THE BORDER COLLIE MUSEUM
Permanent Collection


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Above, "Sleeping Collie" by William Walls

BORDER COLLIE NAMES
(AND GALLERY OF COLLIE PORTRAITS)
(compiled and copyrighted 1996 by Carole L. Presberg)

Notes: (?) f & m are purely my idea, except where traditional, f=female m=male; b=black; bl=blue; w=white; tr=tri; r=red; sp=speckled; sb=sable; dksb=dark sable or "hemp"; fn=fawn; rmr=red merle; blmr=blue merle; Br=British; ME=middle English; C=Celtic; W=Welsh; S=Scots Dialect; G=Scots Gaelic; I=Irish; N=Norse; CN=Cornish; IM=Isle of Man; NA=Native American; Bs=Basque; @=already used i.e. my own dogs; *=like/would use, #=traditional; T =textile/dyeing/fiber connotations; ->names that indicate speed.

The earliest names that appear in the Stud Book of the International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS) are Sly, Moss, Hemp, Yarrow, Jed, Bute, Jen, Meg, Bess, Gyp, Tyne, Ruby, Nell, Fan, Jess, Rye, Clyde, Tweed, and Wren. Many of these names are evocative of natural features of the land, like rivers (Jed, Tyne, Tweed, Clyde, etc.), and other indigenous properties of the native countryside and climate (Moss, Glen, Mist, etc.). Others are names that farm workers bore themselves (Nell, Bob, Meg, etc.) and often gave to their animals, farm dogs, draft horses, and family milk cows alike. The names that British shepherds traditionally gave their working sheepdogs were short, possibly because they were more easily distinguished at long distances. Thus, names like Nell, Cap, Glen, and Meg have become conventional for Border Collies, and their use has carried over to other countries where Border Collies are employed as working dogs. This is the case in the United States, particularly among traditionalist shepherds. However, here, it seems, we are willing to follow custom just so far, so that while short names are still the norm, we have expanded the vernacular to include American-sounding names like Luke, Quest, Cody, Pete, and Sioux. These may not seem like customary names to the purist, but they maintain the spirit of the tradition.

Longer, more lively names, often with kennel prefixes, are frequently given to show or obedience dogs: Heelalong Jalapena, Highland's Ring Side Riot, and Shoreland's Red Hot Pepper are American obedience Border Collies of today. Keep in mind that kennel names are not unheard-of in Britain and Ireland, even among working dogs, as the famous names Wiston Cap, Whitehope Corrie or Dryden Joe will attest. However the "call name" of Cap, Corrie, and Joe are embodied in their kennel names and are the traditional short Border Collie appellations, whereas the call name of an obedience or show dog may be entirely different from its registered name. Capricious names that appear to disregard custom may offend purists by their apparent flippancy, but in the context of obedience, agility or flyball, a spirited name may be appropriate; they would likely be out of place at the sheepdog trials, in the pasture, or on the hill.

While there are no hard and fast rules, there are certain standards that must be upheld for convention's sake. If a name is embarrassing to say in public, indicates negative behavior or looks, or is likely to be offensive, don't call your dog by it! It might appear amusing at first, but you will probably regret it later on.

We get the names on our list from a variety of sources, including history, tradition, literature, folklore, and even television (as you will see with the few names gleaned from Star Trek). They all have something in common--they are short (most are one syllable), and we think they are dignified. We'd be pleased if you'd use any of them for your own Border Collies. This list is extensive, but not necessarily exhaustive. If you can think of other names within the spirit of the tradition that can be added to this list, please e-mail us at:

shepdog@gis.net


If the names of stars and constellations for dog names interests you, go to the following page:
STAR NAMES

[A note on the "Gallery": We started adding pictures to this page to make it more interesting, and got carried away.
Hope you enjoy them!]

Right, Border Collie by Dutch artist Rien Portvliet, 1935-1995

Right, a Border Collie by British artist Lucy Dawson (a.k.a. "Mac"), ca. 1935

Right, a painting of "Bessie the Sheepdog", a detail from a larger painting, artist unknown.


Right, a sheepdog guarding a package by late 19th century English illustrator, Harrison Weir

Three old-fashioned collies, artist unknown. What I like about this is the collies are each a different type. The one at the rear, left, is a tricolor close to the type of todays Rough Collie (show type), but not quite there yet. The one at the rear, right, also a tricolor, is much closer to a Border Collie type. And the dog at the front, a sable, has a smooth coat but is closer to todays smooth-coated Border Collie than to a Smooth Collie.

