Name that puppy!

Names are a very big deal to me. As they should be, after all they tend to stick around for all of your life.
The names of my Shiba's are no different. For me the names I choose always have to follow a few certain guidelines.

There is a old Japanese belief that mystical powers dwell in words and names. This belief is call the "Kotodama" which translates into "the soul of language". I too believe this and always have, even before I became obsessed with Japan and it's Shiba inu's. 

1. It must have a meaning. I am not talking about a name like Dale (no offence darling.) which means " a broad lowland vally". Where is the emotion behind that? Nor am I talking about names like Kikiwimbazoo sure it has a bunch of unique letters and sounds but what does it mean? Nothing. The soul before me that requires a name is unique, it is special, and it deserves a name that begins the definition of their life's path.
2. When naming you must be careful its much like casting a spell or something. You inscribe their very essence with a definition of how they will be or will not be. Now of course if you name you kid or dog Kichirou meaning "lucky son" wanting to add luck to their life. There is a very good possibility that they will end up being very unlucky. Which of course we don't want that for our children of two or four legs. But there is also a good chance that they will be extremely lucky and simply have everything fall into their laps with little to no effort. That's not so great either. So when choosing a name, I try to keep this in mind and choose a name that will be tolerated on either spectrum. Something like Jirou meaning "second son". It's straight forward and no matter how it's taken it doesn't effect the balance of nature so much that it could cause havoc either way. But it still follows my first rule of having the meaning of second son. I love my second son, rather I am naming my second son Jirou or naming our fur baby in honor of my second son. 
3. Honor thy legacy. Now this is a very broad idea. You see, While of course we want the soul in question to be themselves and pave their own path. We also need to put a little touch of who we are and who their ancestor are in them. Remember, I did say this is much like spell casting... People may not like it and say that spells are evil. But if you take a step back and break it down. We as humans cast spells every single day of our lives without even thinking about it. The reason being is because spells are little more than the force of pure "will". It officially turns into a spell when someone consciously directs their will. But lets face the facts rather you consciously do something or subconsciously do it the point is, you still did it.  Now, in honoring ourselves as caretakers and parents and honoring our ancestors I try to choose a name of origin. For example, Shiba inu's are a Japanese breed. Thus I try to find a Japanese name that holds meaning for me or my family. Such as Asa which means "new beginning". In that we honored her Japanese ancestors and heritage all the while making her fit within our family because "new beginning" held a sentimental meaning to us.
4. Syllables. Sure it's easy to put together a single word that says "my bright prince" which would be "Akihiko" which would be pronounced "Ae k ee h ee k oh" which could be a mouthful and really hard to roll off the tongue in an emergency. If a long name or a name with many syllables is a must it needs to have the ability to be shortened such as Sephiroth to Seph. Trust me, It makes everyones life a whole lot easier. Because names, again, rather being our two legged babies or our four legged babies are public. If other people have a hard time saying them, kids will be cruel and adults will simply avoid you or make up something else less flattering. Rather it be what they hear or what they want. For dogs specifically you should try to keep the name to one or two syllables this will help to make it much easier for the dog to understand. The general rule of thumb is the longer a name is, the more confusing it will be to understand for the dog.
5. This is where it becomes more textbook, a dogs name should end a long vowel sound. So that they will have an easier time recognizing it's name from a command. Naturally we should stay away from names which sound Similar to obedience commands, like "sit", "down", "stay", "come", etc. Imagine giving your dog the command, "Bit, sit." Or “Faye, stay” You can see how the puppy could get very confused.
6. It has to be likable. The name is going to stick around for many years to come. It's going to be said thousands of times over and over again. It's going to be shouted, whispered and written.  

With all of that taken into consideration here are the facts about the pups so far.

• They are Shiba Inu's a semi rare, expensive, noble wolf-like breed.
• They are sesame colored.

                                                                    

Sesame Shiba Inu

• They are both males
• The oldest is kind of big boned 
• The younger one whimpers more often than the other (I nicknamed him "squeaker")
• The oldest has a low tolerance for warmth. He gets hot really easy and when this happens the howls begin.

I have been bouncing around a few names but none of them have really stuck. I know before I officially decide on a name I want to see what personalities they develop over the next couple of weeks.

But we still need a list of names to toss at the puppies to see if they actually like any of them or not.

I have made a list of names both Japanese and Non-Japanese that I an considering. I have color coded them
3 different colors rating them on a scale of "maybe, like and love" or 1-3. Three being love. Though I have rated a name lower than a 10 does not mean that it won't grow on me. I have to consider everyone in the family and what they may or may not like as well as when I like and don't like. Also as I have spent several days putting this list together I have found many names that I love for a day or two but then my love for them starts to fade into the background. Because of that I want YOU to help me out by telling me what your favorites from the list are and why. Also feel free to add suggestion that I may not have thought of.

       Color Chart                      :

1. Green "Maybe"
2. Orange "I like it"
3. Red "I love this"

• Aki 
• 
  
• Atsuko
• 
  
• Keiichi
• 
  
• Kiba
• 
  
• Nogitsune

• Onibi
• 
  
• Tsume
• 
  
• Taka
• 
  
• Ty-ohni
• 
  
• YuuJou
• 
  
• Zenaku 

Anime Character Names to consider:

• Koyōte Sutāku = Coyote Starrk 
• Tousen Kaname
• Aizen Sousuke
• Urahara  Kisuke
• Koga = Steel Fang
• Seikei
• Naraku  = Hell
• Kohaku