Catalan Sheepdog Names, Gos d'Atura Català Dog Names

The Catalan Sheepdog, or Gos d'Atura Català, is a herding breed from the valleys and foothills of the Pyrenees of Catalonia, in north-eastern Spain, where for centuries it drove and guarded flocks of sheep across the mountain pastures. The first breed standard was drawn up in 1929, and the Federation Cynologique Internationale definitively accepted the breed in 1954. The dog became a national emblem in 1987, when the designer Javier Mariscal chose a Catalan Sheepdog as the model for Cobi, the Cubist mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games -- a playful nod to Catalonia's own Pablo Picasso.

Beneath its tousled coat the Catalan Sheepdog is a rustic, medium-sized worker. It comes in two varieties -- the familiar long-haired dog and the now very rare short-haired Gos d'Atura Cerda -- with a flat or slightly wavy coat in shades of fawn, sable, grey, and black, often blending into a wild-boar grizzle. In character it is intelligent, devoted, and watchful, deeply bonded to its shepherd, wary of strangers, and tireless on the hill; the same biddable, hard-working temperament makes it a natural at modern dog sports such as agility and obedience.

Names for a Catalan Sheepdog can honour its Catalan homeland, its shaggy rustic coat, or its herding work. Catalan and Spanish picks like Jordi, Marc, Joan, Ramon, Pep, Toni, and Gerard suit a male, with Aina, Berta, Carla, Marta, Anna, Rosa, and Mar for a female, plus Picasso and Dali for the Catalan artists behind the breed's Cubist fame. The tousled coat invites Shaggy, Bear, Teddy, Tawny, Fawn, Sable, Hazel, Honey, and Goldie, while Sol -- Catalan and Spanish for the sun -- and the eager Scout salute a working dog of the mountain pastures.

Explore our full collection of Catalan Sheepdog dog names below. Filter by gender, save your favourites, and find a name as rustic, devoted, and unmistakably Catalan as your Gos d'Atura Català.