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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"So instead of calling me 'Dragon' in your tongue, you'll call me 'Dragon' in some other tongue?"''
|'''Draco''', ''[[Dragonheart]]''}}
Some completely uncreative owner has decided the family pet will be known as Dog. Or, perhaps, a similarly creative author names their feline character Kitty. Alternately, the creature in question does have a less [[Shaped Like Itself]] name, but for whatever reason, Alice the Pig prefers to go as Piggy. Usually but not always applied to animals; robots imaginatively named Robot and the like are part of this trope, too. Remarkably common in children's shows, despite the [[Planet of Steves|obvious problems]] it should theoretically cause.
One might show a touch more flair by [[This Is My Name
A subtrope of [[Shaped Like Itself]] and [[Exactly What It Says
Note that robots also have [[Robot Names|their own trope]].
{{examples|Examples}}▼
== [[Anime]]
** In ''[[Pokémon Special]]'', trainers who bother nicknaming their Pokémon usually give nicknames that barely deviate from the species' name anyways.
* ''[[
* In ''[[
** Oddly, in ''[[The Big O]]'', there was a ''cat'' named Perro.
* In ''[[
* The heroine of ''[[
* Subverted in ''[[
* ''[[Ranma
* In ''[[Toradora
* In ''[[
== [[Comic Books]] ==▼
* The undead dog from ''[[
▲== Comic Books ==
▲* The undead dog from ''[[The Amazing Screw-On Head (Comic Book)|The Amazing Screw-On Head]]'' is called... wait for it... ''Mr. Dog''.
* Calamity James' pet Lemming in ''[[The Beano]]'' is called Alexander ''Lemming''.
== [[Fan Works]] ==▼
* The main protagonist in ''[[Footrot Flats (Comic Strip)|Footrot Flats]]'' is a dog called [[Spell My Name With a The|The Dog]]; he has a real name, but it's never revealed, because the Dog [[Berserk Button|hates the name and attacks anyone who tries to say it.]] Oddly enough, the [[Anti Villain]] Horse is... a cat.▼
* Often lampshaded in ''[[Pearls Before Swine (Comic Strip)|Pearls Before Swine]]''. The four main characters are a rat, pig, zebra and goat named "Rat", "Pig", "Zebra" and "Goat". At one point, "Goat" is revealed to be a [[Stage Names|stage name]] -- his real name is Paris.▼
* Invoked in a ''[[Garfield (Comic Strip)|Garfield]]'' strip where Lyman says that he grew up with four cats all named Cat. When Jon asked him why, Lyman said there was no point in giving a name to [[Cats Are Mean|an animal that won't come when you call it]].▼
* [[Hi and Lois (Comic Strip)|Hi and Lois]] have a dog named Dawg.▼
▲== Fan Works ==
* [[Peter Chimaera]]'s ''Digimon Savez teh Wrold'' revolves around the adventures of a Digimon named Digimon. In his own words: "Auithors notel Digimon is a new Digimon because there is not actual Digimon that is called Digimon he is a new one that I invented"
* [[Inverted Trope]] in ''[[
== [[Film]] ==
* The main character in ''[[Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron]]'' is usually called "Mustang" until he gets properly named at the end.▼
== Films -- Animation ==▼
▲* The main character in ''[[Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron]]'' is usually called "Mustang" until he gets properly named at the end.
▲* Simba the lion in ''[[The Lion King (Disney)|The Lion King]]'', getting his name from Swahili.
* The entire cast of ''[[The Brave Little Toaster]]''.
* In ''[[Shrek]]'', there's the character Donkey. Guess what kind of animal he is; go on, guess. There's also Puss in Boots, a kitty cat who wears shoes with ankles, and Dragon (guess what?).
* Mack from ''[[
* ''[[An American Tail
* The characters in the ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]]'' movies are an interesting variation. Rather than being named for their species or occupation, most of them are named after the kind of toy they are. Thus, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head are a Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Barbie and Ken are a Barbie and Ken, etc. Also applies to characters not based on real toys: Woody is a Woody doll and Buzz is a Buzz Lightyear action figure (one of hundreds, as we're shown). The straightest example of this trope would be Dolly the doll from ''[[Toy Story (franchise)||Toy Story 3]]''.
* The Furious Five in ''[[
* The main villain of ''[[Flushed Away]]'' is a toad named Toad.
