What's in a Name?

Some Jacob breeders name all their lambs when they are born. I don’t think I can come up with 80 names each year. I do better to keep track by number and only name the ones that I keep. Names become important when you have sheep that are registered because they are tracked by name in the registry. They have a breeder’s prefix (Meridian for me) and an individual name. Sometimes I assign a name before a lamb is sold, because I can figure out if that name has been used already, and it avoids the problem of a Meridian sheep out there with a name that I think is too weird. Other times I find myself filling out a fair entry that requires a name and I have to come up with a name right now. Sometimes there is a plan, but sometimes there is not.

I was talking to someone about naming themes tonight and thought it might be an interesting trip down memory lane to look back at some of my sheep and think about their names. Sometimes there was a theme for the year and some times I name a sheep because it will remind me of who the dam or sire is.

As I was thinking about this I realize that I thought I had more of a plan than I found when I went through my records.

I remember Diamond, born in 2002. Her dam was Penobscot Jewel, one of the first sheep I got in 1999. Diamond went on to have 11 offspring, 6 of whom remained in the flock for at least awhile—Tiara (2003), Crystal (2004), Rocky (2006), Sparkle (2008), and Amethyst and Dazzle (2009). Rocky sired about 24 lambs. Tiara was the dam of Gem (2006) and Glitter (2008), Crystal was the dam of the ram, Granite (2010).

I told my friend that I remembered a Beatles naming theme, but I sure can’t figure it out now. I thought I had a series of sheep that included Lucy and Diamond (think Lucy in the sky with Diamonds), but my records don’t back that up. Lucy (2011) went on to have lambs Linda and Laura (2007), Lulu (2008), and Lucinda (2009). Maybe I’ll revive the Beatles theme one of these days.

I know I used rock stars for some rams, but not in any particular year, and now I may not remember all of them. Presley (2012), Clapton and Fogerty (2011), Miller (2012), Hendrix (2013), Crosby (2015), Nash (2016). Clapton was the sire of Miller, and Hendrix was the sire of Crosby who was the sire of Nash.

I can’t find photos for most of these but this one is Nash.

Some naming themes make sense to me, but maybe not anyone else. Where did Soprano (2018) come from? Her dam is Sonata (2012). Sonata’s dam is Moon (2019) and her dame is Hillside Luna’s Harvest. Do you follow the theme? Moon’s twin was Moonshine and her 2013 lamb was Moonbeam.

In 2017 several of the lambs were named after spices or herbs. This is Dilly. There was also Ginger, Saffron, and Anise.

How about some of my lilac sheep with a fox theme? Mud Ranch Foxglove (2012) is the dam of 13 lambs, 6 of whom I named. These include Foxy (2015), Vixen (2016), Cayenne and Fae (2017), and Fauna (2018). Vixen is the dam of Vivian (2019) and twins Lupine (think Canis lupus, actually a wolf) and Axis (2021). The 2017 names don’t fit and I don’t know where I got them. Cayenne’s sire was Catalyst (2015). For awhile I thought about using car parts, but most of them didn’t appeal to me. I used Rotor (2015, Alex x Rosie) and Axle (2018, Catalyst x Ava). Axle sired 32 lambs including Lupine and Axis (lilacs in 2021), Atlas and Quora in 2020 and 3 ewes that I kept in 2020, but that’s another theme.

Quora (2020) may seem like a strange name. Her dam is Quartz (2018), so named because she has 6 horns and her dam is Jade (following a rock theme). The 2021 lamb I kept from Quartz is Quinci.

Sometimes there is a theme for the year and I try to use a name that still reminds me of the dam. In 2013 we had Marilyn, Lana, Sophia, Raquel, and Mae. Cascade in 2013 didn’t fit the “movie star bombshell” theme, but her dam was Sierra.

I noticed that in 2020 the lambs all seemed nuttier when I tried to do anything with them. I had a major accident in the fall of 2019 (blog post about it with a lot of spelling errors because I lost some motor skills) and about the time I was getting back to normal the pandemic started. So from October 2019 through 2020 the sheep had a lot less interaction with people—no field trips and few Farm Club activities. One of the Farm Club members suggested a nut theme for those sheep. So we have ewes born in 2020 named Cashew, Coco(nut), Roca, Hazel(nut), twins Pecan and Sandie (think of the cookie Pecan Sandie)…

…and Pistachio.

Occasionally I choose a name for something about the appearance and it has nothing to do with the parents.

Meridian Hot Lips ( 2010)…

…and Meridian Zora (2018). She was named the minute we saw her with that mask. There are other Z’s however. Zena (2007) had Zelda (2008) and Zinnia (2010). Zelda had Zip in 2009 who had Zoey in 2011. I have found myself repeating names. There is a 2015 Zinnia from Zoey. I just looked up Zinnia in the JSBA on-line database and find that the real Zinnia is the one born in 2015. I recorded the name for the 2010 Zinnia in my records but she was sold and not registered with that name.

I could go on forever with this, but it’s time to go back and find some photos to go along with this post. I hope you have enjoyed it.