Names (or, Megan's Slightly Quirky New Approach to Naming)

I have tried various name schemes in the past. For years I had a Native American line - technically I still have it (Chimalis and Chilaili are examples) but they are slowly dying out. I had a city line that originated with Hills' Boston - that theme died out a couple of years ago. Sometimes I would name babies with the same letter as the mom's name. That got annoying.

Well, with my 2006 (and very late 2005) litters, I'm starting something new which I think is going to work out really well. Sow baby names start with the first letter of the sire's name - thus, I have Lazarus daughters Lydia, Lucy, Leilani, Lena, Lauren, and the list goes on. Boar baby names start with the first letter of the dam's name - Chimalis' new boy who I am very excited about is Christopher.

It's not completely reliable - Chimalis's two sows are Abigail and Alison, though their sire was Jasper. Why this? Well, the theory is that if I have a lot of daughters from one boar, I'll be able to think of them a little faster. That litter was the only one I got from Jasper, and Alison is pending sale, so Abi is the only daughter I'll have of his - unnecessary, really, as I will know her sire. And with Lil' Ava's litter, sired by Isaac, I just stuck with vowels - Anya and Orlando.

Will this system get old? Probably in time, as I run out of L girls names especially (there's that Lazarus dilemma again!) - but for now, I really like it. I can think of Laz's daughters in a list without having to think about every sow I have and who she's sired by. I will remember I have a great little Chimalis son - maybe it's time to move her on?

For me, it's all about being able to reference things as quickly as possible.