Naming By the Experts

Walking between the stalls in the goat barn, you glance at the animals. Suddenly, you wonder if this goat has a name, what it is, and why its owner chose that one in particular. 4-H’ers from all across the fair can tell you fascinating stories about how their animal got its name. Others declined to name them at all. Still others have animals that were named before their ownership.

Addyson O’Keefe is a four-year member of Dairy Feeder Club. She and her friends had created a group where they pick a theme and name all their calves according to it. Because O’Keefe’s father works in the military, she suggested that they chose the military alphabet as their theme this year. Everyone agreed and their calves were named according to their first initial in the military alphabet. Therefore, O’Keefe’s calf sports the name Alpha, and her brother’s is Tango.

One 4-H’er chose to name their beef cow after a favorite Purdue basketball player, Oscar.

Proudly owning four goats, 4-H’er Andrew named them all after characters in his favorite TV show, Big Bang Theory. Howard, Leonard, Sheldon and Penny cheerfully reside in the Goat Tent. Andrew obviously loves taking care of his goats, gently scratching and petting them as his photo was taken.

Photo: Andrew loving on his goats in the goat tent

Kara Lehane has two dairy cows at the fair. She explained that she does not name her cows, but the farm she buys them from does. Apparently, the farm takes the first initial from the calf’s mother and chooses a name with that same initial. Lehane says that they do it so they can track the family line easier. Her cows’ names are Lyanna and Cara. In the past, Lehane acknowledged, there had been some fairly weird names, like Lululemon. She thinks the farmer must have been desperate!

Having been in 4-H for six years, Jake Carick has seen a lot of sheep. This year, he followed the popular trend of naming his animals after characters in his favorite movie. These two sheep sport the names Junior and Buford.

Photo: Jake scratching his sheep's nose

Now, as you walk, you appreciate not only the hard work that 4-H’ers put into taking care of their animals, but how much fun they have giving them meaningful names. Next time you walk an animal barn, ask a 4-H’er how they named their animal. You will certainly get an interesting answer.