by Helena Sung

What do veterinarians think of the names we give our pets? Do they snicker or roll their eyes when they meet a cat named Meatball Jesus or a dog named Hannah Montana? Do they find the choice of Snowball or Fluffy to be a bit boring? 

The answer appears to be yes. 

In the recent USA Today article, "Less-than-fetching pet names can reflect back on owners," Florida-based veterinarian Dr. Patty Khuly says that what a cat or dog is named can reveal quite a bit about the pet parent. 

"Pet owners always seem to go with dramatic names for their pets," writes Dr. Khuly, citing such gems as Ghetto-Fabulous, Shrapnel and RazzleDazzle. "Maybe they represent names they are unwilling or unable to name their children," she muses. Not that the good doctor is above getting creative with her own pets' monikers, including one named Slumdog. (Her only explanation in the piece was that he "came by his name honestly, I can assure you.") 

We were curious whether other vets felt the same way, so we asked around. As it turns out, pet names are a big source of conversation around the animal hospital water cooler. 

Tags to Avoid 
"There's all this lore in veterinary medicine about pet names," Dr. Tony Johnson, clinical assistant professor at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, tells Paw Nation. "The first one is, never name your pet Lucky. That almost guarantees your pet will get hit by a car or get some crazy disease that's only been seen twice since the Middle Ages." 

Another no-no is when owners recycle pet names. In fact, it is a "humongous red flag," according to Dr. Johnson. When a person gives successive pets the same name, like Fluffy II, says Dr. Johnson, "I always wonder, 'what happened to Fluffy I?"

Pop Culture Motivations 
Movies and television are also rich sources of pet names. It's what Dr. Johnson calls the "Disney effect." "I've met pets named Simba after 'The Lion King,' Pikachu after the Pokemon character and even a Labrador retriever named Hannah Montana," Dr. Johnson says. "Whatever is in popular culture will trickle down to pet names." But whether any of these names will stand the test of time is debatable. 

On the other hand, tried and true names can be considered dull. "A white dog named Snowball or a gray cat named Smoky isn't all that creative," says Dr. Johnson. 

Real Life Inspirations 
"I enjoy it when a pet isn't named Princess or Gizmo or Benji," says Dr. Judith Schwartz, a veterinarian at the Humane Society of New York City. "It shows the owners have thought about the name." Assuming there's a story behind a flamboyant moniker, Dr. Schwartz will use it as an opportunity to establish a connection when speaking to a pet owner. "I'll ask, 'how'd you name your pet?" she says. 

Many pet names do have interesting backgrounds. For example, Dr. Johnson and his wife, Dr. Gretchen Statz, also a veterinarian, have two cats named after the trauma that befell each of them. "One of our cats was rescued after someone set him on fire and we named him Crispy," says Dr. Johnson. "Our other cat was found after it was shot with an arrow and we named her Cupid." But isn't it a little sick to name your cat Crispy? "It's not sick, it's funny!" insists Dr. Johnson. "We love him." 

From the Truly Troubling to Comic Relief 
Dr. Judith Schwartz, a veterinarian at the Humane Society of New York City, tells Paw Nation that she has encountered pet names that are "unprintable." "You have no choice but to infer there's something strange with the owner," she says. Dr. Khouly agrees. "I always worry when I see a pet named something rude, demeaning or devised to congratulate the owner on his dry wit," she writes. "Infidel, Slut, Saddam, Fidelita and Stalin are all names I've seen come out of the label machine. What does that say about your relationship to your animal?" 

Fun and colorful names, however, can provide a much-needed chuckle in the midst of a vet's hectic day. At the Humane Society of New York -- which provides low-cost veterinary services to the public seven days a week, as well as an adoption center -- staff keep a running list. "We write them down if they're extraordinary," co-executive director Sandra DeFeo tells Paw Nation, rattling off some names: a dog named Chicken Arnold, a cat named Meatball Jesus, another cat named Cinnamon Toy of Tudor Mr. President, and a dog named Coco Henry Howard Meow. "One of the weirdest names we ever heard was a cat named Algebra," says DeFeo. 

An unusual pet name can be hard to forget, agrees Dr. Johnson, who once treated a dog named Delicious Sausage. "That was bizarre," he says.