Line #56 ADogNamedDog/Literature


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2	%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct place. Thanks!
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4	!! Examples of ADogNamedDog in Literature:
5	* The Moles' dog in the ''Literature/AdrianMole'' books.
6	* ''Literature/AmongTheBeastsAndBriars'': Cerys decided to name the fox she saved "Fox".
7	* ''Literature/AngelaNicely'': Downplayed in “Pony Party!”, in which one horse is named Dobbin, which is slang for a horse.
8	* ''Literature/AnimalInn'': Book 3 features Little Leo, a lion cub.
9	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheAnimalsOfFarthingWood'', the Farthing Wood animals are all called by what animal they are such as Fox, Owl, and Badger; animals in the past, when things were more plentiful, had names like Lean Fox. But when we meet more animals, they're given different names of their own.
10	* In ''Literature/TheBarbarianAndTheSorceress'', Rom refuses to name his horse, not wanting to get attached to the animal, only to find himself calling it "Horse" as a name.
11	* Emma from ''Literature/BecauseOfTheRabbit'' names her bunny Lapi, short for Monsieur Lapin.
12	* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' has Horse the horse. Garion never thinks to name him after bringing him BackFromTheDead as a colt, and "Horse" settles as a proper noun around the time he gives the horse to Errand.
13	* ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears'' has the four members of the bear family- Mama, Papa, Brother, and Sister.
14	* In the short story collection ''Literature/ABirdInTheHouse'' by Creator/MargaretLaurence , the grandmother doesn't believe in naming pets. She calls her canary "Bird."
15	* ''Literature/TheBlackStallion'''s title character is referred to as "The Black" throughout the novel.
16	* In ''Literature/BreakfastAtTiffanys'', Holly Golightly's cat is simply called Cat. In the [[Film/BreakfastAtTiffanys film adaptation]], Holly [[DiscussedTrope explains]] to Paul that she just didn't feel like she had the ''right'' to give the cat a name because she didn't have any right to ''own'' the cat, instead seeing him as something more like a flatmate.
17	* The main characters of ''Broken Gate'' with their names being Nezumi (rat or mouse), Toramaru (called "Tora", tiger), and Ryuuji (two dragons), leaving their sister Miyako the OddNameOut, as her name isn't necessarily an animal one.
18	* A slight variation appears in ''Literature/{{Brotherband}},'' where the dog is not named "Dog," but rather "Kloof," since that's the sound she makes when she barks. (Which she does. Often).
19	* Almost all the child characters in Wilmar Shiras's ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheAtom'' have pets. The only name we learn for any of the pets is Pup-Dog.
20	* In ''Literature/CemeteryBird'', Jay's grandma has a cat named Kitty.
21	* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAncientDarkness'' features a wolf called Wolf.
22	* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'':
23	** Aslan is Turkish for "lion".
24	** In ''Literature/PrinceCaspian'', Caspian's horse is named Destrier, which literally means "Great Horse".
25	* ''Literature/{{Crictor}}'': {{Downplayed}} — Madame Bodot makes sure that her new pet snake is a non-poisonous boa constrictor before deciding to keep him and name him. "Crictor" is a foreshortened form of '''c'''onst'''rictor'''.
26	* All the wild dogs in ''{{Literature/Darkeye}}'' are named their species name from their country of origin- i.e., "Mhumhi" means "African wild dog" in Shona.
27	* ''Literature/DavidAndThePhoenix'': The Phoenix is never referred to as anything but the Phoenix, so we can only assume this is his actual name. Most of the magical creatures, such as the Sea Monster and the Banshee, are only referred to by their species' name, but it's unclear if these are their actual names or the Phoenix just never bothers to call them by their actual names.
28	* Haplo in Literature/TheDeathGateCycle simply calls his dog "dog". He also refuses to call Alfred by his name for a long time, referring to him simply as Sartan (Alfred's race).
29	* ''Literature/DinosaurVs'' features a dinosaur named Dinosaur as the protagonist.
30	* ''Literature/{{Dog}}'' by Daniel Pennac has the main character named... well, Dog. Other names had been suggested for him, but his owner Plum didn't like any of them.
31	* In Creator/DavPilkey's ''[[Literature/TheDragonSeries Dragon]]'' series, the main character is a dragon named Dragon.
32	* In N. R. Eccles-Smith's HighFantasy series, ''Literature/{{DragonCalling}}'', [[TheHero Laeka'Draeon's]] name (a substitute given by Ubi since [[AmnesiacHero he cannot remember his own]]) means just what he is: a ''little dragon''. Ubi herself admits that it’s ''“not exactly the most creative name”'' but she imagines that he will not have to use it for long.
33	* ''Literature/EarthsChildren''
34	** Ayla adopts a wolf pup and names it Wolf. InUniverse it's an UnbuiltTrope, though, since it's virtually unknown for people to have pets in that world.
