To call my black dog Sooty?

[PaxMalmKallax]

DH says we can’t name our new puppy Sooty because he is black and people might get offended. Is that the case? Sorry for my ignorance.
Puppy gets microchipped by the breeder next week and I’d like to have named him by then. Any better ideas are gratefully received!

I think Otto has the same style as Monty and would work too.

Call him Rover or Fido

Call him Percy

My neighbour had a black lab called Golly.

Crikey - don't call him Monty! You could be accused of offending those other people involved in the Second World War!

Gosh - I was joking but I see someone is serious!

Soot has nothing to do with race, it's a by product of fossil fuels. It's black in colour.

Blimey.. It's just a name for a dog. I know plenty of dogs with names relating to their colour.

@OnlyToWin

I considered Sooty for my dog and my parents in their 70s told me it was not appropriate. Perhaps it was used offensively in the 60s/70s? Anyway, I was not aware of this but did not use it anyway.

I'm 63, and yes, I recall this being a racial slur when growing up. I haven't heard it in many years though, even in the US.

Smudge?

I have known lots of black cats called Sooty.

I think it'll be OK in UK for as long as the first and dominant association is Sooty and Sweep

Perhaps you could get two dogs?

How about....
Bram.

Or soot in other languages. Apparently its Hollin in spanish and Noki in Finnish which could be cute for a dog

Sooty comes from chimney sweeps and the soot up chimneys. Actually a good name for a dog imo

References to soot used to be made to insult black people like adverts for soap that washed black "sooty" babies white. So some people will remember those but I've not heard it used as an insult recently but I'd avoid.

In Sooty and Sweep the bear was Sooty and the dog was actually Sweep.

No it’s not, it’s offensive

I can’t imagine any reasonable person being offended. It’s a good name.

@TreacleHart

My neighbour had a black lab called Golly.

That’s offensive

My cat was called sooty, this never even crossed my mind but for that reason i think its a cats name

I do like Otto though

There used to be a black lab called Sooty in our street. It never occurred to me that he had a racist name.

My friend’s cat is called Monty.

Next doors cat is called Sooty, can't see anything wrong with it.

There are loads of names to choose from. In my opinion, it will be offensive to some people

There's always someone looking to feel offended, either for themselves or on behalf people they have never met.

Well a friend of mine has a black cat called Satan 😁

@dontjudgeme101 i can actually trump that with what my 75 yo colleague named her cat 🤬😱

My Uncle was nicknamed Sooty by his brothers, they are all white. There was probably a story from years back when he got locked in the coal house or something along those lines or maybe he wouldn't wash his ears and they were black like Sooty's.

I'm sure you could find some other name which is different to the popular names everyone calls their dogs if it's going to cause arguments.

How about Bran it means raven and ravens are black or
Nero Italian for black.

References to soot used to be made to insult black people like adverts for soap that washed black "sooty" babies white.

It was also a common racist term in America decades ago.