Golden Era Dog Names

[LizzieMaine]

Paging thru the 1948 Supplement Two of H. L. Mencken's epic study "The American Language" while in the restroom just now, I came across the following fascinating passage:

"...of 116,000 dogs entered in a radio contest in 1939, 1400 were named Prince, 1200 Queenie, 1000 Spot, 500 Rover, and 30 each named Rags, Towser, Muggsie, and Fido. It will be noted that Fido, once a favorite, is now slinking into the shadows. So are Ponto and Bruno, and in 1946 the New York Daily News reported that Rover was yielding to Butch, which was apparently introduced by a popular comic-strip along with Sandy. Other color names are also in vogue, e. g. Whitie, Red, Buff, and Blackie, and the two World Wars gave a lift to Colonel, Major, Captain, and General. Dogs of German origin are often called Fritz or Heinie, and many Irish terriers are Tim, Terry, or Mickey. Other names now favorted are Mitzie, Rex, Dixie, and Danny. Dorothy Parker once had a dachshund named Robinson, and I have heard of several hounds, all of them vicious, called Mencken."

Any of these names ring a bell with dog owners here? Being a cat person I've never had a dog of my own, but I'd be very tempted to get a vicious hound and call it "Mencken."

 

[Nobert]

Paging thru the 1948 Supplement Two of H. L. Mencken's epic study "The American Language" while in the restroom just now, I came across the following fascinating passage:



Any of these names ring a bell with dog owners here? Being a cat person I've never had a dog of my own, but I'd be very tempted to get a vicious hound and call it "Mencken."

Not being a dog person either, I could only go by that most famous of golden-era dog men, James Thurber, who refers to dogs of his named Rex, Muggs, Jeannie, and a poodle with a Russian name that I can't recall. His friend E.B. White favored dachssunds named Fred and Minnie.

Any dog named Mencken I would expect to be one that barked a lot but probably would get bored if you just paid it no attention. But it would still be capable of surprising acts of fence-leaping and burglar-entrapping once in a while.

 

[Bamaboots]

I'm a cat and a dog a person but I've always been partial to German Shepards, my first on was named Schatzi and the second was Butch.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

We had a Rottweiller named Rocky, a Chocolate Lab named Zeke, a Black and Tan Coon Hound named Zeke, A Yellow Lab named Jake, and now a Rottweiler named Red.
My King Charles I have at my house is named Fred. I'm fairly certain that's likely the only one you'd really hear in the Golden Era, maybe Zeke, too.

 

[vitanola]

My beagle-basset mix is named Buddy, though he also answers to "Bagle", "Cheese" and "Not in the rug again!".

 

[Stanley Doble]

In the fifties I had a German shepherd called Chief. It had nothing to do with Indians. I was a fan of the Superman TV show and Clark Kent called his boss Chief all the time. I thought it was funny.

 

[robrinay]

When I was growing up in the 50's and 60's the local dogs were, Penny, Trixie, Simon, Rex, Kim, Butch, Paddy and Diddy. Only my dog Kim was a pedigree and was taken for walks, the rest were mongrels and ran around the street all day without supervision. They still loved walks though , when Kim was taken for a walk they all joined us and played as a pack, together on an area of waste ground which had been a military installation - Anti Aircraft gun emplacement to protect the Sheffield steelworks at Templeborough.

 

[emigran]

Had a girlfriend in college who named her mixed Beagle -Pointer: Pookie Cecelia Anne...
My Dad had a Chow Chow in the late 40's named Chang...

 

[foamy]

Growing up we had two bird dogs named Whiskey and Soda. House dogs named Poppy (converted from Puppy) and Benji. Two Labradors at different times named Becky and Babe.

Grandfather's bird dogs were William and Queenie.

Oh, and a Brittany Spaniel that I got for my first fiancee (so long ago); Jenny Lee Hornblower of Little Somerset on the papers, Jenny in the yard.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I have two cocker spaniels...a tri parti-colored male named Wrangler and sable female named Sadie Belle (who also answers to "brown dog", much to Mrs. Hawk's chagrin). My previous cocker was named Stetson. That should at least be FL appropriate, if not Golden Era specific.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

A family moved in down the street with a new puppy and the little girl walked by carrying it, as my Wife was doing yard work the other day. She asked the girl the puppies name. She said, " His name is Stupid ". " My Dad named him that ".

