Chance took his name since our first Basenji pup passed away. We decided to take a "chance" with another B. His full name is Dark Lord Chanselor.
Kiya our tri was named after the wife of Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. She was his first wife and known as "The Favorite". She was the pick of the litter and everyone wanted to keep her.
She also goes by Kiya Bear or Kiya Toots (since she has gas) 
Jackpot's name came about because my boyfriend works for the Colorado Lottery & we got our puppy from a breeder in a small gambling town here in Colorado…so the name just seemed to fit!
Plus its fun to say/shout (makes us feel like winners!) LOL
Squiggy came with his name from the previous owner. I dont know why he has that name but if I had to guess it is from Squiggy from Laverne and Shirley. They both have the little black point of hair coming down in the front.
If I ever get my red boy, and he doesnt already come with a name, Lenny it will be.
When I knew I was going to get Squigs, I looked up african words and found one that meant "new home" which would have been so fitting. I got squiggy the day I moved into my first home and Squiggy was going to get a new loving home (didnt have one before).
But, he knew his name.
Jackpot's name came about because my boyfriend works for the Colorado Lottery & we got our puppy from a breeder in a small gambling town here in Colorado…so the name just seemed to fit!
Plus its fun to say/shout (makes us feel like winners!) LOL
I have loved that name since I saw it on here, and now it is even better!
I think my dogs have pretty ordinary names:
Our non-B is Gypsy, which suites her personality perfectly.
Our Basenji's are Jumoke's Jazzy Lady – which I named her because I was anticipating a spunky dog with flair! Jazzy, however, prefers to sleep. She is, in many ways, atypical. She IS very much a lady in her manners --when she's not cussing out one of the other dogs --- so that part fits her fine.
Jumoke South Pacific Keoki -- the litter name was South Pacific, and Keoki is Hawaiin for George. Honestly, would NOT have been my choice, but dh liked Keoki,so..................
{personally, it wouldn't have fit the 'theme', but I wanted to name him Satchemo, to go along with Jazzy. sigh}
I DO have a cat named Nerfnuzzle, and you have to admit THAT's different, LOL. But our other cat is Ginger, so... we're back to ordinary again.
My boys call name is Dallas. We named him that because my boyfriend & I are HUGE Dallas Cowboy fans & well…we hated Cowboy :p His breed name is Serengeti Monterey Jack since each pup in his litter was named after cheese! LOL
Digital, who came with his name, is named after a person believe it or not:
http://www.milwaukeewave.com/united/?id=49&nav=roster
Jet, just because it seemed to fit. His breeder was calling him Saint, but I couldn't see calling a basenji Saint. Jude would have been a good name since St Jude is the patron saint of lost causes, but hubby nixed that name. "Jet" just sort of stuck.
Mucha (malinois) came with her name and is also named after a person:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfons_Mucha
And Zest I picked out all on my own (the name and the puppy). I loved the name and all that it implies and the name came to me before I even picked up my new puppy. It's a fun name for a fun girl.
it has really been fun reading all your responses, the meaning of your Basenji names is very interesting. I knew that Basenji owners were just as unique as their dogs… hey, that gives me an idea for my next thread
What a fun topic! I don't know if I can tell the stories briefly, so I hope it doesn't bore you!
Querk - short for Quercus rubra..the latin name for Red Oak. We live in an area called the Oak Openings, globally rare habitat…anyhow, we wanted a name that would reflect that.
Ivy - short for part of her registered name 'Infinite Velocity'; we named her in hopes that she would be an AWESOME courser...which she is, when she isn't interfering with other dogs<rolling eyes="">
Blondie - again reference to part her registered name 'platinum quercus' or blonde oak (okay, not a real tree...but blondie fits her well!)
