Author Topic: help with puppy names please (Read 665 times)

sabuks mom · « **on:** May 15, 2007, 03:33 PM »

Hello All,
I am new to this forum. My husband and I hope to bring home our RR puppy very soon. I would lilke to find a list of Swahili names for puppies, so that we can give him or her an original name from Africa. We fell in love with RR's when we visited Kenya years ago.
We are aware that we will most likely need to include the kennel name in his or her name, but we would also love to have a Swahili name to go along with it.
If anyone has web sites/links where we can find names, we would most appreciate it.
Thanks!

Kapani · « **Reply #1 on:** May 15, 2007, 03:51 PM »

http://www.namesite.com/

http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/afr.php

http://www.namesite.com/mainpage.php

http://www.swagga.com/name.htm

http://www.20000-names.com/female_african_names.htm

http://www.20000-names.com/male_african_names.htm

sabuks mom · « **Reply #2 on:** May 15, 2007, 05:36 PM »

Michelle,
Thank you so much for all the links. These are great. If I don't find a name here, I won't be finding one!
Thanks again!

aysham · « **Reply #3 on:** May 15, 2007, 06:07 PM »

As if you needed any more!!

http://www.babynamesworld.com/category_swahili_names.html

http://www.babynology.com/swahili_babynames.html

http://www.i-love-dogs.com/names/origin/swahili_66.html

Good luck, and of course let us know what name you end up choosing!!

Heidi & Aysha

Julie · « **Reply #4 on:** May 15, 2007, 10:17 PM »

...and post pictures.

Julie

k9crazyrr · « **Reply #5 on:** May 15, 2007, 10:53 PM »

Great sites ladies, I will save them for future use.
Angie

Rosebud · « **Reply #6 on:** May 15, 2007, 10:54 PM »

I agree, those are great sites. Why don't you two post them in cyber canines as well.

sarah yates · « **Reply #7 on:** May 16, 2007, 06:04 AM »

ok just remember that swahili is not the only language spoken in africa.

my first dog has a setswana name (botswana) and my second got a masaai name (kenya), both place names rather than true 'people' names.

and be careful on the translations, they're not always accurate- if you choose a swahili word check it with me- i'm living in kenya and can check the meaning with my coworkers. it usually provides a them with a good laugh!

Julie · « **Reply #8 on:** May 16, 2007, 07:24 AM »

Okay, one more. It is Swahili, though. But it's a great site.

http://research.yale.edu/cgi-bin/swahili/main.cgi?right_frame_src=http%3A//research.yale.edu/swahili/serve_pages/dictionaries_en.php

Julie

melissap · « **Reply #9 on:** May 16, 2007, 08:39 AM »

too funny Sarah, I'll bet your co-workers are entertained - and they are probably the best resource to have when trying to determine the meaning!

I am going to remember that if I have any naming conundrums!!

Thanks,

Melissa

sabuks mom · « **Reply #10 on:** May 16, 2007, 04:32 PM »

Thank you all for the information. This is great.
Sarah, thank you for your advice as well. I tried to send you a private message to ask about a few names, but, for some reason, I could not send it, so I'll ask you here and hopefully you can help me.
The woman I went on safari with in Kenya called her dog "loved girl". I know the beginning of her name was Mpenda, which is loved, but I don't know the "girl" part. Would it be possible for you to tell me what that would be?
I was also thinking of something like, "proud girl", pretty/beautiful girl or a name that would mean graceful. I'm open to Swahili or Masaii. I just want to make sure I have it correct.
If you can help me with these, I would most appreciate it.
Thanks!

sarah yates · « **Reply #11 on:** May 17, 2007, 04:24 AM »

i checked with people here-

'loved' in swahili is Mpendwa, which is a bit of a tongue-twister. it was suggested to use the feminine word for 'beautiful' as a name, which is Mrembo.

also suggested was Zawadi, a girl's name which means 'gift'. Oddly, 'gift' is a common name throughout Africa, in Setswana it is 'Mpho' (mmp'o).

hope that helps,
sarah

caro · « **Reply #12 on:** May 17, 2007, 06:37 AM »

Zawadi is a kennel name in Australia.
Caroline

Tracey · « **Reply #13 on:** May 17, 2007, 08:10 AM »

Swahili is, as Sarah points out, spoken across East Africa. Although a Bantu language it incorporates words from Arabic. In southern Africa there are some equally beautiful languages such as Shona and Ndebele (Zimbabwe - formerly Rhodesia). For example,

Mangwanani - good morning
Tatenda - thank you

Here are some town names ... just to get a sense of what Zim words can sound like:

Mtali
Masvingo
Mtoko
Kadoma
Kwekwe
Nyanga
Hwange
Kariba

I had a whole list of Shona words and meanings typed up here somewhere but can't find it ... Looked at babynamesworld site (great site!) and found a short list of Zimbabwean names - not very imaginative and I can't think why someone would name their child the equivalent of 'grave'. There's also a listing of 'South African' names incorporating African languages ... like Lerato (pron. 'Leratoe') meaning 'love'. Indeed, here a lot of the names are Xhosa or Zulu in source. Like Nomvuyo (kennel name), Nandi, Thabo, etc. And Afrikaans (Karoskloof - kennel name).

Tip: When you do settle on a name, please do as I didn't and google it with along with the word 'slang' next to it. Mashuga is called Mushi for short (pron. Mooshi, it means 'good, wonderful' in Shona - and is a key word from my Zim childhood). BUT it's not a good word to use in Germany ... or to call loudly to your pup as German tourists pass you on the beach! I still call her Mushi, of course ... and Mushilele (my Xhosa friend's word for 'little Mushi') and Mushstix ... Oh dear.

sabuks mom · « **Reply #14 on:** May 18, 2007, 01:37 PM »

Thank you for all the info, name sites, names and tips. I really appreciate all the info. I'm new here and I love this site. We recently lost our RR, Sabuk. I love seeing all the pictures and stories about all of your dogs...they remind me so much of Sabuk and bring back so many fond memories of him.

We will hopefully have a puppy in our home soon. I can't imagine my life now without an RR in it!

Thanks again. I will update with the name and photos as soon as our new pup is here.

Breezybare · « **Reply #15 on:** May 21, 2007, 11:36 PM »

Sorry, I am a little late getthing to this thread, but I too wanted an African name for my puppy and literally spend hours going through names. Originally wanted Zulu, but they seemed a bit too difficult for me to say!

I don't think I saw this one listed. It gives a list of names A-Z, from several different native languages, but unfortunately doesn't tell the origin or the meaning. I used this list to type in the names in some other sites that would do the translations.
http://www.babynames.org.uk/african-baby-names.htm

And believe it or not, but the baby name book I bought when I was pregnant with my first daughter had some African names. It is where I found Zuri, which if the book is correct means beautiful. Sarah??

Sabrina

sarah yates · « **Reply #16 on:** May 22, 2007, 04:18 AM »

hmmmm, i'll check but mzuri sana means very well (mzuri means good or well), it's the response to habari (how are you?). that's the swahili version anyway, there could be other languages or areas where it does mean beautiful.

sarah

sabuks mom · « **Reply #17 on:** May 22, 2007, 12:44 PM »

Sabrina,
I also like Zuri and I read that it means beautiful on one of the Swahili name sites too.

We picked our puppy up at the breeder on Sunday and drove six hours home with him. He slept most of the way. He is very sweet and we named him Zulu, which is a tribe in Africa.

I don't know how to post a photo here. I'll try to figure it out and send it in a separate post.

Again, thanks to everyone for all the information. I appreciate it.

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