Note: in 2024, dog's names in France must begin with "U".
Until 1926, there was no rule in France for naming a dog registered in the LOF. From 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 one though that the choice of names beginning with this letter was not big enough in French. One should be aware that for several years after, some breeders didn't follow this new rule.
The only change to this system happened 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 lead 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, not including 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
his first litter with names beginning with "A", those from the second litter
with names beginning with "B", etc.
It is often the system chosen by default by breeders of countries with no specific system.
Note: as many breeders have only one litter during their life, 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 for life to a breeder and which enables the recognition of dogs he produced thanks to their name. A dog is given the affix of the owner of the bitch when the mating is done. It is not compulsory to have an affix.
-It is a suffix if it is put after the dog's name (it is generally the case in Latin countries):
"Vrac du Rocher des Jastres" is named "Vrac" with the affix "du Rocher des Jastres".
-It is a prefix if it is put 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 owner of the bitch doesn't have an affix when the mating is done, the dog will never have one. Because once a dog has a name, he can never change it.
The last sentence of the previous paragraph is true in continental Europe, but there is in England 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 anymore, 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 where a dog is identified
and the moment where the S.C.C. gives him 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 of the chosen name,
he is going to name his dog differently; to have a trace of this nickname, it will be added on the birth certificate, following "dit" (if it is a sire) or "dite" (if it is a bitch), 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 enables me to differentiate them, I had a number at the end of this name. Then, each dog has a unique 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- One first name beginning with a letter depending on the year of birth (A for 1901 and 1926, Z for 1925 and 1950, etc.), which will by entirely written in capital letters.
2- A matronymic family name, i.e. transmitted by the mother. The terminal vowel of this name is changed to show the generation (chronopentascale, from "penta" meaning "five" in greek, for the 5 vowels: a for the 1st generation, e for the 2nd, i for the 3rd, o for the 4th, 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 daugther 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 the five vowels will have been used, one will add a "1", 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. It's a superhero without powers. Ace was a German Shepherd Dog originally owned by an engraver named John Wilker. He was found by Batman and Robin after his master was kidnapped by a gang of counterfeiters. Batman used Ace to try to locate Wilker.
Bali: The comic strip by André-Philippe Côté "Baptist and Bali" narrates the adventures and misadventures of a tramp called Baptist 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 years 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 coterie of terrifyingly robbers or child molesters. But becomes friend with animals: among others, a little monkey named Pretty Heart and Capi, the dog.
Cerberus: In Greek mythology, Cerberus is the three heads dog guarding 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. Ssince 2005 with the help of screenwriter Peter Aucaigne, he makes 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 creates stories and drawings. In one of their first adventures, the couple collects an intellectual dog, Kador, who is the hero of an earlier serie by the same author, in 4 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 from 1954 to 1974, she has several owners, 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 who played the role of Lassie was named Pal. Its 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 dogs who played Lassie were male because females lose their fur once a year, making it impossible to turn an entire year. 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, luccky ») 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. On the death of Mabrouk Junior in 1996, his daughter Mabrouka takes over from her father as the mascot of the show. The official spelling of his name is H'Mabrouka to comply with French legislation on the initials of the names of purebred dogs.
Montmorency: Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog), published in 1889, is a humorous account by Jerome K. Jerome of 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, 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 turning into a wild animal. Much of the novel is written from the view-point of his canine character, enabling London to explore how animals view their world and how they view humans. White Fang examines the violent world of wild animals and the equally violent world of humans. The book also explores complex themes including morality and redemption.