35	** Also, she calls her horse Whinney, which she takes to be another form of this.
36	** Her orphaned lion cub named Baby may qualify. He was like a baby to her.
37	* "Literature/TheEmissary": The titular character is literally a dog named "Dog."
38	* ''Literature/{{Endling}}'': Renzo has a dog named Dog.
39	* ''Literature/{{Evolution}}'': Three of the first protagonists of the story are a ''Purgatorius'' named Purga, a ''Plesiadapis'' named Plesi and a ''Notharctus'' named Noth. Purga's nemesis in the first chapter is a ''Troodon'' named Wounding Tooth (which is what ''Troodon'' means in Greek). Of course, none of these characters actually call themselves by names; they are simply labels used by the story to refer to them.
40	* Almost everyone in the ''Literature/{{Franklin}}'' children's books, [[OddNameOut except for the title character]].
41	* Adam's [[{{Hellhound}} dog]] in ''Literature/GoodOmens'': "I'll call him Dog. Saves a lot of trouble, a name like that." According to the narration, the Dog-to-be is of the opinion that his name will define the core of his nature (being, as he is, a magical HellHound servant to the Antichrist). So when his owner names him Dog rather than, say, Killer...
42	* ''Literature/HauntedHomeRenovationMysteries'': Late in book 1, Mel gets rescued by a dog, whom she takes home. She starts just calling him "Dog", thinking he's just a temporary housemate, but he winds up becoming permanent. Her father winds up renaming him "Doug" a few books later, but hardly anyone can remember this, starting to say one name and switching to another midway through, and Mel ends up sticking with just calling him Dog to avoid the confusion.
43	* The unnamed protagonist of ''Literature/HowToBeComfortableInYourOwnFeathers'' has classmates named Hummingbird, Chicken, and Sparrow.
44	* All of the animal characters in the ''Literature/IfYouGiveAMouseACookie'' and associated spin-off books and animated series are this. Mouse, Dog, Cat, Pig and Moose.
45	* ''Literature/INeedAWee'': Alan's friends are a giraffe named Giraffe and a robot named Robot.
46	* ''Literature/ItsLikeThisCat'' is a 1960's children's novel by Emily Cheney Neville about the exploits of a teenage boy, Dave, and his cat, Cat, and their exploits and encounters while living in [[BigApplesauce New York City.]]
47	--> '''Dave''': I know he's a cat. He knows he's a cat. And his name is Cat.
48	* Justified in ''Literature/JamesAndTheGiantPeach'', since the characters are mutated insects who presumably didn't have names when they were normal insects, and they apparently haven't seen the need for a name more descriptive than their own species. After all, anyone can tell the difference between the only giant spider in the world and the only giant earthworm in the world, without needing to give them any kind of personal name.
49	* A feline version in ''Literature/TheJapaneseLover''. Before the Fukudas report to a reinternnment camp during WWII, Ichimei leaves family cat with Alma's care. Neko means "cat" in Japanese. When Alma grows up, she names her own cats Neko.
50	* Most of the characters in ''Literature/TheJungleBook'' as well as its related stories are named after their species names in Hindi:
51	** Baloo the bear, Tabaqui the jackal, Mang the bat, Chil the kite, Hathi the elephant, and so on.
52	** Then you get Father Wolf, who isn't given even that, and Grey Brother is nearly as bad.
53	** A rare human example: Mowgli the man-cub's nickname is Man-Cub. They also call him Little Brother, which works for Bagheera, but sounds odd coming from a porcupine (Ikki calls him that in "How Fear Came").
54	** Kotick's name from "The White Seal" (Russian, in this case).
55	* Pig from ''Literature/{{Kipper}}''.
56	* Squirrel, in ''Literature/TheKnightInRustyArmor''.
57	* ''Literature/LaszloHadronAndTheWargodsTomb'' features a catgirl named "Isis [[GratuitousSpanish Lagato]]".
58	* Interestingly averted in ''Literature/TheLastDragon.'' Yorsh, Sajra and Monser find a dog, and Yorsh names him Fido. Monser exclaims that that's a ridiculous name - dogs are called Paws or Patch or some such, not ''Fido.'' Yorsh later names a horse Lightning, to similar consternation. It's implied that humans are not particularly imaginative about naming, at least not with animals.
59	* In ''Literature/TheLeastOne'', protagonist Boy's father hated his given name, so he decided his children would choose their own names. (Boy had an older brother who was called "Son" until he selected the name John for himself.) Adolescent Boy, obsessed with choosing the right name for himself, remains undecided until the very end of the novel. His choice is not revealed.
60	* ''Literature/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' has a cat named Kitty.
61	* Livvie from ''Literature/LivvieOwenLivedHere'' has a gray cat named Gray Cat. She used to have another cat named Orange Cat.
