What to Name Your New Hermit by Vanessa Pike-Russell Early crab names given by Vanessa were: Curly : this crab had a shell which was curly. I named it after my sister, (please don't tell her this) who had curly hair, like ringlets, when she was a toddler. We called her curly shirley because she looked like Shirley Temple. Fancy :I have a crab with a fancy shell.. so called it "fancy face" or "fancy" (like on days of our lives Bo calls Hope "fancy face" ) Fudge : the shell was a dark brown colour, like chocolate fudge Jeppy : named after a friend, Jonathan Parks (J.E.P.) Jersey : the shell reminded me of a piece of jersey caramel in colour Lucy, because the shell had lots of colors, like the kaleidascope in the song "lucy in the sky with diamonds" (Beatles song) Mornay - the name of my first crab, I do have a wicked sense of humour! Later renamed "Cappucino" after I explained the mornay-crab connection to my little sister, she made me call him Cappucino when she was around. She was so cute!! Speedy , this crab was a tiny, but very fast crab. If you have one crab which moves very fast you can name it speedy, or Speedy Gonzalez Peppy : I had two fast crabs and peppy means fast, active Stripe : nerite shell has stripes/lines. Tiger : Tiger-like markings on the shell and his exo is very brown Later Crabs: B Triplets - B1, B2 & B3. Bananas in Pyjamas stars B1 and B2 (B= Banana, but my naming system is based on Baby 1, Baby 2 and Baby 3. These crabs are in exactly the same shells, same markings, same colourings, same size chelipeds, etc. Hence I just call them the baby triplets or B1, 2 & 3. Beth in the Turbo Peth - Beth wears a turbo petholatus/pethalatus shell almost identical to FancyFace's but a fraction larger. So cute! The name Beth rhymed with Peth, and in such a pretty shell she looked like a girl hermit crab Chumba and Wumba - Chumba and Wumba are my golfball sized crabs who are the giants of the tank. So named by a friend who suggested ChumbaWumba as a name for my new hermit crab. Ironically enough I later found out ChumbaWumba, the rockband recorded the song "i get knocked down.. but i get up again.. you're never gonna keep me down'. Exactly what happens every night when they climb the driftwood branch Jack - a 5 yo friend named this crab. He has a black shell and apparently 'looked like a Jack'. Jaffa - in an orange turbo peth shell. Reminded me of a Jaffa ball (confectionary with chocolate and a crispy orange flavoured coating) Loki : Lokirime was the Lord of Chaos, and it was sure fitting when naming my lil trickster Loki! He sure loves to wreak havoc in the crabarium! Monte and Carlo - these crabs go everywhere together. They stick together like a MonteCarlo biscuit (Arnotts). Stan : Named after a friend, this crab loves to spend time moving smaller crabs out of the way for a prized spot, then become bored and move to the next. Other names I like are: Starting with H: Hermie, Herbie, Herbert, Happy Harold (named after the Harold on "Neighbours" the Australian t.v. show) Harry, Heratio, Hilda, Hanna Named by their shape/colour: Twirly, opal, jewel, spike, Size, minnie, baby, godzilla, tiny As you can see, I choose names by looking at their shell, and by personalities, and naming them after friends or friend's nick names but remember, sometimes the crabs change shells, and then what will you do? Jersey may not be Jersey anymore.. Now I do try to name some based on behaviour or colourings/irregularities of the crabs, however a large majority of my hermies do stay in their shells: BigFriendlyGiant, LittleFriendlyGiant, ScaredyCat(Cat's eye turbo shell as well as being scared), Dexter(for dexterity in climbing), Houdini(escape expert), BigRed, etc Here are some Japanese words that describe colours or could be used to name based on qualities. If I am WAY out please let me know. It is from my 'Beginners Japanese' book : Akai = red Aruite = on foot, walking Asa = morning Chikin = chicken (scaredy cat maybe?) Chokoretto = chocolate Chotto = a little Dansu = dancing Hayau = quick, fast Hayaku = quickly Hitori = one person, alone Itoshii = dear/little one Jozu = good at Kani = crab Kawaii = pretty, cute Kuroi = black Midori = green Oneesan = older sister Oniisan = older brother Orenji = orange Otana = adult Ototo = younger brother Ringo = apple Shiroi = white Shizuka(na) = quiet Sore = that one Sutooberrii = Strawberry Teinei = polite Tomodachi = friend Yukkuri = slowly ZenZen = never (eats?) and some Weather-inspired names for those Jumbos or Rambunctious ones: This list includes examples of personal names whose meanings are related to inclement weather - raging tempest, blasting thunder and flashing lightning. Girls: Name / Meaning Anila Winds Ashni Lightning Aura Wind Mapuana Wind-blown fragrance Moani Gentle breeze Naseem Breeze Oralee Wind meadow Pavana Windy Seferina West wind Storm Tempest Tempest Storm Thora Thunder Windy Windy Yun Cloud Zephyra West wind Zéphyrine West wind Boys: Name Meaning Anil Winds Barak Lightning Gale Storm Kamakani The wind Kari Gust of wind Keanu Cool upland breeze Mazin Storm clouds Rabi Breeze Seferino West wind Storm Tempest   Thor Thunder     Zephyrus More Names at: http://www.babynamer.com