An announcement of near earth-shattering proportions rocked the children’s book world recently: the discovery of an unpublished manuscript by Theodor Geisel, known to many a kid (and parent) as Dr. Seuss.

The book, which will be available July 28, is entitled What Pet Should I Get? I can’t begin to imagine the types of pets who will romp through its pages, considering the strange creatures that populated Dr. Seuss’ many published works — from the Bombastic Aghast of Scrambled Eggs Super to the Zizzer-Zazzer-Zuzz of Dr. Seuss’s ABCs.

But I’d be willing to bet whatever pet you get might cause you to fret — or at least have a discussion — about what to name the new family member. Why not turn to the good doctor as a great source for pet names?

As a service to Dogster readers — and in honor of Theodore Geisel’s birthday today — I took it upon myself to pick out a few names from Seuss’ books (with a little help from an online list of Dr. Seuss characters) that would be just perfect for your next dog:

• Quilligan Quail (I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew)
• Yookie-Ann Sue (The Butter Battle Book)
• Sally Spingel Spugel Sporn (The Cat in the Hat Song Book)
• Chippendale Mupp (Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book)
• Conrad Cornelius O’Donald O’Dell (On Beyond Zebra)
• Sylvester McMonkey McBean (The Sneetches and Other Stories)
• Lolla-Lee-Lou (Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories)
• Vera Violet Vinn (Dr. Seuss’s ABC)

For those who want more sophisticated names, you could turn to the Tournament Knights from If I Ran the Circus: “Sir Hector! Sir Vector! Sir Bopps! And Sir Beers! Sir Hawkins! Sir Dawkins! Sir Jawks! And Sir Jeers!”

There are even names that work for both dogs and cats if you need them:

• Thidwick the Moose (dog) and Tree-Spider (cat) (Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose)
• Quilligan Quail (dog) and General Genghis Kan Schmitz (cat) (I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew)
• Fizz-ma-wizza-ma-dill (cat) and Flustard (dog) (If I Ran the Zoo)

Some of us already have incredibly creative names or nicknames for our pups. While my dogs have relatively simple monikers, sometimes they just call out for creative additions. I’ll often refer to Tucker as Tucker McGucker McGillicutty McGee. And Pasha, our Keeshond mix from long ago — who had very furry feet — earned the nickname Pashi Dingkus and his Whissle Fuppy Swippers.

Seussify Your Dog’s Current Name

For those who don’t already have fun names for their dogs or would love a touch of Seuss in their homes, my poetic pups and I came up with a way to Seussify your dog’s name.

Replace the first letter of your pet’s first name with the fifth letter past it in the alphabet (skipping the vowels.) My dog Lilah’s first name begins with L. Five letters from L is Q. So that makes Quilah. (If you get to the end of the alphabet — if your dog’s name begins with V and beyond — continue to the beginning, counting in from A.)

If your dog is female, add “Von,” and if he’s male, add “Mac.”

Then add the name of your dog’s favorite toy of the moment, replacing the first letter of the toy with same letter you already used.

Lilah likes her white tiger stuffie today, so she becomes Quilah Von Quiger.

If your dog’s name begins with a vowel, put the letter in front of his name. And if he already had multiple names, change out the first letter in each name. So if your dog’s name is Obi Wan and he likes playing with a stuffed Ewok (It could happen!), he would be Tobi Tan Mac Tewok.

Do you know a dog with a Seussian name? Tell us in the comments, or tell us how you Seussifed your dog’s name!

And don’t forget to check out Catster for how to Seussify your cat’s name.

Read more about dog names:

• What Are the Most PopularDog Names on Dogster?
• 10 Holiday-Related Dog Names
• Let’s Talk: What’s the Strangest Dog Name You’ve Ever Heard
• The 10 Best Dog Names From the “Harry Potter” Universe
• The Best Dog Names Inspired by Major League Baseball

About the author: Susan C. Willett is a writer, photographer, and blogger whose award-winning original stories, photography, poetry, and humor can be found at Life With Dogs and Cats. She lives in New Jersey with three dogs and four cats (all rescues) and at least a couple of humans — all of whom provide inspiration for her work. Refusing to take sides in the interweb’s dogs vs. cats debate, Susan enjoys observing the interspecies interaction among the varied inhabitants of her home — like living in a reality TV show, only furrier. In addition to Life With Dogs and Cats, you can find more Lilah, Jasper, and Tucker (and the rest of the gang) on Haiku by Dog™, Haiku by Cat™, and Dogs and Cats Texting.