So, I always had dogs when I was growing up. My dad let me name them, and there were some pretty un-original names (Scotty was our Scottish Terrier and Dog was some mutt we found). When my son was born, we found out that he was allergic to dogs. Kid blew up like a tick whenever he was around one. When he was around 12, I finally wore the wife down and convinced her that every boy needs a dog (not to mention husbands who really love dogs). After much research and searching, we finally settled on our Mini-Schnauzer. After picking him up from the airport, we sat down and asked Joe what he wanted to name him. Colby.... Why? Because Joe had just discovered Colby Jack cheese and was fixated on it. But, it was his dog, so Colby it was.

Fast forward to Christmas of last year and we (I) am looking at Huskies, in anticipation of my son going off to college. Enter Zhukov. While doing research and visiting different vets, shelters, and breeders, I realize that Joe is not reacting to the dogs like he used to. Guess he grew out of his allergies. Anyhow, I let him name this dog also. Of course, my son being a history buff, can't resist picking some weird name and (agreeing with me that a Russian name would be in keeping with a Siberian Husky) chose Zhukov. Now I knew who Zhukov was and was a bit surprised that Joe could come up with that name off the top of his head, being that Zhukov is the name of a famous Russian General from World War II.

So, there we go, Colby and Zhukov. Next one is mine to name though. Uragan (roughly translates into hurricane in Russian) I think... lol.

Most of my dogs either keep the name with which they came to me or I let them name themselves by something they do.
Sasha came from San Antonio as Sasha, don't know where the lady who had her for a while got the name,
Avalanche came from the shelter as Avalanche.
Misty (RIP) came from the shelter with a collar that had Misty written on it, so she kept that.
Kalah (RIP), lab, didn't have a name when I picked her up from the shelter, could not come up with a name for her until a Muslim friend of mine called her Kalah - black in Hindi, she responded so she became Kalah.
Blondie (RIP), spaniel mix was named by the friend who worked at the shelter from which I got her.

Okay, I'm well out of Huskies, so I'll stop with one more.
Lady, (RIP) lab, when my aunt and I picked her up from the shelter, we spread a blanket on the back seat of the car, Lady hopped up and lay down 'Just like a lady!' so it was Lady from that day on.

Cora is my first dog, I had a long list of names a lot of cool Greek names some from myths ect.. My dad hated them all Then I was thinking one day "what about Cora" its short and simple and he liked it. She responded to it right away so that is the name she got. Its not as cool or fun as it could have been but it fits her all the same. As for my second dog (a gsd) who knows, I have a few swimming around in my mind.

What a fun topic! Here is my list...some of them I gave my own spellings too though.

Nikita, my very first childhood husky, my mom named him after the Russian Czar (?)

Pasha, my childhood Malamute, I named him...I had read it meant "King" in another language, I just don't quite remember which.

Blitz, my first husky I got as an "adult", it's German for "lightning" and there were a couple reasons for his name, first is he (and his sister Anuschka) had a marking in their tails that looked like a lightning bolt, and second, it's a term used in American football and Blitz was like that, he'd just run at me and just knock me over, lol, he was such a great husky.

Anuschka, the sister of my boy Blitz. When Nikita had died at 17 years old, my Malamute, Pasha, was 14, I had set out on my own to get Pasha (and myself) another boy husky and I had chosen Blitz, unbeknownst to me, my mom had contacted the breeder I found and asked if she had another husky because she knew my Malamute wouldn't be around too much longer and she didn't want me (or Blitz) to go through looking for another husky when Pasha passed away, and my mom chose a silver and white, brown eyed sister of Blitz, as a surprise for me. Well I let my mom name her, and she chose Anuschka. As a child in Germany, my grandfather used to sing my mom a song, in English it's translated "bring me a vodka, Anuschka, Anuschka" hahaha...my mom has always liked that name and so Blitz's sister became Anuschka (is also the name of a Russian princess from wayyyyyy back in the day)

Malukhai <sigh> my husky soulmate...Blitz passed away at only 4 1/2 years old, he had had epileptic seizures starting at 11 months old and they took his life...Anuschka took it hard, being as they were littermates, she was now on her own and I set out almost immediately to get her another "brother"...I had chosen Malukhai. Being very young, and maybe not so smart, I had asked the breeder if I could get a puppy that had either the same father, or mother, as Blitz and Anuschka, not knowing I was setting myself up for some serious sadness (keep in mind though that at the time, I did not know the seizures were genetic...I thought Blitz's were a fluke, so to speak, Anuschka had not had any. ) well, I had always liked the name Malukhai, and looking names up online, I had found out Malukhai meant "my angel" and considering the circumstances, it just fit. He truly lived up to that name too. Anuschka had developed the seizures after I got Malukhai, and then Malukhai developed them at 2 years old...so they all lived shorter lives, but as sad as that is, I wouldn't have traded my time with them for anything.

