I named my Dark Stag Elk Pepper.....

I always rename mine. Even in games where you can't put in a name at all I often name my pets and mounts so it'd seem very weird to me not to do it when the option is there, even when they have a default name.

The names I use vary wildly, both in terms of style and how much thought goes into them, but the deciding factor is always that it seems right for the animal. For example the white horse from the Imperial edition is called Luna, just because the word came into my head when I got her, but the nightfall sabre cat is called Gwenodd which is Welsh for 'he smiled' - because the Latin name for sabre tooth tigers is Smilodon populator, which actually means Knife-tooth the destroyer (most badass species name ever?) but of course the first part sounds like smile-o-don. A name which sounds happy and friendly but actually means something dangerous seemed perfect for this mount. It's in Welsh because I thought it looked better than English or Latin (and I used the past tense because the word smile simply translates as Gwen, and the cat looked very much like a boy and is not white or holy which is what the name Gwen means).

I call my vardvark Fluffy.

Danikat wrote: »

I always rename mine. Even in games where you can't put in a name at all I often name my pets and mounts so it'd seem very weird to me not to do it when the option is there, even when they have a default name.

The names I use vary wildly, both in terms of style and how much thought goes into them, but the deciding factor is always that it seems right for the animal. For example the white horse from the Imperial edition is called Luna, just because the word came into my head when I got her, but the nightfall sabre cat is called Gwenodd which is Welsh for 'he smiled' - because the Latin name for sabre tooth tigers is Smilodon populator, which actually means Knife-tooth the destroyer (most badass species name ever?) but of course the first part sounds like smile-o-don. A name which sounds happy and friendly but actually means something dangerous seemed perfect for this mount. It's in Welsh because I thought it looked better than English or Latin (and I used the past tense because the word smile simply translates as Gwen, and the cat looked very much like a boy and is not white or holy which is what the name Gwen means).

Yes I understand that mindset I often use latin translations for names when I cannot make one up from scratch, and its down to what the creature seems like to me.

Minyassa wrote: »

I rename mine and I wish that other people could mouse over and see the names because I try to be appropriate and creative, but I WELL understand that many others would not be appropriate so I get why they can't be visible. It's a pity.

I'm especially proud of my sparkle horse. I named her Grimdark The Edglord (they need to give us more letter spaces).

Perhaps if it was an option in your menu, just like other things, whether you want to see nameplates, health bars etc, an option that just says "See player pet names" would solve that

I rename them, but why can't they show instead of the official name of the mount/pet? I dislike that the personalised name doesn't show.

Yes but unfortunately it's a pitiful customization option since no one ever see the names.

Btw I usually rename the pets and mounts I like as soon as I acquire them, though I've renamed also the awful mounts and pets I got from free crates and will never use.
Names in those cases aren't flattering, I have the Nix hound named "Crappy", one mount named "I won't use this" and another one "I won't use this crap", I have a name even more insulting for the Nix Ox.
That's my only consolation seeing those ugly things in my collection.

I always rename the pets I use. I'm very interested in character stories and roleplay so having pets adds more. I wish there were a way for their names to be more visible to the owner and even other players.

first time i did it because i thought it will show publicly, but once i discovered that it doesn't, stopped naming them

I name them if they have some IC reason to exist for the character who mainly uses them (primarily for my main, a Redguard, so I go for Middle Eastern-flavored names by using a translator to convert words like swift or wind or spit or ears etc). I did name my Imperial horse "Sluggard" as it was my first mount and of course when you first have a mount it's slow as tar. The name remains even now.

I rename some of the ones I used but not all of them.

My horses were mostly named my an old EVE friend.
My Guar mount is called "Jagu" because a friend made a joke I could have a Jagu-guar (terrible but awesome).
My Guar pet is named Torsten Jr. after my old raid/guild leader Torsten Hartwig.
I have a Banekin called Pudgyknuckles in reference to a Pathfinder NPC's familiar.

I don't remember any others I named now.

My striped guar is named Cloud-Jumper

I think default names are good.

My clannfear is zeke
my twilight is zelda
My bear is Gary.