Why does the name of ハチ公 【こう】 include Katakana instead of Hiragana?


It seems strange because the name ハチ公 【こう】 combines Katakana and Kanji in one
word.




The nickname ハチ公 consists of the name ハチ followed by the suffix 〜公.

_Katakana_ is a common choice for writing names, even if the actual name is
written with _kanji_.

The suffix 〜公 is described in 大辞林 as follows

> **こう** 【公】
>
> ［一］（名） [...]
>
> ［二］（代） [...]
>
> ［三］（接尾）  
>  ①身分の高い人の名に付けて、敬意を表す。「家康━」  
>  ②人や動物の名前に付けて、親しみ、あるいはやや軽んずる気持ちを表す。「忠犬ハチ━」「熊━」

The suffix 〜公 is added to the names of people (of high standing) to show
respect or (by extension) to names of people or animals to express
affection/intimacy.




The nickname ハチ公 consists of the name ハチ followed by the suffix 〜公.

_Katakana_ is a common choice for writing names, even if the actual name is
written with _kanji_.

The suffix 〜公 is described in 大辞林 as follows

> **こう** 【公】
>
> ［一］（名） [...]
>
> ［二］（代） [...]
>
> ［三］（接尾）  
>  ①身分の高い人の名に付けて、敬意を表す。「家康━」  
>  ②人や動物の名前に付けて、親しみ、あるいはやや軽んずる気持ちを表す。「忠犬ハチ━」「熊━」

The suffix 〜公 is added to the names of people (of high standing) to show
respect or (by extension) to names of people or animals to express
affection/intimacy.

