The naming of the new dog is always an interesting group activity for a family. Here are a handful of dog names (with their breeds):
- Scout (English Setter)
- Yankee (Irish Setter)
- Tug (Yellow Lab)
- Tiller (Golden Retriever)
- Sport (English Setter)
- Salty (Yellow Lab)
- Schooner (Golden Retriever)
- Bear (Black Lab)
- Buck (Golden Retriever)
- Skipper (Chocolate Lab)
- Scupper (Black Lab)
I have always had retrievers - most were rescues, but I've loved dogs named: Higgins, Cholmondeley, Taffy, Amos, Houghton, Rusty, Dudley, Samuel Maxwell, Logan & Beauchamp. I've always been interested in how names are chosen for pets. cheers!!
ReplyDeleteWell, our dog’s name would be an outlier on this list. It comes from neither a leader nor an ancestor (and sorry, I would never have thought of using a dorm name). Here’s the back story:
ReplyDeleteI had been trying to convince my wife for a few years that we needed a dog. No go. She grew up in another county, and, well, let’s just say that dogs aren’t highly valued in her culture.
One snowy night in New Hampshire, being tired from skiing all day, we decided to relax and watch a movie. There was an old Thin Man flick on from the 1930s with Myrna Loy and William Powell. I knew she had never seen a Thin Man movie, but would like it, so that was the choice.
The basic plot of the Thin Man is that Powell is a retired detective and gets roped into solving an important case, with Loy helping out and adding comedy. Anyway, they had a dog that also was a hit in the movie. It was a wire-haired fox terrier. Smart as a whip, the dog -- named ‘Asta’, helped solve the case.
In the middle of the movie, my wife said, “You know that’s a smart dog. If we could find a dog like that, I would consider it.” That’s all I needed.
Next day, I was on the phone to the American Fox Terrier Club scouting out breeders. We found a good breeder with pups available in Buffalo. Off we went.
My wife fell in love with one of the boy pups and we took him home. When I asked her what she wanted to name her new dog, she said, “Asta, of course.” What could I say? As simply as that, this is how our Asta got ‘Asta’ as a name.
Maybe not prep, but we all have to make sacrifices along the way. He is the best dog I’ve ever had the pleasure of caring for. Smart beyond what should be rational for a dog, my wife has trained him well. And, like the Norfolk in Muffy’s photos, Asta goes everywhere with us. My wife wouldn’t think of leaving him home.
Cheers,
Gary
Charming story!
DeleteMy great grandfather used to have two retrievers named skipper and splash! I have a lab name Samantha and a mini yorkie named Coco, and a cat named Edward. I just love animals!
ReplyDeleteLauren,
http://www.atouchofsoutherngrace.com/
You might not want to post this but I thought you'd get a kick out of it. Our dog, a true Heinz, is called Sphincter, because from the day we brought him home we knew he'd be a real . . .
ReplyDeleteTenants Harbor Yellow Labs named Champers, Mizzen & Cutter.
ReplyDeleteI always wanted a dog named "Spinnaker."
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the name Schooner! And Liberty for a Golden Retriever.
ReplyDelete-Jenna
We have a beautiful Borzoi...(Russian Wolfhound.) She was from the "H" litter at her breeders, and the breeder was going to name her "Hannah". But we named her "Lara", after the Julie Christie character in Dr. Zhivago, because Hannah was too plain. You have to be a child of the 60's to get the reference!
ReplyDeleteMy Goldens Watson and Fenway...
ReplyDeleteAfter we named our first Lab "Chips" our grandmother
ReplyDeleteasked how in the world we could name a big, beautiful dog after a small potato chip...
Our black lab's name is Samson. We call him Sam or Sammy.
ReplyDeleteMy dogs had names that matched thier personalities. My golden retriever, Seldom, was always down on the river about a half mile from the house. He usually showed up around dinnertime and always before bedtime. He was "seldom seen but not forgotten." Stretch, who died this past March, loved to stretch out where ever he lay; the couch, back seat of the truck, etc.
ReplyDeleteBut the king of all was a little stray American shorthair cat, pure white with pink nose and paw pads. Not more than 7.5 lbs. when full grown, Mighty Whitey.
Oh, what timing! Just this morning at Richards I met Gucci the dog and her owner. To her credit, Gucci was wearing two pairs of rather fine loafers.
