With so many possible names, people find it difficult to decide on a single name for their pet. They are not restricted by concerns that the dog’s classmates would tease it about its name, which would be an issue with children, so any name is possible.
For dog names, people have used the names of pop-culture icons; the names of countries, states, regions, or mountains; the names of movie stars and cartoon characters; old classic dog names such as Rex, Spot, or Fido (based on the Latin word fidus, which means fidelity); and modern classics such as Benji and Scooby-Doo, among many other sources. Some people enjoy inventing clever word-play names.
In general, there are no rules about dog names, although there are practical considerations.
If a dog has a commonly used name, calling its name in a public place with other dogs present can cause multiple dogs to come running.
For calling a dog at any time or giving commands, a short name is easier to use, although most owners whose dogs have long names end up giving them shorter nicknames anyway (for example, Scooby-Doo might be called Scooby, Scoo, or Doo on a regular basis).
Some pedigree organisations do have rules in place for dogs of the breed they control. For example the Dutch Samoyed pedigree dictates a specific letter each which has to be used as the first letter of all dogs of the breed born in that year.
The main considerations that you should take when naming you dog are to:
- Avoid names that sound like commands
- Avoid names that sound like other names (don’t name your dog Pete when your child’s name is Peter)
- Avoid generic names like “Dog”
- Keep the name short (preferably of one or two syllables)
- Try to use “hard” consonants and vowels
For an overview of how pedigreed dogs are sometimes named, see “Championship titles and registered names” in Dog show.