Our pets are unique, and a big part of what makes them one-of-a-kind are their names! We recently held an Instagram contest to learn more about the cute and clever names our followers have for their pets.

As we read through the comments, each story that was shared told the unique meaning behind the names of a beloved pet. Some made us laugh, some made us saw “awhhhhhh”, but they all made us smile. We’ve rounded up 10 of our favorite stories for you to enjoy!

happy.champer

Hi!! It’s me, Champ! Mom found me on a shelter website with my name from my rescuers….the day she met me, she thought it fit perfect and it’s the best way to also show her gratitude to the people who found me, rescued me, and got me to my loving home!!!! Plus it makes for great puns once I nail a new trick.

beers.pups

Baby is my 7 year old Rottweiler, who was born mostly blind. She has developed cataracts, so it makes it even harder to see. She is completely blind in the opposite eye that I am. She looks pretty scary but once you meet her, you realize she has the perfect name for herself. She is the sweetest, gentlest, most patient 70 pound lap dog. Reine is a Beauceron, they are a french herding breed. So we felt she needed a french name that fit her. Reine means Queen and that’s exactly what she is!  Luna is a 11 pound spitfire who looks like she has craters on her fur. She has lightened up over the past couple of years but new craters pop up all the time.

ronan_and_kahlua

We are Ronan (American Eskimo) and Kahlua (Golden Retriever – Chow mix). Our family did not get to pick our Kahlua’s name. She was adopted from @oregonhumanesociety in Portland, when she was about 5 years old. She did not know much when she was adopted, but she knew her name! When called she would come running with her little floppy ears out to the side, ready to play fetch at any given moment.

Ronan was named by our family. When he was a little pup, he was so fluffy and round, with these huge black eyes that were always watching. His ears are so mobile that when he was anxious or awkward he would tuck them back. This is where the name grew, Ronan, which means baby seal in Gaelic. Together they are a great pair.

emberexploring

My name is Ember, and this is the odd story of how I got my name. A couple months before my family even adopted me, let alone thought they were getting a cat, they had an Amazon Echo that sat on top of the fireplace. On Echo, there is this app that is called “Meow Meow”. Every time they would ask Echo to meow, my doggie sister would run over to the fireplace, and look in, hoping to find the kitty that was meowing. Night after night, my fur sister would check the fireplace with no luck. Then one day, I came home. My family joked that I was the kitty from the fireplace, that my sister searched so desperately for. So, with my fiery personally, and silly doggie sister, the name Ember was born.

lihuskybrothers

My oldest boy is Cain. My husband’s cousins had a husky named Cain when my husband was little so when we decided to bring a husky into our family it had to be named Cain, my 2nd boy was Frankie. He was a beautiful red and white husky. When I looked into his beautiful blue eyes I just kept hearing in my head “Old Blue Eyes”, so we named him Frankie after Frank Sinatra and registered him as Frankie old blue eyes. My next boy is a white husky. They always look so majestic and Siberia is in Russia and royalty in Russia is the Tsar so our 3rd boy is Tsar, our 4th boy is a mostly black Siberian husky and I wanted a strong name for him. He also has a lot to say and very vocal so he became Thor God of thunder and most of the time known as Thunder Mouth except when he’s volunteering as a therapy dog. Then he is just Thor and thankfully very quiet. My last boy is Oliver. He’s a red & white husky who was rehomed to us after Frankie lost his battle with cancer. He was already named Oliver and we kept it in honor of Frankie who survived cancer longer than 99% of other dogs with his kind and Oliver is registered as Oliver Twist because he was a survivor too and survived the mean streets of London in the story.

yinyang._.kitties

Phoenix: we chose phoenix’s name because it means Rising from the ashes, like a phoenix does! It fits purr-fectly because he was born in a rundown house in a bad part of town. Phoenix was one of the last to be sold because he would always get outside and nobody could find him so he had a history of running off. They also said that he was “too hyper” to sell. Well we scrolled across his picture on an app we have in the area where people sell animals, cars, furniture, etc. When we saw his cute lil picture we had to get him. We wanted to get Newton a friend and thought he was the perfect kitty. So we chose his name because it means rise from the ashes, and he definitely proved that he is able to rise from the ashes

Newton: we chose Newton’s name because there was a scientist named Newton. His name isn’t as meaningful, but he sure is. His name means New town. We also got him from a run down home. We drove an hour away to get him, it was 2 cities away. When we got there we saw him. The cute little lazy cat asleep in a corner of their garden. He was the one. Definitely the right choice. We love him so much and even though his name isn’t as meaningful, he definitely is meaningful to us.

labrador__life

Bella: we chose Bella’s name because it means beautiful in French! From the moment we saw her we knew she was the puppy we wanted. She is so beautiful and perfect, and overall such an amazing best friend. Her name suits her perfectly because she is beautiful inside and out Izzy or Izzabella: We chose Izzy’s name to be Izzabella because we wanted to name her after part of our family. Well it fit perfectly that her mom was named Bella! So we decided to name her Izzabella in honor of her mom.

theo_and_the_crew

My dogs name is Diamond Lily, she was rescued from a neglectful owner who kept her in a vacant house with no electricity, running water, heat or air and she was locked in a maggot infested cage. I wanted to name her Diamond because of the diamond shape on her forehead, but i randomly chose the name Lily for her first vet visit, then i named her Diamond and chose Lily as her middle name. Come to find out there’s a flower called diamond Lily and the meaning of the flower is “looking forward to seeing you again” which made me cry because I was always looking forward to seeing her when she was stuck in that disgusting vacant house, and she was always looking forward to seeing me and going on walks. Then when i finally got her out of the house she was in boarding for a little while and I would visit her a few times a week and we were always looking forward to seeing each other! Her name was meant to be and she was meant to be with me.

servicedog_paws

Zasha is my Toy Aussie Service Dog, she was named after a dog in a book that I read in like the 4thgrade. That dog was a hero, and I knew when I got my hero she would be named Zasha. So almost 10 years later, I got my service dog and I named her Zasha! She may be smaller than the one in the book, but she saves my life everyday, she is my Zasha.

hannah_the_sheppy

Hi! I’m Hannah. I got my name because it means “Grace.” My mom’s best friend before me, a golden retriever, was named Gracie Mae, so my name is in honor of Gracie. Gracie got her name because mom and her family weren’t sure about getting another dog and asked for a sign. They drove by a church called Our Lady of Grace that had a sign that said “if you’re looking for a sign this is it.” Also, when mom picked me up to bring me to my forever home, a piece of Gracie’s fur came from somewhere and landed on my head, thus cementing my name (Hannah) because the family thought I received Gracie’s blessing.

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