A Reader Question for the Community: Dog Names
A while ago you had a list of preppy dog names. We are planning on getting a dog and would like to hear what SWNE readers think are great dog names.
Monday, June 29, 2020
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I have four rescued standard poodles; Ned, Bob, Pete and Gus. Before that I had four cocker spaniels and a Portuguese Water Dog; Olivia, Walter, George, Penelope and Ella.
ReplyDeleteJust heard/read about a name that I really liked - Cora. To me she’d need to be larger than a miniature type. Our next dog: Cora but not if it would bring about one of those “Boy named Sue” situations.
ReplyDeleteBriar!
ReplyDeleteOne of our English Labradors was named Chips and my grandmother wondered how in the world we could name this gorgeous big (male) lab after a small slice of potato...
ReplyDeleteMy family always names dogs literary characters, based on the dogs personality, or after favored booze brands. My grandfather's last dog was Cutty Sark, for example, we've also had a Lessa, Alia,Pendefig, etc.
ReplyDeleteOur chocolate lab is named Cookie, chosen by my boys
ReplyDeleteI've never met a dog named Rosie or Maggie that I didn't like. Willow's pretty good, too.
ReplyDeleteMy last five springer spaniels were all named Bean, worked for male and female - the current one (a rescue) came with the name Gordon.
ReplyDeleteOur beloved English setter died last month. Her kennel named her Feathers Opal Divine, Feathers being the name of the kennel, Opal because her litter was named for semiprecious gems, and Divine for her mother, Feathers Divine Ingenuity (Genny). I don't know if Opie/Opal was preppy, but she truly was incomparably wonderful.
ReplyDeleteMy Field Bred Hunting Springer Spaniels Flower Class Females: Daisy, Violet, Poppy, Lily..,.somewhat Anglican...bloodline from Wales...temperment, looks, & ability.. they have it.
ReplyDeleteEnuff said.
We've had a Lexi, a Buster, a Mr. Bingley (Bing for short), and Bär (Bear) for our all black German Shepherd.
ReplyDeleteOur pugs are named Roxy and Raven (named by our children). We have also had dogs named Suki, Tinkerbelle (Tinker), CiCi, Ozzy, and Minnie.I have always like the names Daisy or Gracie for a dog.
ReplyDeleteBrady was our fifty pound lab/poodle, caramel/cream colored coat, who passed about 18 months ago. Ruby is our 25 pound 1 year old lab/poodle.
ReplyDeleteWe have a GSP named Brady, my husband is from Boston, otherwise we would have gone with Brownie. YDM
DeleteI grew up in New England, but the name was not inspired by the QB :)
DeleteWe used to have a pug named Winston. Thought it was the cleverest name in the world until we found out that everyone names their pugs (not to mention bulldogs) Winston.
ReplyDeleteA sticky situation is naming a dog when you have young children, who will inevitably want Cutie-Pie, Sweetums, Lovey, Honey Baby, etc., and maximum intestinal fortitude is called for.
We had neighbors with twin long-haired dachshunds called Pansy and Petunia. I thought that was nice, but it’s easy to lapse into too-cuteness.
Same goes for literary names, in my opinion; unless you’re a writer or professor, naming your dog Pliny the Elder is pretentious.
I like the idea of names that evoke the dog’s appearance or temperament. We called our current dog Rusty because of his coloring. Good, straight-from-the-shoulder, manly name.
My present pup, a Parson Russell Terrier, is named Rux. It fits him well and he learned it quickly. He's smart and handsome.
ReplyDeleteThe AKC name of my red/white beagle is "Saranan's One of a Kind" as he was the only puppy in the litter. We call him "RUGBY". A perfect name for a boisterous, noisy, independent singing dog.
ReplyDeleteMy beloved pair of pugs (brother and sister) were called "Wallis" and "Windsor".
ReplyDeleteScupper, especially for goldens.
