A Dog Named Rover
Like many people, I’m fascinated with historical significances in common and or generally accepted terms or names, be it a person’s name or a dog’s name or just an accepted cliche’. As an example, the general acceptance of a man’s name being Joseph is a biblical reference, or a dog named Fido is a reference to Abraham Lincoln’s dog with a Latin definition of “faithful”, but what about the dog name, Rover?
In terms of dog names, the name Rover is darn near synonymous with the word “dog” itself, much the same way Fido is. Mentioned is casual conversation, “rover” would most likely conjur up images of a dog in some form or fashion, but have you ever stopped to wonder why?
Child’s Play
My first recollection of the word “rover” comes from maybe 1st or 2nd grade as a game teachers made us play at school when they obviously didn’t have a well planned curriculum. The class would form two lines facing each other while holding hands we would then call someone out in the other line to run across and try to break through the arms of your class mates after the coaxing chant of “Red rover, red rover send Billy right over”. Ah, fun times…not.
Today, even though still synonymous with the word “dog” itself, “Rover” refers to anything but a four legged, furry house mate. NASA has a Rover that they put on Mars to explore. Rover is also a popular morning radio show; it’s a really cool sport utility vehicle, it’s also a phrase associated with something new replacing something old or a request to move your butt when used as “move over Rover”, It’s a folk song sung to the tune of “Four Leaf Clover”….”I’m looking over, my dead dog Rover….” but no longer is it a dog’s name.
That’s All Folks!
For a history of the dog name Rover, we shall turn to the all knowing, sage like icon that made stuttering socially
acceptable, Porky Pig. Porky Pig had a dog named Rover but even he didn’t know why he called his dog A-rr, a-rr, rr,r a Rover.
By definition, a rover is a wanderer. That makes sense in the SUV application as well as with NASA’s exploration of other planets and it is, in that sense, by all means fitting. Used as a dog’s name, Rover’s historical significance appears by all accounts to be just that, a wandering dog.
We all know that the dog name Rover was hugely popular 50 to 100 years ago and longer, but unlike Fido, there is no Latin meaning, there is no iconic owner or social or historical reference to tie into a deep, intellectual meaning for why a dog name equated with the canine breed itself was so popular other than the damned dog wandered off out of the yard one day and has now received this insignificant scarlett letter to bear for life.
Who Let the Dogs Out?
Although not documented, and this would be me grabbing for straws for some type of historical meaning, however I would also have to suppose that the American Indians were much better suited to name an explorer “Wandering Dog” opposed to Rover as it just doesn’t have the same cool effect.
So there you have it. If you’ve ever sat up at nights pondering where the dog name Rover originated, and I know you have, put your curiosity to bed, because it seems to be a dog that ran away.
