# Simple question: Killer Whale or Orca? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2012, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124 "2012-08-30T09:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/21 "2012-08-30T22:24:36Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > nitpick: _Orcinus orca_, Not _Orcus_. Okay, okay, you are right, but I guess you’ve done stupider things when late night drunk posting then getting a sea mammal’s genus wrong. It could have been worse, I could have said What do you call this fish? ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/22 "2012-08-30T23:47:56Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Either one interchangeably. This. When talking to the unwashed masses, I sometimes figure not everybody knows “Orca”, but almost everybody knows what you mean when you say “Killer Whale”. Now I need to go wash. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/23 "2012-08-31T00:24:43Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Killer whale. But I prefer “grampus” to both. It’s a much better word, with only the slight downside that nobody has a clue what you’re talking about. ISTM I’ve seen “grampus” before with this meaning, but I think it’s an archaic name for killer whale. Today, _Grampus_ is a genus name having only species in it, [Risso’s dolphin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risso%27s_dolphin#Taxonomy), _Grampus griseus._ Another great older name for the killer whale is _Orca gladiator._ Pilot whales (_Globicephala_ spp.) are also commonly called “whales” when in fact they are kinds of dolphins (which, of course, are small whales too). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/24 "2012-08-31T07:09:12Z")
I think of whales as “Baleen whales + sperm whales”, everything else is a dolphin. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/25 "2012-08-31T07:38:54Z")
There’s no point trying to coerce ‘whale’ into being a precise term. So ‘Killer whale’ is just fine. I agree with **Inigo** - using ‘Orca’ often (not always) comes across as pretentious. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/26 "2012-08-31T10:01:07Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > It’s an orca. But I say Killer whale. “Orca” makes you sound like a scientist which, if you’re not one, is pretentious. I don’t think it’s that pretentious to call them that, most people the least bit interested in them would know both names. It would be pretentious if you acted like this. Kid: Look Mah, I sees me a killer whale. You: Look Mah, I sees me a retard… they are Orcinus Orca. As I see it. Killer Whale: - Not at all pretentious or ecofreak - Easier to make plural. Killer Whales. (Orcas, Orca, Orcii, tricksy orcses) - Calling them “Killer” demonises a creature who almost never hurts humans. - They are actually dolphins not whales, (Screw the fact that Delphinae, is just a subdivision of toothed whale)" - If a sperm whale swallows a diver, it is not a killer whale? Orca - It is used in many languages and by the clasification system. (who studies sea mammal names in class) - It sounds nicer - It sounds more scientific - Animal lovers are less likely to lose respect for you. - The older generation might not know it. I voted for Orca ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/27 "2012-08-31T10:07:28Z")
I voted for Orca as well, for most of the reasons presented above. But, I watched _Free Willy_, and cheered at the end with my little ones. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/28 "2012-09-01T14:05:40Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > - The older generation might not know it. Actually, I think of that as a plus. [QUOTE=Mangetout] using ‘Orca’ often (not always) comes across as pretentious. [/QUOTE] Using the generic name for a thing is pretentious, now? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/29 "2012-09-01T16:04:47Z")
I use them interchangeably. PROTIP: Always include an “other” poll option. Even when you think it’s a clear-cut either/or. _Especially_ then, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/30 "2012-09-01T16:29:11Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Orca. It’s not a whale at all, for one thing. Sure it is. “Whale” is a lay term, not a scientific term, and so it means what people who use it think it means. And people lump Orcas into the “whale” category. I use both, but probably “Killer Whale” more often since I think most people understand that better. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/31 "2012-09-01T16:35:54Z")
