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!

How about Sid, short for Obsidian?
I saw a black cat on Reddit that had been named Penumbra. Not sure that'd work for a dog though.

How about Cole (given that soot is a by-product of coal)?

I like pepper, my dig is called Eric because a he is ginger, Eric the red. I don't have a problem with naming an animal after their colour but now the connection has been made why go with it.
My Dalmatian is called susu, which is a character in studio Ghlibi called soot sprites, susu watari is the Japanese name. ( although someone did once ask me why I had called my dog Susan).
Lots of much more imaginative connections out there.

But why would you? The connotation is that the most important thing about your dog is it’s colour. I appreciate that this is an animal not a person, but it’s still an unpleasant message to put across in my opinion

Utter twaddle. So the name of your pet has to reflect what is most important about it? Not just a name you like, or that’s suits it etc? Bonkers

Nero is a great name for a black dog.

It’s one of those names where zero thought has been put in, like brown dogs called coco, white=snowy, black=sooty. Yawn.

@Pieceofpurplesky

Sooty has racist connotations. I am in my 50s and remember this from school. Not as bad as my mum's neighbour when she was a child (so 1940s)) who had a dog called n***

Utter tripe!

Hansgruber like to explain which part is tripe? Both parts are 100% accurate.

If you or partner has made that connection, it will probably always be in your heads.
I used to have a black guinea pig called Sootica, but there was never any need to walk around the park calling her.

How mad have we become as a society when calling a black animal Sooty isn't acceptable? Soot is black. If you come into contact with it you become Sooty. The world's gone bloody mad. I would also have no problem calling a white dog Snowy (my friend has a white pony called Snowy as it happens).

I wouldn't call a dog n*er, because the only use of that word is to apply it to people of a certain colour in a derogatory fashion.
Come to think of it... what about Whitey and Blackie? Another horse friend has those and it describes them perfectly because surprise suprise that is the colour of their fur.

Soot is black - so, it might seem reasonable to call a black dog sooty... but your DH is right -there are connotations because of how it was used in the past. Not wrong then - but not right either.

You'd have the same reaction about calling your black dog 'Chalky' - an ironic joke on his black colour... but with remembered connections to 'funny' jokes made against black skin in the past. (A bit too 'Jim Davison')

Ukmail I think it depends on age as to some of us sooty was used as a racist slur. The fact is that the OPs other half thinks this and doesn't like it so it shouldn't be the name. Both of them have to agree on a name

Maybe your DH remembers the sitcom called love thy neighbour, which was a white family, living next to a black family, the two dads had a lighthearted feud, they used to call each other names, suck as white honky, and you guessed it sooty.
You wont see any reruns of it, as it is now considered racist.
There are so many different names, I really cant see the problem in choosing one, that wouldn't concern anyone.
My favourite boys name is Jake, my old gs/ collie cross.

Jesus Christ almighty! Soot is a by product of burning. If people get offended they need to check themselves. My horse as a child had a stable name and a show name related to its colour, no one gave a fuck. What next we can’t call a blacksmith that or maybe get rid of the surnames black and white? White magic/black magic etc.

I once met somebody (while walking my dog) who's black dog was called Django. The new Star Wars movies were still big at the time and I cheerfully said 'Oh, like Jango Fett?'

No, the dog was named after the main character in a very violent and upsetting film which must have used the most racist word at least 100 times.

This anecdote isn't really relevant to the OP, but it still bothers me.

@MrsGrindah

Nero is a great name for a black dog.

Or Schwartz, German for black.

I have 2 black cats. We considered Sooty and didn't for one minute think it could be a racial slur. We ended up with Nero (black in Italian) and Jet.

Nothing wrong with calling your dog, 'Sooty', it just means he looks as though he is covered in soot which he will if he is black. I think it is quite a nice name for a dog. A friend of mine had a black cat called 'Sooty' and nobody thought it was politically incorrect. It isn't!

I don't see the issue with Sooty. Soot is black. Black isn't a dirty word.

It’s a bit typical that people get so angry at the thought that someone might politely point out something is maybe not on.

I follow my local cats protection on social media and whenever a black cat comes up for adoption there are comments ‘he looks just like my ...’ and some of the names are a bit and some downright offensive.

Sooty might not be offensive as such but it isn’t quite the same as snowy or ginger or whatever.

@Sheleg

I don't see the issue with Sooty. Soot is black. Black isn't a dirty word.

No but soot is ‘dirty’, isn’t it, and therein lies the problem. In the same way a brown dog might go by Toffee and not Poo. Bad example but you see what I mean.

Sooty is a (yellow?) glove puppet loved by millions of children over the years. Not a name for a dog I think.

Any name you choose must be one you feel comfortable calling to your dog in a busy area.

I'm a vet. Lots of cats/dogs are called Sooty. I wouldn't have even thought about it. It's nice of him to consider other people's feelings though.

Is it really that hard to think of a dogs name

But as usual MN knows better than a POC what is and what isn’t offence and what terminology was used and wasn’t good old MN

If only new guidelines and laws were passed by MN voting system first