ReplyDeleteYou missed college presidents, I grew up next door to a family with a dog named Eleazar. We have named our dogs after the towns where we got them.
ReplyDeleteOk. Here is your non-prep dog with a non-prep name story: we have a Miniature Pinscher (!?!?!) that we "inherited" from our daughter when she realized dogs and apartments are not compatible. The dog is named Roxy because our daughter originally named her Charlie ( she loves Charlie Chaplin) but people kept getting confused as to the dog's gender. She couldn't think of a name, but saw "Roxy" on a car sticker. Sooooo, after a lifetime of large dogs we now have a Roxy. Annnnd, we love her. Never met a dog I didn't like!
ReplyDeleteMy first dog was named Chief after my father’s friend Pompey, Chief of the Wingaersheek tribe. He was a Springer from a great line of bird dogs and he stole the first fish I ever caught. I can still see him running into the woods with my mackerel as I cried; I was five years old. Chief came back hours later, without my fish. Our relationship would improve.
ReplyDeleteThat year, we summered in Annisquam at one of the houses in great uncle’s private compound. One house was rented to a master at St. Paul’s. Another had been rented to a member of the Crane family, who used it as a trysting place for him and his mistress. I was told Mr. Crane, scion of the immensely rich Chicago plumbing family, would arrive by chauffer-driven launch, tie up at my great uncle’s dock, and visit her while his chauffer, dressed in gray livery, waited. But this all happened before my time.
When I came along, all our family’s attention was on my great uncle, who was gravely ill with ankylosing spondylitis. I was an only child and Chief became my constant companion. One Saturday morning, my parents and I went off in a boat without Chief. Big mistake. When we returned that afternoon, we spotted a furry head bobbing in the middle of the Annisquam River, swimming against the current towards us. Chief had clawed his way through the screen door. Near total exhaustion, he fell asleep as soon as my father carried him into the house. He must have been swimming for hours.
After that, Chief went everywhere with us, grocery shopping, into restaurants, even on the train to Boston. By summer’s end, however, he had lost much of his energy. A trip to the vet confirmed the worst, Chief had inoperable cancer. He was given three months to live.
I still have a picture of me in my orange life preserver, and Chief sitting next to me in the bow seat of an Amesbury skiff. The photo was taken from behind. My arm is wrapped around my dog as we both looked out to sea, inseparable.
MGC
Beckett.
ReplyDeleteGolden Retrievers are beautiful dogs! :)
ReplyDeleteMy childhood Golden was named Morgan, after the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan (as was my aunt's cat; the other was Cooper. If you couldn't guess, she worked at the Seaport for years.). He was an un-neutered Alpha male who was unbelievably headstrong (e.g., jumping off of cliffs; disobeying his invisible fence to go swimming in the lagoon in the middle of winter) who was also incredibly gentle--we once found him propped up on a shrub, peering into a birds nest on a low branch of a tree filled with chicks, just sniffing curiously. I love it, and would consider naming my eventual adult Golden Morgan II. Relatives have a Golden named Madaket, for the beach on Nantucket--Maddie, for short--who, in contrast to Morgan, ate two pet birds whole in separate incidents. My parents currently have a dog named Mick, which is somewhat inappropriate given his breed's country of origin. We almost named him Argus, for Odysseus's legendarily faithful companion. Later I learned my friend's family's Lab has that name, and I think it's a great one, too.
ReplyDeleteMy two mutts-Lady and Liberty. Liberty was given her name since the pound found her wandering on the street (less than 6 weeks old) the day before July 4th. She is a wonder with the grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteI always liked Emma for a dog, but since I have a granddaughter by that name, it won't be used.
I find these comments wonderful, as I do on so many posts. In what magazine today could one find such a collection as this? (Yes, MGC, I am still teary eyed.)
ReplyDeleteMGC -
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet story. I would have liked to have met Chief.
New Com -
It says you are a prep, probably with Irish roots!
Cheers,
Gary
We named our 3 yr old Golden, Ditto. Her 13 yr old predecessor, Sada, was the best & this one is well on her way to be the same ...
ReplyDeleteWell, I was never under any illusion that I might be preppy…even my pets don't quite make the grade. I have always had Bearded Collies. Not a preppy breed, but smart, and a hell of a lot of fun. Paddy came first, Sadly he passed, and now we have Fergus. It IS Scotland after all. Maybe he gets points for being from the Old Country?
