Nom

n. – name
Chien
n. – dog
Beginning in 1926, French dog breeders were required to name their dogs with a letter that corresponds to the year. So, for example, 2009 is the year of the E. All dogs born this year have to be given a name that starts with that letter.

What’s not clear to me and I have to research further is if the dog owner can then change the name, while keeping the same letter or if the dog comes with a name you have to keep. This rule was established to help simplify the work of dog genealogists, something I’m also not really clear on.

The order of the letters chosen by year follows the same order of the alphabet so next year, it will be the letter F. However, K, Q, W, X, Y and Z have been removed since it was decided that there weren’t enough French names that begin with these letters.

I discovered this amazing piece of information last weekend when we were seated next to two ladies and their dogs in a little café. One had a little wired haired dachshund, the other a little yorkie. Both my husband and I love dogs so we engaged their owners in conversation and ultimately asked about the dogs’ names.

The dachshund was called Ypsilon, which stands for Y in the Greek alphabet, but it was spelled Upsilon since the dog was born in the year of the U. The yorkie was called Violette so obviously, she was a year younger.

And while you can get away with naming your dog after a Greek letter, albeit spelled incorrectly, don’t think you can do the same for your child. There are no fruits or vegetables allowed here. You’re always safe going with Marie for a girl and I’m sure it would come up as the most common. My name, on the other hand, is completely baffling until I explain what it translates to in French.

You see Dawn is an acceptable girl’s name in French, “Aurore,” but in English, it’s downright exotic. So it makes me feel quite special in fact. Of course if I ever wanted to name my dog Dawn, which I wouldn’t because that would be strange, I would have to wait another 19 years. So if we do ever get a dog, I guess we’ll try to make sure it’s in a year with a letter we like. Too bad my husband’s choice of Winston won’t be up for grabs with the loss of the W, but maybe we can lobby for its return. It wouldn’t be any stranger than this system already is!