Naming our new dog. Photo: Ariane Coffin.
My husband and I had been joking about getting a dog—a corgi, more specifically—for years, but it was only recently that the stars aligned and the timing felt right. I scoured the net for dogs available at every local animal shelter and rescue, which paid off when we found an older puppy that seemed like a good match for our family. She is a basset hound/terrier mix who is, so far, quiet, happy, and easy-going. Then, we had to find the perfect name for our new pup. Here’s the list of names we came up with, and at the end, I’ll share which we ended up picking!
Scientists
Ada – Ada Lovelace
Hopper – Grace Hopper
Tesla – Nikola Tesla
Faraday – Michael Faraday
Volta – Alessandro Volta
Math
Epsilon – Greek letter used in calculus to symbolize a small number, epsilons is what famous mathematician Paul Erdős used to call children.
Pi – 3.14159…
Fractal – A self-repeating pattern.
dt – The derivative, with respect to time.
Digit – I don’t think I need to explain this one!
Books & TV
Backup – A favorite from Veronica Mars! “Bring backup with you” takes on a whole new meaning.
Gir – The air (and bolts and pocket lint)-headed robot from Invader Zim.
Mouse – Harry Dresden’s magical dog from The Dresden Files book series by Jim Butcher.
Zelda – Do I even need to explain this one?
Lokie – Add an “e” and this trickster Norse god makes a good female name.
Juno – Roman goddess of marriage, protector of women.
Nature & Space
Nova – Explosion of a white dwarf star.
Titania – Queen of fairies in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but also a moon and a chemical compound also known as titanium dioxide.
River – Doubles as a TV name because of River Song from Doctor Who.
Tech
Gadget – A cute potential name for our little whatchamacallit.
Data – If only my husband and I could agree on how it’s pronounced! I say dayta, he says dhata.
Hacker – Making stuff work, one way or another.
Logic – Irrefutable.
And the winner is—drumroll please—Mouse!
This name worked well for us on so many facets. First, we’ve named most of our pets (of which there has been many considering the luck I’ve had keeping fish alive during a short-lived obsession with saltwater aquariums) after literary characters, so Mouse from Dresden followed our unofficial rule. My husband and I are big fans of the Dresden books, it’s about time it received a pet homage. Our only other pet right now is a black cat named Raven, after the character in Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash.
Which brings me to the next good reason to pick Mouse. Now we have a cat named after a bird and a dog named after a rodent. Seems only fitting. Moreover, my husband and I both being programmers, Mouse has a tech component as well. And does anyone remember Danger Mouse? My husband and I both vaguely remember liking the show when we were growing up, even though we can’t seem to remember much of anything about it at all! Nevertheless, obscure cartoon references are always welcome.
Finally, our 4-year-old thought it was quite hilarious to name a dog Mouse. Kid approved. Done.
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