* The main villain of ''[[
* Subverted with Flounder from ''[[
* ''[[Finding Nemo]]''
** Also subverted with Marlin (a clownfish), as pointed out by Nigel the pelican, whom at one point actually said that he has the name of "a popular sport fish". They are relatives of swordfish.
** As well as Dory, a blue tang. Actual dories are somewhat [
** Many of the characters in ''Finding Nemo'' are named after something found underwater, but are rarely named after their own species. The one exception is the minor character Mr. Ray, a stingray.
* Played with in ''[[
* The cat from ''[[
* ''[[Chirin no Suzu
* The main character of [[What Could Have Been|the cancelled Pixar film]] ''Newt'' was actually going to be named "Newt."
* ''[[Barnyard]]'' has a pig named Pig, which is what everyone calls him.
* Tod and his girlfriend Vixey from ''[[The Fox and
* The [[Big Bad]] in ''[[Cat City]]'' is a cat named Mr. Gatto.
== Films -- Live-Action ==▼
* ''[[Babe]]''
** Farmer Hogget names Babe Pig for the sheep-herding competition. Everyone's in stitches, thinking it's a dog named Pig, until he actually shows up.
** Also applies to the name "Babe" itself. According to Babe, it's what his mother called all her children; that is, she called her babes Babe.
* Draco the dragon in ''[[Dragonheart]]''. Given a droll lampshading as seen in the page quote.
* [[John Wayne|Jake's]] dog in ''[[Big Jake]]'' is named Dog.
* E.T. in ''[[
* A rare human example: Kid the kid in ''[[Dick Tracy (
* ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0952682/ Shotgun Stories]'' is centred around three impoverished brothers living in rural Arkansas called Son, Boy and Kid.
* In ''[[Kung Pow]]'', the Chosen One's pet dog is humorously named Dog.
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* In ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]] 4'', the holy man names the mermaid "Serena" which comes from the same root word as "Siren". You know, the creatures from the Odyssey that are [[Sirens Are Mermaids|often depicted as mermaids]]. In fact, in some languages, the word for mermaid is spelled almost the same (e.g. "sirena" in Spanish, "sirène" in French...).
* ''[[The Road Warrior]]'' has Max's dog, named Dog. This was also the name of the dog actor.
* The Aliens from the ''[[Alien (
** In the comic book spinoffs they're sometimes referred to as "''Linguafoeda Acheronsis''", but that probably doesn't count.
* In ''[[Cowboys and Aliens (
* ''Basement Jack'': "You named the dog Dog?"
== [[Literature]] ==▼
* In ''[[The Princess Bride (
▲== Literature ==
▲* In ''[[The Princess Bride (Literature)|The Princess Bride]]'', Buttercup's horse is named Horse.
* As well as one specific horse in the ''[[Belgariad]]''.
* [[Harry Potter|Harry]] does a double-take when he reads Ron's tiny owl is called
* ''[[Raptor Red]]'': The eponymous
* ''[[Winnie the Pooh]]'': Piglet, Owl, and Rabbit. Played with via mother and joey kangaroo pair Kanga and Roo, and narrowly averted with Tigger.
** 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.
* ''[[The Wind in
* ''[[The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]]'' features a wolf called Wolf.
* Shows up in ''[[
* In ''The Animals of Farthing Wood'', 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.
* In ''[[Breakfast
* Most of the characters in ''[[The Jungle Book (
** 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").
** Baloo the bear, Tabaqui the jackal, Mang the bat, Chil the kite, Hathi the elephant, and so on. Subversions include Bagheera the panther, actually meaning tiger, and Shere Khan the tiger, actually meaning King Lion.
** Then of course you get Father Wolf, who isn't given even that, and Grey Brother is nearly as bad.
** In a particularly bizarre quasi-subversion of this trope, Mowgli is explicitly stated in the book to be named after the word for "frog", but Mowgli does not actually mean frog in any human language.
* ''[[
** Ayla adopts a wolf pup and names it Wolf. [[In
** Also, she calls her horse Whinney, which she takes to be another form of this.
* Adam's [[Hell Hound|dog]] in ''[[
** 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 dog meant for the Antichrist). So when his owner names him Dog rather than, say, Killer...
* The Moles' dog in the ''[[Adrian Mole]]'' books.
* 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."
* In the trilogy that started the ''[[
* Almost everyone in the ''[[Franklin]]'' children's books, except for the title character.
* Pig from ''Kipper''.
* Everyone from the ''Sweet Pickles'' books.