ReplyDeleteMy dog is named Charlie/Charles. Not sure if its so -called preppy but I think it suits him! I like human names for dogs.
ReplyDeleteMorris:). Thereby falling into your bell curve...
ReplyDeleteMy GSP is McKenzie; AKA is Nehalem Mtn's McKenzie River.
ReplyDeletejrandyv
Vancouver WA
What a great list.
ReplyDelete@ WrySmile, I am enamored with your process of selection and choice of dog and cat names!
@ MGC, what wonderful memories and a wonderful story.
We had a sweet black lab when I was growing up, but as an adult I've opted for non-shedding breeds. Being in the midst of home educating five children, I'm concerned that the challenge of dog hair might seriously and irretrievably impair my mental health. I wish that were an exaggeration! We have a blue merle Australian Shepherd, Sierra, and a Labradoodle, Banjo. Sierra's expertise is rounding up kids and chasing our chickens off the deck, and Banjo is a professional snuggler. Muffy, your dogs are gorgeous! I've long wanted a Golden Retriever. Perhaps when the kids are a bit older I'll get the courage!
P.T.
Boston terrier littermates - Steed and EmmaPeel.
ReplyDelete32 years ago- golden retriever, Trapper.
ReplyDeleteToday, yellow lab named Baxter.
In between, yellow lab Paddywackers, OES Ranger and a repeat Golden, Trapper. we dog overlap as as we don't do dog death well.
when my mother died we got a corgi rescue and named her Gwenda, but she goes by GW
Our family has five rescued dogs - two from shelters and three from the streets. They are as follows:
ReplyDeleteSabre - Siberian Husky/Black Lab mix
Max Zwei - German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix
Bear - Chocolate Lab/Pitt Bull mix
Cricket - red Mini Pinscher
Grunt - Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix
There is never a dull moment at our house and we couldn't love them more!
Neither preppy nor very original (and not all dogs):
ReplyDeleteJake I (Black Lab)
Jake II (Black Lab)
Zeke I (Black Lab)
Zeke II (German Shepherd)
Herschel (German Shepherd)
Fuzzy (Maine Coon)
Samantha (Snowshoe)
Max (Snowshoe/Maine Coon mix)
Demi (Snowshoe/Maine Coon mix)
Buster (Maine Coon)
Sassy (Maine Coon)
Sophie (Turkish Angora)
Each was/is wonderful in his or her own way.
Another great post Muffy! Our Golden Retriever is called Ben. I like to think he's named after Benjamin Franklin.
ReplyDeleteOur dog, a foxhound mix, was named Dunkirk by someone at the humane society. This could be interpreted several ways, but our nickname for him, Disaster Dog, reflects my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWe are partial to sight hounds-- We have a greyhound named "Mosby" and we have a whippet named "Mildred". Growing up I had a polydactyl cat named "Margaret Thatcher", and yes, we called her "Maggie".
ReplyDeleteSassy in DC
Ours is called Boomer, and he is a sweet Golden Retriever and who-knows-what mix that we rescued. Growing up we had hunting dogs: a loyal beagle named Chippie (for rabbit hunting)and two Springer Spaniels (Duke of Pepper and Patches)for pheasant hunting. We also had a hyper black lab named Samson who was a terrible hunting dog but a good friend.
ReplyDeleteWe have a Wire Fox Terrier named Duke. Uncannily intelligent, mischievous, and protective of our child. We are thinking of a Scottie next and naming her Duchess.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteA timely piece from Sunday's NYTimes, "Dogs Are People, Too":
"The ability to experience positive emotions, like love and attachment, would mean that dogs have a level of sentience comparable to that of a human child. And this ability suggests a rethinking of how we treat dogs."
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/opinion/sunday/dogs-are-people-too.html?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=OP_DAP_20131006&_r=0
P.T.
My family had Irish Setters when I was a child, a breed you don't see very much any more. The first, whom I was too young to really remember, was Rory. Then we had Rosie and Katie. Most of the setters here are descended from dogs originally from Australia. They tended to be smaller and not as heavily built as the American Irish Setters. Now we just have a cat. My wife and I are at work too much, and it isn't fair to leave a dog by itself all day, in our opinion. Cats don't care, they're usually asleep most of time anyway.
ReplyDeleteI should mention that I understand Irish Setters were a fad in America at one point. But my family had had them since the 1940s.
