Thursday, August 27, 2009

What's in a Name?


With agility trials potentially coming sooner than we ever thought, I've begun thinking about what Marge's registered name will be.  Most organizations require an official or "full" name in addition to the dog's call name, even for mixed breeds like Marge.  I had previously thought that getting to choose a full name was an activity reserved only for owners of purebreds, but I was wrong.

I could simply register her as "(insert prefix here)'s Marge," but getting to choose an actual name that holds some meaning would probably be a lot more fun.

The original name that I thought of was "Northbound Fly by Night."  Northbound - for coming north from Georgia.  Fly - for speed, flying around the agility course.  Night - for being black in color.  I thought it was abstract yet witty, kind of dark and mystical in feel.  I feel like it holds a lot of meaning, without readily giving up that meaning to the whole world.

My only issues with it were "Northbound" sounding like a prefix or kennel name, when it's not, and it's length.  It's kind of a wordy name, I feel.  I also think it might be too formal sounding for a mixed breed only competing in performance events, and might be construed to be a joke when it's really supposed to be serious.  It also has nothing to do with her call name.

Another name I thought of was "Just Call Me Marvelous."  Because finding a name that incorporates Marge's call name is next to impossible without also including the word "Simpson," I figured that finding an adjective that started with roughly the same letters would be a good choice.  

My only issues with this name is that it has no prefix whatsoever, which looks weird to me (though I'll probably correct this), and for sounding a bit more on the joking and upbeat side.  Allow me to anthropomorphize a bit, but Marge does has a sense of humor, in my opinion.  The only problem is that people do not see that side of her, because when she's out and about, she's generally a pretty serious dog.  So, in one way, the name almost doesn't fit her.

Lastly, I would like to include some sort of prefix.  My first choice was SM, for "Silly Marge," and, honestly, also because I like the way the letters look. My first and middle initials are also SM, but that wasn't intentional on my part.  I can't really think of anything better.

Any ideas?  (SM) Northbound Fly by Night, or (SM) Just Call Me Marvelous?  I'm open to other ideas, too.. a newer name that I thought of was simply something like (SM) Midnight Marvel.  Still not sure on the prefix, which is why it's in parenthesis.

Do YOUR dogs have full names?  What are they, and how did you come to settle on them?

15 comments:

Sue August 27, 2009 at 4:11 PM  

I like both of those. As you know I gave a lot of thought to the names of my pack and I'm pleased with all of them. It's nice when you try to match the name to the personality.

Natalie August 27, 2009 at 4:17 PM  

I think you can come up with whatever name you want, whether she's a mix or purebred. I don't think people will think it's a joke if you have a serious registered name. I actually really like Northbound Fly by Night for Marge. The registered name doesn't have to relate to the call name, unless you'd like it to.

I have a post about this farther back in my blog, but Addie's registered name is Ali-Ann Inspired Addiction. If you want to read about how I came up with it check my archives.

If you're ever planning on having more dogs (especially rescue/mix breeds) beyond Marge, it wouldn't be a bad idea to come up with your own kind of prefix for your dogs. Northbound is cool, it sounds and looks awesome, goes with phrases well, and honors Marge. SM isn't bad either, it just depends if you prefer a word or just letters. I like all of your ideas so far. Start writing them down and seeing what sounds good and what you would like to say if someone asked her name.

If you want more help brainstorming let me know =)

Bijou August 27, 2009 at 4:33 PM  

Hi Marge,


Both names you came up with are great. My full name is Bijou Minuet. It's a combination of my doggy mom and dad's names. Mom spent a week thinking that one up! BOL Banjo is just... Banjo.

Wags & wiggles,
Bijou

Dexter August 27, 2009 at 4:52 PM  

How about something that spells her name?

Magnificent And Rugged G E... oops, that was too hard for the Mango.

My brother and I both have official names. I am
Lords Hill We all Love Mango and Pee-Wee is Nightwinds Dexter in the Dark.

We had to use the kennel names where our moms came from.

Slobbers,
Mango

Astrid Keel August 27, 2009 at 5:25 PM  

I like both names... though i thinks the second one is more "humorous."

BRUTUS August 27, 2009 at 5:42 PM  

Oddly enough, Brutus is registered with the AKC (the most uppity of registries) as just "Brutus". It's the name that fit him best from the get-go, thought up because it was the middle of OSU's Buckeyes football season when we brought him home. I suppose I could have included his kennel name (Reigsecker's), but that seemed odd. So he's just plain "Brutus", purebred and all!!

