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What are the names of Santa's reindeer?

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In Santa Claus, Reindeer, Christmas Music
  • Dasher
  • Dancer
  • Prancer
  • Vixen
  • Comet
  • Cupid
  • Donner
  • Blitzen
  • Rudolf


The most well-known names for the reindeer pulling Santa Claus' sleigh come from two sources. The names are:

  • Dasher
  • Dancer
  • Prancer
  • Vixen
  • Comet
  • Cupid
  • Donner
  • Blitzen
  • Rudolf

All but the last name come from the poem: 'Twas the Night before Christmas, commonly credited to Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863). It was actually written in 1807 by Major Henry Livingston, Jr. (1748-1828) with the title Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas. The names "Donner" and "Blitzen" were changed by Moore from "Dunder" and "Blixem." (See the related link for information on this poem's origin.)

The last name, Rudolph, comes from a story and coloring book Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer that Robert L. May created in 1939 for his employer, the Montgomery Ward department store. The copyright for the story was later turned over to May, and his brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, wrote the well-known song that further popularized the character.

Two of the reindeer names, Donner/Donder and Blitzen, are often the source of confusion, misspelling, and misinformation. The short facts are these: Donner/Donder and Blitzen were named ''Dunder'' and ''Blixem'' (the Dutch words for ''thunder'' and ''lightning'') in the original printing of "A Visit From St. Nicholas." In reprints of the poem, the names became ''Donder'' and ''Blixen,'' then ''Donder'' and ''Blitzen'' (the latter being German for ''lightning''). By the time Johnny Marks wrote "Rudolph," it was ''Donner'' and ''Blitzen'' (possibly because ''Donder'' was musically awkward). See Snopes.com for a thorough discussion.

 Other (modern) names for the reindeer: In modern times, other reindeer have been named in books, movies, and television shows but none have become well-known and generally accepted members of the team. These other names include: (Please add names to this list if you know of other examples, and please add the origin of the name if you know it.)
  • Fireball
  • Leroy
  • Pablo
  • Olive
  • Clarice


Here is more from WikiAnswers contributors:
  • Donner is German for "thunder," so Donner and Blitzen is effectively the same as Dunder and Blixem
    (Actually, Blitzen is German for "thunder," not Donner).
  • Donner does mean thunder in German whereas Blitzen means flash and the two together are used to describe thunder and lightning e.g. Es ist Blitz und Donner!
  • Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen
  • Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner (or Donder, or Dunder), and Blitzen (or Blixen, or Blixem) are the eight named by Clement C. Moore in "A Visit from St. Nicholas," and are the eight most commonly named. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, was "added to the team" after Johnny Marks wrote the popular song about him.
  • Various books, TV shows, and movies over the years have named other reindeer (such as Olive, Fireball, and Clarice). None of them have become part of the popular legend since Rudolph, though.
  • Santa's reindeer are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.
  • Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen! Oh... and don't forget Rudolph!
  • Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen... and do you recall the most famous reindeer of all??? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and good thing for Rudolph all of the reindeers like him.
  • The ones that drive Santa's sleigh are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph. I bet Rudolph is younger than the others, though. There are other reindeer shown in books, TV shows and movies, but they don't drive the sleigh (unless one gets sick!).
  • Most of you know about the most common reindeer Rudolph, but Santa has a reindeer called Olive. It wasn't an error as the people thought, but it is in fact one of his reindeer's names. The other ones are: Dasher, Donner, Comet, Cupid.
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Who named Santa's reindeer?

The names of Santa's reindeer are from the poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas", more commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas," written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1823. . It is also a legend that Billy Mays named the reindeer. God named Santa's reindeer _________________________________________… (MORE)

Who is the female reindeer in Santa's sleigh?

Comet . If you go by the names, then Vixen would be the female. However, if you look at all of the illustrations of Santa's sleigh-pulling reindeer, they still have their antlers during their Christmas Eve ride. If you were to answer this trivia question according to zoology, then ALL of Santa's r… (MORE)

What do each of Santa's reindeer names mean?

Answer While the names don't really "mean" anything, Moore did name them poetically to imply how special they were. In general, you can look at the names like this: Dasher, Comet, Cupid: Names that imply speed, quickness, and flight ["Cupid" has wings]. Dancer, Prancer, Vixen: Names that imply grac… (MORE)

What are Santa's reindeer named?

~Santas reindeer are named~ . Ruldolph/Ruldolf {people spell it differently} . cupid . comet . blixen . dancer . vixen . prancer . dasher . donner . THATS ALL THE REINDEER {9}

What are Santa's reindeer called?

