Every year, National Name Your Car Day takes place on 2 October. While its origins can be traced back to St. Louis in 1990, when TV presenter John Pertzborn named his 1954 Buick Elvis live on his show, it’s fair to say this celebratory day has now gone international.
A VW survey in 2023 found that one in three UK motorists have named their car. Many of us drive on a daily basis and as many other planes, trains and automobiles are christened with human-sounding names, why shouldn’t we celebrate our cars in the same way?
How can I celebrate Name Your Car Day?
There are a number of ways to mark the occasion. Maybe you could pop on your favourite playlist and head out on a long drive? You could even tailor your mix to the car – if she’s speedy, you could play some thrash metal or EDM; if you’re looking for a more gentle drive, how about some pop hits or indie anthems?
You could also treat your car to a spruce and clean. You could either get your sponge and bucket out and do the hard graft on your own driveway, take your car to the local automatic car wash or even splash out on a full valet, so that the vehicle is completely cleaned – inside and out!
If you haven’t named your car yet, there couldn’t be a better day to christen it…
I need some car name ideas
There are so many ways you can draw inspiration for naming your car. Are you a big TV and film fan? You could name her after one of your favourite four-wheeled film or TV stars like the below:
KITT – Knight Industries Two Thousand, or KITT/K.I.T.T is the highly advanced and uber-intelligent supercomputer car that belongs to Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff) in the hit ‘80s show Knight Rider.
Lightning McQueen – “Focus. Speed. I am speed”. Lightning McQueen is the star of the hit Disney-Pixar series, Cars. Voiced by Owen Wilson with the catchphrase “Ka-chow”, the flashy red racecar learns important lessons while attempting to win the Piston Cup.
Herbie – Herbie, the Love Bug, is a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own. With his distinctive racing stripes and number 53, he’s a fast and compassionate car that wins races and loves his drivers.
Christine – Quite different to the rest of the characters on this list, Christine is a red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury car that has an evil mind of her own. Although Christine is jealous and violent, we still think this could make a nice name for any modern car.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – Struggling to come up with a name for your car? Why not listen to the sounds the vehicle makes and name it after them. It worked for the Potts family in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The only issue is you might not be able to stop yourself from humming the tune…
Still struggling for inspiration? You could use the letters in your number plate to decide on the initial of the name and go from there, or maybe even choose a name based on the car’s colour or appearance. You could name the car after one of your favourite hobbies or interests, and there’s also the option of naming the car after a friend or family member – but be careful not to offend!
What are the most popular car names in the UK
A recent quotezone poll of the most popular UK car names found Betty coming out on top, with 66% of those who chose the name being influenced by the dependable nature of the car’s personality.
Quotezone also looked at some of the weirdest names given by car owners including Gandalf, Trashpanda and Pavel Andreievich.
Studies reveal that giving inanimate objects like cars human-like names helps us form an emotional attachment and assign human-like traits to them. This theory, known as anthropomorphism, may explain why so many of us like to give our cars names.
Tempcover It!
Whatever the name of your car, you’re going to need insurance to drive it. Tempcover’s temporary car insurance gives you comprehensive cover from 1 hour to 28 days, making it perfect when you’re stuck in an emergency or sharing a long drive.
Sources:
https://www.quotezone.co.uk/car-insurance/most-popular-car-names
https://www.vwpress.co.uk/en-gb/releases/5027
https://theconversation.com/a-car-called-keith-why-we-give-objects-human-characteristics-177799
