# Fido as a Dog's Name **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 2, 2019, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fido-as-a-dogs-name/833356 "2019-05-02T06:19:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2019, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fido-as-a-dogs-name/833356/1 "2019-05-02T06:19:16Z")
I was disappointed by this one. Am I the only one who noticed that the question was not answered by Cecil? The question was **not** what’s the latin root and why is that appropriate? Has anyone answered the question of why Fido became a default dog’s name (in English at least)? I think my first recollections of Fido as a dog’s name was from some cartoon, maybe a Looney Toon or Merry Melody? ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2019, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fido-as-a-dogs-name/833356/2 "2019-05-02T11:14:52Z")
[This Fido](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fido_(dog)) may be the source of that name’s fame. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2019, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fido-as-a-dogs-name/833356/3 "2019-05-02T11:45:15Z")
So, I wasn’t the only one who accessed Cecil’s Fido contribution because everything else was down for maintenance! LOL ---
**Author:** ![eastcheap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@eastcheap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eastcheap)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2019, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fido-as-a-dogs-name/833356/4 "2019-05-07T23:37:49Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > [This Fido](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fido_(dog)) may be the source of that name’s fame. Way too late. The name seems to have been a bit of a cliché when Lincoln had a Fido. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fido-as-a-dogs-name/833356/5 "2019-05-08T01:40:32Z")
Link to column. [Why is “Fido” a common name for a dog?](https://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/759/why-is-fido-a-common-name-for-a-dog/) And Lincoln was a [latecomer in naming his dog](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=dog+fido&tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:Jan+1_2+1600,cd_max:Dec+31_2+1860,sbd:1&tbm=bks&source=lnt&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiM0bP-5oriAhW_SxUIHWnRAaMQpwUIIA&biw=1253&bih=879&dpr=0.9). ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fido-as-a-dogs-name/833356/6 "2019-05-08T02:50:23Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > And Lincoln was a [latecomer in naming his dog](https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=dog+fido&tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:Jan+1_2+1600,cd_max:Dec+31_2+1860,sbd:1&tbm=bks&source=lnt&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiM0bP-5oriAhW_SxUIHWnRAaMQpwUIIA&biw=1253&bih=879&dpr=0.9). As was Fanny Fern. > [@](#): > > [FIDO > > OR, > > ## THE FAITHFUL FRIEND. NEW YORK: EDWARD KEARNY NO.272 PEARL STREET > > 1845]([Fido, Or, The Faithful Friend - Google Books](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ubsXAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false)) > [@](#): > > _Fido was a beautiful dog, and one of the most affectionate and faithful creatures in the world. His coat was of a rich dark brown, with clear white spots on his back, breast, and legs. His ears were long, and of a silky softness; and his tail was large and bushy, like a squirrel’s; and when running briskly, or playing, with his beautiful tail curled over his back, like a large plume, no dog could possibly be handsomer than Fido._ ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fido-as-a-dogs-name/833356/7 "2019-05-08T03:31:32Z")
Yeah, if you scroll down the page I linked, there are several earlier ones. Earliest on the list is 1832. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fido-as-a-dogs-name/833356/8 "2019-05-08T03:55:29Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Yeah, if you scroll down the page I linked, there are several earlier ones. Earliest on the list is 1832. Ah yes, _The Juvenile Miscellany_, by Mrs. D.L. Child (Boston, 1832): > [@](#): > > _Fanny’s papa, Mr. Herbert, had a dog Fido, of whom she was very fond._ ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fido-as-a-dogs-name/833356/9 "2019-05-08T05:11:59Z")
[And here’s one from 1805.](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hx0ZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA575&dq=fido+name+dog&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi8iNeYkoviAhVRVRUIHXdADMoQuwUIpwEwGA#v=onepage&q=fido%20name%20dog&f=false) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2019, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fido-as-a-dogs-name/833356/10 "2019-05-08T10:54:58Z")
It seems to me that I once saw somewhere a list of dog names from classical times, and most of them were names that are still commonly used for dogs.