Discovering Medieval Dog Names: A Journey Through Time

Most dog owners nowadays give their pups simple names such as Luna, Max, or Charlie, but have you ever wondered what names they used to christen their pups with back in the Middle Ages? After reading a whole book of suitable dog names from over 700 years ago, Lexi, a 25-year-old woman from Florida revealed in a TikTok clip what the most-common dog names used to be in medieval times, and internet users can't get enough. Lexi told Newsweek: "I sourced the medieval dog names from a book 'The Master of Game,' which was written in the 15th century by Edward of Norwich, 2nd Duke of York [in England]."

"It was a book about hunting practices at the time, but also included lots of other interesting tidbits, like a massive list of over 1,000 names for dogs that were considered 'suitable' for the time period." The hilarious clip, shared on Saturday under the username @yolkfather, features a series of medieval dog paintings and a caption that reads: "Have you ever wondered what people used to name their dogs back in medieval times?" Lucky for us, there was this book written back in the 15th century that included over 1,000 names that were considered to be suitable for dogs, Lexi says.

After reading the entire book, she shared some of her favorite names, which included Garlik, Nosewise, Synfull, Salmon, Mustarde, Bryan, and also Nise and Noty, Filthe, Dredefull, and Arguement. The book, which featured about 1,065 dog names that people deemed appropriate back then, was recently sold into a closed private collection. The Smithsonian Magazine said Sturdy, Whitefoot, Hardy, Jakke, Bo, Terri, Troy, Nosewise, Amiable, Nameles, Clenche, Bragge, Ringwood, and Holdfast were all also popular dog names.

As for historically famous dogs, Anne Boleyn, one of the wives of the English King Henry VIII, had a dog named Purkoy, which she named after the French word pourquoi because of his very inquisitive nature. Dogs have been domesticated since before the last Ice Age, and scientists estimated that domestication of canines might have first occurred between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago.

This partnership came with advantages for both sides; dogs would gain new food resources, while humans would get skilled hunting partners. To this day, dogs are still America's favorite pets and can be found in over 69 million homes. The video quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 1.7 million views and more than 169,000 likes on the platform.

One user, Rottenspaniels, commented: "As someone who works with dogs as a trainer & as someone who also works in rescue-let's bring these names back & retire Bella, Luna & Daisy." PentaGoatTTV added: "Good to know nothing has changed. I got one dog that answers to multiple names (Artemis, monkey, baby, bubbahs) and then there's Tato (full name is Baked Potato)." Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.