how and why did you give your dog his/her name?

I got a GSD, but I wanted an original names.  I can't stand names like Max, Duke, King, Prince, and Buddy (especially Buddy).  They're so common and....dull.  I wanted my dog to have an original name.
 
His name was supposed to be Ukiwa, but when I went to pick him up at 8 weeks, he was no Ukiwa.  He was a Strauss.

Let's put it this way- Mick is really Michelob, and the Husky/GSD we had before him was Heineken.  Anybody see the connection?  [] 

Roscoe is a hound from Missouri, and we were trying to come up with "southern hound dawg" names. We had Jasper, Cooper, Roscoe, Amos, etc. Then the first time we met him, "Roscoe" just fit.[]
 
Same method with Scout (the cat), we had a list of names we liked, and when we brought "Chloe" the kitten home from the shelter, "Scout" stuck and has been the perfect name for her. []
 
Bella was named by the rescue, and we wanted to change it but she's just a Bella and there's nothing we can do about that. []
 
 

[sm=tex.gif]micksmom[sm=devil.gif] LOL LOL
My son named my [sm=tex.gif] ROCKY.  When we first saw him he was a little "puppy rocky " (clumsy)[sm=rotfl.gif]

Well, Angel is a Rott/Dobie mix that my step-dad brought home when I was 15. I wasn't educated enough about dogs then and had the stereotypical impression of both of those breeds in my mind. I thought for sure she was gonna grow up to be mean and vicious looking and I wanted her name to counter her appreance and what I thought would be her demeanor. So I named her Angel thinking she would look like a demon or Satan himself. Nope. I loved that dog so much that if her teeth even happen to graze you she does an automatic down. She is the sweetest thing ever. And she's not big! She's got a Dobie body and isn't tall. She looks exactly like her name. She's an angel.
 
Ash is a Queensland Heeler. I wanted something really original for her, but the moment I saw her, I had to name her Ash. She looks like she just came out of a fireplace and is covered in soot. She looks like ash! My ex-boyfriend actually thought of the name and I couldn't argue it. It was too perfect.
 
We had a dog when I was younger, a mutt that my step-dad found in the yard of a hardware store called ABC. So we named the dog ABC. []

For my 2 Dobies I picked German names for obvious reasons. My female is Kassie and my male is Kyzer Weiner...the weiner is because of his uh...anatomy []

Dancer and Fergie came with their names, and they fit. 
Sioux came with hers, too, but even though Sioux is a bit insulting - it means snake (Lakota, Dakota, Oglalla, Hunkpapa, Teton, etc. are more respectful), the person who gave her the name didn't know that - and I kept it as a tribute to the fact that we are very good friends and both have eastern woodland native roots.  Maska's name was "Jack" - since he seemed to have some negative associations, and was quite fearful, I changed it. "Maska" is supposed to be a native word meaning "strong" - we wanted him to grow into it.  He has)
Sequoyah is named for a Cherokee chief.  Probably accurate, since I think she will be my top dog someday...

I got Gracie 2 days after Bob Hope died.  I was musing out loud and said, "What was his wife's name?  Gracie?"  My friends heard me and both gasped and coo'd at the name.  Done - there's her name.  Later I realized Bob Hope's wife was Barbara, (and I'd been thinking of George Burns) doh!! 
 
Jane was the name of a superior Dobe I knew and loved, so I gave that as the middle name.  She died suddenly less than a year later, so I'm proud that Gracie caries on her name.
 

My husband is a huge Chicago Cubs fan.  When we got Wrigley 3 years ago, I got to choose between Wrigley and Sammy (as in Sosa).  I chose Wrigley, and I am glad I did.  It isn't terribly unique, but we thought it was until we had a dog and got to meet other dogs.  Plus, Sammy isn't a Cub anymore anyway...[]

Emma had her name for months before I got her. Her 'real' name is Emma Nems Emma means 'all embracing' and she needs the encouragement to be accepting.

Teenie is 'Teenie Weenie' because her belly dragged the ground, I was feeling sarcastic, and she came RUNNING when I said it

My mom's dog is named Toby, which means 'The Lord is good' in Hebrew.

A friend of mine had considered the name for her upcoming baby before I got Sally, and I had thought that it was a cute name.  Then when I saw her, it seemed to fit.  Other names we considered were Maya, Mocha, and Ellie.

After reading this topic I looked up what "Sally" means----saviour--I looked it up in dictonary.com and this is what it said--
saviour
one who saves from any form or degree of evil. In its highest sense the word
indicates the relation sustained by our Lord to his redeemed ones, he is their
Saviour. The great message of the gospel is about salvation and the Saviour. It
is the "gospel of salvation." Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ secures to the
sinner a personal interest in the work of redemption. Salvation is redemption
made effectual to the individual by the power of the Holy Spirit

Kaiser was my favorite of all german names...besides Otto...but he looked and acted liek a kaiser to me. I named Wyatt after Wyatt Earp...a western name for a hound dog is awesome!

Xerxes was a persian emperor who tried to conquer the entire mediterranean.  He ended up losing his  empire because of it. 

Xerxes the dog was so named because he's unusual but also because he's my first Pharaoh Hound and I wanted a constant reminder that perhaps I bit off more than I could chew, kind of like the emperor.

I almost took his brother, who is still unadopted, but I realized how big of a mistake that could have been.

Lets see: Tootsie, my great great aunts name was Tootsie and I loved it, the movie, loved it and then the candy, don't ask why she reminded me of a Tootsie Roll when she was a babe.Dingo, hes a blue heeler x, so it fit. Sammy came with the name from the pound, but its slowly becoming Blackie.