62	* In the books on which ''{{Series/Longmire}}'' is based, Walt unofficially adopts a dog from a victim who died and, because he doesn't know the dog's name, calls him Dog. He lives in the sheriff's office and follows Walt everywhere.
63	* Played with in ''Literature/LukaAndTheFireOfLife''. Presumably, the dog had originally been named Dog and the bear Bear, but they came to Luka with their collars swapped, so the book refers to them as Bear the Dog and Dog the Bear.
64	* ''Literature/MansfieldPark:'' One early indication that Lady Bertram is a dim bulb is that she has a pet pug named “Pug”.
65	* In ''Literature/TheMonsterGarden'', Frankie names her monster "Monnie".
66	* In ''Literature/MortalEngines'' there is a pet called Dog, although technically he's a wolf.
67	* In ''Literature/MovingPictures'', the talking cat isn't certain if it has a name or not, as it remembers a child once called it "Puss" but doesn't know if that counts.
68	* ''Literature/TheMuddleHeadedWombat'' revolves around a trio of friends: a wombat named Wombat, a long-tailed bush mouse named Long-Tailed Bush Mouse ("Mouse" to her friends), and a tabby cat named Tabby.
69	* In ''Literature/NakedCameTheStranger'', the hippie couple Arthur and Raina Franhop named their cat Cat.
70	* ''Literature/NettleAndBone'': Marra forgets to name her new [[NonHumanUndead skeleton dog]] until the dust-wife prompts her, then blanks and names it Bonedog. The dust-wife snarks about Marra's lack of imagination, but the name sticks.
71	* Skye from ''Literature/OrangeCloudsBlueSky'' gives her sister Starr a kitten, which she appropriately names Kitty.
72	* ''Literature/PahuaMoua'': Pahua's friend is a cat spirit she named "Miv", meaning "cat".
73	* ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'': Ella the Harpy. Her name is apparently Latin for..."harpy", as she says:
74	--> Ella. Aella. 'Harpy.' In English. In Latin.
75	* The Pigeon of ''Literature/PigeonSeries'' is a pigeon named Pigeon, or "the Pigeon."
76	* In the ''Literature/PippiLongstocking'' books Pippi's horse is named Horse.
77	* ''Literature/PixieTricks'' has a [[OurFairiesAreDifferent sprite]] named Sprite.
78	* Tod in ''Literature/ThePlagueDogs'' by Creator/RichardAdams. "Tod" is an old English/Celtic word for a fox.
79	* ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'': Buttercup's horse is named Horse. The narrator even snarks about it, noting that "Buttercup was never long on imagination."
80	* ''Literature/PrincessesOfThePizzaParlor'': A humanoid that resembles a sheep, is named Pesh, which is SignificantAnagram, of She(e)p.
81	* ''Literature/PrideWars'': Leo the [[FunnyAnimal anthropomorphic]] lion.
82	* ''Literature/RaptorRed'': The eponymous character -- a ''Utah'''''''raptor''''' of the '''Red'''-Snout species -- comes from a species with no names or real language, so the author gives her this nickname for reference. Other characters have similar "names" like "Raptor Red's sister" and "the old dactyl".
83	* Oscar from ''Literature/TheRealBoy'' has given reasonably creative names to most of his cats, except for one tomcat named Cat.
84	* Common in ''{{Literature/Redwall}}'', where several characters have first names related to their species (the Badger Lords Brocktree, with Brock being an old word for badger or Boar the Fighter, boar being the term for a male badger) or scientific name (Gulo the wolverine, from ''Gulo gulo'', or one hare with the middle name Lepus).
85	* A ''The Royal Diaries'' book about Cleopatra mentions this, after Cleopatra's sister obtains a baby baboon: "I do love this sister, but she is not very imaginative. What did she name her little pet? 'Baboon'. That is it. Berenice might be beautiful, but she would not make an interesting queen."
86	* In the trilogy that started the ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' novel series, Sam Verner names the stray mutt he adopts "Inu", which is "dog" in Japanese.
87	* Vulture the vulture spirit in ''Literature/ShamanBlues''.
88	* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
89	** Septon Meribald, a wandering priest in the Riverlands, is accompanied by a dog which he only calls Dog, claiming that he can't name it as the dog doesn't belong to him, and it has not bothered to tell him its name.
90	** There's also Shaggydog, but he's a wolf. The name is explained by the fact that Rickon Stark was only three when he named him.
91	* In ''Literature/{{Stray\|1987}}'', Pufftail is confused to meet a cat who calls himself "Tom-Cat". When he questions this, he's told by another that "there is only one Tom-Cat". Tom-Cat is also called "Our Father Tom-Cat" and "Our Tom" by others in the Commune.
92	* ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'' has Alpha himself, who's been called Pup, Dog, and Wolf all his life due to being a wolf-dog.