Kohdi!!! Kohdi was supposed to be named Luka, it means "the light". However! Someone else in my neighborhood had gotten an Australian Shephard puppy just weeks before Kohdi came here, and she named that Aussie, Luka of all names. Being as it was still a very sad time for me, I couldn't bring myself to devote the energy into a name and so I chose Dakota...but there are like a million Siberians named Dakota, lol...so I decided that I'd pick him up, and if a name popped out of me for him after I saw him, that's the name he'd get...I met him and instantly he was "Kohdi", he just...IS ...a Kohdi.

Mishka...names are tough to choose for girls! I had chosen the name Annika. I really really like that name! However, the more I thought about it, the more it just seemed too close to the name Anuschka. And could totally see myself mistakingly calling her Anuschka often enough that it just didn't seem like the best thing to do, so I went though hundreds of names, nothing "clicked" for me...until I saw the name Mishka. I'd tell my friends the name, and every single person liked it so, even though more boy huskies seem to be named Mishka than girls, I still went with it. I like it.

Gabby - My GF and I took so much time to figure out names... she was with us for 2 weeks before we decided on anything and kind of let her personality determine it. She was a very whiny talker as a pup so that is how we came up with Gabby because she liked to Gab.. lol

I have almost always named dogs short names with a high pitched sound at the end. It helps with recall and short names don't get lost or confused when you are hunting them since I grew up with bird dogs and hounds. I had a guard dog I named Dagoney, from the movie king Arthur. He was one of the knights. It wasn't the name I had intended to name him before I got him but once I met him and he was such a thick boned dog a more regal name seemed better. I usually just say a ton of names until I start 'feeling' one that fits or the dog looks at me. When we named Keno we went through several names and when I said Keno he just turned and looked at me and that was the one. Took it a bit to grow on my husband but Keno learned it fast.

Cool topic!

I let my girlfriend pick out a name for our upcoming husky boy.
Of course my gf did ask me if I had any suggestions for a name and all I had was Arcanine..the name of a kinda fluffy dog-like Pokemon.
She had come up with the name Mylo very early on even before securing our spot on any puppy list.
When she told me the name I assumed it was Milo to which I said its cute but common...then she said no no, with a y! Ohhh so Mylo? That's a nice little twist!
Then she told me its My Love, My+Love=Mylo.
She was still indecisive up until we went to see him at one week old..as she held him and I said come on..look at him..this is..Mylo
The name is perfect we both love it and at the vet there are lots of Milo's but only one Mylo.
So whenever we are at the vet and they ask to verify his name I say "Mylo with a Y"

*Fun fact* we later found out after getting Mylo...one of his female litter mates was named Miley haha I remember Mylo and Miley loved to play and wrestle together.
My gf sometimes checks out the Miley's owners instagram to see pictures of her. Bummer though cause they live in Austin.

Ami came with his name, and, like boats, we thought it bad luck to change his name. I looked it up and it has different meanings in 3 different languages: Beauftiful in Japanese, Friend in French and Member of the Tribe in Hebrew. We declared it Hebrew and that is the only part of his name that came from us.

My first husky, the puppy that died, was Sonia. Named after the duck in the Danny Kaye version of Peter and the Wolf (which we listened to on the "HiFi" as kids. My second husky, Sasha was named for the bird in Peter and the Wolf. I thought we would name her Sonia like the first puppy...but we chose Sonia because it connoted sweetness. After having Sasha for half a day, "sweet" did not really capture her personality. She was a hell-raising devil with lots of sass! So, Sasha she became.