ReplyDeleteWhen my wife brought home the Welsh Terrier puppy I suggested that we name her something Welsh. Turns out I can't spell most Welsh words so we went with a Welsh name from a PBS mystery we both liked, A Morbid Taste for Bones, the first of Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael novels, Saint Winifred is an important "character" in all the books in the Brother Cadfael series. So, our puppy was named Winifred. She has communicated that she prefers to go by the shortened Winnie with most people or even Win to her closest friends
ReplyDeleteI called my Lhasa Apso "Tibi" (short for Tibet) because the Lhasa Apso is originally from Tibet where the breed served as watchdogs in the palaces and monasteries. Not at all a "preppy" name, but suitable to the breed.
ReplyDeleteI was doing fine with the names of the Protestant Reformers until Oecolampadius failed obedience school because he couldn't learn his own name.
ReplyDeleteGolden named Gatsby. Spent his whole life in Princeton. We would occasionally walk by the Cottage Eating Club, where F. Scott spent his short Princeton career. Pretty sure the significance of this escaped Gatsby.
ReplyDeleteRex, Oliver, Chauncey, Barrett, Josie, Brewster, Moses, Frasier, Michelin (nicknamed " Meeshee" for the culinary awards), Clifton, Sheffield, Morgan, Winston, Ellie, Benjamin, Franklin, Angus and Oscar were the names of my dogs or horses through the years. I had a Welsh pony named Pastry ( very sweet girl). Oh and I had two cats as a teenager named Priscilla and Miles.
ReplyDeleteQuint, Hooper, and Brody. Need three dogs to make it work!
ReplyDeleteEspecially if they're water dogs and you have a really BIG boat!
DeleteWe had a cocker spaniel named Buffy and a Lhasa Apso called Charlie but I think he really had some kind of pretentious show name. My grandfather had Juno the St. Bernard, Teddy the standard bull terrier, and Guardsman and Skipper who were two black labs. My great-grandfather had a dalmatian with the very original name of Spot-! however I think he was being ironic.
DeleteAfter a while, it doesn't matter what you originally named your dog ... I bet you'll soon create nicknames which will seem silly or incomprehensible to others!
ReplyDeleteFor instance, our first Chesapeake Bay Retriever was sensibly called CHIP, after his AKC registered name, CHIPPEWA BARON OF THE LAKES. Then it became CHEE-PEE, then Chumpy-Bear, then (I do not know why) "Shebby", then an utterly ridiculous sing-song call, which, please, do not even ask me to explain: "Vladimir Vladimir VLEBBY -- You are my fa-vo-rite SHEBBY!"
I know, this is so weird, but he just loved it. The thing is, he always responded to ALL the nicknames we had for him over the years, being a very smart & devoted GOOD BOY who will live in our memories forever.
Although this is regarding dogs we had a Siamese cat named Ping Pong after the Chinese Ping Pong players in the 70's. But because she hated my older brother's guts and practically dove for his throat as soon as he walked in the door she was renamed "Miss Kitty" sarcastically. She loved me however and lived to a ripe age of 14. My brother never had another pet....
DeleteAm just now scrolling through the Reader Question thread on dog names and had to comment on your post. What a loving story. I laughed and laughed (Vladimir, Vladimir Vlebby) and could feel your affection for Shebby (oh it rhymes wonderfully). Thank you!
DeleteWe have a cream coated golden retriever who is very sweet and handsome. We went literary and the kids picked out Holden after Catcher in the Rye. So yes we have Holden the Golden.
ReplyDeleteWe adopted a mostly-white adult Collie mix, originally named Sheba. We changed it to Sheila, and soon, Sheilie-Dear. She was lovely in both appearance and temperament. When winter arrived, we started calling her our "Fluffy Snow Princess" because she loved being outside in the snow. After that, for the rest of her long life, she was "Prin."
ReplyDeleteI gave all of my dogs single syllable names: Sarge, Duke and Gus.
ReplyDeletePercy, Trevor , Linus, and Cedric are names of some pugs I have had the great pleasure of living with.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun opportunity to remember some old friends! Probably not at all preppy, but our dogs have been named Jake I, Jake II (black labs), Zeke, Hershel (German shepherds), Schooner (golden), Chip (wire-haired fox terrier), 180 and 195 (dachshunds, named after airplanes). All good dogs, all well loved, and all much missed.