Bella - Registered theme for her litter was a fiduciary theme...we chose 'closing bell' and it seemed Bella was a fitting name
Luna - just liked the name 
chose her registered name afterwards 'Quercus Select Incandescent'
Ariel - came with the name...but love it!
and lastly...Hippo- how does anyone end up with a dog named Hippo? Let your four year old child pick the puppy names! It was supposed to just be his crib name...but, it seems to have stuck..even though it isn't a very flattering name for a show dog! His 'show' name will probably be 'Carl', as his registered name will most likely be Taji Quercus What In-Carnation</rolling>
Myran means ant in swedish I had seen a program about fire ants so as he was red and feisty he became Myran.
Efia means born on a friday and my little girl was just that born on a friday ok so we quite often call her Fisen which means fart as she has passed some really mean farts from time to time;)
"because in France for each year we have a letter for naming the dogs"
That's really interesting. What great names and great stories.
Fiji was named Weegee when we got her - her previous owner said it was because she kept them wondering what would happen next (so it was a play on Ouija).
I might have named a B Kofi if I'd started from scratch, and Fiji's registered name is (Mighty) Meeka, which fits her pretty well. But I didn't want to hit her with any more changes since she was a rescue. Weegee was a little too cutesy for me, but Fiji sounds so close she doesn't seem to have had any problem adjusting.
Topper: came with that name, and it fits him (black & white, looks like he is in a "top hat and tail"
Nicky: She came named Nyako but I like 2 syllable names, so we shortened it to Nicky.
Eddie: Came as 'Skippy' but he was so thin and moved with fast, spastic moves that I named him Fast Eddie, after the character in the The Hustler. Now he is no longer skeletal, he has lost his "s" and is just Fa(s)t Eddie now.
I named my girl Katie Jo, BUT, Jo is to close to No. So we just go my Katie, or Poo-Poo. Not very fancy.
I agree- I love this topic. Hearing how everyone else came up with their names makes me want another B just so I can name him/her all over again. My husband would probably divorce me over that, though- LOL!
This was so fun reading the names and reasons!
Before getting my dog I was drawing up lists of potential names like Pharoah, Amarna, etc. but dogs have a way of shaking things up. EL D's kennel name is Sonbar's Iced Identity. When I acquired him he had just gone through a bout of destructiveness and I was temporarily referring to him as el destructivo. EL D stuck.
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he, he....poor guy
This was so fun reading the names and reasons!
Before getting my dog I was drawing up lists of potential names like Pharoah, Amarna, etc. but dogs have a way of shaking things up. EL D's kennel name is Sonbar's Iced Identity. When I acquired him he had just gone through a bout of destructiveness and I was temporarily referring to him as el destructivo. EL D stuck.
I really like the name El D I always think El Diablo when I read it
we quite often call her Fisen which means fart as she has passed some really mean farts from time to time;)
That's too funny!! 
Sometimes we call Mirtillo 'Doerak' which is a Dutch word lent from the Russian language. The real meaning is 'fool', but in Dutch we use it as in 'little rascal'.
Last week I met another dogowner, and he said: 'Hi Doerak!!' And then to me: 'that's his name right?'
..I couldn't stop laughing..
Sophie came to us as DeeDee (the shelter worker renamed her that because she hated her original name of BeeBee). I figured since she had been renamed once before then another time would hurt. Princess Sophie Cat is her full name.
A friend told me a story of how a co-worker allowed her 3 year old daughter to name the new family dog. Promptly she named it "Stick". Horrified the mom explained she was thinking of a cuter name that ended in an E noise. The little girl looked around and said you mean like "Telephone Poley"? The mom then thought Stick sounded just fine. I ROFL when I heard this so we now have a dog named Good Ol' Stick. I'm pretty sure if we get another B we'll name it Telephone Poley!
PS- I've always wanted to write a children's book called "The Adventures of Princess Sophie Cat and Good Ol' Stick"!!!
I decided to name my dogs after American Indian Tribes instead of giving them African names.
First was Dakota Sun….then, Cheyenne Moon and Apache River.
I already have my next two picked out.
