According to a study of 36,000 pets name by John Lewis Insurance, more people are rejecting conventional pet names in favor of those normally given to children.
Families are more likely to call their cats George than Tiddles while traditional pooch names; like Fido or Lassie, have been replaced by Toby, Archie and Holly.
Poppy is currently the UK’s most popular name for both dogs and cats. Other favored names in the list include Alfie, Molly and Millie. The company’s research also discovered a craze for naming cats and dogs after celebrities, with J-Lo, Shakira, Clint Eastwood and Will.I.am among the stars paid tribute to.
Pet owners with seemingly more refined tastes, on the other hand, named their pets after renowned classical composers such as Elgar and Wagner. Meanwhile, football fans appear plentiful with pet names such as Giggs and Beckham appearing on the list.
‘Our analysis has found that when it comes to inspiration, owners will look far and wide to get their perfect pet name – from the shopping basket and the silver screen to literary characters or even their favourite drink,” said John Brady, head of commercial at John Lewis Insurance.
In Singapore, a quick survey of online pet owners’ forums and sites showed that the trend is equally popular here. Pet names such as Russell, Jack and Sophie are often used.
Question on most people’s minds is, why human names? Has the relationship between owners and their pets reached the same level of adulation as a parent and child?
What did your family named your pets? Tell us all about it.
Source: AFP
Photo credit: ngader on flickr.com