Santa's reindeer are: Dasher Dancer Prancer Vixen Comet Cupid Donner Blitzen Rudolf and an easier way to remember it is the lines from the poem " AVisit From St Nicolas" which goes Now Dasher, Now Danser, Now Prancer and Vixen, On Comet, On Cupid, On Donner and Blitzen. Even though Rudolph isn't … (MORE)

How do you spell the names of Santa's reindeer?

Dasher and Dancer , Prancer and Vixen , Cupid and Comet , and Dunder and Blixem are the original spellings for the names of Santa's reindeer in 'AVisit from St Nicholas' of 1823. But subsequently, 'Dunder' changesto 'Donder' and then 'Donner'. Then 'Blixem' changes to 'Blitzen'later on too… (MORE)

What is the order of Santa's reindeer?

Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall...the most famous reindeer of all...Rudolph Actually: Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.

Who was Santa's first reindeer?

Well, Santa always calls Comet first. My brother thinks Comet was the first, but its definently Donder, also known as Donner. The second was Blitzen. I hoped my information helped!

What are the personalities of Santa's reindeer?

Well, the personalities of Santa's reindeer vary. But I reckon they must have some relation to their name in one way or another. Here's what I reckon:. Dasher (male) has incredible speed and stamina and is regarded as the fastest reindeer. That is why he is up front.. Dancer (female) is the most g… (MORE)

Are Santa's reindeer boys or girls?

All the reindeer on Santa's team are male except for one. Vixen is the only female. She is in the second pairing from Santa, right beside Prancer.

What are the different combinations of Santa's reindeer?

There are 40,320 ways to rearrange the 8 reindeer. This is a permutation of 8 items taken 8 at a time with no repetition allowed, ie. the same reindeer can't be used more than once in any arrangement. The equation for this permutaion is P=n!/(n-r)!, where the number of items (reindeer), n=8, and the… (MORE)

Santa's reindeer song?

There are a couple of songs that could pertain to being Santa'sreindeer song. One is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and the otheris Santa and His Reindeer by Rick Saucedo.

Who named Santa's eight reindeer?

The names originated from a 1823 poem by an anonymous writer titled "The Night Before Christmas". The original names were: . Dasher and Dancer . Prancer and Vixen . Comet and Cupid . Dunder and Blixem . The last two names were later changed to Donder (aka Donner) & Blitzen. The popular seas… (MORE)

What city in Wisconsin is named after one of Santa's reindeer?

The only city or village in Wisconsin that shares the same name as one of Santa Clause's reindeer is Rudolph, Wisconsin. However, the city was named after Rudolph Hecox, the first child born there. So to most accurately answer your question, there is no city in Wisconsin named after one of Santa's… (MORE)

How many hooves does Santa's reindeer have?

The question is unclear as many people use "hoof" differently. Someuse it to mean the entire foot, while others use it to mean justthe toes. Reindeer have 2 large toes and 2 small toes on each foot. If you are using "hooves" to mean feet, they each have four, justas any other reindeer would. Total,… (MORE)

Name all 12 of Santa's reindeer?

Dasher . Dancer . Prancer . Vixen . Comet . Cupid . Donner . Blitzen . Rudolf the red nosed reindeer There were only the above as I recollect, not 12.

Are all of Santa's reindeers boys?

No. Vixen is female. Yes all of the raindeers are boy because look at these names.DASHER,DANCER,PRANER,VIXEN,COMET,CUPID,DONNER,BLITZEN,AND RUDOLF.All of those names sound like boy names for raindeers.

Do Santa's reindeer die?

No, Santa's reindeer do not die. Keep in mind that Santa's reindeer are magic reindeer, so they aren't your ordinary reindeer. Since his reindeer are magic, they do not die.

Who is Santa's biggest Reindeer called?

There are 8 reindeers that carry Santa's sleigh, 9 if you include Rudolf. All of them are the same size but if you listen to all the jingles and folk tales you'll hear that Rudolf was the extra reindeer, and the most special of them all. He was Santa's favourite and he led the reindeers to all desti… (MORE)

What do each of Santa's reindeer names mean in dutch?

We don't have official Dutch names for Santa's reindeer, but I'lltranslate them literally for you. Dasher = Sprinter Dancer = Danser Prancer = Huppelaar (this actually means "Skipper" (as inskipping around), but the Dutch translation for Prancer would be"Rondspringer" and that sounds just awful.… (MORE)

Is Comet one of Santa's reindeer?

Yes. The commonly cited names of the reindeer are Dasher, Dancer,Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. They are basedon those used in the 1823 poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas"