A lot of breeds got their names from the location they were discovered, for example, Labrador’s come from Labrador Canada formerly known as Newfoundland Ca., two guesses what other breed came from there, Weimaraners come from Germany from the Grand Duke Karl August of Weimar, Doberman’s were created by Louis Doberman, and Chihuahua’s came from Chihuahua Mexico. Some were named based on their ability such as Retriever’s were named because they were bred strictly to retrieve wild game then you break it down to the different types, Golden, Labrador, etc, Pointers because they point.

So you get the gist of most of the names, mainly from where they were first discovered then some by what they were bred for.
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The other way breeds came about was by human design. In some cases, this was for a specific purpose: primaily hunting or herding. In other cases, a "sport" (genetic anomaly- bigger, different color, smaller, etc) was born that people decided they wanted more of, and so the breed was developed to attempt to recreate that, usually by breeding very closely on that one dog. Even with many of the hunting or herding dogs, only a small number of founding dogs were used.

Stories for names varies a lot, in many cases reprsentative of either the form and function, and/or how or who was responsible for the development of the breed. A Golden Retriever is a gold colored dog that retrieves, a Labrador Retriever is a dog developed in Labrador that retrieves, etc.
Here is the story behind the Jack Russell and Parson Russell Retriever, per the AKC website:
Named for the respected huntsman Rev. John Russell, the Parson Russell Terrier was first bred in the south of England in the mid-1800s to hunt red fox. Traditionally, the Parson followed the fox underground to flush him out for the hunter. Authorities claim that after Rev. Russell’s death some of his bloodlines were crossed with the Welsh Corgi and other terrier breeds, creating a different type dog, the "Jack Russell Terrier." The parent club for the breed requested a name change from Jack Russell to Parson Russell Terrier.
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This same society might also have other types of dogs for other purposes. They might have a different group of dogs that were smaller and lived in and around the house and barns. These were selected for being good at hunting and killing vermin like rats. They might also have a different group of dogs that are good at guarding the sheep from wolves. Guarding behavior and herding behavior are two different things, so often they had two separate groups of dogs for these jobs.

Environmental differences also played a big role. Some societies with sheep were in places like England with lush pastures and fences. The sheep are more intensely managed and moved between fields. This place and job leads to developing a dog like a Border Collie. In Australia, sheep herding is a very different thing. Pasture is sparse and dry, sheep must range very very far out on open range. They are more wild too. There you need a dog that works far far out gathering in wild sheep. That leads to developing a different kind of sheep herding dog.

Depending on the weather in a region, the dogs are going to develop different types of coats. Sheepherding dogs in Australia have short coats (Kelpies.) Sheepherding dogs in the cold blustery weather of Scotland have a longer thick coat. (Rough Collie)

Think about all the regions that developed their own type of dog. The arctic, the desert, the tropics, the mountains. Then think of all the different jobs dogs were developed to do. Herding: sheep, herding cattle, herding reindeer. Hunting: everything from gazelles in the desert (sighthounds) to tracking rabbits by scent (beagles) to hunting down vermin (terriers) and dogs that were bred to hunt with a man with a gun (sporting breeds like setters pointers and retrievers.) Guarding: guarding livestock, guarding homes, even being used in war (mastiff types were used by the Romans.)

Then there are dogs who were selected by humans for purely esthetic reasons, because a person or group of people decided a certain look or trait was desirable.. Some dogs were selected just to be companions. They were bred to be small lap dogs. Perhaps the upper class or royalty in an area decided that a certain size, coat, and coloring was "fashionable" in their little lap dogs.

In summary, breeds came about because people and their dogs were geographically isolated. The same group of people and dogs lived and reproduced in the same land for centuries. Then the jobs dogs performed shaped them into different types, shapes, and behaviors. The environment influenced the type of coat the dogs carried. And humans played their role, deciding they liked a certain look.
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Example, Dobermans were bred to be Police dogs. The man who bred them didn’t like the other Police dogs that were available at the time, so he bred his own. He bred a dog with fierce loyalty, great hearing, alertness (even when sleeping), great eyesight, athleticism, and the original reason the tails were docked and ears were cropped were to give criminals less to grab hold of (and to make them look intimidating). The Doberman is also a large dog and very capable of defending itself and it’s human…large, muscular dog with a BIG, teethy mouth. It runs very fast and serves it’s original purpose well. The Doberman is still used in this capacity. So are other dogs who were bred for this purpose. Dobermans were originally bred in Germany by a Police officer by the name of (you guessed it!!) Doberman. His name actually wasn’t spelled "Doberman" but most of us couldn’t spell or pronounce his actual name, lol.

Another example…The Shetland Sheepdog, it’s called the Sheltie (the ones that look like miniature Collies). These dogs were bred on the Shetland Islands to be small dogs and herd the Island’s small sheep. Regular sized sheepdogs were too big and required too much food and hurt the small sized sheep…they needed a smaller dog…so they bred one. Shelties still herd today. Mostly Shelties are just companion animals tho. Their name comes from the Shetland Island and the fact that they are Sheep herding dogs.

The AKC will NOT recognize any breed unless it serves a purpose and has a standard. A standard is what a dog’s breed should be like…it’s looks (body and coat, mouth, etc), temperment, EVERYthing. If a dog does NOT serve a purpose then what is the point of it? (from AKC’s point of view of "working dogs") A companion dog DOES serve a purpose. A Chihuahua is an example of a companion dog. There is no history on the Chihuahua that says they were ever used for any kind of work. The Chihuahua is named for the town where the dog was found…Chihuahua, Mexico.

Most dogs are named for what they do…Retriever, Sheepdog, Bulldog, etc.
Or who bred them…Doberman, Jack Russell, etc.
Or where they were bred…Boston Terrier, Chihuahua, etc.
Their names will include what they do/who bred them and what type of dog they are….Rat Terrier (bred to catch rodents), Jack Russell Terrier, Boston Terrier.

Most info about a dog is found in it’s name. You just have to dig a bit to find out what it actually means, that’s all. Very good question you brought up here. I’ve always looked up dog’s names to see where they came from and found it very interesting. Some dog’s names have been changed over the years to keep the meaning of it current.
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What basically happened was that one guy decided he wanted his dog to specialize in rat catching, so he needed a small energetic dog. So he bred the smallest and most energetic dogs that were good at rat catching until he got what he wanted.

Another guy decided he needed a dog that could retrieve ducks, fishing nets or something of the like from water. So he started breeding hardy dogs that could swim well.

Then another guy might have wanted a companion and nothing more. So he decided to breed for looks and maybe size, taking the cutest dogs and breeding them and then breeding the cutest of their puppies.

Names can be who ever originally bred them, or where the dogs are from, or even what the dogs are bred to do.
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It would take forever to figure out where their names come from, but most are named for what they do and where they are from.

Like the Border Collie, Labrador Retriever, or the English Bulldog
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•Retrievers (Labrador)
•Yorkshire Terriers
•German Shepherd Dogs
•Retrievers (Golden)
•Beagles
•Boxers
•Dachshunds
•Poodles
•ShihTzu
•Bulldogs
•Miniature Schnauzers
•Chihuahuas
•Pomeranians
•Pugs
•Rottweilers
•Boston Terriers
•Spaniels (Cocker)
•Pointers (GermanShorthaired)
•Maltese
•Shetland Sheepdogs
•Doberman Pinschers
•Pembroke Welsh Corgis
•Great Danes
•Siberian Huskies
•Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
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i watch to much animal planet