Whether one is a fan of classic Russian literature or not, at least a few should be familiar with the stray dog named Sharik (translates as a "small ball") from Bulgakov's novel "Heart of a Dog." Sharik, together with Argos ("The Odyssey") and Lassie ("Lassie Come-Home"), and many more literary puppers, belong to classic dog names from literature. Interestingly, while today it's unlikely to meet a young person with a 'vintage' name, it's not uncommon for owners to call their puppers classic, old-fashioned dog names. Hence, we can only imagine many Shariks, Lassies, and Argos running around somewhere!
In America, for example, we have classic dog names like Buck, Buddy, Rex, and Spot, which, despite being called old-fashioned dog names, are still quite common and well-liked. However, do other countries also have their own equivalents of vintage dog names? Have you ever thought about this? Well, Old Reddit user Dr_Edge_ATX did. They asked, "Non-Americans, does your culture have "old-fashioned" dog names like we do in America, such as Fido, Rex, Spot, Rover, etc., and what are some?" As was revealed by the answers left under the thread, non-Americans surely do!
Below, we've compiled some of the best answers from the thread, revealing non-American equivalents of classic, old-fashioned names for dogs in the rest of the world. Like any of the names? Let us know by giving them an upvote! Also, do you know any more cute old-fashioned dog names like the ones below? Let us know in the comments!
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"Swedish kindergarten kid to other swedish kindergarten kid:
"Are you a boy or a girl?"
"I don’t know."
"What is your name?"
"Måns"
"Oh, then you are a cat.'"
"In Singapore, male dog: Boy Boy. Female dog: Girl Girl. We’re not a creative people."
"Well, in Chile there's a lot of dogs named Cholo or Cholito, which is a word meaning mestizo (mixed race' or crossbreed in English) so it's a name given to most strays, or even just a term to refer to strays in general. There's also a law called Ley Cholito made for responsible pet ownership inspired by a dog who was named that."
Kiltro o Quiltro meaning mongrel. Cachupin iscanother very famous Chilean dog name.
"Musti (Blackie). Finland. It's considered a classic but I've never actually met a dog with that name."
Serend1ppa said:
"Tuzik, Bobik (Russian), Sirko (Ukrainian). No one gives them to dogs any more but they are still used in pet-related jokes."
svartalf replied:
"And Sharik also."
"Hachi in Japan."
Hachi means Eight in Japanese, but I don't know in what context this is used in this post.
le_yellowrat said:
"Solovino."
bizcho replied:
"For the non-Spanish speakers solovino sounds like a Spanish name but it came from the frase "solo vino" or "he came alone" meaning the dog was probably a stray dog and the family adopted it."
"Pochi in Japan. Also I work at a vet clinic and there are way too many small white dogs named Lucy. And they’re always mean."
My family used to have a calico cat named Lucy. She hated everything and almost died 6 times before she actually died
"New Zealand. All dogs are named Jim."
So, if you call for your dog do 15 come running up expecting good boy treats?
"In Hungary we have:
Csibész (Rascal)
Morzsa / Morzsi (Crumbs)
Fickó (Guy / Lad)
Cézár (Caesar)"
Cézár, ruler of Ancient Rome, and in the future the new name for Mr Dog, a dog food for small yappy-type dogs.
"(Thai) Top of my head: Daang ("Spots"), Toob (for floppy-eared), Ouan ("Fat"), Foofoo ("Fluffy"), Toong ngern ("Bag of silver"), Toong tong ("Bag of gold"), and a lot of times we just call them by their colors like Dum for black, Dang (red) for orange-brown, or Khow for white."
Ouan, love that. Although I have a sneaking suspicion that if I used it for my own floof he'd understand and start plotting revenge at the top of the stairs.
"Simba is lion in Swahili."
And Pumbaa is warthog, etc (most of the names in the movie are just the name of the animal in Swahili)
RoryRabideau said:
"My neighbors are from Ireland, their dogs name is Cú. Said it's some mythical/historical name and super common."
ebeth_the_mighty replied:
"It means dog or hound in Irish."
Are you sure they're from Ireland or just of Irish descent and not quite understanding the language?
"Lucky, Baby, Snowy - white dog, Blackie - black dog, Xiao bai - little white, Xiao hei - little black is extremely common. Cause we Chinese like simple English names and telling it like it is. P.S. was not trying to be racist, apologies in advance if I offend.
I noticed that all the Chinese names for dogs are almost all either a) colour related or b) luck related. The reason for b) is cause of the (bazi, or eight characters), because we Chinese are superstitious as hell, feel that you need to give a lot of meaning in naming a baby or a pet. It sort of sets your whole life’s journey, like e.g. getting rich or wiser when you get older. And a) is maybe cause they just basic, lol."
