The dog has been man’s best friend for millennia; it has perched in royal embraces, guarded flocks, chased deer on game drives.

And he has lived up to many names since becoming a pet. A separate medieval text includes a list of 1,065 names for dogs.

Known as ‘The Names of All Manner of Hounds’, it suggests some great names for dog owners today: Achilles, Meryman, Russette, Synfull and Honeydewe, for example.

The mysterious manuscript was composed between 1460 and 1480 and until 2006 was in the collection of Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The list of names is for hunting dogs; some of them are inspired by historical figures of kings: Charlemayne, Nero and Romulus.

Others are animal names, such as Dolfyn. Or “professions”, like Tynker and Monke.

Some are titles of office, such as Duchesse or Damysell. Henry VIII of Tudor “had a dog called Purkoy, which took its name from the French word ‘pourquoi (why?)’ because it was very curious.”

In Switzerland in 1504, the most popular name for a dog was Fürst, meaning Prince.

In his detailed article, David Scott-Macnab, a professor at North-West University in South Africa delved into the list, which is available at the link https://imgur.com/gallery/3JVAIHS.