When we adopted Lucy, we didn't decide on a name right away. We wanted a name that she would respond to and that matched her personality and appearance, but we also wanted something that would work in both English and Japanese without confusing anyone, least of all Lucy herself.

We tried out a few: Molly didn't work because it sounds too much like Mori, a common Japanese last name. Sally didn't work because when pronounced by Japanese speakers it often sounds like "sorry." Brownie didn't work because my wife really didn't like it. And so on and so forth.

Eventually, we arrived at Lucy via the Peanuts gang: Sally => Snoopy => Lucy. It fit all the criteria for a good dog name. It was two syllables, the second ending with a long e sound. It was easy to say for both English and Japanese speakers (although in Japanese it ends up sounding more like Lushi). And it wasn't a name that was going to cause confusion among the people in our lives. So, Lucy it was.

But, over the years (Lucy will be six this summer), I've found that I don't actually call her by her name very often. When I do, it's usually followed by a command. And, frankly, I don't give her commands all that often. She's well-behaved enough and smart enough not to need them. Instead, I use the long list of nicknames when we're playing or when we're being calm (e.g. petting or brushing) as a way of letting her know I'm talking to her without actually making her feel like she's supposed to do something (like sit, stay, etc.)

So, what do you call your dog? How did you come by that name? Would you change it if you could? I'm always interested in hearing from people about their pets, so please leave a comment and feel free to link to posts or pictures of your own pet!

Thanks for reading!