Almost every member of the Sub-Cultured team has a pet, and every single one of those pets has a nerd-tacular name (you can see them in the gallery below). BUT, none of them are named after actual fictional pets, which I thought was a little odd. So herein lies an article listing fictional pets you can use as a namesake for your very best friend:

For Those With A Feline Inclination

1. Crookshanks: Hermione’s orange-striped, squishy-faced companion is both gloriously hideous and amazingly over-sized. And if that isn’t everything you want in a cat then I don’t know what you’re doing .
2. Skimbleshanks: or really any of the names from “Cats” will do. Skimble just happens to be my favorite one, as well as one of the better songs from the show. If you’re choosing based on personality, it’s also probably preferable to have a railway cat over, say, one with remarkable knocking-things-over skills.
3. Luna/Artemis: especially for cats with peculiar bald spots or a tendency to speak to you about your life as a magical girl.
4. Garfield: The second ginger kitty on the list, but the only one who eats lasagna and suuuuuper hates Mondays.
5. Marie/Toulouse/Berlioz/Duchess: These are the main characters from the Aristocats. Bonus points for having one of each. Points detracted for naming your cat after any other characters in the movie.
6. Simba/Nala/Mufasa: I mean, obviously.
7. Spot: Data’s little buddy would make a great companion to anyone who is struggling with that android/human divide. Or anyone who doesn’t want to seem as nerdy as they really are.
8. Oliver: And again with the gingers. Oliver and Company is one of the very few mostly-animal-cast movies that I enjoy thoroughly. I’d like to blame it on Billy Joel, but it’s probably because the little girl and I have the same name.
9. Figaro: For a throw-back to Pinocchio in case you’d forgotten–Gepetto has a cat and a fish, probably because he also thinks wishing is how you get kids.
10. Binx: The cat from Hocus Pocus. Do not recommend letting your Binx get run over by a bus. I doubt the result would be the same as in the movie.
11. Alfred: The Bat-family kitten. He can be your body guard and you can call him Al. Although he’d probably let you call him Al anyhow.

Nerdy Pets Who Are Also Dogs

1. Nymeria/Ghost/Lady: So okay you like Game of Thrones. I suppose how dedicated you are to the series will determine how unique you want to go with this name selection.
2. Snuffles/Sirius/Padfoot: Is your dog actually your godfather, on the run from the law? In that case, maybe seek legal assistance before worrying about what to call him. Otherwise these are some great Harry Potter references for you to choose from.
3. Appa/Naga: There are a lot of big shaggy dogs on this list. Huh.
4. Dug: If you’re really into being reminded every day how sad “Up” was, then this is the perfect name for your dog.
5. Nana: So okay Peter Pan fans across mediums can agree that Nana is easily one of the greatest characters of all time. Hands down, no arguments.
6. Dodger: Back to Oliver and Company, because I’m not kidding about how much I love that movie. Or Billy Joel. Or baseball.
7. Pluto/Goofy: for those of us who have a more classical interest in Disney.
8. Pizza Dog/Lucky/Arrow: If you haven’t read Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye, then you should definitely do that, then name your pup after Clint’s second most-loyal companion (after Kate).
9. Clifford: the biggest of the big red dogs. You can go the literal route and give this moniker to your St. Bernard, or get ironic with it and gift this name to your pomeranian. Either way it’s gonna be cute.
10. Wishbone: When you have a dog that can read and was born with a paw print on one ear, you don’t really have a choice but to name him Wishbone. Otherwise you can still use the name, but deep down you know it won’t be as cool. As an added bonus you can ask your pup “what’s the story, Wishbone?” and he’ll probably give you a half-hour version of a classic tale like the Odyssey.
11. Krypto: Superman’s dog. Krypto or Superdog might have been the first comic-book pet. He’s pretty cool and I bet your puppy is, too.

Nerdy Pets Who Don’t fit the Traditional Pet Dichotomy

1. Pascal: Chameleons are really good at hide-and-seek.
2. Trevor: keep a close eye on him though, I hear toads are slippery.
3. Icarus: man this is from the depths of nerd-dom. Little Nemo, who is not lost nor in need of finding, has a friend who is a flying Squirrel. He has a rude name, but it’s still pretty nerdy.
4. Yoshi: once upon a time my boyfriend knew a pig named Yoshi. But it would also be a great name for a turtle. Or a dino, I guess.
5. Chewbacca: Any pet that looks like a walking carpet would benefit from such a regal name.
6. Gizmo: be careful with this one. It comes with rules.
7. Kermit: If you can teach your frog to play the banjo, you get bonus points.
8. Abu: I like this name especially if you have a pet that can’t keep their paws to themselves. Or a magpie.
9. Gus-Gus: Cinderella’s mice could sew like champs. What can yours do?
10. Bowser: or, maybe not.
11. Smaug: All your treasures will be super safe unless you have dwarf enemies in which case they may not be that safe.

Jen Schiller
Staff Writer
twitter.com/Jenisaur