Well mine aren't too creative here..lol
I chose to name both Memphis and Miya after Disney movies. Memphis from happy feet, and Maya from eight below. Also after seeing Miyas momma with her miya, I really liked the name and spelling..are you confused yet? Lol so credit to Renee also ..
Originally Miya was named Shada from her breeder but that name just didn't fit her right. she's much too sweet, and I feel it fits her.

LOL...Jane....Miya was born just before the end of the Mayan calender, so my husband named her Maya...and I was like NOOOOOOOO everyone will be spelling their dogs name that way, so I changed the spelling to Miya. When I decided on a gsd, we couldn't agree on a name. A friend suggested Sophie, and again I changed the spelling to Sofie, it was the only name we agreed on. Meanings of Miya....great mother, love, common sibling names, lol Sophia. Sofie means wisdom....Yep Miya is a loving momma, and Sofie is very smart (some times, haha). Very cool thread.

I never looked for a name for Leo. i just figured his personality would point the way, but for some reason or another i couldn't put my finger a name for a few weeks he didn't have one lol. i always liked looking at the meaning of name and see if it would fit the one that it was given but I'm not sure why i pick Leo but It has fit him well.
Leo means lion, which symbolizes Strength, Courage and Leadership. i also found this site interesting http://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/leo which is where i found the numerology.

Numerology
SoulUrge Number: 11
People with this name have a deep inner desire to inspire others in a higher cause, and to share their own strongly held views on spiritual matters.
Expression Number: 5
People with this name are excited by change, adventure, and excitement. They are dynamic, visionary and versatile, able to make constructive use of freedom. They fight being restricted by rules and conventions. They tend to be optomistic, energetic, intelligent, and to make friends easily. They may be changeable, restless, untidy, and rebellious.

very cool thread topic.

Great stories! Thanks to everyone for sharing.

BTW Arctic_Wind, the story about Blitz, Anuschka, and Malukhai broke my heart... Just shows how deeply these creatures affect us.

Mark Grubbs wrote:

Great stories!  Thanks to everyone for sharing.

BTW Arctic_Wind, the story about Blitz, Anuschka, and Malukhai broke my heart...  Just shows how deeply these creatures affect us.

Sorry, didn't mean to make this a sad thread, I really enjoyed reading everyone's responses!

The "upside" to my situation...I had the awesome opportunity to share my life with 3 incredible huskies who taught me a lot about...life, and who gave me the most incredible memories. As I said, I wouldn't trade the time I had with them, as short as it was, for anything.

Ryan had named every dog he ever had in his family so he let me take the reigns for once as my family's dog Saddie was prenamed from the humane society.

Lutsen is a ski hill/resort in Tofte, MN in between Grand Marais and Duluth. Ryan and I both snowboard and when we found out Lutsen's bloodline is full of sled dogs we had to go with something that reminded us of snow!

I'm very glad we picked this name because we call him "Lu" for short and he responds well to the sounds in his name.

I'm also very glad we picked this name in particular because there are a lot of huskies that frequent our dog park and many of them are named Dakota or Nikita so being able to say Lutsen! without any confusion is nice haha!

Mika, Misty, and Gypsy kept the names they had when we got them.

Kiba was named after the white wolf in Wolf's Rain. It's Japanese for "fang."

Romeo's name just came to me as I was holding him in the pet store. It suited him perfectly.

Jack got his name because we were looking up names appropriate for a white dog. My husband found Jack Frost on an internet list and we all liked it.

Kage (ka-gay) means "Shadow" in Japanese, and she got her name because my son loves the Japanese language. Aiko's name is also Japanese and means "little love." I chose her name from a baby name website and liked it (although I found out we mispronounce it because we call her "eye-ko" when the proper pronunciation is "Ahh-ee-ko").

Finally, Suka got his name because I wanted a name appropriate for a Husky. Inuit names are a very popular choice, and Suka means "fast." Since I want to participate in bikejoring with him, I thought it suited him.

Cloud was named after Cloud Strife in one of my favorite video games, Final Fantasy.
Yuki came from the anime Vampire Knight, although I'm not a huge fan of that particular anime, I liked the namesake and how it sounded.
Link came from another video game, The Legend of Zelda.
Lyon came from another anime, Fairy Tail, again not a character that I was particular in love with however I liked the name.
Ame came from Wolf Children, again just me liking the name and namesake.
My pup that I'll be getting in September, I've got a couple names, Yona and Yuta depending on female or male, they are characters from two of my favorite mangas currently.

