Whether they are furry or scaly or feathered, all fellow pet owners can attest to one common fact: our family pets have an irreplaceable role in our homes and hearts, and as such, have their own especially chosen names to express that role. Pets have been a part of society going back at least 10,000 years, and the art of naming pets is an exercise that likely dates back just as far.

One of the earliest known pet names was found on a tablet from an ancient Egyptian tomb and was written in hieroglyphs. The name is thought to be Abuwtiyuw, and while the translation is not certain, one historian seemed to think “With Pointed Ears” was a strong possibility. Clearly, naming our pets in relation to their features is not a new idea. I’m sure we’ve all seen a Mittens or Spot at some point in time. Even the Romans and Greeks had names that meant something along the lines of “Soot” or “Spotted”. Sometimes we get more creative with the features and tie in a breed or reference to the type of animal they are, such as President Rutherford B. Hayes and his cats Siam (the first Siamese cat in the USA) and Miss Pussy.

Other popular names include literary figures, celebrities, or just names that didn’t quite fit for our children. Bella saw a major surge in popularity after the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer became a hit book and movie series. Other pets of celebrities have also started their own naming trends, including Fido, Abraham Lincoln’s dog, or Fala, the dog of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, might win the prize for the most variety of pets as well as pet names during his time in office. His repertoire included a variety of the usual cats, dogs and ponies, but also a laughing hyena named Bill, a Hyacinth macaw name Eli Yale, a badger named Josiah, and a garter snake named Emily Spinach, among many others.

Our household currently contains three fur babies, whose names come from a variety of the above named trends. Sasha is our oldest, a terrier mix with a high maintenance no-nonsense personality to match. Her name is a derivative of Alexandra which has slavic origins, and means “defender of mankind”, which Sasha seems to fully take to heart.

Mocha is the next oldest, and her name stems primarily from what came to mind just from looking at her and her glossy brindle coat color. She is a sweet big dog personality in a little body, who finds her own ways of dealing with a bossy “older sister”. The word Mocha originally referred to a port in Yemen, known for trading in a specifc type of Arabic coffee that was originally called mocha as well, before it was used to also refer to the color.

Our most recent addition to our family was a ferret, named Batman by his previous owners, due in large part to kid input and a defining black mask around his eyes. We love all of our fur babies and their names, whether unique or not. Over time, just like our own names, what we name our pets becomes as much a part of their identity as the things they do or the way they act. So the next time you are picking out a name for your pet, remember you are continuing a tradition that has a history spanning many millenia.