What's in a name?

It seems people have a bit of a hard time getting Kessie's name right, they usually call her Tessie or Cassie. So I shall explain the origins of Kessie's name.

A Kestrel

Kessie's name is actually Kestrel, but the name Kessie came to me first. It's from my favorite episode of 'The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh' called 'Find Her, Keep Her'. OK, so maybe I am a self confessed Disney freak (couldn't you tell with my other dog, named Tink?). In this episode, Winnie and friends come across a very young bird during a snowstorm named... well, Kessie. Rabbit is elected to take care of her, despite his protests. Even though he grumbles and complains, Rabbit still takes care of her. Months pass and summer soon turns to fall, when Owl begins to teach Kessie to fly, so she can migrate for the winter. Rabbit's controlling nature forbids this, thinking Kessie will get hurt. During one to their teaching sessions, Rabbit is accidentally flung off a cliff and Kessie comes to the rescue and flies him to safety. The cool weather sets in and Kessie is getting ready to fly south with Owl. Everybody shows up too see Kessie off, everybody but Rabbit that is. Kessie is sad, but Owl insists that they have to leave, so they take off. Rabbit comes running up, with his favorite carrot to give to Kessie as a farewell gift, only to find out he's too late. Rabbit is sad until Kessie dives down from the sky and tackles Rabbit. She tells her 'Rabby' she couldn't leave without saying goodbye. I well up every time. Kessie also appears in another episode and became a regular character in 'The Book of Pooh' which I never ever watched.

A fan drawing of Kessie and Rabbit (I couldn't find any actual screengrabs!)

The first time I heard of the word kestrel was when i was reading a book called 'Outcasts of Redwall' from then Redwall series. I had never heard of a kestrel before, but liked the word and later heard it as a name.

The cover of Outcasts of Redwall, featuring Skarlath the Kestrel

It was a name I considered for Tink, but Tink won out (mostly because I was afraid of the Tessie similarity).