I think all the names you came up with sound pretty cool! When I think "Marge", the only word that comes to mind is "margin", but can't think of anything creative to go with it except "Margin of Victory". Probably too cheesy, even if you spelled it "(someone)'s Marge-in of Victory"... Just thinking out loud :)

Michelle

Ms. ~K August 27, 2009 at 7:30 PM  

We like to keep it simple in our house...one word names...

Raegan August 27, 2009 at 10:32 PM  

I really like Northbound Fly by Night for pretty much the same reasons as Natalie.

Something you might want to ask yourself is how much is the full name for you, and how much of it is for other people. If it's all for you, then something like Just Call Me Marvelous might be good, because it's more personal, but if it's mostly for the benefit of other people, something that looks good and inspires certain thoughts and emotions, then it's not as appropriate because, as you said, most other people don't see her sense of humor.

Gatsby's AKC register name is Greenlight Gatsby, after the green light across the lake in The Great Gatsby. It's also sort of my prefix, in my pretend-future life where I have tens of dogs and do dog sports all day long.

PoochesForPeace August 27, 2009 at 10:57 PM  

I have no experience with this, but i do like the idea of writing all your ideas down. That's what always helps me make a decision. Or just "free associate" words on paper that remind you of marge, then look at everything you wrote down and start puting them together. Or maybe a thesaurus would come in handy...

Carolyn August 27, 2009 at 11:27 PM  

You know, it really doesn't matter. I was out with Mesa's mom tonight (Prairie) and she registered Mesa as "Mesa" for full name & call name.

I also like "Northbound Fly by Night" for the reasons you mentioned. I think "Northbound" would be a neat tribute to Marge throughout the years if you continue the sport with other dogs and started their name with "Northbound".

But keep in mind I named Cooper after the main character in David Lynch's tv show "Twin Peaks". His UKC registration is "Patchwork's Special Agent Cooper"...Lol!

I guess I don't really take the whole registered name thing seriously. So, yeah, have some fun with it if you want to! ;)

Bijou August 28, 2009 at 3:02 PM  
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bijou August 28, 2009 at 3:04 PM  

Hi, it's me again.

I wanted to let you know I have an award for you. Come visit my blog to find out what it is.

Pee ess,

Mom was driving down the street the other day and saw a sign, "Living Large". For some reason she immediately thought... Living Large Marge. BOL

Wags & wiggles,
Bijou

Unknown August 28, 2009 at 6:30 PM  

I really like Northbound too! I don't think it sounds too formal at all - it sounds rather whimsical and lyrical, I think, very lovely! In any case, I think the official name is meant to sound more "serious" than the pet name and you can really go to town on the length & descriptives! :-) Although I sort of agree that I like having an official name that somehow relates to the pet name...but in this case, it would relate to Marge herself - her looks & her personality - so that works too.

A lot of friends who decide to start breeding make up a prefix based on their own names - so maybe if you don't like Northbound, you could some up with a prefix to do with YOUR name somehow...

LIke most pedigree dogs, Honey came with a prefix that was her breeders' kennel name (Yacanto) - however, we were really lucky in that our lovely breeders knew we wanted to name her Honey so they specifically incorporated that into her official name. And we were also lucky in that they decided to name all of her litter after Beatles songs and it just so happened that there was one with Honey in it! So Honey's official name is Yacanto A Taste Of Honey...which I think also suits her personality, being such a sweet dog...so it all fits nicely! :-)

Hsin-Yi
ps. oh, I've taught Honey to toilet on command too! I agree - SO useful! Especailly if you're planning to go on a long road trip or take her downtown and you don't want to have to make any stops or worry about any "urgent calls of nature" in inappropriate places! :-)

Martha August 29, 2009 at 6:16 AM  

We're probably not much use to you here - we are both rescues and so not sure if we ever had 'official' names although we guess we must have done at one time!
We see you have lots of good advice from those who have more of an idea than us!
The SM though we didn't think should be Silly Marge - more like Super, Stunning or Special!
That is just us though but we think you have one very special girl there - certainly not silly.
love and kisses
Martha & Bailey xxx
ps sorry we are late we thought we had organised our blog roll for new posts to appear in the order they are posted however we missed you!!!!!

Roxanne @ Champion of My Heart September 2, 2009 at 6:27 PM  

We toyed with making up a "kennel name" using the first two letters of my name, my husband's name and our other dog's name --- which came out to Rotogi.

So, we considered Rotogi's Lilly of the Valley, but ulimately I registered her with the AKC as her full given name Lilly Elizabeth Hawn.

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