Note: in 2025, dog's names in France must begin with "A".
Until 1926, there was no rule in France for naming a dog registered with the LOF. Starting this year, the S.C.C. decided that all dogs born in the same year would have a name beginning with the same letter, which would simplify the work of dog genealogists. The letter "Z" was excluded because it was thought that the choice of names beginning with this letter was broad enough in French. It should be noted that for several years after, some breeders didn't follow this new rule.
The only change to this system occurred in 1972, when the Commission Nationale d'Amélioration Génétique (National Committee for Genetic Improvement) decided to standardize the yearly letters for all animals. Five letters (K, Q, W, X, Y) were removed, for the same reason which had led to the exclusion of "Z" in 1926, and it was decided that "I" would be used for 1973.
Note: with the use of typewriters, the French Kennel Club decided to use only capital letters for dog names, and to not include accents and special characters. Today it is still the case, and many letters used in French cannot be used for dog names: À, à, Â, â, Æ, æ, Ç, ç, É, é, È, è, Ê, ê, Ë, ë, Î, î, Ï, ï, Ô, ô, Œ, œ, Ù, ù, Û, û, Ü, ü, Ÿ, ÿ.
Here is a table summarizing the dogs' names in France since 1926:
| 1926 | A | 1936 | K | 1946 | U | 1956 | F | 1966 | P | 1976 | M | 1986 | B | 1996 | M | 2006 | B | 2016 | M |
| 1927 | B | 1937 | L | 1947 | V | 1957 | G | 1967 | Q | 1977 | N | 1987 | C | 1997 | N | 2007 | C | 2017 | N |
| 1928 | C | 1938 | N | 1948 | W | 1958 | H | 1968 | R | 1978 | O | 1988 | D | 1998 | O | 2008 | D | 2018 | O |
| 1929 | D | 1939 | M | 1949 | X | 1959 | I | 1969 | S | 1979 | P | 1989 | E | 1999 | P | 2009 | E | 2019 | P |
| 1930 | E | 1940 | O | 1950 | Y | 1960 | J | 1970 | T | 1980 | R | 1990 | F | 2000 | R | 2010 | F | 2020 | R |
| 1931 | F | 1941 | P | 1951 | A | 1961 | K | 1971 | U | 1981 | S | 1991 | G | 2001 | S | 2011 | G | 2021 | S |
| 1932 | G | 1942 | Q | 1952 | B | 1962 | L | 1972 | V | 1982 | T | 1992 | H | 2002 | T | 2012 | H | 2022 | T |
| 1933 | H | 1943 | R | 1953 | C | 1963 | M | 1973 | I | 1983 | U | 1993 | I | 2003 | U | 2013 | I | 2023 | U |
| 1934 | I | 1944 | S | 1954 | D | 1964 | N | 1974 | J | 1984 | V | 1994 | J | 2004 | V | 2014 | J | 2024 | V |
| 1935 | J | 1945 | T | 1955 | E | 1965 | O | 1975 | L | 1985 | A | 1995 | L | 2005 | A | 2015 | L | 2025 | A |
In some other countries, a breeder has to name the dogs in
their first litter with names beginning with "A", those from the second litter
with names beginning with "B", and so on.
This system is often chosen by default by breeders in countries with no specific naming system.
Note: as many breeders have only one litter in their lifetime, in countries where this system is used, there will be more dogs whose name begins with "A" than any other letter.
The affix is the name of a kennel, given to a breeder for life, which allows for the recognition of dogs they produced through their name. A dog is given the affix of the bitch's owner at the time of mating.
-It is a suffix if it is placed after the dog's name (this is generally the case in Latin countries). For example, 'Vrac du Rocher des Jastres' is named 'Vrac' with the affix 'du Rocher des Jastres'.
-It is a prefix if it is placed before the dog's name (it is generally the case in Anglo-Saxon countries):
"Happiness Vulcain" is named "Vulcain" (some people call that its surname) with the affix "Happiness".
If the bitch's owner does not have an affix at the time of mating, the dog will never have one.
The last sentence of the previous paragraph is true in continental Europe, but in England there is a slightly different system: when the breeder sells a dog to his first owner, the latter can add his affix to the name of the dog. After that, the dog's name will not change, even if the owner changes.
