Line #67 Main/PetsHomageName


1	%%
2	%%
3	%%
4	%%
5	%%
6	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
7	%%
8	%%
9	%%
10	%%
11	%%
12	It's a simple way to provide characterization: if you're highly educated and/or sophisticated you give a similar name to your pet. A popular scientist to name cats after is Erwin Schrödinger, best known for his UsefulNotes/SchrodingersCat thought experiment. Popular enough to be a StockAnimalName.
13
14	It doesn't have to be a scientist naming the cat for another scientist. If you're an expert in a given field, you give an appropriate name to the pet. A musician may name the dog after a famous composer, a literature professor name the cat for an ancient king, a physicist name the ferret "Proton", etc. You're just too damn intelligent to own a dog named Rover or a parrot named Polly.
15
16	Often a SubTrope of NamedAfterSomebodyFamous, when using famous, historic names. Could also overlap with FormallyNamedPet, should some egghead name the dog ''Professor'' Einstein.
17
18	See also WeNamedTheMonkeyJack, when the homage is to a personal friend/relative/acquaintance.
19
20	Not to be confused with TributeToFido, which is when a name is a homage to a pet.
21
22	----
23	!!Examples:
24
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
28	* In ''Manga/GetBackers'', Madoka Otowa is a BlindMusician that gets guided around by a seeing eye corgi that she named Mozart.
29	* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': Mycroft has a pet bird named "Mr. Charles Dickens" which he calls Charlie.
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Comic Book]]
33	* ''ComicBook/AntMan'': Hank Pym sometimes named ants after musicians he liked, most notably the trio he used to explore inside Vision, who were [[Music/CrosbyStillsNashAndYoung Crosby, Stills and Nash]]. Scott Lang has also named ants after celebrities, including musicians, but his first ants were [[Series/TheAvengers1960s Emma and Steed]], and he later followed this up with [[Series/TheNewAvengers Purdey and Gambit]].
34	* In ''ComicBook/LoriLovecraft'', struggling actress Lori's cat is named Keaton in honour of Creator/BusterKeaton.
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
38	* In ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'', Jeremy adopts a cat he names '[[Music/EricClapton Clapton]]'.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
42	* In ''WesternAnimation/AprilAndTheExtraordinaryWorld'', April's cat is named Darwin, after Charles Darwin. As a member of a family of renegade scientists who refuse to work for the Empire, it is not surprising that she names her pet after a great scientist.
43	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'': Merlin's {{Familiar}} is an owl named Archimedes.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
47	* ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen'': [[TheMunchausen Baron Munchausen's]] [[CoolHorse horse]] is named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucephalus Bucephalus,]] thus making this trope OlderThanRadio.
48	* Doc Brown in the ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' film trilogy names his dogs after famous scientists. In 1985, his dog is called Einstein, and in 1955, his dog is called Copernicus. In 1885, his horse is called Copernicus.
49	* The titular dog in ''Film/{{Beethoven}}''. His family decided on the name when he seemed to react positively as the youngest girl, Emily, began playing Beethoven's 5th Symphony on the piano. In the sequel, one of his puppies is named Tchaikovsky.
50	* In ''Film/ChittyChittyBangBang'', inventor Caratacus Potts has a dog named Edison.
51	* ''Film/CrazyRichAsians'': Peik Lin's NouveauRiche mother named her {{Mister Muffykins}} dogs Astor, Vanderbilt and Rockefeller, after rich American families.
52	* Eleanor from ''Film/DoRevenge'' named her emotional support dragon [[Creator/OliviaColman Oscar Winner Olivia Colman]].
53	* In ''Film/ElviraMistressOfTheDark'' this trope is used as one of many small gauges of the lead's average smarts. Elvira has an UnexpectedInheritance of a mansion, "cookbook", and a poodle. Her great aunt, a powerful, savvy witch, named him Algonquin after the American Indian tribe. Elvira is much more Earthy and neither dumb or brainy, so she shortens his name to Gonk.
54	* ''Film/HoneyIShrunkTheKids'', bumbling inventor Wayne Szalinski has a dog named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark Quark.]]
55	* In ''Film/TheHunt2020'', the pig is named [[Creator/GeorgeOrwell Orwell]], because the hunters are drawing symbolism from ''Literature/AnimalFarm''.
56	* At the end of ''Film/TheInterview'', David Skylark revealed that he named his Cavalier Spaniel puppy [[spoiler:after the late Kim Jong-un]].
57	* The UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan-themed killer in ''Film/TheTripper'' has a [[RightHandAttackDog pack of attack dogs]] trained to attack hippies, one of whom is named '[[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush George W.]]'.
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:Literature]]
61	* ''Literature/BothCanBeTrue'' has a Pomeranian named [[Franchise/StarWars Chewbarka]].