"Wang Wang - I’ve met so many dogs in China named this, which is just a Chinese onomatopoeia to the “woof” sound dogs make."
"In Denmark: Buster, Bølle, Basse, Charlie, Molly."
"I think Totó is the name most associated with dogs in Brazil even though is not that usual anymore."
"In Croatia, we mainly just name every animal Fifi."
"Cerberus (Or Kerberos), was the name of the three headed dog that guarded the underworld in Greek Mythology. It literally means spotted."
"If it's a black dog Kolur or Tinna. But it's our horses which have the most classical names. There is even a department that oversees horse names so they can't get unusual names."
Where are you? I have to know which country has a horse name register!
"I'm not a non-american, since I'm actually native american, but I have a few interesting ones from my tribe (Mohawk) that are most common. Okwari - bear, pronounced oh-gwa-lee. Okwaho - wolf, pronounced oh-gwa-ho. Kahontsi - black, pronounced gah-hoon-jee."
"In Croatia really old ones are Garo and Zućo, maybe Riki and Floki. Rex and Aron I hear a lot nowadays, maybe Luna and Maks."
ZanyDelaney said:
"In Italy Fido."
Mumofalltrades63 also said:
"Fido is Latin for “I am faithful”."
Here in GB too, although not given often. My favourite was Norman for a German Shepherd.
"Here in India, people usually give their dogs some western sounding name. This is because only rich people used to own purebreed dogs and they would give them fancy names like that too. But some old fashioned names do exist like Karuppi means blackie , Raja means king , Tomy, Mani and so on."
"In Hungary Füles - one with big ears."
Love this, will remember for when I next have to name an animal friend.
"In the Philippines Bantay means guard."
"Karabash means black head Turkey."
"In Scotland Fraoch means heather."
Intact dogs don't like running through heather, it's spiky and their balls contract every time they make contact. Bloody funny for those of use following though.
"I'm from Poland. "Old-fashioned" dog name is Azor."
redditor said:
"Canelo."
lilylakai replied:
"Our family dog’s name is Canelo, he’s a chocolate lab, and of course we’re Mexican."
ramonortiz55 said:
"Firulais."
FlakZak replied:
"Firulais is the name of the dog in the "Rugrats" tv show. I don't know if that is the definitive origin of the name but that's how I know it."
ee-z said:
"Manchas también."
Nathan_graves replied:
"It literally means "spots", as in a dog who is spotted. "
"I have a dog named Spot. He’s pure white. I wanted to give him a complex."
Snork! Dalmations are born without spots so they may develop and then the laugh will be on you.
"We got my childhood dog from a Russian lady and the dogs name was Mishka. I’m told it means little bear."
Valdrax said:
"Pochi and John serve this purpose in Japan, but much like Spot, they're pretty much only reserved for dogs that an author didn't want to spend any effort naming. You almost never see actual dogs named either."
ee-z replied:
"Shiro for white dogs, Kuro for black ones."
"I always remember dogs in Japan being named what they thought were common American names: John, Bob, etc."
"Pantufa, goes for cats and dogs and it literally means house shoe."
My cat is now renamed, I love this although it will probably end in my murder by said cat.
"Rafiki (the monkey) means friend."
I lived next door to a dog named Monkey when I was a child. Gorgeous name for a dog.
weedsmokingscientist said:
"I had a German landlord with a dog called Hundi."
JustMeLurkingAround- replied:
"Hundi is basically doggy."
"In Ireland, the typical dog name is Bran after the legendary hero Fionn MacCumhaill's hound. Rover is also an old one."
"Over the course of 50 or 60 some odd years on my moms family farm in Cork, if you were male dog, your name was Shep, if you were a female dog, your name was Lassie."
"Here in Canada, on my reserve, they name their dogs after other animals. Bear, moose, etc."
"Here in South Africa you'll hear many dogs being called Sasha, or Sheba, for some reason.."
Yup, my Pa had a dog named Sheba. She was a queen though, absolutely beautiful.
nashitasalman said:
"Indians - Moti and Hira (pearl & diamond). There's also Sheru (tiger) ."
TakenbyLiamNeeson replied:
"In the South, people also name their dogs: Jimmy & Tommy, and pandu (fruit), kanna (little/tiny), and local variations for the word "golden"."
Here 10% of the males are Balou (when we got ours we shortened it to Lou). The females are mostly Luna or Mila with the occasional Diva.
Wut, Mila?😳 where is that? You sound German 🧐😊
Load More Replies... Here 10% of the males are Balou (when we got ours we shortened it to Lou). The females are mostly Luna or Mila with the occasional Diva.
Wut, Mila?😳 where is that? You sound German 🧐😊
Load More Replies...