Jessi, your son's not the only one - I loved Japanese once I fiured out it wasn't as complex as people seem to think it is.  My problem was that I learned it on Hokkaido - rural dialect - and when I traveled to Tokyo, Imperial dialect, no one could understand a thing I said (unless they were from the northern part of Japan)
Just for the comment, what we think of as a long-i is actually a diphthong, your ah-ee if you slur it quickly enough is a long-i.

I'm finding the same thing here with Spanish.  Along the border the 'Spanish' is such a bastardized language that people who speak it here almost have to learn a new language when they go further away from the border.  My Spanish is a mix of Castilian, learned while I was in service, and Cuban which is very close to Castilian.  If I'm talking to an educated Mexican they normally understand me, or if they're willing to take the time to listen to me they can figure out what I'm talking about.

One of my jokes from service was when I was in Spain and was 'translating' Puerto Ricaño to Castilian ....

My boyfriend and I decided to pick a name from Game Of Thrones, lol. I originally wanted to name her Sansa but we decided instead to go with Arya (Are-ya)

Arya .... arya here!?!? Nope, she's off running .... sorry, just could not resist!!

I do like that collar / harness combination. Having lost one husky (*my* ignorance) I appreciate anyone who takes the time to make sure that theirs are secure.

aljones wrote:

Arya .... arya here!?!?  Nope, she's off running .... sorry, just could not resist!!  

I do like that collar / harness combination.  Having lost one husky (*my* ignorance) I appreciate anyone who takes the time to make sure that theirs are secure.

LOL when I visit my dad's house he always calls her "Ar-ya stupid!". I keep her collar on because it has her city license, rabies, name tag, and microchip number she has the husky spirit and loves to pull so I use the harness so she quits choking herself!

Jasmine (Pom) the litter was named after Disney characters
Mocha (Pom) my daughter named him and said he looked like the color of a mocha frap
Snickers (Chihuahua) my stepdad named him Snickers after his favorite candy bar lol
Rosie (Pom mix) my daughter just liked the name Rosie.

Harley our current Husky was named after Harley Quinn, she's just as chaotic as her namesake lol

All of these names are so awesome! I love seeing other people give their pups a name with meaning as well

Meisje - Girl in dutch, my grandmother used to call my mom and my aunts little meisje's when they were younger and it just stuck in my head when it came time to deciding a name

Butkis (RIP) husky mix Rocky Balboa's Dog's name (Hubs loves Rocky)

Shade/Shadie (RIP) black himalayan she was black and I just could not name her Shadow but Shade was evil (cat and name...haha) and it name crept up on me!!

Rocky (RIP) gray tomcat was I believe named Rock at the shelter and we did and did not like that. We did not like him being named after the Rock Dwayne Jonhson as we were not into WWE. But we thought it was cool that a geologist had a cat named rock and he could morph to Rocky (Balboa).

Beka (RIP) - a aussie husky came from the shelter/foster as Rebecca which she was NOT a Rebecca but she was called that for 5 weeks. We did not want to confuse her with another new thing but just did not think she was a Rebecca. So to stay with the kinda of same sound and a start a trend of "B" name Beka was it! And that was perfect for daddies little girl.

Baylin-  our Australian Shepherd, we wanted a "B" name but thought an Australian name would be awesome too. So we went name searching for a feisty little girl. At the time (can't find it now) Baylin was a common aussie name for little girl. We thought that was perfect because also at the time Baylin was a bounty hunter from Mongo in the Sci Fi Channel Flash Gordon series. Which we were watching!

Bourbon - well at the time we were heavy bourbon drinkers and we were sitting around trying to think of names while drinking bourbon on a Saturday afternoon. We were looking into Inuit. Russian and Artic names that started with a B. We bandied all kinds about rejecting them. Some how a joke evolved about we should just name him a bourbon brand. Then the next think we know we liked the idea. Then while on vacation right before we picked him up to bring him home (while drinking bourbon on a Saturday) we tried to think of which brand and a register name. Some how we kept coming back to the fact that we were drinking bourbon on a Saturday again and could not find a name so "Bourbons on Saturdays" was claimed for him!