ReplyDeleteOur last dog, a beagle/terrier-mix, was Jaeger Meister, which we, after living in Austria for a few years (where my wife fell in love with a colleague's beagle), tried to convince ourselves was the German for "hunt master", which it is... but he was really named after the liquor. That quickly devolved to Jaeger, then Jaegi, then Jaegs, and then as he grew older (and I can't really explain this...), Goo-Goo. Loved that dog.
ReplyDeleteThe new one, a pure-bred beagle is somewhat loftily named River Styx Artemis, after the now disused moniker for the Rideau River, and because Artie's (you can, no doubt, see where this is going...) namesake is the Greek goddess of the hunt (yes, a theme is developing here). Arts is also a wonderful little beastie, who we love to bits. I call her our vicious guard beagle, as she enjoys protecting the property with a ferocious bark, and kisses... So, not really so ferocious. And the pretense in the name, as you've guessed, is tongue-in-cheek - more than anything else.
Your intrepid Canadian reader,
Banacek
We are first time dog owners with a golden retriever. He is now 4 months old and working hard on becoming a good boy, as we are working hard on becoming good dog owners In other words, we are doing a lot of training.
ReplyDeleteWe named him Philo. He also gets called Mr. Chuffers, Pluppy, Philes, and occasionally Philinator.
Our Labs 1-3 were/are Harvey, Perry and Lucy. Lucy is our current pup (two in September). I wanted to name her something slightly different. I'm from England but live in Virginia, so quite liked Polly. Petra, Clover or Delphi too but they were all vetoed in favor of Lucy, sigh... When we had Harvey we lived in NC, and people invariably misheard and thought his name was Harley, which was quite common there but wouldn't have been my cup of tea!
ReplyDeleteBuffo, Bailey, Brady and now Danny Boy. All good boys! We have loved all of them.
ReplyDeleteWe once had two “tea-cup” Maltese, Zeus and Buddha. Now our Mexican dog is named Marcel and the border collie is Simone. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteShep
ReplyDeleteMy wife grew up with two beautiful, frog-eyed, constantly shedding cavaliers named Oliver and Olivia. As a kid myself, I had a yellow lab named Annie and a jack russell terrier named Stanley.
ReplyDeleteWe've had a beagle named Pippin, a German Shepherd/ husky named Sargeant, and Italian Maremmas named Bella and Gina. Interesting how each name proved to be so fitting! So my advice is go with your hunch and with what you love.
ReplyDeleteWe have had three dogs. The first was a stray mutt that we took in and named Walter. (For Walter Denton, the earnest high-school kid in Our Miss Brooks, whose personality he had.)
ReplyDeleteThe most recent two were humane-society adoptees, and we continued using the names they had when they came to us: Zoe (a bearded collie) and Charlie (a wheaton terrier). Charlie is still very much with us, although he's horizontal at the moment, deep in a Kong-fueled nap.
Not sure how preppy these names are! (Though perhaps Walter did fit the profile, in personality at least.)
Beckett.
ReplyDeleteOur 19 year old miniature pinscher is named Roxy. Our daughter named her. Have also had Tess( yes, of the D’Urbervilles). Mandy(Black Ambers the Mandolin), Freddy, Pepper and a cat named KC(Kitty Cat).
ReplyDeleteMaryAnne
Our tiny toy white female poodle was named Lilly Poodlezer. That was the name registered with the AKC. We called her Lilly which sometimes morphed into Lilly Pilly or Lilly Poo Poo or Poo Poo Girl or Puppers. She answered to all of the above. We lost her seven years ago before she turned ten years old. She is missed.
ReplyDeleteOur Irish setters: Scarlett and Tara
ReplyDeleteOur English Bulldogs name is Bubbles. She is a girl dog.
ReplyDeleteIt's been exactly 1 week (1:25PM) since my 15yo blue tick beagle died in my arms. Her name was Lily and you couldn't pick a better name if you get a female.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your loss.
DeleteAll my sympathy ... it is so sad, yet inevitable. Being held by you in her last moments meant everything.
