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Story and photos by Yossi Guy
Choosing a name is a very serious task, whether it’s for our doggy friends or our human offspring.
The process of determining a kennel name, involves much thought, and a large number of variables — the breed’s name, its country of origin, color, the owner’s name and mother tongue, and on and on.
Let me begin with my kennel name as an example.
Since my last name is Guy, I decided to name my kennel WiseGuy. My first breed was Old English Sheepdogs, and around 20 years later I added a smaller breed: Shelties. I owned the first OES Israeli champion, and one of my Shelties was the first Turkish champion of the breed.
The idea was to use my last name, but in a non-serious way with several levels of meaning — Guy, my name, the expression relating to the Mafia, the word “wise,” etc.
One of the key factors when it comes to choosing a kennel name is the breed’s country of origin. I can name several Saluki kennels that use an Arabic-sounding name, not necessarily because the breeder actually speaks Arabic. Many breeders of Japanese dogs use Japanese-sounding names and integrate words such as “Go” in their names. The same goes for breeders of the Israeli Canaan Dog who use Hebrew.
Here are some well-known kennels from around the world, and the stories behind their names.
Laura Merryweather, Ynchreenoo Pharaoh Hounds, Isle of Man
Our affix is from the Manx language, as we live in the Isle of Man. Yn chree noo Ynchreenoo means “sacred heart” in the Manx language. We chose this word as our affix, as we sadly lost our first Pharaoh Hound to a traffic accident and wanted something to remind us of the love we had for her and an affix people would remember and talk about.
Gavin Robertson, Soletrader PBGVs, United Kingdom
The Soletrader affix is very simple, really. Sara and I had our own affixes before we got together, and we wanted a new joint one. We spent hours thinking of names that would work, with no luck. We wanted it to be something that sounded like we did dogs our way. One day, I went to buy a new pair of shoes in the city, and I saw a pair I loved in the shop. As I went to pay for them, we both said this is a cool shop, and then there was that “eureka” moment that goes off in your head. The shop was called Soletrader …
We loved the name, and it was exactly what we were looking for. The shop is still going and has stores across the U.K.!
Bitte Ahrens, Sobers Greyhounds, Whippets, Italian Greyhounds and Bracchi Italiani, Italy
Our kennel name does have a particular “story.” It includes a drunk dog and a happy grandfather.
My grandmother, Mrs. Astrid Jonsson, applied for the Sobers prefix in 1957 in Sweden. Although she had begun breeding Rough Collies and Shetland Sheepdogs, the kennel name was approved after she had her first Greyhound and Italian Greyhound litters. She has also asked for some other names at the time, but this was the one accepted by the Swedish Kennel Club.
It came about after my grandfather took my grandmother’s very first Greyhound, Ch. Black Beauty, with him for an afternoon walk on a relatively chilly winter day. The very young four-legged “teenage” girl went into the bar, where my grandfather cheered happily together with his friends, drinking warm alcoholic drinks. Since they thought the young Greyhound also looked a bit frozen, they let her taste some, too.
When it was time to return home, my grandfather had to walk down quite a long, icy street, which turned out to be a bit difficult task, since he was “slightly happy.” My grandmother saw her husband and the dog coming down the street through her kitchen window. They both seemed a bit unstable and obviously slightly drunk.
At my grandma's weekly dog meetings, the group of ladies had many giggles over the story, coming up with a suggestion for her kennel name — Sobers — since it means both sober (not affected by alcohol, not drunk) and also calm and serious, which also fitted well to Sighthounds.
Aleksandra Trefan-Torok, Born To Be Corgis, Hungary
I wanted a kennel name that would have meaning if I added the dog’s individual name to it. Born To Be goes well with actually everything.
All my litters have different themes, so it is always great fun to name the babies.
Kathleen Rosens, Daydream Believers Papillons, Belgium
Daydream Believers comes from the song performed by the Monkees in the 1960s. I was quite young at the time, and I’m a believer in daydreams and making them come true There is no link with my breed, just an expression of my temperament. I’m very optimistic: If you can dream it, you can do it.
Judith Gregory, Tonkory Border Collies, United Kingdom
In 1976 I had a very handsome obedience dog who was a son obedience champion Stillmore Jamie of Hurstview, a Crufts obedience winner. He had an indestructible character: Whatever you did, he would bound back, wanting to work with you. Because he resembled a Tonka, which was an English make of toy cars and trucks that claimed to be indestructible, he was named Tonka. He was my heart dog and I loved him. This is the reason my affix was Tonkory and registered for life with the Kennel Club and the International Sheep Dog Society, from 1978 onward.
