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Hello dear bear-friends - making my bears for more than 5 years I had to find so many names for my bears and I can say, I never had one name twice. But bear by bear it is harder to find the right name for my darlings.
Therefore I would like to ask you dear TT-friends, did you ever use a bears-name twice??? Where do you take your names from??? How do you find the right name for your bear???
I hope to have so many funny replys - thank you so much
beary hugs from Austria
The Littlest ThistleMine belong to different 'families' which dictates their names. There's the 'Woods' named after trees - I have a huge book of trees, I think I'll be going some to use them all up! Then there's the 'Gardens' named after flowers - again, quite a range! There's the 'Chinese Gardens' which are slightly more restrictive to just Chinese plants and trees, and finally the Thistles, who just have unusual names. I'll get back to you in 4 years and let you know if I've run out by then 
Past Time BearsVery rarely, maybe 2-3 times have I used a bear name twice, Andrea. I started making bears 13 years ago and, at first, used the Dallas telephone book (very big and thick) as my source for names. During the last several years, I've used town/city names in my native state (Texas). Using just these two sources will last me the rest of my bear artist career, I'm quite sure!
PennsylvaniaWe have three Bears named "Brian," two Bears named "Pudge" and four Bears named "Buncha." (Because they are a bunch of Bears... Get it? 
)
We also have several commercially made Bears with the same names. We always get a "Snowflake" teddy from WalMart to sit under the Christmas Tree every year. We've been married for 8 years and we will have 8 "Snowflakes" under the tree next holiday season.
For the "Brian" Bears, there's "Bear Brian," "Big Bear Brian" and "Bigger Bear Brian." (Or "Bear Brian's Big Brother," "Bear Brian's Baby Brother" and just "Bear Brian." Etc., etc., etc...)
For the "Pudge" Bears, there's "Pudge" and "Pudge-er" or just "Big Pudge" and "Little Pudge."
Fort the "Buncha' Bears" there's... well... Just a buncha Bears...
However, if you really want the authority on names, ask T.S. Eliot. He wrote a poem about naming cats. But around these parts, we just change the word "cat" into "Bear" and just about everything still holds true.
On the Naming of Bears -- by T.S. Eliot (Improved by "Us Bears.")
The Naming of Bears is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a Bear must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a Bear needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his ears perpendicular,
Or fluff up his fur, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one Bear.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE BEAR HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a Bear in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
Hi Andrea,
I have named my bears the same names several times! I have been making bears for over 12 years and for several years I was very careful about not using the same name twice. For the past few years, though, when I look at each bear as I finish it, I say to myself "this looks like a (whatever the name is)" and whether I have used it before or not, I name the bear that name!
I even have one lady who has two of my bears with the same name! The bears do not look alike at all but they have the same name and she doesn't mind! I offered to change the name for her and she declined!
Hugs,
Janice
Andrea, I have a list of names I've been adding to for years. I have more than 1,200 names on it! They're names from all over, teas, castles, streets, cities, flowers...anything that strikes my fancy. I have used a name twice: Marmalade. I made a bear from a lovely orange mohair and then made a cat from the same fur. They just had to have the same name. 
Here's Marmalade, the teatime kitty:
~Debora
PennsylvaniaWhen a commercial Bear comes to live with us they usually already have a name on their tag. Our "Pudge" Bears are named "Mocha" on their tush tags. When they join the hug they get to decide if they want another name or keep their given name. Sometimes they keep their given name. Sometimes they want a new name. It's up to the Bear's decision. Many of them want new names. We usually let them pick their own names but some times we give them a name.
However, when they take a new name, that doesn't mean their given name is forsaken. They get to keep that too. So, now, the Bear has two names. If you consider the maker's name as the Bear's surname then he has three names.
Therefore, Pudge the Bear's full name would be "Pudge Mocha Gund."
So... Take the general to the specific...
I see one of Andrea's Bears on her website named "Perlina."
She's a very nice Bear. If I wasn't unemployed I'd want her to come live with us. :)
If she did come to live with us, we'd ask her if she wanted another name. I'd have to talk to her in person to really know if she did. Honestly, I think she likes her name as-is but let's just imagine she wants another name.
We would talk to her and share a cookie with her and ask her what she wants to be called.
In her picture, she sits on top of a seashell and she has a shell on her necklace. Let's pretend she wants to be called "Shelly." Her given name is "Perlina" and her maker's name is "Dreli."
"Shelly" rhymes with "Dreli." To make it complete, I think she might prefer to have her name spelled, "Sheli"
The Bear would now be known as "Sheli Perlina Dreli" or "Shelli P. Drelli"
That means that it's entirely possible to have more than one Bear with the same first name without having conflicts. Right?
By extension, there's no reason why a Bearmaker can't give a Bear her own middle name or family name. There's no reason that would make conflict.
