Nationwide highlights furry, feathery and scaly friends with Wacky Pet Names celebration
Public voting for wackiest dog, cat, and exotic pet names runs June 5-9
Choosing a name for your pet is the perfect time to unleash your creativity and embrace the unconventional. Whether a name is playful, pun-tastic or just preposterous, it signals thoughtfulness about a pet’s special place within a family.
Each year, Nationwide® hosts a public vote to decide the most imaginative names among the pet insurance leader’s recently enrolled pets. This year’s Wacky Pet Names celebration spans species beyond dogs and cats to include avian and exotic animals with rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, a bird, a tortoise, and a pot-bellied pig represented among this year’s honorees.
Voting is open June 5-9, 2023 at petinsurance.com/wackypetnames. The wackiest names in each category will be announced on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. Below are the nominees with their home states and links to their personal profiles:
Dogs | Cats | Exotic Pets |
Barkimedes – Georgia | Business Cat – Pennsylvania | Audrey Hopbun - California |
Boolaloobalala - Florida | Evil Twin - Georgia | Birdie Sanders - New Jersey |
Captain Good Boy - Colorado | Green Bean Catserole - South Carolina | Leapus Maximus - Alabama |
Doc Pawlliday - Oklahoma | Homeboy Thumbs - Alaska | Me’Shell - Illinois |
Inigo Meowtoya - Texas | MooMoo Mozarella – Georgia | |
Maple Bacon on a Biscuit - Florida | Peanut Butter Pancake – Rhode Island | |
Scooby Moo - New Jersey | Prison Mike - Minnesota | Piggy Smalls – Florida |
Sir Arthur Cowvin Moo Moo the Great - Pennsylvania | Sir Catrick Stewart - Missouri | Rabbit Downey Jr. – North Carolina |
The Dude LeBowWowSki - California | Sir Woodrow Agustdus Scuttlebooty the Third, Esquire - South Carolina | Spicy Queso – New York |
Whiskey Tango Furball – Virginia | Spicy Beef Purrito - New York | Will Ferret -Virginia |
Tips for choosing a pet’s name
Taking into account the science behind how pets hear and respond to different sounds, keep these naming tips in mind.
- Use hard consonants and vowels. These are easier for pets to hear and respond to.
- Consider a nickname for any names longer than one or two syllables.
- Avoid names that sound like commands. Subtle differences in sounds confuse pets.
- Test it out first to make sure you’re comfortable saying the name loudly in public.
To explore pet health insurance coverage for dogs, cats and many avian or exotic pets, visit petinsurance.com.