Personally I prefer “killer whale”. It seems unnecessary to “change” the name (I don’t know which came first but “killer whale” seems the more common). A lot of animal names are illogical. Flying squirrels don’t fly, but so what? The word “orca” means a kind of whale in Latin anyway, so even if you want to make the “it’s not a whale” argument, “orca” is hardly more correct. > [@Namkcalb](#): > > …Orcii… What is it with this plural form? I mean I know you weren’t being entirely serious so this isn’t directed at you really. Actually it’s mostly a result of seeing the word “penii” come up all the time. My understanding is that “-i” is normally the plural form of something ending in “-us”. If the word were “orcus” the plural could be “orci” but it would have to be “orcius” to be “orcii”. Hence the plural of “genius” can be “genii” but the plural of “genus” would be “geni” if the word were following the same rules (it doesn’t - the plural is “genera”). I’d guess the plural (if using Latin rules) would be “orcae”. > [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Are orcs just a larger variety of goblin, or are they something completely different? Wretched descendants of elves, yeah, but do the goblins fall into that category? I consider goblins and orcs to be largely the same, but goblins are “wild” and have their own societies where they rule themselves, whereas orcs are the ones who have been recruited for larger evil schemes beyond what they can accomplish under their own steam. Goblins are like Gauls and orcs are Gauls recruited by the Roman Empire. Or something. Interestingly I believe the words “orca” and “orc” do actually have the same origins. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/32 "2012-09-02T01:52:04Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Interestingly I believe the words “orca” and “orc” do actually have the same origins. Yes, if I remember correctly, Orcus was another name for Pluto, the god of death. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/33 "2012-09-02T02:12:14Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > [Orcii] > > What is it with this plural form? I mean I know you weren’t being entirely serious so this isn’t directed at you really. Actually it’s mostly a result of seeing the word “penii” come up all the time. My understanding is that “-i” is normally the plural form of something ending in “-us”. If the word were “orcus” the plural could be “orci” but it would have to be “orcius” to be “orcii”. Hence the plural of “genius” can be “genii” but the plural of “genus” would be “geni” if the word were following the same rules (it doesn’t - the plural is “genera”). “Virii” for “viruses” is the one that really annoys me… > [@Bozuit](#): > > I consider goblins and orcs to be largely the same, but goblins are “wild” and have their own societies where they rule themselves, whereas orcs are the ones who have been recruited for larger evil schemes beyond what they can accomplish under their own steam. Goblins are like Gauls and orcs are Gauls recruited by the Roman Empire. Or something. I always figured _The Hobbit_ was written for a younger audience, so he used a word children would be familiar with… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/34 "2012-09-02T02:21:51Z")
I voted “killer whale”, but I use either. > [@Namkcalb](#): > > - Calling them “Killer” demonises a creature who almost never hurts humans. > - They are actually dolphins not whales, (Screw the fact that Delphinae, is just a subdivision of toothed whale)" > - If a sperm whale swallows a diver, it is not a killer whale? They may not cause harm to _humans_, but [killer whales](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale) have earned their name. They’re what are known as [apex predators](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apex_predator), meaning they have no natural predators. They’re at the top of the food chain in the ocean – and yes, that includes sharks. _Orcas will eat great whites_. They’re the bad asses of the ocean. The Discovery Channel should have Killer Whale Week. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/35 "2012-09-02T02:40:00Z")
Third option: “Depends.” If I’m watching Oscar the Orca as SeaWorld, it’s an Orca. If I’m in the water with one of the big sunsabitches, it’s a freakin’ Killer Whale. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/36 "2012-09-02T04:05:22Z")
Is “killer whale” the term that Sea World uses for Shamu? If not, did they used to? I grew up near a Sea World and we usually visited once a year. Sometimes on a school trip, sometimes as a tourist. I don’t ever remember being told anything about orcas, but knew Shamu was a killer whale. I could be wrong, but that’s how I remember it. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/37 "2012-09-02T05:01:23Z")
“Orca” is just political correctness gone mad. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/38 "2012-09-02T10:02:01Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > If I’m watching Oscar the Orca as SeaWorld, it’s an Orca. What if it’s called Kevin? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/39 "2012-09-02T10:18:49Z")
I use Orca, it sounds prettier and has less syllables. ETA: Also, I think in about third grade my teacher conditioned us with the incorrect “Orcas aren’t whales” thing and forced you to use “Orca” when talking about them, so that’s probably the main reason. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124/40 "2012-09-02T14:25:47Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > What if it’s called Kevin? As long as it’s safely behind thick aquariium glass (plexi?), or I’m at least not in the water with it, you can call it whatever you like. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simple-question-killer-whale-or-orca/633124.md?page=3)