If you didn't want to give a Bear a middle name you can still make the year she was born to be part of her name. It sounds all right to me to name a Bear "Perlina 2010" or simply "Perlina 10"
She would, of course, answer to just "Perlina."
But, when all is said and done, at the end of the day there is still that one name that the Bear herself knows but will never confess.
That is her deep and inscrutable singular Name.
Oh I love all your coments here - how wonderful to read this ..... and thank you so much for your lovely words for my little Perlina!!!!! I will have a chat with her when I get home ..... and will let you know about her decision, if she wants to have a additional name - hihihi
so wonderful - bears-world is just the best!!!!!!
beary hugs from Austria
Boechout, AntwerpHi Andrea,
A very good question.
As a collector I find it amazing how only a very few of my teddies have the same name ("Jack" is the only one that springs to mind), although nearly all my bears are named by the artist.
However, at the Stratford show last June, I was talking to Pam Howells who has been making teddy bears for over thirty years and she frankly admitted that she had stopped naming her teddy bears several years ago, because "she ran out of names". So she lets the new owner choose his/her own name.
So maybe after another ten or twenty years of bear making, you will feel the same way. 
Hugs, :hug:
Peter & the bears
Andrea,
I try not to use the names more than once, but when you've been at it for years, it does get difficult. I try to name all of my pandas Chinese names. You can google for Chinese names and look up the meaning. For choosing a panda name, I pay more attention to the meaning than the sound of the name. For other bears, kitties, etc. I like the website, babynames.com. I sometimes do an advanced search by meaning if I think that a bear has a certain look to him/her. This website is great because you can search by gender and meaning and there are names from all different countries. I have found it a valuable tool. There are also websites for pet names, Inuit names (for polar bears), etc.
Hugs,
Alison
PennsylvaniaI think Perlina likes her name. If you ask her, I'll bet she thinks Sheli is a nice nickname. Only her closest friends can call her Sheli.
@ Us Bears - I was talking to Perlina in the meantime and yes she said Sheli is really a very cute name and she would be happy to have it as a second name
@ Peter - your last comment made me smile - another 10 or 20 years of bearmaking - well I'm really at the very beginning!!!!! In Jannuary I will have my 6th year of bear-making
@ Alison - oh yes my dear - I use to go to many websites with different kinds of names and my Pandas also do have real chinese-names, where I have a list with the declaration, my latest Panda names TianTian
I'm so happy to read so many comments for this question, thank you all of you!!!! Beary hugs from Austria
Bears by EdieI use several baby name books and a book with a list of towns in Alberta (where I live). I have very occasionally used the same name again - in over 20 years of bear making - but if I do I try to give it a slightly different spelling. e.g. Mary, Mari, Marie, Marrie, Merri, Merrie, Merry, Meri, etc. - could get you a LOT of names without real duplication!
I didn't even think of online sites for checking baby names!
On another note, Andrea, a German collector of mine sent me a little book with baby photos by Anne Geddes called "Vornamen" and it is filled with both boy and girl names in German and their meanings! Since my bears are made mostly from German mohair, I use this book quite often to name my bears :O)
Hugs,
Janice
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)Maps & Dictionaries!
Now my realistic bears tend to have 'titles', not like 'Sir this' or 'Lady that', but in the style of She Who Must Be Obeyed and The Lion & The Lamb Shall Lie Down Together (2 opposites in the animal world, like a polar bear and a seal)
Posts: 54I think if I really want have same name for bear I would add one extra letter and it become new name (ex. Christian - Christiaan) or shortern it or make longer version of original name.
Honey Valley BearsI've had couple of bears that I have wanted to give the same name. But I did what Eddie does changed the spelling or shorten it. Try looking up the name in a different language as well.
Back Road BearsThere seem to be a couple of names that always come to mind when I look at my bears. And a time or two I've used the same name twice when I just couldn't come up with anything better or when a collector wanted a specific name even though I'd already used it. I don't think collectors really care if you've used the name before. But there are so many names out there! Some great sources:
Poets and famous authors
Food names, Spices, sweets, coffee, teas
Pet names (tons of websites for those - you can even search something like "brown dog names" so if you have a brown bear you need to name you are likely to find something!)
Ancestor's names
Flowers, trees, birds
Famous actors/actresses
Biblical names
Cities, towns, street names
Greek Gods
Write out your full name then use the letters to create new names. I've done this using the letters in "Merry Christmas" "Love is in the Air" (for Valentine Bears) and I completely agree with those who have suggested changing the spelling of a favorite name.
Go to a paint store and grab the free color swatch cards... some companies come up with some very clever names for their colors.
I keep a pen and paper with me always.. especially in the car... so when I hear a name/word that might be good for a bear one day I write it down.
I have used the same names twice..or more...sometimes because they fit the bear when no other name will...but I usually add another name too..or a different spelling so it changes it slightly...but if it's a completely different bear I see nothing wrong in picking the same name.
