Naming Your Dog (AKC Style)
By Kenna Rogers
Registering your dog with the American Kennel Club (AKC) is important for pureblood breeds to give proof of family history and to keep track of the lineage, to avoid inbreeding. The downside to registering with AKC is the fact that you have to come up with some long complicated name that is unique to that specific dog, according to akc.org. You might think deciding on an AKC name would be easy – how wrong that notion is.
Guidelines:
1. Names are submitted to the AKC by the first owner of the dog, i.e. Breeder(s) have the right to choose a puppy’s name before selling that dog to another owner. If the breeder(s) never registered the dog, upon buying it, you would have full rights to submit papers of registration, thereby naming the puppy.
2. Names can be no more than 30 letters, and spaces, apostrophes, and hyphens count towards letters.
3. The letters of the names are limited to the English alphabet alone. Diacritical markings aren’t printed on Registration Certificates, and letters on the certificates are all capitalized.
4. Registered Kennel names are not allowed in the dog’s name unless specifically authorized by the owner of the kennel name.
5. Roman numerals are reserved for the AKC for assignation in identification purposes, and cannot be included at the end of a dog’s name.
6. There are only 37 dogs of each breed that can be assigned the same name.
7. Specific words that aren’t allowed in names are:
Champion, champ, sieger, or any other AKC title or show term, either spelled out or abbreviated.
Derogatory words, either towards race, creed, or nationality are not allowed, as well as any transliterations of such words.
Kennel(s), male, stud, sire, bitch, dam, and female, or any breed names alone.
8. Arabic (1, 2, 3), cardinal (one, two, three), ordinal numbers (first, second, third) have no restrictions upon them.
9. Imported dogs and puppies must be registered with the same name of registration which it had in its country of origin. Only a Registered Kennel Name may be added.
10. A registered name can only be changed once, as long as the dog was born in the United States and has already been registered with the AKC by the breeder(s). Alternately, a name cannot be changed after the dog has produced or sired an AKC registered litter or received an award at an AKC licensed or member event. Names cannot be changed unless the breeder(s) consent, in writing, to the AKC approving the name change.
Registering a name with the AKC is a complicated process, but as long as the guidelines are followed, names should be generated relatively quickly. And remember, a dog’s registered name does not necessarily mean that it has to be its everyday name, and it shouldn’t be. Everyday names should be easy to pronounce, simple to remember, and shouldn’t sound like any words the dog knows, such as “No.”