Browse every name in Animal Names, or use the generator to discover one at random.

Animals, from the familiar to the obscure, and the stories behind the words we use for them.

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• A
• Aardvark
  earth pig
• Aardwolf
  earth wolf
• Agouti
  native South American name for the rodent
• Albatross
  diver (probable), reshaped to suggest 'white'
• Alligator
  the lizard
• Alpaca
  native Andean word for the domesticated camelid
• Anaconda
  possibly 'elephant killer' (heavily disputed etymology)
• Anteater
  the animal that eats ants
• Antelope
  flower-eyed (disputed)
• Armadillo
  little armored one
• Axolotl
  water monster/servant (referencing an Aztec god)
• B
• Badger
  uncertain
• Bandicoot
  pig-rat
• Barracuda
  uncertain native origin
• Basilisk
  little king
• Beaver
  the brown one
• Bilby
  native Australian name for the long-eared marsupial
• Binturong
  uncertain native origin
• Bison
  wild ox
• Bittern
  named for its deep booming call
• Bushbuck
  antelope of the bush
• C
• Camel
  uncertain, possibly related to 'to repay/carry'
• Capybara
  one who eats thin grass
• Caracal
  black ear
• Cassowary
  native Malay/Papuan name for the large flightless bird
• Chameleon
  ground lion
• Cheetah
  speckled, spotted one
• Chimpanzee
  uncertain
• Coati
  belt-nose (referencing its long, flexible snout)
• Cobra
  hooded snake
• Colugo
  uncertain native origin
• Cormorant
  sea raven
• Coyote
  coyote
• Crocodile
  pebble worm (traditional reading)
• D
• Dhole
  native South Asian name for the wild dog species
• Dingo
  native Australian name for the wild dog
• Dolphin
  womb fish (traditional link)
• Dormouse
  the sleeping mouse
• Dugong
  native Malay word, possibly meaning 'lady of the sea'
• Duiker
  the diving one
• E
• Echidna
  she-viper
• Egret
  diminutive term related to heron
• Eland
  originally meant elk, later reassigned to the African antelope
• Elephant
  ivory, elephant
• Elk
  native Germanic word for the large deer species
• Emu
  uncertain, possibly linked to a Portuguese bird term
• F
• Falcon
  the sickle-winged bird
• Fennec
  native Arabic word for the small desert fox
• Ferret
  little thief
• Fisher (animal)
  possibly named for a fur trade term, not for fishing
• Flamingo
  flame-colored
• Fossa
  native Madagascar name for the animal
• Fox
  possibly 'the tailed one'
• G
• Galago
  uncertain native origin
• Gaur
  native South Asian name for the wild ox
• Gazelle
  native Arabic word for the antelope
• Gecko
  named for its distinctive vocal click
• Genet
  uncertain origin
• Giraffe
  uncertain
• Gorilla
  hairy people (disputed origin)
• H
• Hedgehog
  the pig of the hedgerow
• Heron
  uncertain, likely imitative
• Hippopotamus
  river horse
• Hoatzin
  uncertain, native Central American origin
• Hoopoe
  named for the sound of its call
• Hyena
  pig-like
• Hyrax
  shrew, mouse-like creature
• I
• Ibex
  wild mountain goat
• Ibisbill
  the bird with an ibis-like bill
• Iguana
  native Caribbean word for the lizard
• Impala
  native Zulu word for the antelope species
• Indri
  possibly a mistranslation of a pointing phrase
• J
• Jabiru
  swollen neck (referencing the bird's throat pouch)
• Jackal
  native Persian word for the animal
• Jackdaw
  the common daw (a type of small crow)
• Jackrabbit
  rabbit with donkey-like ears
• Jaguar
  he who kills with one leap
• Jerboa
  native Arabic word for the small desert rodent
• Junco
  named for the reedy habitats where the bird was often found
• K
• Kagu
  native New Caledonian name for the flightless bird
• Kangaroo
  a name for a large kangaroo species
• Kestrel
  named for its harsh, rattling call
• Kinkajou
  uncertain, possibly a misapplied name
• Kittiwake
  named for its distinctive cry
• Kiwi
  imitative of the bird's call
• Koala
  no water
• Kookaburra
  named for its distinctive laughing call
• Kudu
  native Southern African name for the antelope
• L