ReplyDeleteAlways amused that Joan Benoit Samuelson, who seems very prep to me, had a black lab named Creosote. Maybe the name evokes a perfect July day in Maine when the sun beats down on the tarred roads and that lovely aroma mixes with the salt air. Only in Maine.
ReplyDeleteFenton...F.E.N.T.O.N!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prxss6wcYQU
My third Shetland Sheepdog is named Sally. The next one will be Piper as a tribute to her Scottish origin.
ReplyDeleteI've always had rescue animals, mixed breed dogs. In my lifetime, I was honored to have raised a total of 10 dogs: Snoopy, Onyx, Scruffy, Patches, Skye, Ceasar, Mo, Teddy, Penelope, and Bean. Our family is a long line of animal lovers, and always had 3 dogs, usually. Each was named according to their personalities. Some were puppies when we got them, some were older. Our current dogs, Bean and Penelope are quite a pair. A sweet but crazy little Chihuahua who was my husbands when we met 10 years ago, and our Penelope whom we rescued from a shelter in my hometown 5 years ago when she was 4. She's a beautiful yellow Norweigan Elkhound and Lab mix. Very furry dog. I could never be without a dog, they have a marvelous presence and bring so much to the home. --Holly in PA
ReplyDeleteSomething funny I'd like to add is that I have my family completely hooked on cats. I got my very first cat ever back in 1998 and everybody just fell in love with the little furball. Since then, we've gotten 6 more, my mother now has 4 and my brother and his family have 4. Sadly, we recently lost 2 of our males: Max to small bowel cancer, and Honeybear, my very first cat, just last week, to kidney failure. --Holly in PA
ReplyDeleteBoatswain, our Wirehaired Pointing Griffon
ReplyDeleteI think both of our family pets right now may fit somewhere in this spectrum: a very fair-haired (and possibly God-like?) golden retriever named Moby, and a true terror of a Maine Coon (grey coat) named Jaws.
ReplyDeleteI like the names on your list. Too often the pet names I see and hear are too clever by half.
ReplyDeleteWhen my husband and I adopted our Scottish Terrier, his breeder had named him Rogue as he was the only black Scotty in the litter. My husband and I preferred a more upbeat name; so my spouse came up with Ruggles. A name that suits our Scotty. He is friendly to humans; acts like a Napoleon to dogs who are bigger than he is; loves to play, adores bananas and carrots, and is loyal to both of us.
ReplyDeleteEnglish Bulldog...Montgomery (Monty)
ReplyDeleteThe best black dog ever was Salem (Sadie) ~ a Lab-St. Bernard mix if you can imagine that. She never needed a leash no matter where you took her, and she swam in the lake every day up until the day before she died. My sister now has another Sadie. Sadie II is still game for a hike at age 15 and whines if you stop walking. My sister also has Teddy Roosevelt, a cracking-good name for a very tough Chihuahua. One of my favorite dogs of all time was Wendall (a superb dog name!), a Cantab terrier who for a glorious time was "mayor" of Weston, Vermont ~ he attended all the important social gatherings on his own (his owner never went with him ~ she was always looking for him) and I would often find him in my house sleeping under the couch (although he was not my dog and I was never sure how he got in). He would make the rounds of town every day, and each evening trot home right down the middle of the road to his house on the hill. Amy
ReplyDeleteMy stepson has a gorgeous snow white boy husky called Tuckerman, but all his friends think the dog looks like a girl, so they call him Snowbunny Princess. It's funnier in real life.
ReplyDeleteOur old Lab is named Cooper. My childhood purebred Bluetick Coonhound was named Pepper.
ReplyDeleteI have two dogs from the local animal shelter, one is a border collie named Ziggy (aka "The Zigster") and the other is a funny-looking long-haired shar pei named Boom Boom.
ReplyDeleteDear Muffy,
ReplyDeleteI frequently read you blogg and enjoy it so much. I live at the coast in Northern-Germany and love your insight on the life in New England! We rescued our sweet little dachs hund from an animal shelter and he is very brave and has a good heart. That is why we gave him the name "Bear". Small dog, big name...
Many greetings from Germany,
Viktoria
Two rescues:
ReplyDeleteFoster: Basset/Beagle
Brooks: Shar-Pei/Beagle
Yes, that's right. Foster Brooks. Both had been abused and abandoned (I could kill whoever did it with my bare hands), they are the best dogs imaginable, and they completely run our house.