This system is sometimes used in the USA, for example: "Phantom Force of Northland" is named "Force", he has been produced by Beth Cephil (affix: "Phantom"), who sold it to Mr. North (affix: "Northland"); then he has taken the affix of his new owner. as a suffix. Under this name he has produced some puppies with this affix (e.g. "NorthLand's Jewel"
However, there is an exception to the French rule forbidding changes of names: between the moment a dog is identified and the moment the S.C.C. gives it a birth certificate, one can add a nickname.
This is because when the breeder identifies the dog, he generally doesn't know the new owner; as the latter is sometimes unhappy with the chosen name,
they will name their dog differently; to have a trace of this nickname, it will be added to the birth certificate, following 'dit' (for a male dog) or 'dite' (for a female dog), which means 'said' or 'alias' in French.
For example, "Colt dit Chably du Fief d'Epsom" has been identified as "Colt du Fief d'Epsom", but as his new owner wanted to call him "Chably", this name has been added.
In some cases, a dog has a nickname which isn't written in any official paper. To keep track of this nickname, I add "alias XXX" at the end of his name in the database. For example, "Luron du Rocher des Jastres" which was called "Mobylette" is called in the database "Luron du Rocher des Jastres alias Mobylette".
And when two dogs have the same name, that no nickname allows me to differentiate them, I add a number to the end of the name.This system was invented in France by the Dr H. Castaing in 1904, before the adoption of the more
simple "one letter by year" system; it
was described in the second page of his pedigree template (see pedigree of "Vic
de l'Antenne") and in "Fram, chien d'arrêt" by the colonel Dommanget.
The name is made of three parts:
1- A first name beginning with a letter that corresponds to the year of birth (A for 1901 and 1926, Z for 1925 and 1950, etc.). This name is always written entirely in capital letters.
2- A matronymic family name, i.e. transmitted by the mother. The last vowel of this name is changed to indicate the generation. This is called the 'chronopentascale' system (from 'penta,' meaning 'five' in Greek, for the five vowels: 'a' for the 1st generation, 'e' for the 2nd, 'i' for the 3rd, 'o' for the 4th, and 'u' for the 5th).
3- The affix of the breeder (kennel name)
Here is an example:
- "DRAGONNE-Maba-Fram", born in 1904, in the "Fram" kennel, from the bitch "Mab de Bellefontaine".
- The daughter of "DRAGONNE-Maba-Fram" born in 1906 will be called "FANNY-Mabe-Fram".
- If "FANNY-Mabe-Fram" is sold to the "Bretagne" kennel her daugther born in 1909 will be called "IRA-Mabi-Bretagne", etc.
- When all five vowels have been used, a '1' will be added. So, the offspring of 'Mab de Bellefontaine' at the 8th generation will have the matronymic family name 'Mabi 1'.
Ace: Batman is a fictional character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in Detective Comics # 27 in 1939. He is a superhero without superpowers. Ace was a German Shepherd originally owned by an engraver named John Wilker. Batman and Robin found him after his master was kidnapped by a gang of counterfeiters. Batman used Ace to try to locate Wilker.
Bali: The comic strip 'Baptiste and Bali,' by André-Philippe Côté, narrates the adventures and misadventures of a tramp named Baptiste and his dog Bali.
Bill: Boule and Bill is a Belgian cartoon named after its two main characters, created in 1959 by Jean Roba, and perpetuated since 2003 by Laurent Verron. The series tells the adventures of a family of seven year old child, Boule and his dog, a cocker spaniel named Bill. Also present are the mother and the father of Boule, Caroline the turtle, the neighbor and her cat Corporal.
Buck: The Call of the Wild is a novel by American writer Jack London. Buck, a 3-year-old dog, lives a comfortable life in the Santa Clara Valley with his owner, Judge Miller. One day, Manuel, the Judge's gardener, steals Buck and sells him to be used as a sled dog (during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, sledge dogs were expensive). He and the vicious, quarrelsome lead dog, Spitz, develop a rivalry. Buck eventually defeats Spitz in a major fight. Buck then becomes the leader of the pack. He is sold several times until becoming the property of John Thornton, an experienced and respectable. One night, he returns from a short hunt to find his beloved master and the others in the camp have been killed by a group of Yeehat Indians. Buck eventually kills the Indians to avenge Thornton. After realizing his old life is a thing of the past, Buck follows the wolf into the forest and answers the call of the wild.