 

[tonyb]

Our family dog when I was a kid -- a dachshund we got at the local pound -- was named Muggs. My dear old mom often speaks of Blackie, her childhood mutt.

Both of those names have already been mentioned in this thread, as has Sandy, the name of my wife's odd little dog, who lives here with Earl the cat and Otis, my dog. All three of our four-legged family members came from one dog pound or another. (I resist calling them "shelters" and the little beasts "rescues." They're just mutts from the pound.)

 

[galopede]

My dog in the late 50's was called Dino. I was a great fan of the Flintstones!

No mention of the name of Guy Gibson's black labrador in the Dam Busters. Bet that was quite a popular name for black dogs back then.

 

[ChiTownScion]

We had a schipperke that I named Sheridan- after the cavalry general, Little Phil. He was small, feisty, and the breed has a general fondness for horses, so it seemed a natural fit.

Current canine family members are pugs Chloe (left) and Calvin.

 

[LizzieMaine]

While I've never had dogs of my own, my grandparents always had them -- an indefinable mutt named Teddy, a piano-playing fox terrier named Tippy, a border collie named Bonnie, and two toy fox terriers both named Patches.

I give my cats human names, because cutesy cat names are undignified. My current feline is named "Carol."

 

[Zombie_61]

We currently have a six-year-old cat, a Russian Blue named Shadow, and an almost-four-year-old *Miniature Schnauzer named Butch. We've had several cats during the nearly 34 years we've been married, but family and friends seem to remember our first two cats most--a male Orange Tabby named Junior, and a female Calico named Katy. Junior had to be put to sleep when he developed a tumor in his lower jaw, and the staff at the vet's office were astounded when they checked their records and realized he was 19 years old. They were even more astounded five years later when we brought Katy in for her last visit--everyone who worked there had to come and see the 24-year-old cat.



*I use the term "Miniature" Schnauzer only because that's what the breed is called; Butch is at least 50% larger than any other Miniature Schnauzer I've ever seen. Whatever the opposite of "runt of the litter" is, that's Butch.

 

[sheeplady]

Paging thru the 1948 Supplement Two of H. L. Mencken's epic study "The American Language" while in the restroom just now, I came across the following fascinating passage:



Any of these names ring a bell with dog owners here? Being a cat person I've never had a dog of my own, but I'd be very tempted to get a vicious hound and call it "Mencken."

My father had a toy fox terrier when he was young named Queenie. Didn't know it was a common name at all, yet alone one of the most popular female dog names.

Likely his parents named it and they were born 1901 and 1908, which makes sense. But I've never met a dog named Queenie in my life, and I would certainly remember.

 

[TimeWarpWife]

As a kid in the 60s and 70s I had a mixed German Shepherd/Collie named Skipper, another mixed breed small dog of unknown parentage named Bunny (my grandmother's idea, not mine), a Chihuahua my dad named El Toro, but shortened to just Toro, a Collie named Tag, and a Siberian Husky with green eyes named Denver (after John Denver - hey, it was the late 70s). I also had a rabbit named Thumper. My cousins had a very original name for their dog - Puppy.

 

[tonyb]

...
I give my cats human names, because cutesy cat names are undignified. My current feline is named "Carol."

I've noticed a trend toward bestowing "people" names upon pets. I suppose it's of a piece with changing attitudes toward the furry little buggers.

A friend tells an amusing tale of "adopting" a cat at the Seattle Animal Shelter, and of his dealings with an officious worker there who essentially drilled him on how much money he expected to spend on this cat annually and what types of food he planned to feed it and that of course he must know that the animal must never venture out of doors, etc.

It has been suggested by a veterinarian that our dogs receive dental care (teeth cleaning), at something north of a grand per mutt. And we just may do it. (I can just imagine my grandparents shaking their heads.)

 

[tonyb]

My father had a toy fox terrier when he was young named Queenie. Didn't know it was a common name at all, yet alone one of the most popular female dog names.

Likely his parents named it and they were born 1901 and 1908, which makes sense. But I've never met a dog named Queenie in my life, and I would certainly remember.

Queenie was the name of the dog in Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory."

Wonderful story, by the way. I recommend it as a lesson in how to craft a tale.