A Short Article About
Pug Names and the Etymology of the Pug Breed.

We here at Pug City get many pug questions, like: What was the pug bred for? How big are pugs? When did Pugs Originate? Whats a pug’s original purpose? Why do Pugs have so many wrinkles? But our most frequently asked question is "Where did the Pug get its name?"

HOW DID THE PUG GETS ITS NAME?
Most likely the pug breed's name came from marmoset monkeys, which were also known as Pug monkeys. Marmosets were popular pets in the early 1700s, and their faces look much like those of Pug dogs.

Hello, My Name Is PUG (source @pawpups.id)

As a breed, the Pug has a long and interesting history. People think the pug began as an oriental dog breed in China. Some date the pug to the time of Confuscious when they were called Lo-Tze. At the time Pugs were only allowed to be kept by Tibetan Monestaries or the Chinese Royalty. Scholars think that these Royal pug origins might might be the Pekingese and their closest relative the Lion dog (an early relative of the Shih Tzu.)

The pug breed may have originated as early as 600 B.C.E but we don't really know because the crazy Emporer Chin Shih destroyed all recorded pug artifacts, and records during his reign in 255 B.C.E. The in 168 A.D the awesome Emporer Ling To took power and raised Pugs to a new level of royalty. Ling To loved his Pugs as much as his wives, serving them only the best food and having soldiers guard them around the clock.

The etymology of the word Pug is also interesting. The word pug first appeared in written English language in 1566. The word Pug origin was a term of endearment, kind of like "little cutie", and was used when talking about people. By the 1600's the word became synonymous with a courtesan and by 1664 the word Pug meant imp, sprite, demon, or monkey! Only in the 1750's did the Oxford English Dictionary recognize the word pug as meaning a "dwarf breed of dog".

It's possible that the origin of the word Pug comes from the Latin Pugnus, meaning a balled up fist. Some say the wrinkles in a fawn Pugs head might look like a fist. It's also possible that the origin of the name Pug is a mistaken spelling of the name Puck, the mischievous Sprite like character in William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

Pugs were brought to Europe by the Dutch East India trading company in 1500's. The Dutch called these little cuties "Mopshound" which meant "to grumble". The name Mops is still used in German and Russian today.

The name pug in some other languages Carlin (French), Patimasia (Greek), Doguillo (Spanish).

Whatever you want to call these cute little monkeys, it's pretty clear that there is only one PUG!

SOME FREQUENT PUG NAME QUESTIONS:

WHAT IS PUG SHORT FOR?

Though the Pug dog name isn’t short for anything, PUG is a frequent acronym for PickUpGame, Palm Users Group, Pick Up Guru, PErsian Underground,e Pop Up Generator, and the ccar Peugot

WHAT WERE PUGS ORIGINALLY CALLED

In the Ming Dynasty in China, pugs were called Dutch Bulldogs.

IS PUG GREEK OR LATIN

Pug comes from Greek originally. The english word pug comes from Ancient Greek πυγμή, and later from the Latin pugil ((figuratively) a hardened forehead. A boxer, pugilist.)

ARE PUGS BRED TO TAKE DOWN LIONS

This is a weird urban legend. Their nickname somehow led to the crazy notion that Pugs were originally bred to take down lions. Lions are many times the size of a Pug and since lions aren’t native to China, where Pugs were initially bred, this is clearly an urban legend.

IS PUG SHORT FOR PUGILIST?

While pug is short for Pugilist, it is not the origin of the pug dog. Pug in Latin is short for a fighter especially a boxer.