shazza]

hehe, interesting topic

Miya is pronounced MY-A, most people pronounce it ME-A for some reason.

Max, my husband got to name him since I named Miya.

Their names also came from the move Eight Below. Miya was the pack leader (spelled Maya in the movie) and when she got hurt, she passed it along to Max, in a doggie sort of way in the movie..lol

Our cat on the other hand is named "Snickers" for her coloring.

[Hagar]

Most of our previous pets, mostly cats, had "people names". When I first got Renny I gave his name a lot of thought, but couldn't find just the right name.

Since Cairns originated in Scotland, I decided to see what I could find in the way of a Scottish name. After some searching on he web, I came across a list of names that had their origin in Gaelic, spoken in Scotland. I made a list of six or seven names and finally decided on Renny. It means "Small but mighty" and sure fits a Cairn. Technically "Renny" could be considered a "people name", but not too many people make the connection.

[beanena36]

I chose Sway because I didn't want to name him Jose.

[brooklyn_cairn]

This is a fun topic. I guess you could say Mr. Bo's name is a human one...he is a "Mr." after all. We were going to call him Mr. Bojangles because of his jangly ID tags, but it seemed like a mouthful so we just went with Mr. Bo!

[Sandi16]

My sister's name is Bo. Short for Bobo. She's 20 and has had the name since she was 1 Easier than Correen which can be a moutful at time.

[RockyCairn]

Our dog names have stuck to a Shakespearean theme, so human names do apply. Our first was a Yorkie who came to us at 6 yrs old. His name was Brutus. After he crossed the Rainbow Bridge, we got a Westie and named her Calphurnia (Caesars third wife). Friday we pick up Hamlet. We also have a Shih Tzu/Poodle cross who is named Susie. I got her from my Mom this summer, so I did not change her name. She is 7 yrs old.

[JerryLv]

We have had only cats for 37 years before we could settle down enough to add a dog. All our cats were named after we lived with them for a few months. Hence our cat is named Daisy

after the movie 'Driving Miss Daisy". Very human name but very appropriate. We named Zen our Cairn before we got him. We mistakenly thought he would live up to his name and be

a very quite mellow fellow. Wrong!

[cairnrescueleague]

One of my fosters came with the name Larry, which I think is a really weird name for a cairn, but even weirder is that it suits him completely. Makes me chuckle, and people get a kick out of his name when I introduce him.

[dinib]

Buckley is named after Jeff Buckley, a singer who drowned trying to swim across the Mississippi River.

I also had two GSD's named Vincent (Van Gogh) and Isaac (Newton).

[sheila and Misty]

When I named Scruffy -everyone said what kind of name is that?-I always just thought it was cutethe name reminds me of what atoddler looks like with their hair all twirled and sticking up on their head in the morning. It was more picked as a descriptive name-then we moved here and there was a kid on our block named scruffy-then everyone thought it was a good dog name.

Misty-Ive just always liked that name gil or description-sounds soft .and Toby-well that name reminds me of two things...a petite little boy from an old fashioned movie(very cute) and a stump of a cigar-my Toby is little, brown(for the most part and stumpy.

[Napi'smom]

LOL

well since my son got our dog, when I asked him what was his name he told me that as he was driving home with him when he started growling and pulling at his blanket and that he had recently seen some documentary in the History channel about Napoleon Bonaparte and the dog made a face like one of the pictures so, his name is Napoleon and it suits him perfectly.

[Vivian]

I have my darling Oscar, and people usually point out that it's strange to name him a 'human' name.

Oscar is named after my favorite author, Oscar Wilde, subsequently any future dogs I get will all be named after great writers!

I hadn't really considered anything but a 'real' name.

If I had gotten Oscar's sister her name would've been Lucy (in honor of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds), and then my theme would've been the Beatles' songs!

[SparkyJonesMom]

Click on the link below to read an interesting article about the top pet names of 2008. Veterinary Pet Insurance compiled a list from their database. Apparently people names are popular everywhere!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28540800/

Here's the list if you don't want to click on the link:

Top names

1. Max

2. Bailey

3. Bella

4. Molly

5. Lucy

6. Buddy

7. Maggie

8. Daisy

9. Sophie

10. Chloe

Most unusual

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

I think "Admiral Toot" is the funniest name I've ever heard.

[Vivian]

lol! I love Peanut Wigglebutt!!!

I think that's Oscar's alter ego!

[josie&holly]

I would be worried about the one called "Sophie touch and pee".......................... does that mean you are advised NOT to touch her?!

[savannahsmom35]

Savannah was almost Daisy, Dixie or Chloe but the ex husband didn't like any of those names (hence the ex ) The only name we could seem to agree on is Savannah. I am not sure why but it really fits her. Now when I am at the store or something and hear someone call "Savannah" talking to their kid, it is so weird. Now that I have a dog named Savannah, it seems strange to hear a human named Savannah.

[Jetti]

Hi you all Cairnlovers,- I have a question for you.

My very first doggie was a pincher-one of the small ones.......

It was in the first days after our liberation after the war. My Parents had a big house and we were happy to offer any hospitability we were capable of in those diffucult days. The fist evening they came was an exitement! I was still very

small, about 8 or 9 years - and wondered about the language they spoke as I had only heard German an Dutch so far.I do not remember whether our liberaters were American, Australian or Canadian but I noticed a scratching sound and refused to let the poor guys go to bed because they had a dog (I said). When my Mother translated my stubborn behavior they indeed came up with a wooden box with this tiny doggie in it and gave it to me. They called him Cooty or Kooty I havn

[steveb]

Present Cairn is called jack, yes very human, but the name was picked by my 8 year old daughter. My last dog, also a cairn and 20 years ago, was called Raffi. Which was short for Raffles. So named because the day after getting her I awoke to find her cuddyling a box of raffles cigarettes.

[Harry]

Funny , because all my animals are named human names - I have 4 cats Edward, Charles, George & Henry-

My little Cairn that I adore is named Harry - ( he just LOOKED like a Harry- don't you think by his picture? ) , then I realized all the names are names of royalty , very strange!

Noted to add Harry & the cats get along just fine !

[oscar's mom]

Oscar was named after, "Oscar of the Odd Couple", that's my thought

DH chose Oscar for Oscar the grouch on "Seasme Street"

Both reasons is because he looked messy, fiesty and lovable.