Notice that with each animal more time and explanation or thought went into the names....


Vlad - this guy is a special case. (I know his whole lineage personally going back to the grandparents {know the dogs in reality as my friends}...heartbreaking story that I will not go into.) So Vlad was mine on day 3, technically day 1 but hey I convinced the hubs on day 3 when they meet in person). As most of you know I nicknamed him my little bozo and I came to think of him as Zozo's little Bozo! (My nickname for Grandma Zoey was ZoZo.) The hubs did not like that name at all. He wanted something more manly and "dark". He want Bafamet (SP?). Wait no it is Baphomet a deity or devil referred to by the Knights Templar and a pagan idol. I guess the meaning comes from another language but I do not know which. I was like NO I can not see myself calling this dog the devil he is my baby. And what do you nickname him then Baffy???? I was laughing now. So we needed a new name and we could not find or agree on a B or a Russian name. Well the hubs figured it out with the following reasoning! You can not call a dog Count Dracula but your wife can joke and ask for a Count Dogula? So how about Vlad as in Vlad the Impaler the original Count Dracula which is perfect for the horror movie buff hubs, it is Siberian to boot and wifey wanted a "northern' name.  Rationale worked and I said yep!

HuskyLear wrote:

Butkis (RIP) husky mix Rocky Balboa's Dog's name (Hubs loves Rocky)

Shade/Shadie (RIP) black himalayan she was black and I just could not name her Shadow but Shade was evil (cat and name...haha) and it name crept up on me!!

Rocky (RIP) gray tomcat was I believe named Rock at the shelter and we did and did not like that. We did not like him being named after the Rock Dwayne Jonhson as we were not into WWE. But we thought it was cool that a geologist had a cat named rock and he could morph to Rocky (Balboa).

Beka (RIP) - a aussie husky came from the shelter/foster as Rebecca which she was NOT a Rebecca but she was called that for 5 weeks. We did not want to confuse her with another new thing but just did not think she was a Rebecca. So to stay with the kinda of same sound and a start a trend of "B" name Beka was it! And that was perfect for daddies little girl.

Baylin-  our Australian Shepherd, we wanted a "B" name but thought an Australian name would be awesome too. So we went name searching for a feisty little girl. At the time (can't find it now) Baylin was a common aussie name for little girl. We thought that was perfect because also at the time Baylin was a bounty hunter from Mongo in the Sci Fi Channel Flash Gordon series. Which we were watching!

Bourbon - well at the time we were heavy bourbon drinkers and we were sitting around trying to think of names while drinking bourbon on a Saturday afternoon. We were looking into Inuit. Russian and Artic names that started with a B. We bandied all kinds about rejecting them. Some how a joke evolved about we should just name him a bourbon brand. Then the next think we know we liked the idea. Then while on vacation right before we picked him up to bring him home (while drinking bourbon on a Saturday) we tried to think of which brand and a register name. Some how we kept coming back to the fact that we were drinking bourbon on a Saturday again and could not find a name so "Bourbons on Saturdays" was claimed for him!

Notice that with each animal more time and explanation or thought went into the names....


Vlad - this guy is a special case. (I know his whole lineage personally going back to the grandparents {know the dogs in reality as my friends}...heartbreaking story that I will not go into.) So Vlad was mine on day 3, technically day 1 but hey I convinced the hubs on day 3 when they meet in person). As most of you know I nicknamed him my little bozo and I came to think of him as Zozo's little Bozo! (My nickname for Grnadma Zoey was ZoZo.) The hubs did not like that name at all. He wanted something more manly and "dark". He want Bafamet (SP?). Wait no it is Baphomet a deity or devil referred to by the Knights Templar and a pagan idol. I guess the meaning comes from another language but I do not know which. I was like NO I can not see myself calling this dog the devil he is my baby. And what do you nickname him then Baffy???? I was laughing now. So we needed a new name and we could not find or agree on a B or a Russian name. Well the hubs figured it out with the following reasoning! You can not call a dog Count Dracula but your wife can joke and ask for a Count Dogula? So how about Vlad as in Vlad the Impaler the original Count Dracula which is perfect for the horror movie buff hubs, it is Siberian to boot and wifey wanted a "northern' name.  Rationale worked and I said yep!

vlad is the name of Lutsen's dad! Love that name!