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 does Sue fit it to the chimney theme
?

Because if the chimney sweep did a bad job and ruined your carpet and wouldn't compensate you, that's what you'd do.

Stanley is a great name. I had a friend with a dog name Gene, I always liked that. If the name must be tied to the dog's color, onyx might be a good choice.

The nickname 'sooty' has been used in a derogatory way in the past, as pointed out by the OP's DH.

I would not choose a name that has in the past been used that way. I would just find something else.

This is how things move on - people just decide to drop things that were very common. It doesn't have to be a big drama, there is no need of rpeople to get angry about it.

As I and others have said, it's still used as a term of abuse. It isn't confined to the past. Prince Charles 'sooty' controversy

We had two labradors when I was a kid. Blackie and Blondie. Guess what colours they were?

Nothing racist about it. Nothing imaginative about it either, but definitely not racist.

Sometimes we really over think things.

DH says we can’t name our new puppy Sooty because he is black and people might get offended
😂

Well, since you've chosen to put your question to a majority White forum (much of whom will pretend they don't know that name was and at times still is shouted to Black people in racist fashion), following on from this just take your dog to the park, and let him off the lead for a bit.

Then call him back loudly "SOOTY!" & You'll get your real-life answer x 100.

Especially if you live in a multi-cultural area. But maybe you don't.

Your H sounds up to speed though, good for him.

Nothing imaginative about it either

I was thinking this too. When I see an animal whose name is some variation of its color, I always think a child named it.

@CutToChase there is a Bram in my sons school 😂

I grew up in London in the late 70s and 80s and Sooty was very common to describe black people. I remember people asking if I would kiss the ‘sooty boys’ in my class. One of my friends parents used to do the Jim Davidson Chalky White voice and talk about ‘the sooty’s’. He thought he was fucking hilarious

Connotations aside, it's just a shite name!

I think sooty is cute choice and definitely not inappropriate. If we are sticking with puppets, can I also suggest Scampy? 🐻.

@whitegrenache I also had a cat called ebby (short for ebony)

I wouldn't.

But it's not as bad as someone I know who has called her black dog Mowgli. And yes they say a lot of racist comments so it wasn't an accident.

It reminds me a bit of that Louis Theroux episode where he met some South African white supremacists and they called their black cat Kaffir. The wife kept disingenuously saying it just means black and the cat IS black so that’s why they called him it. As if totally unaware it was used as a racist slur.

I change my answer. I was unaware it used to be a racial slur. Definitely Scampy

@Tal45

If it's ok to have a puppet called Sooty on tv then I guess it's fine to call your dog it. It wouldn't even occur to me that it might be an issue.

It was once ok for Alf Garnet to be on tv, so your point is???

Call it what you like.
Another dog we see regularly is called Jett.

I used to know someone who called their dog muffy. There's is so many more offensive words to call a dog than sooty. Just pick a name that suits the him. My auntie has a black dog called cole. Shadow used to a popular black dog name.

Just call it Dog. Hopefully that won’t offend anyone.

I personally am not a fan of these sorts of names anyway (smokey, snowy that sort of thing), I think pets should generally have people names.

That being said I would never have seen it in a racist context I would just assume sooty was to do with the colour or sooty and sweep. That being said there is obviously something off about the term and it is seen by others in a racial context so I would advise someone else against naming a pet that. Well done to OP for taking the advice provided by PP.

Seth is a great name for a puppy!

What about (black) Pepper ?

I wouldn't have thought of it as racist but after reading about your DH's thoughts on it I would never call any future pets of mine Sooty. It's racist to him and it is racist to others and there are plenty of other names you could use.

Years ago Sooty was derogatory. You've so many other nicer names that you could pick.

I think pets should generally have people names

Aside from the fact that anything seems to be a 'people name' nowadays, pets aren't humans and don't need human names. My friend had a dog the same name as me and it was a bit confusing when I went round there. I was always getting told what to do!!

Call the dog Snowy to confuse everyone.