Dog Names Meaning Water

Famous dogs, like former U.S. President's dog Bo, or the Disney classic dog, Red, or Blue from Blue's Clues, are all famous dogs in pop culture with names that mean water.  Some are subtle, like Bo, which means wave.  Red may refer to the Red Sea or Blue as the perceived color of water, though it is really transparent.  However, when it comes to pop culture icons bearing a water-themed name, none stands taller than Ren Hoek, the asthmatic Chihuahua from the 1990s cartoon show, Ren and Stimpy.

 The Ren and Stimpy show was one of the first three cartoon shows on Nickelodeon during the channel's debut of Nicktoons, alongside Doug and Rugrats.  The show plays a pivotal one as it first introduced adult themes into children's programming and helped inspire adult-themed cartoon shows such as South Park on Comedy Central and Beavis and Butthead on MTV.  However, the Ren and Stimpy show was not intended for the adult audience.  As Nickelodeon grew in popularity, executive management deemed the show too controversial for young viewers and canceled it. 

Ren, which is a water-themed name, means water lily.  The water little is a lovely flower that grows in the water; however, Ren the dog is probably the farthest thing from a lovely little water lily.  Ren, from Ren and Stimpy, is an emotionally unstable Chihuahua who often resorts to violence against his dim-witted cat friend, Stimpy.  The choice of the Chihuahua breed partly relates to that dog's sometimes short,  feisty temper but the creator of Ren got his inspiration for the character in a pop culture photograph.   Creator John Kricfalusi saw a photograph of a Chihuahua in a sweater and remarked that it appeared like a "psychotic-looking monster in a cute sweater."  Kricfalusi also felt that such a small breed should not usually inspire such ferociousness as Ren so plainly has in the show.  It is pretty clear from the creator's perspective on Ren that this character's name was not inspired by the beauty of a water lily.  Nonetheless, Ren is a water-themed moniker that dog owners may choose.  The impact that Ren the ferocious and emotionally unstable Chihuahua has had on pop culture and subsequent cartoon programming since the 1990s is also undeniable.