The puppy that we will be getting in a little less than two weeks has a registered name of TarSha's Manzanita Flame.
Neither of us are sold on calling him Flame, so I've been looking for other alternatives. Swahili for "flame" is "moto" which does nothing for me. I've tried looking for other African or Native American names for flame without any success.
Flame reminds me of the old mythical sacred firebird, the Phoenix, which was a favorite story of mine when I was a kid, so the name Phoenix is a possiblily.
A couple of dams on the sire's side have "…of Dune" in their name. Dune was a favorite science fiction series of mine way back when. One of the characters in the books is Duncan Idaho (the only one, in fact, who appears in all the books of the series). Both of us like the name Duncan.
So we currently have two contenders for a call name so far: Phoenix and Duncan.
Anyone have any other suggestions?
The first thing that came to my mind was "HotStuff"
I've always thought "call" name was a misnomer for basenjis.
I like it when the call name is tied to the registered name, but my most recent basenji, Zest, doesn't follow that pattern. (I just wanted an agility basenji named ZEST!) Which name do you like shortened? Fini (hmmm, or Nixie) or Dunnie? Does either name conflict with another name or command? (Not that I can see, but you may have different things in your house) Is it okay for the basenji to live up to the names? (as far as I can see, either name is okay here, but Duncan means "Dark warrior")
i think a good shortened nickname for phoenix would be fiend! perfect for a basenji.
The puppy that we will be getting in a little less than two weeks has a registered name of TarSha's Manzanita Flame.
A couple of dams on the sire's side have "…of Dune" in their name. Dune was a favorite science fiction series of mine way back when. ?
Loved Dune, read them ALL. Well except the last one by his son. I keep looking at it but the one before, not so good.
Anyway, I agree, like when the call name relates to the actual name, which any Dune one wouldn't unless simply it being a desert planet. LOL though it just hit me..
Dune, spice (melange), spice is hot, Flame.
You could also use any of a million hot spice names from chili to habanero.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale Here is some.
Flame related:
candle
torch
fire
heat
(I like Jo's hot stuff but I like names that roll off your tongue when you are screaming it out your back door 
)
Combustion (too long)
How about Johnny Storm the human torch from the Fantastic 4 comic.
Staying on the fire theme:
Match
Zippo
Bic
Calibri
Blaze
Flash
Flare
Torch
Flicker
Kindle
Blaze is a nice synonym for Flame. Maybe when he comes home, you will realize one of the names you thought of, or one of the other suggestions, is him. Sometimes you just have to get to know the fellow first He is very cute, and Tari breeds some very nice dogs. Congratulations on your soon to be home baby!
Katy
Thanks for all the suggestions…I would never have thought about names of chilis or names from the Fantastic 4 comics (I was a Superman fan when I was a kid). I do like "Blaze" and, from the Scoville Scale, there's a habanero called Red Savina..."Savina" may be a possibility, too, although it sounds a bit like a girl's name to me.
See…I love "Moto", but probably because I ride dirtbikes/motocross. I only wished I thought of that when naming one of my kids. 
It also seems a very appropriate name for a basenji in the "motocross" sense since mine all bank themselves off the couch back when doing the B500. I'm putting it on my list for the future. If I tell my brother that name, he'll want me to change one of the kids names...NOW, lol.
The only one I thought of besides the others suggested was "Sting" - since he was in the movie "Dune".
I like Moto too…mainly because of Madagascar #two...Motomoto.."name so nice you gotta say it twice"...eehheem back to the task..
What about Arbor..for manzanita as it is a tree type shrub..?
Blaze is great or Peter after Peter Pepper (google and refrain yourself from laughing.. :D)
Fire in Italian is "Fiero" - not very African, but it's a cool name also.
Some related Swahili translations from an online translator.
Firewood - Kuni
Heat - Joto
Smoke - Moshi
^aw! i think moshi is such a cute name!
Thanks again everyone. I believe we've pretty much settled on the name "Blaze." Of course, for the first few months, his name will probably be "No!" 
Or "hey, I got cookies"
Blaze is my favourite name ever. One day I dream of having a Brindle Boy named Blaze
Some very cute names suggested. A 'call' name is what he will actually go by (notice I didn't say "respond to") in your home (not show ring). A name that flows easily off the tongue, can be said fast and loud, and 2 syllable ending with an "ie" sound is what I like best. Something you can yell late at night in a strange neighborhood without having the police called, or be embarrassed, haha, lots of things to consider. Have a few in mind and see what fits him and his personality when he gets home with you. And think of all the million word-plays you will be using, Dunkie-wunkie, Dunkster, Phoenie-weenie (and don't think you won't!).
I like blaze and flash (Flicker was a horse so it doesn't work for me).
How about Payta or Rowtaag - Sioux and Algonquin for fire.
Not to mention what you will call them when you're angry! I also like two syllable names, but often end up using one syllable, e.g. "Perry" sometimes gets "Pay", and my horse, "Hero" often just gets "Roe".
