a cat by any other name

and that's why we called him "Red"

One of my Facebook friends posted something about the different types of cat-namers out there. In the comments, we got into a discussion of our cat names. And I promised this blogpost. Here are the names of the cats that I (and my family) have had in my adult life, along with the stories behind their names. Since this post is just about the names, I'm leaving out all backstory (except what is necessary as background on the name. This is in chronological order, so the order should not be interpreted to indicate the cats' relative length of stay with me/us.

• Bungee: When I first brought this cat home, I started playing with her. The way she went after a string toy, she looked like she was bungee-jumping.
• Speck: One of his distinguishing features was his pink nose with a black speck on it.
• Lena: Ethan picked out the name Lena. I have no idea why.
• Hrothgar: Ethan was studying Beowulf when we got this cat, and I really liked the names of the characters.
• Tiger: This one looked like a miniature tiger.
• Morgan: We got Morgan used, so I have no idea how he got his name.
• Red: He had a beautiful red coat so we started calling him "Red." We never got around to giving him any other name.
• Cream: He had a beautiful creamy coat so we started calling him "Cream." We never got around to giving him any other name.
• Snowflake: She was white, so...
• Spiderman: This was Asher's first cat. He was into Spiderman and had picked out the name before the cat was even born.
• 18: Asher was understandably upset after Spiderman died as a kitten (while we were in Florida). As a way of consoling him on the thousand-plus mile drive home, we talked about him getting another cat. When we asked what he would name it, he suggested "Please Don't Die, Baby." That seemed a bit awkward. 18 is a lucky number in Judaism as it symbolizes life*, so I suggested that it would be a good substitute. I'm very glad that Asher went for it.
  
• Wiglaf: This name was another name from to Beowulf.
• Copper: He had a beautiful copper coat.

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*This has to do with Hebrew numerology. Each letter in the Hebrew alphabet has an associated number, and a word or name is often associated with the sum of the values of its letters. The Hebrew word, חי, which means life, is thus associated with the number 18.