One of the most important and challenging decisions you will have to make as you get seriously involved in dog breeding and showing is choosing a kennel name. The name you select will represent you for many years to come, so you want to make it memorable, imaginative, and fun. Some people find the exercise creative, others terrifying. Let’s break it down and make things less overwhelming.
Sometimes the most obvious path to follow turns out to give you the most original results. In every breed, clever kennel names have come about when breeders combine their own first or last names in catchy ways. In my own breed (Afghan Hounds), some of the most famous kennel names were coined this way, among them Sandina (Sandy and Glorvina Schwartz), Dureigh (Dewey and Reigh Abram), Sanallah (Sandy and Allan Weinraub), DicMar (Dick and Marcia Stoll), and Ricmar (Rev. Rick Martin). One bonus of going this route is that, in all likelihood, it will be unique to you and your dogs.
Have you considered your name spelled backwards? Namtrah is a kennel name that has been used over many decades by fanciers of a few different breeds. To me, it has an exotic, Eastern sound to it that, as a writer and creative, I find infinitely appealing. So how surprised was I when a breeder who uses this kennel name explained that Namtrah was his name, Hartman, spelled backwards!
Geographic place names that relate to your breed are another popular option. From the Scottish Highlands to the Australian Outback, you can find a pleasing kennel name that will resonate with others in your breed. Back in the day, we needed to consult the spinning globe in the library or a world atlas for possibilities. Today we can let our fingers do the Googling. Again, referencing my own breed, we had prominent kennel names like ben ghaZi, Kandahara, and Akaba (the latter was tweaked by breeder Lois Boardman from the Gulf of Aquaba).
For a breed of French heritage like the Briard, what could be more fitting than Terry Miller’s prefix of Déjà Vu? Easy to pronounce, catchy, and memorable. Perhaps a foreign phrase that has become familiar to American ears over time, like Mazel Tov, C’est Si Bon, or Skol, will tickle your fancy. Jere Marder has bred and shown scores of Old English Sheepdog champions. To suit a breed that herds sheep for a living, she came up with Lambluv. Short and sweet, and snappy, too!
One of the most famous kennels in the world, and located right in Indiana, coined a now instantly familiar kennel name as a tribute to their first two breeds. Clumber Spaniels and Sussex Spaniels combined to create Clussexx.
Whatever path you follow to find your kennel name, above all be original. Although the AKC allows it, don’t pick a kennel name that is virtually synonymous with another breed. It will offend a lot of people, no matter how good your dogs are. Don’t start out by giving yourself that disadvantage. Find something to call your own.
Registering individual puppy names can feel overwhelming, too, but again, there are popular options to consider. In many countries, breeders must name their litters alphabetically: the A litter is followed by the B litter and C litter, and so forth. Many successful American breeders follow the same practice. It definitely makes the task more focused and manageable.
Other breeders like the way alliteration sounds. So, every puppy name will start with the same letter of the alphabet as their kennel name. I know several breeders who have done this for decades and, amazingly, have still not run out of clever, catchy alliterative names. In this case, the dictionary is your friend.
Picking a theme for your litter is a hugely popular option. The theme can relate to the name of the sire or dam (Akaba’s Royal Blue sired Akaba’s Royal Flush, Royal Gold, Royal Ransom), or not. That’s entirely up to you. Over the years, thousands of themes (flowers, racehorses, desserts, Broadway shows, song and book titles, cocktails, birds) have been used successfully by imaginative breeders. My only caveat would be to consider if the name will age well. Some are classic; others, not so much. Forty years later, I stumble over bizarre names in a pedigree and remember the friend who let her then 12-year-old kid name a litter for her favorite rock bands! And we also had more than a few dogs born in the early 1970s when The Godfather set movie box office records, and named “I’ll Make You An Offer” or “Don Corleone.” Plenty of those in old pedigrees!
Unlike the stress of hoping a bitch has conceived or that your entries have reached the superintendent’s office in time, choosing kennel names and puppy names should be creative and fun. Most breeders I know keep a running list of clever names they might spot on a menu, a movie marquee, or at a gardening center. Keep a pad by your bedside should inspiration strike during the night. Show off your imagination, and share your hobbies and interests through your name choices.
