Long story short, the Canadian Kennel Club has told me I cannot name my pup  (breeder's name) Dubhgall of Oban.  It seems Oban is a registered Kennel name in Ontario, for Chow Chows.  It's the of Oban part that is the problem.  The CKC says if the Chow kennel lady gives her permission it's ok, but I can't track down contact information for her.  I have her name and last known whereabouts dated to 2004, then nothing.  It seems likely she is not breeding Chows anymore but I still need her permission.

The CKC said I could drop the "of" but that really spoils it.  I think the "of" is needed to show that it is a person (well, dog) and a place.  Then I got a brainwave and thought, what is the gaelic word for "of"?  I have googled several gaelic/english dictionaries and there really doesn't seem to be a direct gaelic translation of the english preposition "of".  Maybe "aig" would do?  Would using "aig" make it Dubhgall at Oban? 

Any ideas?

Just a thought, but if this person is in Ontario, have you checked show catalogues for different shows in Ontario?  Or are you not from Ontario? 

I have a few show catalogues, and could look to see if I see anything that matches the info you provided. 

You could also join Canadian Show Dogs via Yahoo Groups, and send out a message there looking for information.

Could also do a search on the CKC website (if you are a member that has an electronic account with the CKC) too see if anything comes up when you search the kennel name. 

I know in Irish Gaelic the "of" is not a separate word but an addition at the
end of the name, e.g. place name. Take for instance the national Irish
Greyhoundbus company: Bus Eireann ... the bold being the "of"
part in the name. Dunno whether it is the same in Scots Gaelic.

Would it be too much to use Oban's complete name?
An t-Òban/The Little Bay

I had a talk with my aunt, and she said that if you use the word Of before a name that is recognized as a kennel name, than you cant use it, but if you dont use the word "of" than the CKC will accept it.

For example:

Dubhgall of Oban  (not accepted - as you know)
but
Oban in Dubhgall (would be accepted)
Dubhgall Oban (would be accepted)  

the "of" implys from the kennel of Oban.  Thats why the CKC wont let you use it without the persons permission. 

I hope this link will work........

It is not scottish gaelic but 'fae' is east coast Scottish for from as in "eh'm fae Dundee" ;)

Therefore your dog would be Dubhgall fae Oban

Wow, you folks are great.  Thanks very much and special thanks to you, Crespin, for going above and beyond.

I think I may have located the Chow breeder.  If it is the correct person the poor woman was at a funeral for her mother yesterday so I do not expect to have contact with her while she is grieving.  Oban's breeder did some work with a Chow breeder years ago and thinks it may be the one I need to contact.

The Chow breeder, even if I do manage to talk to her, may not give me permission of course so I will continue investigating ways to vary the name.  One Lab breeder told me she simply added a letter so the word in dispute was technically not the same word.   Not a word at all, actually.  She made Delta into Dellta and it flew.  Sounds too easy.

Dubhgall bho Oban would be 'from Oban' I think

Do you know what the Dubhgall bit means? The nearest i could find was Dubhghall which is apparently 'Teuton' (ie Germanic) :-)

Marion

ETA: Just found it: Dubhgall    Dark Foreigner, or Dane or Viking (Irish Gaelic I think) :-)

I have just found my Gaelic dictionary and Gall or Goill means Foreigner, stranger, especially a native of the south of Scotland, or a Scot that cannot speak Gaelic. I can find nothing for ghall. Dubh is black or dark.

Oban means Bay, creek, harbour but in the list of proper names at the back of the dictionary the Gaelic of Oban seems to be An t-Oban.

It might help if you knew why we are so fixated on this name.  I can't find my old post where I introduced Oban when we got him in Dec. 2007.

We are both of Scotch descent.  OH was born in Edinburgh, came to Canada in 1946 at three months old with his war-bride mother.  OH visited Scotland for the first time in 2005 with his older friend Mr. MacDougall.  They went to Dunollie Castle, the MacDougall clan seat, in the very pretty town of Oban.  Our MacDougall friends have always had Labs but now that they are older folks (he is 86 now) they have a smaller breed, a Sheltie who they call Couann, after the sound where Mrs. MacDougall grew up.  You can see how our chosen name of Dubhgall of Oban incorporates several qualities that are significant to us, plus our Oban is black.

> We are both of Scotch descent

Just a little correction here.

To say you are of Scotch decent suggests that you are decended from whisky (scotch) I think what you mean is that you are of Scottish decent.

There is a big difference in meaning between the two words to us who are Scottish. :)

Hic, 'scoose me. :)  Must be all that Oban I drank.  :)

I used to be careful to say Scottish.  It is what I was taught too.   But then I found so many Scots didn't care and I got sloppy.

Thank you all very much.  I'm still hoping the Chow lady will come through for me and let me use "of".

If not, I think we'll have to go with Dubhgall fae Oban.  I have rather belatedly counted the spaces I have and only 3 are free.  Twit that I am.  Fae is slang but it fits and is not incorrect.  I don't know what that says about me, that I prefer improper over incorrect.

According to other sources I consulted:

bho = from, but in the sense of time or distance.

Dubhgall an t-Oban is too long and apparently makes no sense.

Dubhgall ain Obain is apparently THE correct way to say it but is too long and to leave out that extra "i" in Oban would make it incorrect.

Dubhgall as an Oban I'm told might be acceptable but is too long.  There should be an accent grave on the a in as.

I may be wrong in this but I have always associated the word "fae" as East and North East Scotland slang for "from".
I don't think I've heard it much on the West Coast where Oban lies.

That however wouldn't actually make it wrong to use it if you want in the name you are thinking of & I'm not suggesting that.

I believe that someone coming from Oban is known as an Obaner, perhaps that could be incorporated in the name maybe something like "Dubhgall Obaner" ?

Just a thought. :)

Bet you are glad you are not wanting to link a name to Edinburgh we are known as "Edinburgers" !! :D

P.S. Good choice of Husband (must have good blood lines) and Breed of Dog. :)

>> To say you are of Scotch decent suggests that you are decended from whisky (scotch) I think what you mean is that you are of Scottish decent.

lol,itmade me think of scotch eggs!

What if you put it all together, no spaces.  I know of one dog, that had a really long name, but the owners wanted it, and it just fit with no spaces.  Its so hard when you are only allowed 30 spaces (which includes your kennel name).  It still worked, and if you are in aggreement with that, then the Oban would not be a seperate word, and therefor not be in dispute and you would not need permission from the Chow breeder. 

all together, no spaces.

I never even thought of that.  The breeder's name takes up 13 spaces.  Hmmm, I will wait a bit yet before doing anything. 

In doggy forums I am going to add a new tip when looking for a breeder.  Pick one with a short kennel name.  :)  Kidding.

And, I forgot to say... Guess what adding another "n" to Oban, to make Obann, means?  Surprise.  Not suitable for me but so ironic when my first language help request was for an Irish Gaelic name/word meaning surprise.  That was for a member on another board who rescued a dog that, surprise, turned out to be pregnant with puppies thought to be due St. Patricks Day.  Now she thinks they might be April Fool's Day puppies.

For us, we did consider Edinburgh.  Eddie would be a nice name for a dog.  People would wonder why a Lab was named after the JR in Frasier though.