Introduction: Naming is an important part of our society, and speaks to our relationship with humans and non-human animals. Despite high rates of companion animal ownership, we know relatively little about 1) how and why we name these companion animals, and 2) whether there are any psychological predictors related to the choice of name.
Methodology: An online survey was administered to companion animal owners around the world gathering information on the pet name, the justification for that name, as well as details of their personality (Mini IPIP), attachment (LAPS), and demographics. A total of 507 responses (468 females, 33 males; Mean age = 38.19 years, SD=12.75). The majority of pets included dogs (80% of the sample) and cats (19%).
Main Results: A qualitative approach was undertaken to categorise the pet names according to the justification given by the owner. This revealed six categories: popular culture reference names (26%), human names (21%), appearance & behaviour names (19%), origin & object names (17%), unusual names (7%) and unclassifiable (10%).
A multinomial logistic regression was used to predict the naming categories according to personality, attachment, species and demographics. Overall, the model identified a significant relationship between naming category and species p= .044), personality type (12.854, p= .012), and relationship status 17.115, p= .029). The owner’s global attachment score was not a significant predictor of the naming category.
Principal Conclusions and Implications for Field: It is clear that pet owners put considerable time and effort into naming their pets, and the choice of name is reflective of a variety of reasons- for example, pet type, the owners likes/dislikes, relationship status, intelligence, and the observable characteristics of the animal’s identity or behaviour.
This study adds further insight into the significance of naming in human culture, and a greater understanding of the human-companion animal relationship. Knowledge of animal names and preferences might have implications for pet marketing, including the fundraising for, or rehoming of, shelter animals.