62	* In ''Literature/CallMeSunflower'', the Applebaums' cats are named Aristotle, Copernicus, and Einstein.
63	* ''Literature/CrazyRichAsians'': The NouveauRiche Gohs named their dogs Astor, Vanderbilt and Trump, after rich Americans.
64	* ''Literature/TheDoorIntoSummer'': Dan, the brilliant engineer on the cutting edge of domestic robotics, named his cat Petronius the Arbiter.
65	* In ''Literature/TheGoldenHamsterSaga'', Mr. John named his whistling guinea pigs [[Music/EnricoCaruso Enrico and Caruso]].
66	* In ''Literature/TheGreatBalloonRace'', Professor Aristotle Pilaster's CanineCompanion is named Plato.
67	* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
68	** [[ConvenientlyAnOrphan Harry]] names his owl Hedwig, ''"a name he had found in A History of Magic."'' The author took the name from Saint Hedwig, patron saint of orphans.
69	** As per the movie props, Hermione ''might'' have named her cat Crookshanks after the in-universe figure from the 16th century, [[https://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Poderick_Crookshank Poderick Crookshank]].
70	* In ''Literature/HeartInHand'', Alex names a stray cat "Gary" after the unpopular NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, because he has "dark hair, a funny face, and a [[CurseCutShort really really tiny...]]"
71	* In the AlternateHistory novel ''Literature/HowFewRemain'', Samuel Clemens (a Creator/MarkTwain that never adopted the moniker and instead became a journalist in San Francisco) names his dog "Sutro" after the city mayor, Adolph Sutro. When Sutro's inactivity leads to the city being invaded by the British, Clemens comments that the shared name is actually more insulting for the dog.
72	* Discouraged in ''Literature/HowNotToWriteANovel'', noting that if your novel's protagonist ''must'' have a cat, do not name it after a composer (such as Bartok), after a writer (Hemingway), after an ancient Greek (Socrates) or after a person that reflects the character's political leanings (Trotsky), among several other examples.
73	* In ''Literature/MrPoppersPenguins'' the first penguin the Poppers receive ends up being named Captain Cook after British explorer, James Cook.
74	* In ''Literature/AMurderIsAnnounced'', Rev. Julian Harmon, an [[{{UsefulNotes/Oxbridge}} Oxford alumnus]], named his cat after an Assyrian king.
75	* In ''Literature/TheMurderOfBindyMackenzie'', Bindy actually suggests this as a study tip.
76	-->'''BINDY MACKENZIE'S STUDY TIPS #6'''
77	-->Rename your pets.
78	-->Say you have a dog and a goldfish?
79	-->Rename your dog Nicholas II.
80	-->Every time you see him, say, "Hello there, Tsar Nicholas! [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Thinking about the 1825 Decembrists' Revolt and the 1861 Emancipation of the Serfs and how they affected your reign]]? How about Alexander II, eh? Swimming around in the aquarium there? What do you think of ''him''?
81	* ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing'' is the novel that ''WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone'' was adapted from. Like the Disney film, Merlin's Familiar is an owl named Archimedes.
82	* ''Literature/ThePantsProject'': Liv's mamma was born in Italy, so the family dog is named Garibaldi.
83	* In the ''Literature/RepairmanJack'' series, Abe is a gun-dealer and technical expert on firearms; gun design, mechanical specifications, upkeep, customization, and repair. He'd probably have found a great job in the industry if he wasn't so determined to remain independent. He calls his pet parakeet Parabellum, the name of a specific type of cartridge.
84	* In ''Literature/TheSalmonOfDoubt'', one of Literature/DirkGently's current cases is working out the name of a dog. He eventually realises that, since the late owner was writing a biography of Søren Kierkegaard , he would therefore probably have named the dog Kierkegaard, because it's a huge stress reliever to turn to it and say "Oh, shut ''up'', Kierkegaard!"
85	* Charlie from ''Literature/TheSomedayBirds'' names his dog Tiberius, after the ornithologist Tiberius Shaw, [=PhD=].
86	* ConversationalTroping in ''Literature/TheToughGuideToFantasyland'', which tells you to ignore the page that says "[[{{Dedication}} For Barbie and Greta and Albert Einstein and Auntie May]]", even if you're wondering if "Albert Einstein" is actually UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein, or just the writer's dog.
87	* ''Literature/WildOrchid'': In ''Waiting for No One'', Taylor names her gerbil Creator/HaroldPinter after her favorite playwright. After Harold Pinter [[YourTomcatIsPregnant gives birth]], Taylor keeps one of the babies and names him Creator/SamuelBeckett.
88	* Charlie from ''Literature/TheWildWayHome'' has a cat named Howard Carter. He used to have another one named King Tut.
