'Alsatian' originates from 'English', specifically from the region name 'Alsace', with the suffix '-ian' meaning 'of or relating to'.

'Alsatian' was formed in English to refer to people or things from Alsace, and later became associated with the dog breed during World War I, when 'German Shepherd' was renamed in Britain due to anti-German sentiment.

Initially, it meant 'a person from Alsace', but over time it also came to mean 'the German Shepherd dog breed' in British English.