# Famous people with animal names
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [May 19, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555 "2025-05-19T19:05:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/1 "2025-05-19T19:05:55Z")
I recently got interested in people whose names are also the common names of animals. So, of course, I made a list and did some contemplating. Thus I came up with these rules about this list. (It seems whenever I do one of these lists, there’s someone who doesn’t like my rules. There’s nothing wrong with that, feel free to make up your own list with your own rules. But please don’t complain about my rules here.)
1. The list is restricted to notable people, which means that I’ve heard of them. Or if you’ve heard of someone who qualifies, I’ll probably accept them too. But if you only know of them because they have a Wikipedia page or they turned up in a google search, that’s not good enough.
2. Only actual people; no fictional or mythological people/beings.
3. Only English names of actual animals. That means Dragon, Pegasus, and other fictional animals are right out. Not that I came up with any people with such names, but I’m sure there’s some out there. Also, animal names from other languages are out.
4. People who have animals named after them are also right out. That means Lechmere Guppy, who the fish was named after, is not accepted. For that matter, anyone else named Guppy is also out unless you can find evidence they were actually named after the fish.
5. Names of subsets of animals, such as those of young, males, or females, are accepted.
6. Only one person for each animal name is needed. There’s lots of people named Fox, for example, but I only need one of them.
The names seem to fall into five groupings, four of which make up a hierarchy. That is, I prefer names that belong to higher levels of the hierarchy. In descending order of desireableness, here are the five groupings:
## **Given names**
**Fawn** Hall (accomplice)
**Jay** North (actor)
**Robin** Williams (comedian, actor)
**Salmon** P. Chase (politician, jurist)
Henrietta **Swan** Leavitt (astronomer)
**Wolf** Blitzer (journalist)
## **Family names**
Greg **Bear** (author)
Larry **Bird** (basketball player)
Emma **Bull** (author)
Stephen **Crane** (author)
Francis **Drake** (privateer)
Leslie **Fish** (musician)
Michael J. **Fox** (actor)
Patsy **Mink** (politician)
Zebulon **Pike** (explorer)
Mike **Trout** (baseball player)
Harry **Turtledove** (author)
Christopher **Wren** (architect)
There are other animal names that are also family names. Here’s a list of some of them that have Wikipedia lists. (This is not an exhaustive list; I’m sure there are others.) I looked over these lists, but didn’t see any names I recognized. Perhaps someone out there will recognize someone on one of them. Let me know.
[Bass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_(surname))
[Dove](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dove_(surname))
[Duck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_(surname))
[Falcon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_(surname))
[Finch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finch_(surname))
[Hawk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawk_(surname))
[Lark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lark_(name))
[Sparrow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparrow_(surname))
## **Nicknames, pen names, stage names**
**Cat** Stevens (musician)
John **Cougar** Mellencamp (musician)
**Dog** the Bounty Hunter [Duane Chapman]
**Goose** Gossage (baseball player)
**Mouse** Davis (football coach)
Ken **Snake** Stabler (football player)
**Spider** Robinson (author)
Megan Thee **Stallion** (rapper)
Theodore **Sturgeon** (author)
**Tiger** Woods (golfer)
## **Alternative spellings**
Buster **Crabbe** (actor)
Ima **Hogg** (socialite, philanthropist)
William **Lyon** Mackenzie King (Canadian Prime Minister)
Alonzo **Stagg** (coach)
Jimmy **Wales** (internet entrepreneur)
## **Translations**
The fifth grouping is those whose actual name is in another language, but they’ve gone down in history by their translated name. The three most prominent are listed below. I’m sure there are many others. These names are not in the hierarchy above and so they may duplicate an animal name in one of the other lists.
Sitting **Bull** (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake) [Lakota]
Black **Hawk** (Mahkatêwe-meshi-kêhkêhkwa) [Sauk]
Crazy **Horse** (Tȟašúŋke Witkó) [Lakota]
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/2 "2025-05-19T19:10:49Z")
In baseball, in addition to Mike Trout:
- Steve Trout
- Paul “Dizzy” Trout (father of Steve)
- Tim Salmon
- Randy Bass
- Kevin Bass
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/3 "2025-05-19T19:11:26Z")
> [@dtilque](#):
>
> Perhaps someone out there will recognize someone on one of them. Let me know.
Tony Hawk is quite famous. Then we have Ethan and Maya Hawke for your alternative spellings. Andre Dawson was nicknamed “The Hawk.” 🙂
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/4 "2025-05-19T19:13:32Z")
Please note rule 6:
> [@dtilque](#):
>
> Only one person for each animal name is needed.
The exception being for the last group where duplicates of other names is allowed.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/5 "2025-05-19T19:15:40Z")
Dammit. And I hate it when people don’t read the OP. Guilty as charged for skimming.
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/6 "2025-05-19T19:17:04Z")
Don’t worry about it too much. I expected it. Should have emphasized it.
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/7 "2025-05-19T19:17:12Z")
Lark Voorhies
Dan Quayle
Peter Finch — Network
Donald “Duck” Dunn — bassist
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### Author:  [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/8 "2025-05-19T19:18:23Z")
Saul Bass - Well-known graphic designer of (among other things) movie titles. Story-boarded the shower sequence in _Psycho_ (1960).
Billie Dove - Popular silent film actress, e.g., _The Black Pirate_ (1926).
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### Author:  [@DETXL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DETXL)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/9 "2025-05-19T19:19:21Z")
You have Robin covered already, but Robin Fox’s fellow \ “anthropologist” Lionel Tiger (_The Imperial Animal_) gives you another animal for surnames, at least.
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### Author:  [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/10 "2025-05-19T19:19:26Z")
> [@dtilque](#):
>
> 1. People who have animals named after them are also right out. That means Lechmere Guppy, who the fish was named after, is not accepted. For that matter, anyone else named Guppy is also out unless you can find evidence they were actually named after the fish.
Does that rule apply to anyone who’s named after an animal that’s named
after a person ?
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### Author:  [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/11 "2025-05-19T19:24:00Z")
> [@pjd](#):
>
> Does that rule apply to anyone who’s named after an animal that’s named
> after a person ?
For family names, yes. The family name existed before the animal was named. For given names and nicknames, if you can show the naming went the other way (i.e. animal to human) then they’re acceptable.
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/12 "2025-05-19T19:25:46Z")
Seal (Kiss From A Rose)
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/13 "2025-05-19T19:28:39Z")
Bear Grylis
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/14 "2025-05-19T19:29:29Z")
Salman Rushdie(?)
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/15 "2025-05-19T19:33:59Z")
Florence Nightingale
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### Author:  [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/16 "2025-05-19T19:39:50Z")
Erich Segal (author)
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/17 "2025-05-19T19:40:58Z")
Lady Bird Johnson
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/18 "2025-05-19T19:41:13Z")
Sheryl Crow
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/19 "2025-05-19T19:41:38Z")
Buck Rogers
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### Author:  [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2025, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-with-animal-names/1018555/20 "2025-05-19T19:41:55Z")
Samantha Fish
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