The naming of cats

But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
(-- T.S. Eliot, The Naming of Cats, from "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats")

Tolly is the name our new guy will wear on a daily basis. But in deference to T.S. Eliot, I wanted him to have a more formal name as well, a moniker that was chosen not just because it sounded like his former appellation but because it had some reference to who he is.

Before kitty ever came home, I had spun up four potential names that could plausibly be a formal form of Tolly. (Keeping in mind that the name Margaret can yield such disparate nicknames as Peggy and Daisy, you will understand that some of the ties to "Tolly" were rather vague.)

After I got to know kitty, one option stood out as being especially appropriate. Tolly has what his first foster mother describes as a "singing purr." He also shows a remarkable appreciation of music: when he heard Stan playing the piano for the first time, he was completely mesmerized. He hopped up on the kitty hammock, and curled up to listen happily like it was a personal concert just for him.

Clearly he is a musical fellow, and so his formal name would have to have something to do with music. The obvious choice among the four options, then, was Taliesin (tah-li-ESS-in).

The historic Taliesin was an ancient Welsh bard "who is believed to have sung at the courts of at least three Celtic British kings." Some rather fantastical legends sprang up around his life, putting him in the company of King Arthur and other famous figures; and drawing parallels, through resemblance of story, to the early life of Finn MacCool.

Rather grand, but how could I resist?   Taliesin it was! 

(The grandeur of Taliesin also nicely balances the immense goofiness of one of his nicknames - "Hinge," bestowed because some people, ahem, feel his musical purr more closely resembles the sound of a squeaky door than it does a song! ;))