What's in a name?

In honor of National Poetry Month:

The Naming Of Cats
by T. S. Eliot

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.

Well said, Thomas! Our cats each have more than one name... more than 3 names, in fact.

Frederica Chopin has been with us for a little over a week and she's already acquired the following monikers: Freddie, Freddie C, rrrrRica ('not sure how you type a rolling "r") and Boba Fred... and the generic "Little Bits" that we've called all of the cats when they were kittens.

Link was given her name because she linked together the cats and dogs in our house... a peacemaker, of sorts... or maybe our missing link, found! Link is also referred to as Linky Poo, Winky, sLinky, Miss Bits... and "$*#&@!" when she's knocking water glasses over on cluttered table tops.

We adopted Mr. Bits a few months after adopting Link and since we were referring to both as "Little Bits" a distinction had to be made, so his supposedly-temporary name became "Mr. Bits." Christine & Molly wanted to name him something like "Prince" but his demeanor was decidedly NOT genteel enough for that... no prince would EVER create the foul air pollution that this kitten produced!! Enough time went by that "Mr. Bits" stuck. Today, he's also known as Bitty Boy, Bitty Kitty and (my personal favorite) Mis-Tah BITS... you have to say it "just so."

Vinnie's name is actually Vincent, after Vincent Van Gogh. I'd always wanted an orange cat named after Van Gogh, but his temperament was more like a rough-edged, New York "Vinnie"... and you can't fight Nature. His nicknames include Vincenzo, Vinnie C, Boba Vin, Vin-daloo, Vinnie-My-Boy and the variation My-Boy-Vin.

Topaz was given her name because of the rarity of female orange cats and the similar rarity of topaz stones with her coloring. Topaz is also known as Topie, Tope, Topie-Poo-Poo and The Topiary Creature (from the "Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo" computer game.)

Other cats we have known:
C.T. - named after the daycare center (Child Time) in whose parking lot I found him. I sometimes called him City-Kitty, but he was so reclusive that he didn't acquire many nicknames.

Bingo - A cat we adopted out of the back of someone's car in the Toys R Us parking lot when Bri was a toddler. Bri, whose vocabulary wasn't very large, named the cat. Bingo disappeared one night when she was still young and a neighbor told us (some time later) that she'd been found and transferred to a new home... her collar had slipped off, so they didn't know she belonged to us.

Albert - adopted at the same time as Vinnie & Topaz. He was Vinnie's playmate and was named after Albert Einstein. Albert was out one dark and stormy night and never returned. We have no idea what happened to him. Bingo & Albert are the reason why all of the cats that have been more recently adopted are indoor cats.

Charles - He was one of Dean's cats. Dean's friend Dixie rescued him at a roadside rest stop. His whiskers had been burned off, poor kitty. He was named by Dean and his siblings. When I got to know him (the cat, I mean), he became my first real pet... and also became known as Charlie and Boo-Boo Kitty (for the number of wounds I received while gaining his trust.)

Samantha - Charlie's buddy. The runt of her litter who Dean and Charlie nursed through intestinal issues she had as a kitten. She was very attached to Dean and tolerated me. Dean always called her Sammie... I can't remember any other nicknames for her.