Ok, the post about childhood nicknames got me thinking about stuffed animal names. I hope I'm not the only one who has some interesting stories about how my or my child's favorite stuffed animals got their names.

For instance: I had a floppy pound-puppy-like dog who's name was Flup because that's what he did. A teddy named Leonardo DaVinci Bear, because he had on a painter's smock. (I named him that myself at about 6.) My sister and I had matching Easter Cows, (don't ask. For some reason when I was around 7, my mother got bored with easter bunnies, and we've gotten stuffed cows in our baskets ever since,) named Sir Loin and Filly Mignon. (Warped, I know.) Then there were the less creative names, of those stuffed animals I got when I was just learning the names of the types of animals. Let's see, there are the turtle and raccoon puppets named Turtey and Raccoony, then there's Bunbun and Vanilla Bear, so named because he was vanilla colored.

When my daughter got a bunch of the Gund brand little jungle animals, I started calling her giraffe Giraffey. Accused by my husband of lacking imagination, I instead chose Clyde. Clyde the Giraffe. She also has Wendell the Elephant, Pendelton the Pig, Ralph the Lion and the Wallygator. Some would argue these are also not very creative names, but when, I ask you, was the last time you saw an elephant named Wendell?

Let's see, I had a pound puppy Max (named for a dog I had that ran away), Bear Feet, a monkey puppet named Mickey Dolenz, and a bear with stars all over it I call Sully. Most of my stuffed animals came pre named from the makers.

My son has some strange animals though, he has Big Bear thus named because when Alex got him the bear was bigger than him, Mr. Bongo the Silverback Gorilla, and Peter Parker ("a horse of a different color").

Have various "furry friends" with nice normal names! But very attached to one of my oldest teds called (originally!) Big Ted!

I had a little blue teddy bear called Tory Ted, because when I was about 4 I thought Ted Heath was lovely. I think I thought he was my grandfather...

I had a large toy fox with a golden necklace called Mr Cunningleigh-Sligh after a fox in a book.

What else?... I can't think of any with majorly unusual names, though I do still have a mouse called Petit B'lin.

Just remembered I had a teddy with a jingle in it's tummy which I called Evonne Goolagong (probably after the tennis player)!

I have a teddy bear that I've had since childhood. His name is Baby Bear. I also have a Penguin named Sigmund, a teddy named Rincewind(he's dressed as a wizard) and a teddy named Granny Weaterwax (she's dressed as a witch).

I love some of those names. And you UK people, if you hadn't told me some of yours were named after people, I'd have thought them extremely creative.

What about dolls? My sister and I had dolls that our grandma had made us, which we named Charlotte and Nette after the dolls in the Little House on the Prairie books. The same grandma also made me a clown, which I named... Clowny... *sigh* And I realized about 6 months after my daughter was born and long-since named, that my absolute favorite (well, only, really,) baby doll was also named Katie. I guess it takes a very special person to name their child after their favorite doll, and especially to do it without realizing it...

My stuffed animals have to have names that start with the type of animal they are. I have a striped cat so he is Chester the Cat. I have an orangutan and his name is Oliver the Orangutan.

I had so many stuffed animals and each one had a name. I still have my favorite doll. Strangely, when my grandmother gave her to me, I couldn't stand her. She was cloth, stuffed, about 2 feet long, with braided hair, embroidered face, with a 2-inch long pointed noise, with curled feet (like elf shoes). I named her Penelope Witchie-poo. My sister received a Raggedy-Ann doll at the same time and I felt like my grandmother didn't like me by giving me this awful looking doll. But Penelope grew on me and she's the only toy that I still have from my childhood.

When I was in my teens I would name my stuffed teddy bear after the guy I was currently in love with. Needless to say, his name changed about five times a week! Don't worry, I'm not that flaky now!

If I don't get an Easter Cow this year I will be one seriously miffed person!!!

I had a bunny rabbit that was stuffed with walnut shells so that was called er...walnut, and a huge yellow chick so I called her Esther because it was easter....not very original I know. I'm going to have to go home and open my teddy cupboard up just so I can remember everyone's name....

I can't bear to part with my older "furry friends" They are well looked after - - - going in the Washing Machine at least once a year!!

Hmm, I had this huge bear that I named Mulder, and thenI got this little on that looked exactly like him that I named Scully.

When I was about four I had a teddy bear named Bingo. That was because I loved watching my cousins play Bingo.