Dog Names in Alaska Native Languages

Many people have asked for help providing their dog with a Native Alaskan name. Here we've listed some suggestions from four different Alaska native languages.

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Inupiaq

Some of these names were provided by Leona Okakok and are typical dog names used by Inupiat people of the North Slope. Some other names were taken from the Inupiat Dictionary, compiled by Webster & Zibell.

kinguyakkii  'northern lights' maguyuk  'howler' miki  'little' nanuq  'polar bear' pakak  'one that gets into everything' pamiiruq  'wags his tail' pukiq  'smart'

qannik  'snowflake' qimmiq  'dog' qimukti  'puller' siku  'ice' suka  'fast' tupit  'tatto lines on face' amaguq  'wolf'

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Central Yup'ik

Central Yup'ik is the Alaskan language spoken by the greatest number of people--about 15,000. The Central Yup'ik people live on the western central coast of Alaska around Norton Sound and Bristol Bay, and inland some distance along the rivers of the area.

arrluk  'killer whale' cikuq  'ice' cupun  'coal' ataneq  'king' kuk'uq  'animal (child's word)' mequssuk  'shaggy dog' negiliq  'parka ruff' panik  'daughter'

pukulria  'bone chewer' qimugkauyar  'puppy' qimugta  'dog' (literally 'puller') taqukaq  'grizzly bear' tulukaruk  'crow' tungulria  'black one' yuralria  'dancing one'

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Ahtna Athabascan

The Athna live along the Copper River basin in South Central Alaska. The words below are taken from the Ahtna Noun Dictionary, compiled by Mildred Buck and James Kari.

deniigi  'moose' genen  'shaman' kaskae  'chief' saghani  'raven'

sesi  'snow' sos  'bear' tikaani  'wolf' yakone'  'red aurora'

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Tanaina Athabascan

The ancestral territory of the Tanaina surrounds Cook Inlet, including the present-day location of Anchorage. The words below are taken from the Nondalton Tanaina Noun Dictionary, compiled by Joan M. Tenenbaum.

chu  'beaver' chulyin  'raven' desna  'boss' hey  'winter' k'eyush  '(bear) cub'

nini  'porcupine' shesh  'brown bear' shila  'flame' shtiya  'my strength'