Dr. Mark is a veterinarian. He has been working with dogs for more than 40 years.

An Authentic Azawakh Name

The Azawakh dog breed is a type of tall sighthound mainly kept by people of the Tuareg, a semi-nomadic tribe of North African Berbers. (The Tuareg live mostly in the West African country of Mali, but before national borders limited their movements, were able to range over much of the Saharan desert.) Most of the Tuareg speak Tamacheq, a Berber language used around Timbuktu and other regions where the Azawakh is found.

Many of the Tuareg still involved in Saharan trade also learn Amazigh, Tashelhait, and also learn to read and write in dialectical Arabic. They bring the words home of course, and the Tamacheq language is rich with foreign words.

Have you decided to give your new puppy a Tamacheq name?

Since there are not many dog name choices available in Tamacheq, I have also included several great choices in Amazigh, another Berber tongue.

Azawakh dog names need to be short, one or two syllables, and words that end with a vowel or high note are best for training and recall. Out of about 300 pure Tamacheq words, there were only a few that would work to call a dog. Here are a few good Tuareg words to choose from.

Tuareg Names

There are some good choices there but not much to choose from. Here are some other choices from Amazigh, a Berber language from the north, for both male and female dogs.

Amazigh or Berber Names for a Male Dog

Among Tashelhait speakers (another Berber dialect), any male name can be made female by adding a “T” at the beginning and end of the word. Thus Ay-rad, the lion, can be changed to Tay-radt, and it now means “a lioness” (although there are several forms of this word).

If you like any of the male names and want to call your female dog by that name, just add a “T” to the beginning and end of the word.

Amazigh or Berber Names for a Female Dog

Alternative Languages for Your Azawakh

Some of the Tuareg also speak French, so you might choose one of those French dog names for your new Azawakh. Many of the names are a lot more familiar to Europeans and Americans and are easier to pronounce.

Tuareg that travel the Sahara also learn to read and speak some dialectical Arabic. If you would like to give your dog one of those great names, check out this Moroccan Arabic list.

Picking the Right Name for Your African Sighthound

If you do pick one of the Berber names, will you be pronouncing it correctly? Probably not. Do not worry about it—you could call him Max or Charlie and be sure it was correct, but it would not be special for an Azawakh.

Enjoy your new sighthound, whatever name he goes by.

There are more Azawakh videos out there, and if you have not seen them all, take a few hours and take a look at them all.

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• Strong African Dog Names
  These names are mostly Zulu and Xhosa, but if you would like something different for your new Azawakh puppy come and take a look.
• Five Best Dog Breeds From Africa
  Azawakhs, Sloughis, Basenjis and others are hunters, guards, and great companions. Pictures, videos, and a description of the five best African dogs will help you decide if one of them is right for you.

© 2014 Dr Mark

Comments

Bob Bamberg on April 07, 2014:

Good one, Doc. LOL

Dr Mark (author) from The Atlantic Rain Forest, Brazil on April 06, 2014:

Years ago, I was deworming sheep up in the High Atlas and met a Berber woman called Tlegomas. Her name was unusual so I asked her what it meant "Thanks God but enough of the girls already; we want a boy". With a name like that, she probably wanted to move to Timbuktu and change her name to Smitty! (Or Tsmitty.)

Bob Bamberg on April 06, 2014:

Say what? I learned a ton of new words...and learned that Timbuktu is a place, not just a rhetorical destination akin to infinity! Had never heard of the breed and found this an interesting read. Nice selection of names, but I'll stick with Smitty, thanks. Or Tsmitty, depending :) Voted up, useful and interesting.

Dr Mark (author) from The Atlantic Rain Forest, Brazil on April 06, 2014:

Hi Suhail, this breed even has a long canine tooth, similar to that found in the wolf. Dog canines are usually much shorter. DNA results show that they are also related to some primitive ancestor too.

Thanks, Bk42author. The Azawakh is not even recognized by the AKC yet, and there still are not a lot of them around since the Tuareg will not sell them. (The dogs found in Europe and the US are descended from a few dogs given as gifts.) They may end up as famous as the Greyhound, but that is going to be a long time from now.

Brenda Thornlow from New York on April 06, 2014:

I'd never heard of this breed before reading your hub. Thanks so much for sharing. Voted up!

Suhail Zubaid aka Clark Kent from Mississauga, ON on April 06, 2014:

These are the endurance dogs who have taken their skill of long distance running and exhausting their prey from wolves or the ancestors of both of them.

Thanks for writing a piece on these dogs.