Right, "Border Collie"© by English artist, D. John Wood. Reprinted with kind permission of the artist.

Right, "Winter Friends"© by English artist, John Silver. Reprinted with kind permission from the artist.

Right, "A Sheepdog's Life" is an acrylic painting by Valerie Graves, a Taos, New Mexico, artist, and is reprinted here with her kind permission. Copyright by Valerie Graves, all rights reserved, prints available from Valerie's website www.TaosArtist.com and www.BestDog.com; or you may purchase a copy of this print from The Shepherd's Dog bookstore www.theshepherdsdog.com.

At right is "Shepherd's Delight"© painted by British artist, Gayle Mason who breeds and shows Glenspey Rough Collies. It is reprinted here with kind permission from the artist, who also has a blog, mainly on rough collies.

Right, "Scotch Collies" by English artist Basil Bradley (1842-1904).

OCollie.jpg Right, "A Lovely Afternoon", a miniature painting of a Border Collie by Maine artist and Border Collie owner/breeder, Carol Scherr, who paints under the name of O. Colley. Reprinted here with kind permission from the artist.

Right, "Motherhood" by British artist Mick Cawston. Copyright Sally Mitchell Fine Arts 2006 and reprinted here with permission from the holder of the copyright .


HarrisonWeirShepsDog.JPG "Shepherd's Dog" by late 19th century English illustrator, Harrison Weir

Right, a cereal advertisement card from the early 20th century.

Right, an illustration from an early 20th century book, no known information.

Right, "Cap", a portrait by Colorado artist, Julia MacMonagle of Innervoice Art Studio. Reprinted here with kind permission by the artist.

Right, an illustration from an early 20th century book, no known information.

collie1.jpg collie4.jpg Far right, a lovely little painting of a sable or saddle-patterned collie. The painting is signed (right) but the name is hard to make out. We think it is "Mary L. Pulver"--if anyone knows this artist, please contact me at shepdog@gis.net. What struck us about this painting is that the dog looks exactly like Ruswarp, whose story we have on our "Forever Faithful: Memorials to Shepherds' Dogs" pages (if you go there, scroll down to the bottom of page 2).

Right, "Guardian of the Flock" by British artist, Edwin Douglas (1849-1914). This is definitely more of a show collie-type than the collies in his other paintings.

05-09collieTartanpc.jpg A post card with a Scottish theme from the early 20th century. Note the herding scene with "Scotch Sheep Dog", the Scottish Lion, heather, and the Buchanan tartan.

05-09CerealCard.jpg Another cereal card from the early 20th century.


05-09EnglishSchoolRoughCollie.jpg A rough collie painted in the "English School". The artist has signed his initials, but we don't know who he is. The collie in this painting is more akin to the working collies of the 19th century than the rough show collies.

05-09JohnEmmscollie.jpg Right, a collie by English painter John Emms (1844-1912) of Lyndhurst, Hampshire.

Right, detail from "Ring Around A Rosie" by English artist, Fred Morgan (1846-1927)

05-09JohnHenryLorimer1896.jpg A collie by John Henry Lorimer (1856-1936), a Scottish painter. If you take a close look at this painting you will see that Lorimer painted in his own reflection in the mirrow over the dog's head.

Right, collie, artist unknown.

05-09SheepDogs1859IllusLonN.jpg A painting of two collies from an 1859 edition of the Illustrated London News.

Right, by Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-1873), this engraving shows a collie guarding his master gear.

05-09TwoColliesInFarmyardSc.jpg Two collies in a farmyard scene, artist unknown. These two have the look of working collies on their way to become show collies. The one on the left is a handsome black and tan like we rarely if ever see today in the Border Collie, the other a saddle-patterned.

Right, "Waiting for Master". Quite frankly, I can't tell if this is a "Still Life with Collie" painting or a highly posed photograph. Whichever, it shows a black and tan collie.

An illustration called "Two's Company" from a childrens' book (1890), artist unknown (thanks to Jan Hilborn).

If you are interested in the names that appear in the ISDS Stud Books with the number of dogs/bitches that have been registered by that name, go to Teun C. van den Dool's web page Dog Names. Mr. van den Dool has done a statistical analysis of all the ISDS Stud Books, an enormous job, and you will be able to see from his list, what names have been most popular for Border Collies, at least in the UK.

THESE ARE THE WEB PAGES WE MAINTAIN

These web pages are copyrighted ©2006 and maintained by webmeistress Carole Presberg and webwizard David Presberg.

You may email us at shepdog@gis.net.

Last modified: May 9, 2008
shepdog@gis.net