* In the children's book ''Tight Times'' has a mild aversion: the boy wants a pet dog. Eventually he adopts a hungry kitten and names it "Dog", of course.
* In ''[[
* Almost all the child characters in Wilmar Shiras's ''Children of the Atom'' have pets. The only name we learn for any of the pets is Pup-Dog.
* All the characters from the ''Cat the Cat'' books by [[Mo Willems]].
* ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'': Aslan is Turkish for "lion".
* ''[[The Black Stallion]]'''s title character is referred to as "The Black" throughout the novel.
* Played with in ''[[Luka
* Mouse from the sequels to ''[[If You Give
* Subverted in [[Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger]] where one student has a cat named "Dog" and another has a dog named "Cat."
▲* Inspector [[Columbo (TV)|Columbo]] has a basset hound named Dog.
* On ''[[The Closer]]'', Brenda simply calls her inherited cat Kitty.
* ''[[The Polka Dot Door]]'': Most of the toys have real names, but the teddy bear is just called Bear. The Polkaroo is either this or [[Pokémon
* [[
* ''[[
* The robot in ''[[Lost in Space]]'' answers to "Robot", even among those who consider it family and best friend.
* The Emergency Medical Hologram in ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' never found a better name than "Doctor". That's not just [[
* "Horse" from ''[[Monkey]]''. "Horse" is really a dragon named Yu Lung, but everyone just calls him "Horse".
* "Cat" from ''[[
* Played with in ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' where Willow and Tara's cat is named "Miss Kitty Fantastico".
▲* The
▲* Often lampshaded in ''[[
▲* Invoked in a ''[[Garfield (Comic Strip)|Garfield]]'' strip where Lyman says that he grew up with four cats all named Cat. When Jon asked him why, Lyman said there was no point in giving a name to [[Cats Are Mean|an animal that won't come when you call it]].
== [[Puppet Shows]] ==
* ''[[
* ''[[The Muppets]]'': Miss Piggy.
== [[Video Games]] ==▼
▲== Video Games ==
* ''[[Star Fox (
▲* Any and all un-nicknamed [[Pokémon (Franchise)|Pokémon]].
▲* ''[[Star Fox (Video Game)|Star Fox]]'' has Fox McCloud, Wolf O'Donnell, and Katt Monroe, [[Metal Gear Solid|Snake]] lampshades their lack of creative names in ''[[Super Smash Bros Brawl]]'' (mostly in Wolf's case).
** [[Up to Eleven|And there's tons more.]]
** Falco Lombardi is a subversion: he's a pheasant.
* Another ''SSBB'' character who Snake notes on its "creative" naming is [[NES|R.O.B.]] - more specifically, the fact that in Japan it's called... Robot. He settles with calling it R.O.B. when Otacon points this out.
* More Nintendo examples, from ''[[Super Mario Bros. (
* The default name for [[Right
* ''[[The Longest Journey]]'' brings us a talking corvid named Bird, which, as [[Deadpan Snarker|April]] notes, does fit. When he complains about his name, she comments that she would have given him a better, more imaginative name, which he eagerly adopts...Crow.
* ''[[
* It is revealed in the not-quite-canonical ''[[The Legend of Zelda (
* In ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', many hunters have
* In ''[[Arcanum:
* The four canine companions in ''[[
* ''[[
* In a rare ''human'' example, ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]'' features Vekel the Man, the bartender at [[Bad Guy Bar|the Ragged Flagon.]]
* Tom from ''[[Animal Crossing]]'' is a male cat.
* Inverted in ''[[
== [[Web Animation]] ==
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h91f9_5I9BE Acroboxle] is an acroboxle. Whether or not [http://centralcitytower.deviantart.com/gallery/26935878 Fuzzy] is a fuzzy remains to be seen.
* [[Spell My Name
* Puppy, Cat, Donkey, Bunny, and Hamster from ''[[Retarded Animal Babies]]''. Guess what animals they all are!
* Lampshaded in ''[[
▲== Web Comics ==
{{quote|'''Damien:''' Now, what is your name?
▲* Lampshaded in ''[[El Goonish Shive (Webcomic)|El Goonish Shive]]'', though it's only used partially and only for some of the animal-people. The "brothers" of Grace, animalistic shape-shifters, are Guineas (a guinea pig), Hedge (a hedgehog) and [[Odd Name Out|Vlad]] (a bat... sorta). The kicker is when Elliot, temporarily transformed into a cat-person, is caught and interrogated by Damien.