Capi: Without family is a French novel by Hector Malot, published in 1878. Remi, a foundling, is sold to Vitalis, an old street musician. Here they are both on the roads. Vitalis dies, and Remi, left alone, searches of his real family from the Auvergne region to England. He meets a group of terrifying robbers or child molesters, but becomes friends with animals, including a little monkey named Pretty Heart and the dog, Capi.
Cerberus: In Greek mythology, Cerberus is the three-headed dog who guards the entrance to Hades, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping.
Cubitus: Cubitus (Dommel in Dutch) is a Franco-Belgian cartoon created by Dupa in Tintin magazine in 1968. 39 albums were released between 1972 and 2002 by Le Lombard. Following the death of Dupa in 2000, Michel Rodrigue replaced him. Since 2005, with the help of screenwriter Peter Aucaigne, he has been making The New Adventures of Cubitus. The series tells the stories of Cubitus, big white dog debonair endowed with speech. Cubitus lives in a suburban home with his owner Sémaphore, retired marine and his neighbor Sénéchal, his nemesis (although sometimes it is his best friend or companion). In the album A dog may hide another, the nephew of Cubitus (Bidule) appeared in the series and meet Sémaphore and Sénéchal.
Kador: Les Bidochon is a French comic created by Binet, who writes and draws the stories. In one of their first adventures, the couple adopts an intellectual dog, Kador, who is the hero of an earlier series by the same author, in four volumes.
Lassie: Lassie is a collie dog hero of the novel by Eric Knight, Lassie Come Home which has inspired several films and television series. The first film based on the novel dates from 1943. In the series Lassie (1954-1974), she has several owners, and toward the end, she goes her own way, without a regular owner, and towards the end of the serie she goes her own way, without regular owner. In the 1970s, Lassie is the heroine of an animated series called Lassie Rescue Rangers. The first dog to play the role of Lassie was named Pal. His owner, who could not handle him, hired Weatherwax Trained Dogs to do so. Before his death, he was crossed with several females and is the father of many puppies, nine of his direct descendants succeeded him. The others were adopted. All the dogs who played Lassie were male because females shed their fur once a year, making it impossible to film year-round. Lassie's fame has reached such a level that she is with Rin Tin Tin and Strongheart one of the three dogs with a star on the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Mabrouk: Mabrouk (from an Arabic name meaning happy, lucky ») was the dog of the journalist Jean-Pierre Hutin, creator of the show 30 millions d'amis (30 millions of friends). He was incorporated into the show for demonstrations of rescues at sea or in the mountains, or training of police dogs. After the death of Mabrouk in 1982, a new dog was offered to Jean-Pierre Hutin by his colleagues in 1984, Mabrouk Junior, who becomes the new mascot of the show. After the death of Mabrouk Junior in 1996, his daughter Mabrouka took over as the show's new mascot. The official spelling of her name is H'Mabrouka to comply with French legislation regarding the initial letters of purebred dog names.
Montmorency: Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), published in 1889, is a humorous account by Jerome K. Jerome about a boating holiday on the Thames between Kingston and Oxford. Because of the overwhelming success of Three Men in a Boat, Jerome later published a sequel, about a cycling tour in Germany, entitled Three Men on the Bummel.
Rover: Roverandom is a novella written by J.R.R. Tolkien and originally told in 1925. It deals with the adventures of a young dog, Rover. In the story, an irritable wizard turns Rover into a toy, and Rover goes to the moon and under the sea in order to find the wizard again to turn him back into a normal-sized dog.
White fang: White Fang is a novel by American author Jack London. First serialized in Outing magazine, it was published in 1906. The story takes place in Yukon Territory, Canada, during the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th-century, and details a wild wolfdog's journey to domestication. White Fang is a companion novel (and a thematic mirror) to London's best-known work, The Call of the Wild, which concerns a kidnapped, domesticated dog who becomes a wild animal. Much of the novel is written from the viewpoint of its canine character, enabling London to explore how animals view their world and humans. White Fang examines the violent worlds of wild animals and humans. The book also explores complex themes including morality and redemption.