• Langur
  native Indian name for the leaf-eating monkey
• Lechwe
  native Southern African name for the antelope
• Lemming
  uncertain native Scandinavian term
• Leopard
  lion-panther
• Llama
  llama
• Lorikeet
  little lory (small parrot)
• Loris
  clown, buffoon
• Lynx
  possibly related to a root for 'light' or 'to see'
• M
• Manatee
  breast, referring to the animal's mammary glands
• Margay
  uncertain native South American origin
• Markhor
  snake eater
• Marmot
  mountain mouse
• Meerkat
  lake cat (though meerkats are neither aquatic nor closely related to cats)
• Mongoose
  uncertain, native word for the animal
• Moose
  twig eater (commonly cited)
• Mudskipper
  the fish that skips across mud
• Muskox
  the ox with a musky scent
• N
• Nandu
  native South American name for the large flightless bird
• Narwhal
  corpse whale
• Newt
  originally simply 'ewt', a small lizard-like amphibian
• Nightjar
  the bird whose call jars the night
• Nilgai
  blue cow
• Numbat
  native Australian name for the marsupial
• Nyoka
  snake
• O
• Ocelot
  the Aztec word for jaguar, later misapplied to the smaller wild cat
• Octopus
  eight foot
• Okapi
  native Central African name for the forest giraffe relative
• Olm
  uncertain
• Opossum
  white animal
• Orangutan
  person of the forest
• Oribi
  uncertain native Southern African origin
• Oryx
  possibly named for its pointed, tool-like horns
• Ostrich
  great sparrow (ironically, for the largest living bird)
• Otter
  water animal
• Ovenbird
  named for its oven-shaped nest
• P
• Panda
  uncertain, possibly linked to a bamboo-related word
• Panda (red)
  uncertain, shared etymology with giant panda
• Pangolin
  the roller-upper
• Peafowl
  the peacock/peahen family name
• Pelican
  possibly named for its axe-like beak
• Penguin
  uncertain
• Pika
  native Siberian word for the small mountain-dwelling mammal
• Platypus
  flat foot
• Porcupine
  spiny pig
• Potoo
  named for the sound of its call
• Ptarmigan
  native Gaelic name for the grouse-like bird
• Q
• Quail
  named for its distinctive vocal call
• Quetzal
  precious, brilliant tail feather
• Quokka
  native name for the small marsupial
• Quoll
  native name for the spotted marsupial predator
• R
• Raccoon
  one who scratches/rubs with the hands
• Ratel
  possibly named for a rattling sound (disputed)
• Reedbuck
  antelope of the reed beds
• Rhinoceros
  nose-horn
• Ringtail
  the animal with a ringed tail
• Ringtail (possum)
  the possum with a ringed, curling tail
• Roadrunner
  the bird that runs along roads
• S
• Saiga
  native Russian/Central Asian name for the antelope
• Salamander
  uncertain, of ancient origin
• Saola
  spindle horns (referencing weaving tool shape)
• Simba
  lion
• Skunk
  one who squirts
• Springbok
  jumping antelope
• Squirrel
  shadow-tail
• Stoat
  uncertain origin
• Suricate
  an alternate historical name for the meerkat
• T
• Tamarin
  uncertain native South American origin
• Tanuki
  the raccoon dog
• Tapir
  native South American word for the animal
• Tarsier
  named for its unusually long ankle bones
• Tenrec
  native Madagascar name for the small mammal
• Topi
  uncertain native West African origin
• Toucan
  imitative of the bird's call
• Tui
  native Māori name for the honeyeater bird
• U
• Uakari
  native Amazonian name for the monkey
• Urchin (sea)
  hedgehog (by comparison of spiny appearance)
• Urial
  native name for the wild mountain sheep
• V
• Vicuña
  native Andean name for the wild camelid
• Vulture
  the tearing, plucking one
• W
• Walrus
  horse whale (probable)
• Warthog
  named for the wart-like facial bumps on males
• Wolverine
  little wolf-like animal (approximate)
• Wombat
  native name for the burrowing marsupial
• X
• Xenops
  strange face
• Xerus
  dry one
• Y
• Yak
  native Tibetan word for the male of the species
• Yapok
  native name for the water opossum
• Z
• Zebra
  wild ass (older word)
• Zebu
  uncertain
• Zorilla
  little fox