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.

• 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.

Santa Claus is thought to have originated from the real St. Nicholas, with the "flying Santa" having it's origins in a mix of Norse mythology and the Christmas story. What is known for sure is that the modern, red-suited Santa Claus developed out of a 1931 advertising campaign put on by the Coca Cola company, in which the jolly old gentleman was dressed in red and white, the colors of Coca Cola. This image has continued to the present day.

Saint Nicholas The story of Santa Claus is believed to have originated from the real St Nicholas, who was born in Lycia, Greece (now part of southern Turkey) during the third century.

St Nicholas/Nicolas was brought up in a devout Christian family. His parents taught him to be generous and to serve others. He had a reputation for secretly giving to the poor, and he was also known for his love for children, and his concern for sailors who often worked under some difficult conditions.

Nicholas was persecuted for his faith under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, and died on 6 December 343. After his death, a legend began which said that manna, the nutritious substance God miraculously provided to keep the Israelites alive during their 40 years in the desert, formed on his grave. It was said that this manna could heal ailments and illness.

During the years that followed, many people followed the teachings of St Nicholas, and stories of his incredible generosity and love for children gradually developed into the Santa Claus legend of today. 6 December is celebrated as the festival of St Nicholas.

The name Santa Claus is derived from the Dutch form of "Saint Nicholas". The Dutch in particular are credited with reviving St. Nicholas as the 'gift bringer'. The Dutch form of St Nicholas is Sinterklaas. When the Dutch settled New York, the tradition came with them. By 1773, the name had appeared in the American newspapers as "St A. Claus". Once the New York Historical Society was founded in 1804 with Nicholas as its patron saint, the legend was embellished with additions such as flying reindeer and a sleigh laden with gifts.

Later, more details were added, particularly with the work of illustrator Thomas Nast whose work on the Christmas editions of Harper's Magazine, between the 1860s and 1880s, really help developed the current image of Santa Claus. Drawn by Nast as round and jolly, Santa Claus was also depicted in his workshop at the North Pole, with a list of all the good and bad children. At this stage, Santa was dressed in a dark green coat.

Norse Mythology and Santa in a Flying Sleigh

The 'Father Christmas' figure in a flying sleigh is the result of a mixture of Norse mythology and the Christmas story. However, Santa Claus, as any child knows, really exists - or at least existed a long time ago and his spirit still lives on. 'Santa' actually means 'Saint' (where we get 'sanctify and Santa Maria from) and Claus (pronounced Klowss) is the shortened form of the name Nicholas. So Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas. Nicholas was born in Turkey, was a devout Christian and became Bishop of Myra (hence his red robes as 'Father Christmas'). He inherited a large fortune from his parents which he gave, in secret, to the poor. Legend has it that he once left three bags of gold in secret for a father who had three daughters but who would be forced to sell them into slavery as he was too poor to marry them off. He did this by dropping the bags down the chimney where they ended up in the fireplace in shoes (or socks?) drying there. This is where we get our custom of 'hanging up the stockings' from on Christmas Eve. As a result of his good life Nicholas was made a saint and became the patron saint of poor people and of pawnbrokers - hence the pawnbroker sign of three golden balls (representing the three bags of gold). Many miracles were attributed to Nicholas including stilling a storm at sea, and bringing back to life three boys murdered by a cruel innkeeper. As a result Nicholas was made patron saint of sailors and children. So at Christmas, when we give and receive presents as a reminder of the gifts given to the Christ Child by the Wise Men, let's not forget that St Nicholas's spirit of freely giving - in secret - lives on in the traditional Santa Claus.
The story behind Santa Claus is to do with St. Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. He was had a Christian upbringing and had wealthy parents. His mother and father died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering.

There was one story

that tell of a poor man with three daughters. In those days a young woman's father had to offer prospective husbands something of value (money etc.) The larger the dowry, the better the chance that a young woman would find a good husband. Without a dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry. This poor man's daughters, without dowries, were therefore destined to be sold into slavery. Mysteriously, on three different occasions, a bag of gold appeared in their home-providing the needed dowries. The bags of gold, tossed through an open window, are said to have landed in stockings or shoes left before the fire to dry. This led to the custom of children hanging stockings or putting out shoes, eagerly awaiting gifts from Saint Nicholas. Sometimes the story is told with gold balls instead of bags of gold. That is why three gold balls, sometimes represented as oranges, are one of the symbols for St. Nicholas. And so St. Nicholas is a gift-giver.