I live in England (not New England, England, UK) and all the dogs I know/know of have "normal" people's names such as Bella, Ella, Rosie, Luke etc. Maybe it's a British thing, but this certainly seems to be the fashion over here, just thought you might like to know!
ReplyDeleteAs a haberdasher, my Cairn Terrier's names have been Blue Blazer (20 years) and currently Bow -Tie. My last cat, Malibu aka Bu hit 20. Both had diabetes for the last five years. Blazer lived on my sailboat with me, while Bu learned surfing in San Diego bay.
ReplyDeleteThe cat I got last week is Skipper and he's very much in charge of this house. My only wish is Skipper swat Bow in the nose so he'll be less jealous. Like my mom said "It only takes one swat for the dog to learn who is boss."
We have a Golden Retriever named Bentley. After all, one must have a gold Bentley in the family. LOL. The best dog I have ever had. My wife is a cat person and was a bit hesitant about getting a dog at first. But he just walked into our lives and took over. We can't imagine life without him.
ReplyDeleteI find this humorous as my name is Kathryn TILLER... or 'Tilly' for short... I can, however, see it being a fitting name for a golden retriever as well.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the original "Black and Tan" Welsh Terrier. Very smart and big personality in a small package. Our current Welsh is named William F. Buckley Jr., or Buckley for short.
ReplyDeleteWe named our now deceased Dalmatian after our older sons second dorm at St. Paul's. Drury. My next dog- if girl- will be Simpson after our younger son's first dorm.
ReplyDeleteI have had Pugs for the last 25 years. My first were a brother-sister pair I named Windsor and Wallis. They were followed by a male, Oberon (Obie). Currently I have two boys, Bunker and Bacchus! They are a special, wonderful breed.
ReplyDeleteWe have a yellow lab rescue named Cliff, after Brad Pitt's character in the last Tarantino movie.
ReplyDeleteOur dogs' names have been more about first impressions and personalities than anything else. Currently, Ruby, a brown labradoodle, who is a highly skilled retriever, chewer of any antler she can find (elk splits and deer are her favorites), and, despite her relatively small size, able to snag virtually anything left within one foot of the edge of the kitchen counter.
ReplyDeleteWe currently have a blue belton English setter named Hopps. We are not sure he ever learned his name. His predecessor, Opal, was an orange belton and definitely knew hers. We tend to think, as we should, that every dog is the best. I have had a lot of dogs, and none measured up to Opal.
ReplyDeleteBuddy - my rescued Beagle
ReplyDeleteGoldie, our female golden retriever.
ReplyDeleteDidn’t realize that her aunt was golden of the year twice. Goldie isn’t a show dog. But she is our dirty farm dog.
Nessie!
ReplyDeleteMy bullmastiff’s formal name is Arthur Radley but we just call him Boo.
ReplyDeleteOur two from-the-cradle Weimaraners had Germanic names, while our two adoptees came with names. They all had those lengthy AKC registry names that we never used and can't even remember. Jágr was inspired both by jäger, which is German for "hunter," and Czech ice hockey great Jaromír Jágr. We used the latter spelling because Jágr was my favorite hockey player then and because of my wife's Bohemian ancestry. Our second, a girl, was adopted. Her informal name was Olivia, but we called her Livie. Our third - a girl and an adoptee - had been named Prada, but we sold Prana climbing, yoga, and lifestyle clothing in our outdoor shop, so I morphed Prada to Prana. We were also "more Prana than Prada" by that time. Our last, another boy we raised from a puppy, we named Sieger, meaning "champion." Sieger joined the others at the Rainbow Bridge in March to await our arrival.
ReplyDeleteI named my golden George, for all of the historical/literary/composers named George I’ve always loved. Washington, Orwell and Handel to name a few.
ReplyDeleteI lost my friend of 18+years almost a month ago. His name was "Pete". I'm heart broken.
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt that he will be waiting for you. My beloved friends have found their beds and bones in Heaven. They won’t have to wait too long.
DeleteOur family dog is a beautiful chocolate lab named Quinn. She is charming, smart, sweet with our son, and follows us everywhere. We’d like to think we trained her well, but she’s just desperately attached and a real people pleaser.
ReplyDeleteHad a none too bright Dalmatian named Jeeves and a Saluki named Frampton.
ReplyDelete