Border and bedding dahlias for the garden sold in garden centres are named by marketing people but the names of show varieties are their originators' personal choices.

Often the first part of the name chosen by the breeder can be thought of as their ‘brand name’, identifying who bred it and where. Deb Collett has written a series of articles for the Society's DAHLIAS magazine on the history of many of the cultivar names. The table Name Nook lists breeder prefixes commonly found in Australia.

Members can view the DAHLIAS Name Nook articles from the Members Area.

There are no formal rules for naming new varieties in Australia.  The National Dahlia Society of the UK publishes rules for Naming Dahlias.  Most Australian-bred dahlia names are consistent with these.