89	* ''Literature/YoungSherlockHolmes'': Duke Balthasar, the BigBad of ''Red Leech'', is the leader of '[[TheRemnant the Government in Exile of the Confederacy]]'. He has two semi-tamed cougars he calls Grant and Sherman, in what he admits is a kind of sick joke.
90	[[/folder]]
91
92	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
93	* When Liz Lemon of ''Series/ThirtyRock'' is threatening to [[OldMaid give up looking for love]] and succumb to being a CrazyCatLady:
94	-->'''Liz:''' I have adopted this cat, named her Creator/EmilyDickinson-- \
95	'''Writers:''' ''[CollectiveGroan]'' \
96	'''Liz:''' --NAMED HER [[ReclusiveArtist EMILY DICKINSON!]]
97	* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', after a breakup with not-his-girlfriend Amy Farrah Fowler, theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper gets a cat that he names Dr. Robert Oppenheimer and takes him everywhere. Soon Sheldon becomes a [[CrazyCatLady Crazy Cat Gentleman]] and gets an entire Manhattan Project of cats -- Fermi, Feynman, Teller, Frisch, and OddNameOut Zazzles, because that cat is so zazzy.
98	* ''Series/BJAndTheBear'' is about Billie Joe "B.J." [=McKay=], a professional freelance itinerant trucker who travels the country's highways in a red and white Kenworth K-100 Aerodyne with his pet chimpanzee Bear (named after Bear Bryant, the famed football coach for the University of Alabama).
99	* On ''Series/{{Blackish}}'', Dre's sister Rhonda and her wife Sharon have a cat called 'Kitty Lang'.
100	* ''Series/ClarissaExplainsItAll'' has an episode where Ferguson, her InsufferableGenius brother, finds a lost cat that he names William F. Buckley.
101	** Likewise, Clarissa herself has a pet alligator named [[Music/ElvisPresley "Elvis"]].
102	* An episode of ''Series/{{Columbo}}'', the victim was a talented musician who had named her bird Chopin.
103	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E3ImageOfTheFendahl "Image of the Fendahl"]], archeologist Adam Colby calls his dog Leakey. The intent by writer Creator/ChrisBoucher was that he was named after archeologist Louis Leakey, but he later realised a dog named Leakey suggested [[UrineTrouble something else entirely]]. [[Literature/DoctorWhoNovelisations The novelisation]] by Creator/TerranceDicks claims it's ''both''.
104	--> His name was partly a tribute to the famous anthropologist, partly a reference to an unfortunate habit of occasionally forgetting his house-training.
105	* ''Series/DowntonAbbey'': All three dogs--Pharaoh, Isis & Tiaa--belonging to the Crawley family have names that are references to AncientEgypt, and were likely chosen in tribute to the Earl of Carnarvon (real life owner of Highclere Castle AKA the Abbey) who financed Howard Carter's expedition.
106	* ''Series/DueSouth'': Canadian Mountie Benton Fraser named his wolf Deifenbecker, after former Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbecker.
107	* ''Series/FatherTed'': Dougal names his rabbit Sampras, after Pete Sampras, owing to "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} the obvious rabbits-tennis connection]]."
108	* In ''Series/{{Glee}}'', The Dalton Academy Warblers each receive a canary after making the choir. The one Kurt is given is named Pavarotti, after the famed singer.
109	* In ''Series/{{Hardball}}'', tween-AlphaBitch Tiffany owns a pair of cavoodles named [[Music/RickyMartin Ricky and Martin]].
110	* In ''Series/TheInBESTigators'', science geek Ezra has a pet goldfish named Neil Armstrong.
111	* ''Series/JonathanCreek'': A minor character whose fascination with Classical Greek mythology plays a minor role in solving the mystery of the week owns a goldfish called Tiresias.
112	* In ''Series/ModernFamily'', it's mentioned that part of Mitchell's TransparentCloset as a child was naming his pet bird [[Creator/LizaMinnelli Fly-za Minelli]] and his pet snake [[Creator/ZsaZsaGabor Zsa Zsa Gaboa]].
113	* In ''Series/MyPlace'', Mohammed is into cricket and describes himself as 'a mad keen bowler'; he named his goldfish after Shane Warne and talks to it as if it were the actual cricket player.
114	* ''Series/{{Sliders}}'': In the first episode, Quinn- the inventor/discoverer of Sliding- mentions his cat named Schrödinger.
115	* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'': Capt. Jonathan Archer's pet beagle is named Porthos as he was from a litter of four puppies all named after the heroes from ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'' (Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan).
116	* ''Series/StargateSG1'' had Samantha Carter, the team TheSmartGuy, owning a cat named Schrödinger, which she gave to Narim early on.
117	* In ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'', Huggy Bear names one of his racing mice [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seabiscuit Cheesebiscuit]].
