It took my parents 13 years and their two oldest daughters moving out to be convinced to get a dog. When they finally made the call, I went with them to a small town in upstate New York to pick up our tiny black and white shih-tzu puppy. He liked to chew on wires and be held upside down. (Well, he didn’t really like to be upside down, but he wouldn’t squirm out of your arms, either.)
He stole our heart and our entire family could not, for the life of us, choose a name. Six years later, Puppy the dog has become an irreplaceable cuddle mush of love in our lives. Regardless, I can never shake the feeling that we missed an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give our dog a literary name. As a well-read family, there were so many literary options that we ignored in favor of diplomacy. So as a method of catharsis, here are my top six literary dog names that I wish I had chosen.
Here is a picture of Puppy, because he’s cute.
1. Atticus, from To Kill A Mockingbird
I understand this is a certain amount of controversy surrounding the pristine reputation of father Finch due to the release of Go Set A Watchman. I personally will remain faithful to the Atticus that was originally presented to the world. As such, I think Atticus is the funniest dog name. There is no other nickname that sets this well. Plus, it makes you sound pretentious, and just imagine how it would look on a dog tag!
2. Sherlock, from any of the many Sherlock Holmes novels
Picture in your mind, if you will, a bassett hound. See his stubby little legs and floppy ears the size of his torso. Those mournful eyes. Now call him Sherlock. Is it not the most fitting name?
3. Wilbur, from Charlotte’s Web
“It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.” Enough said.
4. McMurphy, from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
A lot of people have a lot of complicated feelings about One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Reasonably so, as the book is quite disturbing in parts and encourages discourse about many difficult subjects without providing very clear authorial intent in the form of an answer. Putting this aside, I think if you have a rough and tough, rabble rousing pup, McMurphy is perfect. We all need a little rebellion in our lives, though probably a little less Jack Nicholson…
5. Pudge, from Looking For Alaska
In case you’ve been living under a rock, John Green went to Kenyon. Also, Pudge would be an amazing name for a dog, whether they are pudgy or not. Also, this would a low key nerdfighter and YA novel fan move. No one would necessarily know what you were going, you sneaky little sneak.
6. Nick Carraway, from The Great Gatsby
I know the obvious route here would be to name a delicate tea cup dog with a bark like money Daisy, or to give your big dog that thinks he’s a small dog the title Gatsby, but I would recommend going with the non-traditional. It’s the juxtaposition of such an oddly human name, Nick, and the lyricism of Carraway that could give your puppy an edge on the block.
There you have it, my modest selections of the most interesting literary dog name in the canon. Do not make my family’s mistake and go with democracy over excitement. Duke it out until everyone is in agreement. And then name your dog Atticus.
Image credits: Lily Alig