• it has really been fun reading all your responses, the meaning of your Basenji names is very interesting. I knew that Basenji owners were just as unique as their dogs… hey, that gives me an idea for my next thread


  • What a fun topic! I don't know if I can tell the stories briefly, so I hope it doesn't bore you!

    Querk - short for Quercus rubra..the latin name for Red Oak. We live in an area called the Oak Openings, globally rare habitat…anyhow, we wanted a name that would reflect that.

    Ivy - short for part of her registered name 'Infinite Velocity'; we named her in hopes that she would be an AWESOME courser...which she is, when she isn't interfering with other dogs<rolling eyes="">

    Blondie - again reference to part her registered name 'platinum quercus' or blonde oak (okay, not a real tree...but blondie fits her well!)

    Bella - Registered theme for her litter was a fiduciary theme...we chose 'closing bell' and it seemed Bella was a fitting name

    Luna - just liked the name 🙂 chose her registered name afterwards 'Quercus Select Incandescent'

    Ariel - came with the name...but love it!

    and lastly...Hippo- how does anyone end up with a dog named Hippo? Let your four year old child pick the puppy names! It was supposed to just be his crib name...but, it seems to have stuck..even though it isn't a very flattering name for a show dog! His 'show' name will probably be 'Carl', as his registered name will most likely be Taji Quercus What In-Carnation</rolling>


  • Myran means ant in swedish I had seen a program about fire ants so as he was red and feisty he became Myran.
    Efia means born on a friday and my little girl was just that born on a friday ok so we quite often call her Fisen which means fart as she has passed some really mean farts from time to time;)


  • "because in France for each year we have a letter for naming the dogs"

    That's really interesting. What great names and great stories.

    Fiji was named Weegee when we got her - her previous owner said it was because she kept them wondering what would happen next (so it was a play on Ouija).

    I might have named a B Kofi if I'd started from scratch, and Fiji's registered name is (Mighty) Meeka, which fits her pretty well. But I didn't want to hit her with any more changes since she was a rescue. Weegee was a little too cutesy for me, but Fiji sounds so close she doesn't seem to have had any problem adjusting.


  • Topper: came with that name, and it fits him (black & white, looks like he is in a "top hat and tail"
    Nicky: She came named Nyako but I like 2 syllable names, so we shortened it to Nicky.
    Eddie: Came as 'Skippy' but he was so thin and moved with fast, spastic moves that I named him Fast Eddie, after the character in the The Hustler. Now he is no longer skeletal, he has lost his "s" and is just Fa(s)t Eddie now.


  • I named my girl Katie Jo, BUT, Jo is to close to No. So we just go my Katie, or Poo-Poo. Not very fancy.


  • I agree- I love this topic. Hearing how everyone else came up with their names makes me want another B just so I can name him/her all over again. My husband would probably divorce me over that, though- LOL!


  • This was so fun reading the names and reasons!
    Before getting my dog I was drawing up lists of potential names like Pharoah, Amarna, etc. but dogs have a way of shaking things up. EL D's kennel name is Sonbar's Iced Identity. When I acquired him he had just gone through a bout of destructiveness and I was temporarily referring to him as el destructivo. EL D stuck.


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    he, he....poor guy 😉


  • @wizard:

    This was so fun reading the names and reasons!
    Before getting my dog I was drawing up lists of potential names like Pharoah, Amarna, etc. but dogs have a way of shaking things up. EL D's kennel name is Sonbar's Iced Identity. When I acquired him he had just gone through a bout of destructiveness and I was temporarily referring to him as el destructivo. EL D stuck.

    I really like the name El D 🙂 I always think El Diablo when I read it 🙂


  • @myran:

    we quite often call her Fisen which means fart as she has passed some really mean farts from time to time;)

    That's too funny!! 😃

    Sometimes we call Mirtillo 'Doerak' which is a Dutch word lent from the Russian language. The real meaning is 'fool', but in Dutch we use it as in 'little rascal'.
    Last week I met another dogowner, and he said: 'Hi Doerak!!' And then to me: 'that's his name right?'

    ..I couldn't stop laughing.. 😃


  • Sophie came to us as DeeDee (the shelter worker renamed her that because she hated her original name of BeeBee). I figured since she had been renamed once before then another time would hurt. Princess Sophie Cat is her full name.
    A friend told me a story of how a co-worker allowed her 3 year old daughter to name the new family dog. Promptly she named it "Stick". Horrified the mom explained she was thinking of a cuter name that ended in an E noise. The little girl looked around and said you mean like "Telephone Poley"? The mom then thought Stick sounded just fine. I ROFL when I heard this so we now have a dog named Good Ol' Stick. I'm pretty sure if we get another B we'll name it Telephone Poley! 😃

    PS- I've always wanted to write a children's book called "The Adventures of Princess Sophie Cat and Good Ol' Stick"!!!


