Dog Names And Their Meanings
Names & Meanings From Foreign Languages
The meaning behind your dog's name is something that might be extremely personal to you. It could be from your family heritage or the dog breed's history. On the other hand, it might simply be something that describes the animal's physical appearance or personality, but it just sounds cooler in another language. Both of these reasons are perfectly fine.
Fido, one of the most famous dog names of all time, actually comes from another language. It is a derivative of the Latin word fidelis, which means faithful. While faithful may be a fine adjective to describe your dog, it is not one of the most practical names. You could go with Fidelis, but Fido just has a nice ring to it.
This is a perfect example of a common practice. Many dog owners take a foreign word that describes their pet well, put a little spin on its spelling and pronunciation, and create a brand new word and name for their puppy.
Then again, you might want to just stick with the word as it is in whatever language you choose. Either way, there is one thing that dog owners must be aware of. If you do not speak the language you are considering taking the name from, do your homework. Make sure that you are certain the word in question means exactly what you think it means. Dog owners tend to be grouchy when they find out the name they thought meant "loyal" friend turns out to mean "lactose intolerant".
You do not want to be like the person who gets random Chinese characters tattooed on their arm, only to find out later that it means something silly in translation. Dog name meanings are important because you cannot simply change the animal's name later if you find out it means something else.
A common way of safely approaching this subject is by checking out foreign language dictionaries. English to foreign language translation books are a big help, because you can look up the word in English and see if it sounds cool in another language. That way you do not get any unpleasant surprises down the road.
Dog names and their meanings can encompass many things. They can also be a nice way of coming up with a name that is unique in your area, ensuring that your pooch has the name all to himself.