'''Damien:''' All of you animal-people have horrible names. }}
* A character in ''[[
* The robot from ''[[
* In ''[[Rusty and Co
* In ''Crazy Ghosts'' we get Ghost, who has no knowledge he is a [[Reality Warper]] and is also a [[Lecherous Old Man]]
* A non-animal version comes up in ''[[
* In ''[[Trying Human]]'', a Grey alien is able to keep a pet dog with the interest of learning human customs. Although not explicitly called by name in the comic, it is referred to in the author's comments as Dog.
* Annie in ''[[
* In ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (
== [[Web Original]] ==
* [[Atop the Fourth Wall
▲== Web Original ==
▲* [[Atop the Fourth Wall (Web Video)|Linkara]] has a stuffed bear named Bear. Subverted in that Bear is the name used in the series, its real name is [[The Land Before Time|Littlefoot]].
* The first obstacle Group One faces in ''[[Suburban Knights]]'' is a cat named Cat. This is lampshaded and then subverted when he's revealed to be a puppet.
* Subverted in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYAjwYZBMiw this video], a man has a cat named "Rabbit" who purrs (trills) like a pigeon.
* In ''[[The Intercontinental Union of Disgusting Characters]]'', Ringman's warhorse is named Warhorse. (And the only city with a name in all of Central Earth is named Town.)
* ''[[
▲* ''[[Cat Dog]]'' is about a cat named Cat and a dog named Dog who were [[Conjoined Twins|born fused together.]]
* ''[[George of the Jungle]]'': When he gets in a scrape, he makes his escape with the help of his friend, an ape named Ape.
* Subversion: ''[[Little Bill]]'' owns a pet hamster named Elephant.
* The cast of ''[[Skunk Fu!]]''.
* ''[[
** There is also Cat, the cat. And Lupe, the Wolf.
** And Muttski, Sonic's non-humanoid dog.
* Most of the cast of ''[[
* [[Occidental Otaku|Birch]] of ''[[My Life Me]]'' has a cat named [[Gratuitous Japanese|Neko]].
* ''[[Dudley Do
* The Souphanousinphones' dog in ''[[
* ''[[
** Ironically, Mr. Kitty is female.
* Bird from ''[[Bob the Builder]]''.
*
* ''[[Young Justice (
* ''[[Franklin]]'': Practically everyone besides the title turtle. His friends include a bear named Bear, a rabbit named Rabbit, a beaver named Beaver, a fox named Fox, a snail named Snail etc. Apparently only turtles are creative enough to give their offspring names not taken after their respective species.
* One may wonder if ''[[Little Bear]]'' would still keep the "Little" part of his name when he grows up.
* Parodied with ''[[
* ''[[
* Sheep, the titular character of ''[[Sheep in The Big City]]''.
* ''[[Pocoyo]]'''s Pato (Spanish for "duck").
* Every character in ''[[
* In ''[[Taz
* One of the main characters of ''[[Summer Camp Island]]'' is a hedgehog named Hedgehog.
== [[Other Media]] ==
* In [https://youtu.be/2U8oO0JhBKA?t=607 this story], "De Bo" was the youngest of seventeen children and was initially just called "the boy", which became "Dah boy", which then became "De Bo".
== [[Real Life]] ==
* Common name for a male kangaroo, when named as a joey: Joey.
* Common name for a tomcat: Tom.
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* Common name for a billy goat: Billy.
* It's not uncommon for children to have imaginary friends or plush animals named after what they are.
* There are lots of countries in the world formed by the union of states, but only one that's commonly referred to as [[
* Similarly, [[
* The Moon.
** [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]] because the name originates as a singular name for Earth's moon, back when we didn't realise any others existed. The use of the term to describe the class of objects came later and was named after the first known example.
* Likewise, the Sun, as well as the Solar System.
** While other stars can be referred to poetically as "distant suns," they're usually called by their proper names (e.g. Alpha Centauri, Sirius, HD 206250). The generic term for a system of planets orbiting a star is "star system."
* [[
* Adam is the Hebrew word for "man".
* George Foreman owned a dog named Doggo.
* According to a passage in his anthology ''[[Deathbird Stories (Literature)|Deathbird Stories]]'', [[Harlan Ellison]] once owned a dog named "Inu" (Japanese for "dog").
* [[Stan Freberg]]'s son [[w:Donavan Freberg|Donavan]] was officially named "Baby Boy Freberg" until he was five years old and could pick his own name.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Naming Conventions]]
[[Category:Animal Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Trope]]
|