# Animal surnames
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 16, 2020, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902 "2020-04-16T06:13:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/1 "2020-04-16T06:13:04Z")
For some reason I was thinking about this today. There are, in English at least (don’t know about other languages), certain animal-related surnames that are common, and others that just don’t seem to exist at all.
The most obvious: Fox, Wolf, and Bird. Those were the first three that I could think of off the top of my head. Thinking about it some more, I have known people with the last name Badger and Beaver. I’ve also known someone with the last name Deer. I’ve known at least one person with the last name Pigg, though have never seen anyone with just “Pig.” I’ve seen the name Bull, and I’ve seen the name Lyon, but not Lion. (This might be derived from the city of Lyon in France, as some English surnames have French origin, and not have any relation to the animal.)
I have _never_ known, or even heard of, anyone with the last name Dog, Cat, Cow, Horse, Donkey, Squirrel, Mouse, Rat, Bear, Snake (or any sub-variety of snake), or actually any reptile or amphibian at all.
There are, on the other hand, a lot of surnames related to fish. Fish itself is a surname, but also Salmon, Trout, Pike, Bass, and there are probably others I’m not thinking of. I have _actually read_ about people with all of those types of fish as surnames.
Again, I am only talking about the English language here as I am sure there are many animal surnames names in other languages as well, but I’ll leave that to others.
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/2 "2020-04-16T06:17:10Z")
Hogg, Hawks, Crabbs, Collie, Swan
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/3 "2020-04-16T06:22:22Z")
Shepherd, Doe, Crow
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### Author:  [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/4 "2020-04-16T06:30:38Z")
I know a family whose last name is Bear.There are also quite a few Cranes. And Horsefall is a legit surname.
Then there are famous people like these:
Walter Pigeon.
Jonathan Swift
Eddie Rabbit
John Jay
Joe Buck
Are you including animal names from other languages? I know you said names in English, but plenty of people whose last names are Adler seem English.
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### Author:  [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/5 "2020-04-16T07:04:44Z")
> [@Lamoral](#):
>
> I have _never_ known, or even heard of, anyone with the last name Dog, Cat, Cow, Horse, Donkey, Squirrel, Mouse, Rat, Bear, Snake (or any sub-variety of snake), or actually any reptile or amphibian at all.
Well, there was that chap Monty Python :).
Other examples: Hare, Pheasant, Partridge, Cox, Stallion, Eagle, Dove, Drake, Batt, Herring, Lamb, Bullock.
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### Author:  [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/6 "2020-04-16T07:15:48Z")
My maternal grandmother’s family name means “falcon” in Lithuanian.
Trivia: Martin Crane, from “Frasier” has bird names for both first and last.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/7 "2020-04-16T07:28:44Z")
I can think of a Hart, Bear, Tits, Fisher, Mouse ([nickname only](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Mouse)), Catt, …
For snakes there is (del) Naja
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/8 "2020-04-16T07:55:59Z")
There was also Nate Dogg, another nickname of course.
Charles Mole
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### Author:  [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/9 "2020-04-16T08:34:25Z")
I know a “Lion.” I can’t say it wasn’t ever spelled differently and changed, though.
The director of the Universal films _Frankenstein_ &\* The Bride of Frankenstein\* was James Whale.
“Caleb” is sometimes a last name, and in Hebrew, this means “dog,” but I don’t know if there is some other derivation for Caleb as a last name.
Caleb in the Torah was in fact named “Dog,” but it wasn’t an insult; dogs were tough, loyal, perseverant, and strong. Definitely the qualities you wanted in a companion in a mission. Anyway, there’s no question that when a person’s first name is Caleb, after the spy in the Torah, the name is Dog.
“Cat” may not be a last name, but Katt absolutely is. And so is Katz. Jewish people named Katz are usually cohanim, and the name means not just “cohen,” but “cohen hagadol,” in otherwords, Katz denotes not just a Jewish priest, but the High Priest. I have no idea whether Katt is a vatiant of Katz, though.
I’ve never seen just “Duck” as a last name, but “Duckworth” is very common in Indiana. And, of course, Hoosiers gave the country J. Danforth Quayle.
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### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/10 "2020-04-16T09:32:53Z")
Samuel Colt
Nicola Sturgeon
j
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/11 "2020-04-16T10:47:09Z")
I had Italian coworkers named Gatti (Cats) and Topi (Mice). You could see how hard people were working at NOT making the obvious jokes.
In Spanish I don’t know either but I know Ratón (Mouse) and there’s a model and TV host called Mazagatos (whether it means “bunch of cats” or “clubs cats”, or is a merger of two names, I don’t know).
The “Spanish” lastname Lobo is a favorite of non-Spanish speaking writers for their Hispanic baddies. 'cept it’s not Spanish: it’s from Portugal. The Spanish version is Lope or Lopez, which don’t happen to match the name of the animal but are derived from its Latin name.
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/12 "2020-04-16T12:07:17Z")
I have a friend whose last name is Finch.
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### Author:  [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/13 "2020-04-16T12:21:49Z")
Cowe and Cowes and Bull. John Bull is/was the Uncle Sam of England.
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### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/14 "2020-04-16T12:24:58Z")
> [@DPRK](#):
>
> I can think of a Hart, Bear, Tits, Fisher, Mouse ([nickname only](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Mouse)), Catt, …
>
> For snakes there is (del) Naja
Wait a minute…has everyone missed the fact that \*\*DPRK \*\*knows someone named “Tits”?
mmm
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/15 "2020-04-16T14:49:37Z")
I went to school with a girl named Nancy Hogg. She married James Butt.
After that she was Nancy Hogg-Butt. Unfortunate.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/16 "2020-04-16T14:56:10Z")
My friends had a pet quail named Anthony.
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/17 "2020-04-16T15:07:05Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#):
>
> Wait a minute…has everyone missed the fact that \*\*DPRK \*\*knows someone named “Tits”?
He’s Belgian, though, so I never claimed his name literally has to do with birds.
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> My friends had a pet quail named Anthony.
There is a skateboarder named Anthony Hawk.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/18 "2020-04-16T15:08:39Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#):
>
> I went to school with a girl named Nancy Hogg. She married James Butt.
> After that she was Nancy Hogg-Butt. Unfortunate.
The “First Lady of Texas” was [Ima Hogg](https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/2016/02/06/44255/texas-originals-ima-hogg/).
Apart from animal surnames, this is as good a time as any to bring up the [Animal Name Baseball All-Stars](http://mlb.com/cut4/baseball-all-animal-team-c282120974), who include “Goose” Gossage, “Turkey” Stearnes and “Rabbit” Maranville.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/19 "2020-04-16T16:02:04Z")
There’s also the famous John Doe, who seems to pop up just about everywhere. 😃
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animal-surnames/851902/20 "2020-04-16T16:03:29Z")
Time-out duplicate.
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