Hi Duana!
Here's the situation. A few years ago my partner and I adopted a beautiful Maine Coon cat and naming her was a snap - the shelter had been calling her Marsha, so we shortened that to Mars in honor of one of our favorite heroines, Veronica Mars. I didn't realize at the time how perfect the name was, but like Veronica, she's sassy, willful, and a total marshmallow. (Mars-mallow is of course one of her many lengthy nicknames.)
I recently started working full time at an office after years of working from home and Mars is now spending her days alone. We're planning on adopting another cat so she has a companion, but what do you do when you feel like you hit it out of the park on your first try? We'll most likely adopt another female Maine Coon, but we're not fans of overly fussy names. I think the names should have a common thread so I can't imagine introducing people to Mars and Duchess, or Mars and Tiffany, you know?
Definitely no to another planet name like Venus or Neptune, but we did briefly consider mythology-based names like Artemis. Other names we like, but don't seem quite right: Morrigan, Brigid, Luna.
Thanks!
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Veronica Mars is a totally ridiculous, implausible name that is perfect. It rolls off the tongue. It’s the kind of name – like Tony Soprano, or Joey Tribbiani – where it feels most satisfying to say both names at once. It’s ridiculous and fantastic, and I love that the name is so well-suited to your resident grande dame.
I agree that the planetary universe is a bit too close when trying to pair with Mars (and for what it’s worth, I have very few bones to pick with that show, but why did the town have to be called Neptune?). However, I was thinking along the same lines when you talked about mythology-based names – my first thought was Pan, as in the Greek god – and yes, admittedly, as in the rival high school in VM. Mars and Pan might be a bit too cute or too much of a homonym with ‘marzipan’, though, so I’m going further afield – I knew a cat named Archimedes when I was growing up, and you could go ahead with Descartes or Gauss? Or with Othello or Artemis, as you say, or follow Kathleen’s lead and choose Apollo. I have all the time in the world for Apollo and Mars, even if it is coming a leeeetleclose to the solar-system-outer-space connection.
Then again, going into the Morrigan of it all (which I don’t mind, by the way… Mars and Morrigan? They’re a crime-fighting duo right there), you could go with famed and beloved pet name Loki (though that might be tempting fate depending on the temperament of your beloved), Kitsune (a Japanese word for fox that denoted magical powers or trickery) depending on whether the ‘kit’ wordplay is going to delight or annoy you, or something like Gryphon.
Lastly, I keep thinking of the surname-ness of it all and wanting to suggest Nurenberg. I know it’s ridiculous, but there’s something about thinking about Mars as your up-til-now coworker that makes me feel she should have another partner, so I started thinking about famous work duos. Mars and… Scully? Mars and …Bernstein? Mars and …Watson? …McCartney? …Sundance?
Let us know!
PS: Actually stopped the press to say one maybe-too cute but amazing pairing would be Salt... as in Veruca Salt. Mars and Salt?
Okay, I know. As you were!