Hope that helps... we had an assembly on it yesterday at school. I'm sure if you Google story behind Santa you will find out more :) x

Which story:

• The original Saint Nicholas story was not made up, it is true, he was a bishop in the Greek church in what is now Turkey. He lived from 270AD to 343AD. He did much to help the poor and often arranged for toys, etc. to be given to children on church festivals like Christmas in the churches he was responsible for. But that is about as far as it goes.
• As these stories spread to other countries over the centuries other features got made up and added.
• The biggest additions and fabrications were added in the 19th and early 20th centuries by writers of children's stories and poems, as well as by advertising men.

No, Santa’s image in the American imagination goes back way further than Coca-Cola’s iconic Christmas ads.

Santa Claus came over to the United States with Dutch immigrants in the late 1700s. Although his image was constantly evolving, there are definitely instances of Santa depicted as a rotund, red-coat-wearing man with a long white beard that far predate Coke’s use of that image. The cola company started using Santa in its ads in the 1920s, and its most iconic representation comes from Haddon Sundblom’s hand-painted illustrations, which he did every Christmas season from 1931 to 1964.

This version of Santa was based heavily on Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (also known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"). Although Moore probably cribbed from other sources, his poem is thought to be mainly responsible for our modern idea of Santa as a jolly old elf.

Much credit also goes to political cartoonist Thomas Nast—he depicted Santa Claus in a variety of ways in the late 19th century and served as a major inspiration for Sundblom’s paintings.

So, no, it’s not accurate to say Coca-Cola “invented” our modern idea of Santa Claus, but it did help popularize that image.

Santa Claus has many elves. They speak all different languages just like Santa Claus. If there is an average of one present per child, there needs to be a lot of elves to make all of those toys. Most children even get two to three presents from Santa Claus. Name a name, and at least one elf probably has that name.

Jingle and Jangle are the names of the two elves who help Mrs. Claus in the movie, "The Year Without A Santa Claus". Elisa, Aaron, Roger, Ju-Jube, Francios, Gralofski, and Cotelle are a few one of the known names of elves. You can find more by searching the Internet.
They have many different names.

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

_______________________________________________________

Umm... ok...

Well, God did create everything but I think it was Santa. i mean, God doesn't name your dog or your cat. you do. God can't force you to name your dog Maxwell (well he could but I don't think he would...).
santa

There is no proof of exactly where he is and some think he lives in a magical place in the hearts and minds of all children who believe. Others have other opinions that are not yet fully confirmed. WikiAnswers contributors have given the following information:

• Santa Claus lives in Finland near the Arctic Circle. His house is about 8 kilometers north of Rovaniemi in Lapland. His address is:

  Joulumaantie 1

  96930 Arctic Circle Finland

• In North America it is said that Santa lives on the North Pole. However, I doubt that, because he most likely would have been spotted there by at least one of the many expeditions to the spot.
• Besides Finland, there are other suggested locations, such as: Norway (a place called Drobak), Sweden (Mora) and Denmark that all claim to have a place where Santa Claus lives. My first choice would be Finland, of course (they've done some good marketing for the idea), but the second would be Denmark (they claim the subject lives in Greenland, which is quite remote and cold and scarcely inhabited, so he might have a summer house there or something like this).
• I know he lives in the Arctic Circle, but people say he lives in the North Pole in Lapland, but Lapland is not in the North Pole, it's in the North of Norway, Sweden and Finland. He doesn't live in the North Pole, he lives in the Arctic Circle.
• Santa Claus is generally believed to live at the North Pole. We are afraid that we cannot tell you exactly where, as Santa made us promise to keep it top secret.
• We can verify that there is a US Post Office in Santa Claus, Indiana that does receive enormous amounts of letters addressed to Santa Claus. However, they will not release the information about to where they deliver the letters, even when investigators attempt to force them to provide that information under the Freedom of Information Act. Lawyers are working on this even as this is being written, but the issue is still under legal discussion and, therefore, there is a Santa information gag order that WikiAnswers is required to observe.

look out for saint Nikolas who is believed to be the figure behind Santa Claus, so in that View Santa Claus is Lycian (a region in Anatolia) which today is part of Turkey. Back then he has been recorded as part of a Greek colony and the speculation is that his nationality was Greek.

Santa is North Polian > u <
Santa can change the way he looks to be any nationality at all, and he is older than most of the nations that are functioning today anyway, so he doesn't really have a loyalty to one country over another. He just tries to fit in wherever he goes, to help make people happy.