AKC Dog Naming Guidelines

If your new dog is a registered dog or you plan to register it, there are some naming guidelines that you should be aware of. The American Kennel Club, AKC for short, has set out some guidelines and rules that you will need to follow to register your dog's name. These guidelines only apply to the AKC, so you can still give your dog whatever name you'd like as long as your not intending to use this name for dog shows and competitions.

The AKC's primary guideline is that the name be no more then 36 characters long, including spaces and any other special characters. There is a $10 few for names that are longer, but the name still can't exceed 50 characters. Also, the name can't include Roman numerals, any none stand English letters, obscenities, derogatory terms, or titles such as Champion, champ, sieger, Sire, Dam, or any term related to these. If you follow these simple guidelines when naming your dog, you shouldn't have any problems registering your dog with the AKC. However, you may have troubles if your dog was already registered by a previous owner or if you decide to change your dog's name. In both cases the AKC has an application process that will allow you to change it. All you need to do is fill out this dog name change application and pay the $25 fee.

If the name you want to give your dog doesn't meet these regulations and you really have your heart set on the name, just pick out a name that does meet these guidelines to use just for the registration process. And if your not planning on showing your dog or registering it, then you don't even need to worry about these guidelines.