93	* Everyone from the ''Literature/SweetPickles'' books.
94	* In ''Literature/SwordOfShadows'', Vaylo Bludd, [[RedBaron the Dog Lord]] keeps a pack of five war dogs, all of whom he simply calls "dog" (or by description if he needs to single one out, ie "the wolf dog"). Apparently Vaylo has owned so many dogs over the course of his life, and his identity so strongly tied to that fact, that naming them would feel as strange - and unnecessary - to him as naming his limbs. Vaylo's grandchildren, however, don't share his restraint and named the wolf dog - the largest and most aggressive of the pack - "[[FluffyTheTerrible Fluff]]". Vaylo considers the fact that the wolf dog actually answers to that name to be the funniest thing he's ever seen.
95	* The children's book ''Literature/TightTimes'' has a mild aversion: the boy wants a pet dog. Eventually he adopts a hungry kitten and names it "Dog".
96	* Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium:
97	** In ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' there's the sentient, [[TheQuietOne rarely-talking]] hound Huan that plays a big role in the tale of Beren and Lúthien (going so far as to fight the [[ShapeShifting wolf-shaped]] then-[[TheDragon Dragon]] [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Sauron]] face to face and make him retreat). Yes, his name means "hound" in Quenya.
98	** In ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' the King of Rohan is named Théoden, which is essentially the Old English word for king. It is said to be a translation of the Rohirric word/name Tûrac, which again simply means "king." The long list of names of previous kings of Rohan (Fengel, Walda, etc.) are also essentially Old English words with related meanings (lord, ruler, etc.)
99	** In ''Literature/TheHobbit'' there's Beorn, a man who can shapeshift into a bear and has a name that translates to "bear" in Old English.
100	* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
101	** There is a tomcat named Tom in ''Literature/WarriorCatsDawnOfTheClans'': ''Thunder Rising'', who eventually becomes the father of Turtle Tail's kits. Gray Wing finds it really weird that someone would name an animal their own species name. This continues in ''The First Battle'', where after a scuffle, Thunder is introduced to Tom. The latter introduces himself, and Thunder thinks he's dumb, saying "I ''know'' you're a tom. What's your name?"
102	** Similarly, in ''Daisy's Kin'', Daisy meets a tom named Tom-Tom, and she thinks that it's not really a name, that it would be like being named "She-cat-She-cat".
103	* In the rabbit mythology of ''Literature/WatershipDown'', there's a hedgehog character named Yona. "Yona" is Lapine for "hedgehog".
104	* ''Literature/WhatTheHellDidIJustReadANovelOfCosmicHorror'': John's dog is named Diogee. Knowing John, its name is likely pronounced "D O G," even though the audio book apparently missed the joke and pronounces it "Dye-Oh-Gee."
105	* Coyote, the BigBad from ''Literature/TheWildOnesMoonlightBrigade'', is a coyote.
106	* This is a recurring trend in the childrens' books by Creator/MoWillems:
107	** The main characters in the ''Literature/{{Pigeon\|Series}}'' books are Pigeon, the (unnamed) Bus Driver, and the Duckling.
108	** The ''Literature/ElephantAndPiggie'' books have Elephant Gerald's best friend Piggie, a pig.
109	** As well as all the characters from the ''Cat the Cat'' books.
110	* ''Literature/TheWindInTheWillows''. Mole, Rat, and Badger. Mr. Toad himself is a borderline case between this and SpeciesSurname; we're not sure if he has a forename or not.
111	* In ''Literature/WingsOfFire,'' there's a dragon of the [=SkyWing=] tribe named Sky. A few other dragons even remark upon his unusual name, since [=SkyWings=] usually have names related to their mountainous home or the color red. [[spoiler: It's because he wasn't named by a dragon--he was named by a ''human,'' who didn't know at the time that he was from a tribe known as [=SkyWings=].]]
112	* ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'':
113	** Piglet, Owl, and Rabbit. The narrator even questions why some characters have proper names while others are named after their species.
114	** Played with via mother and joey kangaroo pair Kanga and Roo.
115	** Narrowly averted with Tigger, though not averted in the other adaptations; Tigger is a tigger and he's the only one of his kind. Also in some translations (such as the Hungarian), Tigger is named (the local equivalent of) Tiger.
116	** Even Pooh is sometimes referred to as "Bear".
117	** Then there's [[CanonForeigner Gopher]] from the Disney cartoons.
118	* Inverted in ''Literature/YoungWizards'', where a [[spoiler:dog]] turns out to be a [[spoiler:{{god}}]].
119	* There is a Russian nursery rhyme, in which old couple wants to name their kitten after something great and mighty. Following a long sequence of TacticalRockPaperScissors logic, they decide to call the cat "Cat".

Context ADogNamedDog / Literature