  • I decided to name my dogs after American Indian Tribes instead of giving them African names.

    First was Dakota Sun….then, Cheyenne Moon and Apache River.
    I already have my next two picked out.


  • My two are named based on music.

    Willie's name was Onyx when we got him from the breeder (his litter was all gem names) and Ray wanted a name that matched his color (red). So his registered name is Hacker's Red Headed Stranger, which, if you don't know, is a Willie Nelson movie, hence "Willie."

    Rosie's name at the breeder was Cher - her little was all rock n' roll names. Ray is a huge fan of the Grateful Dead, so Rosie got her name from one of their songs - Hacker's Ramble on Rose, or Rosie. I had wanted to name her Grace - my daughters were singing Amazing Grace in the car on the way to pick her up, but the two dogs would have sounded too much like the tv show "Will & Grace" and anyway, Ray didn't like that name. So Willie and Rosie it is.


  • @UnluckyDrabBear:

    Sophie came to us as DeeDee (the shelter worker renamed her that because she hated her original name of BeeBee). I figured since she had been renamed once before then another time would hurt. Princess Sophie Cat is her full name.
    A friend told me a story of how a co-worker allowed her 3 year old daughter to name the new family dog. Promptly she named it "Stick". Horrified the mom explained she was thinking of a cuter name that ended in an E noise. The little girl looked around and said you mean like "Telephone Poley"? The mom then thought Stick sounded just fine. I ROFL when I heard this so we now have a dog named Good Ol' Stick. I'm pretty sure if we get another B we'll name it Telephone Poley! 😃

    PS- I've always wanted to write a children's book called "The Adventures of Princess Sophie Cat and Good Ol' Stick"!!!

    OMG…this was too funny! Great story! 😃 😃 😃 😃


  • My wife and I are both 70's-80's children, so we grew up watching He-Man and She-Ra cartoons. We'd toyed with Sheba for a name, but She-Ra quickly took it's place. And yes, she believes she IS the Princess of Power. 🙂

    What's interesting is, we really only use that name for command/disciplinary purposes…for some completely unexplainable reason, we've both nicknamed her "Wheatey", and I have NO idea why either of us started calling her that. We like Wheatey better, but think it's probably too late to change it as she responds to She-Ra when we need her to come, sit or stop.

    So we just keep Wheatey as an "unofficial" or "nick" name.


  • @Rivermoon:

    I decided to name my dogs after American Indian Tribes instead of giving them African names.

    First was Dakota Sun….then, Cheyenne Moon and Apache River.
    I already have my next two picked out.

    The JRT I pet sat for years, before he went to the Rainbow Bridge, was named Apatche (spelled that way because he was all white with a small brown patch around 1 eye). Everytime I see you post about your dog Apache, I think of him…great memories! Needless to say, I love that name.


  • Zindeku…..we just call him Deek...means "protective charm" is Swahili.

    My other two came with names. Gracie and Britches...we call her Britty.


  • Dash got his name for his speed and it was when the movie the incredibles came out so my son wanted to name him Dash.

    Sissy (beagle) was a rescue and was named for her skittish personality.

    Gizmo (cat) was named when I got him, but he does look like Gizmo from Gremlins–before he got wet! Or whatever it was that turned them greed and ugly. Hell, I can't remember.

    Amber (cat) was another rescue named before we got her. The entire group of cats were named after liquer or beer so she became AmberBach.

    Susie (our foster 😎 was named when we got her. She doesn't respond to it and I don't think it really fits her but I will allow the new owners to name her.


  • @UnluckyDrabBear:

    Sophie came to us as DeeDee (the shelter worker renamed her that because she hated her original name of BeeBee). I figured since she had been renamed once before then another time would hurt. Princess Sophie Cat is her full name.
    A friend told me a story of how a co-worker allowed her 3 year old daughter to name the new family dog. Promptly she named it "Stick". Horrified the mom explained she was thinking of a cuter name that ended in an E noise. The little girl looked around and said you mean like "Telephone Poley"? The mom then thought Stick sounded just fine. I ROFL when I heard this so we now have a dog named Good Ol' Stick. I'm pretty sure if we get another B we'll name it Telephone Poley! 😃

    PS- I've always wanted to write a children's book called "The Adventures of Princess Sophie Cat and Good Ol' Stick"!!!

    Cute! I kinda like 'Stick' 😉

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