118	* ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'': In "[[Recap/TalesFromTheCryptS2E1DeadRight Dead Right]]", Madame Vorna's dog is named 'Trotsky'.
119	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S4E12IDreamOfGenie I Dream of Genie]]", George P. Hanley's dog Attila is named after UsefulNotes/AttilaTheHun.
120	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'': In "Little Boy Lost", the photojournalist Carol Shelton's cat is named Ansel after Ansel Adams.
121	* ''Series/TheWestWing'': Mathematics professor Talmidge Cregg has a cat named Nicodemus.
122	* ''Series/TheXFiles'' had Scully, whose background is in hard science like medicine and physics, owning a dog named Queequeg, a reference to one of the Characters in ''Literature/MobyDick''. (Her family has Navy connections, and she and her father shared a fondness for that novel.)
123	* ''Series/Zoey101'': In "Defending Dustin", Chase and Michael adopt a dog that they name "Elvis".
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
127	* On ''Series/TheMuppets2015'', Miss Piggy brings back a baby penguin from her vacation to Argentina. She names it Music/GloriaEstefan because it was the only Spanish name she could think of at the time.
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Radio]]
131	* In ''Radio/EdReardonsWeek'', Reardon is a witty, down on his luck writer, whose IntelligenceEqualsIsolation. The only friend he has is the cat, named after Music/EdwardElgar.
132	* ''Radio/ImSorryIHaventAClue'': One round of "Limerick" unfolded thusly:
133	-->'''Humphrey Lyttelton:''' "My hamster is called Otis Redding..."\
134	'''Graeme Garden:''' "My goldfish is Joan Armatrading..."\
135	'''Tim Brooke-Taylor:''' "My dogs are The Platters..."\
136	'''Barry Cryer:''' "Not that that matters..."\
137	'''Willie Rushton:''' "No, we're all up to here with the wedding."
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Toys]]
141	* Toys/MapleleaGirls: The Maplelea Girls are series of 18" dolls meant to teach about [[UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} Canadian geography, history, and culture]]; the story goes that a group of seven girls who met on holidays now share their everyday experiences and the differences between their provinces and their lives. In a suitably patriotic fashion, some of the pets available have names like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfrid_Laurier Laurier]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Diefenbaker Diefenbaker,]] named for important Canadian prime ministers.
142	[[/folder]]
143
144	[[folder:Video Games]]
145	* In ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', Dr. Kleiner has a "de-beaked" headcrab named after Creator/HedyLamarr. It's both a bad StealthPun and a ShoutOut to a classic actress- one who helped pioneer early wi-fi and cordless technologies.
146	* ''{{VideoGame/Skullgirls}}''' Peacock [[PopCulturedBadass is a huge fan of cartoons]], so it's natural that her little bird sidekick, Avery, takes his name from [[Creator/TexAvery one of the most famous animators of the medium]] (and also a [[StealthPun pun on Aviary]]).
147	* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', TheMedic owns a pet dove named Archimedes, but he runs more in the MadScientist direction, gleefully describing how he once stole a live patient's skeleton.
148	[[/folder]]
149
150	[[folder:Webcomics]]
151	* ''Webcomic/DrFrost'': Befitting a psychologist, when Frost adopts a puppy, he ends up naming him Pavlov.
152	* Dora in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' has a cat named [[Creator/ChinaMieville Miéville]].
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:WebOriginals]]
156	* Sam, a time traveler in ''Podcast/TheBrightSessions'', has a cat named Darwin which she obtained after a trip to the Galapagos where she saw the real deal.
157	[[/folder]]
158
159	[[folder:Western Animation]]
160	* ''WesternAnimation/ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKids'' are a pop band. Their TeamPet is a dog named Elvis.
161	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Fillmore}}'': Fillmore has a goldfish named Thelonius (after jazz musician Thelonius Monk). After Thelonious dies, he is replaced by a goldfish named Miles (after Miles Davis).
162	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'', the titular boy genius designed and built his robot dog and named him Goddard in honor of rocket science physicist and inventor Robert Goddard. Especially apt when, in his first animated feature film, Jimmy is able to ride upon Goddard like a space bike.
163	* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'', the Rat King is a MadScientist with the power over rats, and names all of his rats after famous Greeks and Romans; such as Caligula for his giant rat steed and Aristotle for his seeing eye rat.
164	* On ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama,'' [[StalkerWithACrush Sierra]] and [[ItsAllAboutMe Topher]] are both huge fans of [[BigBad Chris McLean]]. Even before they met him, Sierra has multiple fish [[OneSteveLimit all named "Chris"]] while Topher's cat, Chef, is named after [[ScaryBlackMan Chris' sidekick]].
165	[[/folder]]

Context Main / PetsHomageName