Margaret Anderson, Zentarr Lhasa Apso, United Kingdom
My affix is a combination of my sons’ names, Zennan and Tarryn.
Eve Szabo, Eve’s Amulet Yorkshire Terriers, Romania
My first kennel name was Of Eveningstar, founded in 2000, and I had my A and B litters with that. That first name also had a meaning for me: My name starts with an “E” and an “S,” and I live on the top of a hill on a street whose name is also related to the evening star. But at the time I didn't have the money to register and protect it internationally, and when I eventually did a couple of years later, the FCI informed me that the name was already being used by someone else.
It took me several months to ponder and choose the right replacement name.
All my childhood I wanted a dog, but under Communist rule owning them in buildings was not permitted. Now, as an adult in a democracy, I had the opportunity to live my dream to have dogs.
An amulet, also called a talisman, is an object, either natural or manmade, believed to be endowed with special powers to protect or bring good fortune. Amulets are carried on the person or kept in the place that is the desired sphere of influence.
Jesper Ravn, Bubbleton Old English Sheepdogs and Pulik, Denmark
My first Old English Sheepdog import from England was a bitch named Batiton Moet. We called her Bubbles. Her sire was Bobbington Latin Lover. I thought the affix Ton sounded great, so I put Bubbles and Ton together and got Bubbleton. That simple. There’s not much of a story there.
Keren Regal, Cour de la Reine Newfoundlands, Israel
When I was young, I began to breed purebred dogs, including English Springer Spaniels and Golden Retrievers, which I registered in my father’s name, along with the kennel name Regal Heftziba. (We lived in Kibbutz Heftzibah at the time, and our last name is Regal.) Years later, when I brought my first Newfie from Italy, her name was Reine Regal DiBorgoleonardo, aka “Reine,” which means “queen” in French. Due to my father’s French origins, I chose French names for some of my dogs. The name Regal already appeared in several kennel names when I wanted to register it, so I finally chose the name Cour de la Reine, which would include and immortalize the name Reine.
Nadav Levi, Let It Blow Italian Greyhounds, Israel
I decided on a name that reminds me of Sighthounds that run like the wind.
Ina Rogosic-Blagojevic, Ayaba Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Croatia
Ayaba, the namesake of our kennel, is the goddess of home and hearth in African mythology. Her duty is to protect the home and its residents. Ayaba is also the Yoruba word for queen. More importantly, Yoruba people believe Ayaba is not only found in the kings’ palaces, but any woman with the right virtues can be an ayaba. She doesn’t have to wear a crown or beads; in her walking, her talking, her way of life and in everything she does, she can be an Ayaba. That’s how we see our dogs: They don’t have to be grand champions, but their behavior, appearance and grace surely make them Ayabas.
Shirley Sweetlove and Alan Jones, Zeabo Border Collies and Van Glenalan Shelties, British ex-pats who live in Italy
Alan’s kennel name was composed of his name and his sister Glenis’ — Glenalan. The Van was added when he moved abroad and the affix was registered in Belgium. Van Glenalan then became the affix.
My affix was made up from an old metal cleaner call Zebo, used for cleaning old-fashioned fireplaces. We just added an “A” to make Zeabo. We wanted an affix that began either with A or Z because we believed that when people search for kennels, they either start at the beginning of the alphabet or the end!
Shay Shnitzer, Einoshu Shku Shikoku, Israel
I took letters from the names of my first three dogs, and in the second word I added the “SH” from my name, Shay, and the last two letters from my breed’s name, Shikoku. I was glad to realize it sounded “Japanese.”
Johnny Anderson, Lundecock Shetland Sheepdogs, Sweden
I started with Lundehund and American Cocker, which led to the name comprised of both breeds.
Sigurd Wilburg, Kanix Fox Terriers and English Pointers, a Norwegian ex-pat currently living in the U.K.
Kanix was created by Olaf Roig, who was the secretary general of the Norwegian Kennel Club at the time, and stems from the name Kari. It has no meaning except that it originates from that name and the word “canis.” He replaced the “K” in Kari with a “C” and the final “A” with an “X.”