DeleteScout
ReplyDeleteJosie and Sadie (Labs), Beauregard (Chessie), Teddy Roosevelt (chihuahua!), Douglas MacArthur (Lab), Larry and Pax (Standard Poodles)
ReplyDeleteQuite a number of years ago, I read a book about training dogs written by the Monks of New Skete. As I recall, they specialize in raising German Shephers. I believe they suggested that dog names be of two syllables with the second syllable containing a long vowel. It makes it easy, especially for a young dog, to recognize its name.
ReplyDeleteThat works for kids, too. Or maybe two first names, like "Billy Joe." Can be used for a boy or a girl, just spelled differently.
DeleteSome of the more interesting names of dogs we had when I was a child were Woofy Waggles (mixed breed), Wooly Booger (Miniature Poodle), Robert the Bruce (Golden Retriever), Joseph B. Duckdog (Black Lab) and Frisky (English Setter). Later on my parents took in a starved abandoned coon hound puppy that they named Belle and my husband called Dumb Bell.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love "Joseph P. Duckdog"! That is an excellent name for a Lab!
DeleteReminds me of a tuxedo cat we had in the '90s whom we named "Bobby K. Knuckles." I honestly don't know where that came from ... it was just SO HIM. Our local historical society launched a campaign to restore the front staircase in its 1852 home, and you could "Sponsor a Stairstep" and have your name on it until the project was completed. We donated under the name Bobby K. Knuckles and I heard that people wondered who the heck that was.
Lucy, Gus, and Forrest our labs. Cisco was our Britany, Dusty our Setter, and Sheba our sheep dog. Bottomline love them their time goes fast!
ReplyDeleteOur "feisty" Wire Hair Fox Terrier was named Trilby. She had a long adventurous life of 13 years! Our black male Standard Poodle was Zeus. Happy dog-naming!
ReplyDeleteI've never had a dog myself but my wife's parents always did. One dog was named "J.D.", which stood for Johnny's dog. Johnny is my wife's brother.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention here that the last dog my wife's parents had was a female Jack Russell terrier they named Jill. I don't recall that she actually answered to that name but that's what they called her.
DeleteHolden
ReplyDeletePluto
ReplyDeleteWe are intending to acquire a pug, to be named Wilfred. An old English name for an old English breed. I write from England and this blog has recalled happy days spent variously in Mattapoisset - excuse the spelling [Buzzard's Bay], Nantucket, MV and Newport RI, where I was made most welcome on the court tennis [or real tennis] court.
ReplyDeleteOoh, nice question. I love Celtic and English names for my furbabies. Male dogs: Bertie, Ruairi (the original Gaelic, pronounced "Rory", great for a red-haired dog), Finn, Hamish, Ludo. Female: Fiona, Iona, Morag, all Scots Gaelic names.
ReplyDeleteWe got a black Lab pup, bred from large field dogs. Knowing that he'd be at least a hundred-pounder or more, we named him Angus (large black cattle). Also, we're of Scots-Irish descent, so there's that.
ReplyDeleteTrue story: I had a boss whose last name was Brothers. He named his Lab Brooks. Can’t get preppier than that.
ReplyDeleteMy dogs - all mixed breeds - since childhood, have been: Snoopy, Onyx, Scruffy, Moose, Ceasar, Skye, Patches, Bean, Carys, and presently Bear. All very randomly picked. --Holly in PA
ReplyDeleteAlso, for doggies full of beans (think Jack Russells, Westies and other character-full terriers), I also like "Rupert" and "Sputnik" (Russian for "companion" and it was the first Russian artificial satellite in the late 1950s). Truman is also something I considered for a more serious-looking hound. And since I live in a francophone country, I like the name "Thibault"/"Thibaut" (French for "Theobald", pronounced "TEE-Bo").
ReplyDeleteI cohabit with a brown female Portuguese Water Dog. Her name is Henrietta. I picked the name because it old fashioned and has a certain dignity about it
ReplyDeleteFemale dog names. Phoebe or Pearl
ReplyDeleteWe named our dog after a bay on a lake we vacation on in New Hampshire. I guess you could call that Fresh Water New England.
ReplyDelete