A Comprehensive List Of Santa's Reindeer Names

Georgia Stone
Feb 15, 2024 By Georgia Stone
Originally Published on Nov 08, 2020
Santa and his reindeers in white snow



In Christmas legend, Santa Claus has a total of eight reindeers helping him through the night.

But folktales change. They have to adapt and reinvent for the modern crowd.

This naturally explains the roots of these new monikers. Here we have a list of all the names of Santa's reindeer from various sources.

Why not take a look at the Christmas Baby Names and Christmas Dog Names?

Reindeers From Twas The Night Before Christmas

It is known that the folktale of Santa Claus and his eight helper deers gained popularity from a poem called ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ (A Visit from St Nicholas) by Clement Clarke Moore in 1823. If Comet is the wise one and solo deer, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, are known to be close friends.

One more reindeer entered the original team in 1949, from the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Here is the list of the name of reindeers of Santa Claus.

1.Blitzen (Dutch origin) means “lightning”; variations are Blixem and Blixen.

2.Comet (Greek origin) means "The wise one".

3.Cupid (Latin origin)  "Affectionate".

4.Dasher (Scottish origin) means “purse maker”.

5.Dancer (Old French origin) The reindeer "who is the liveliest".

6.Donder (Afrikaans origin) It means “thunder”; variations are Donner and Dunder.

7.Prancer Santa's "friendly reindeer".

8.Rudolph (German origin) perhaps the most popular reindeer, known for his "red nose".

9.Vixen (Old English origin) "The one with magic tricks".

The Famous 12 Reindeer

Some names were taken from the pop culture and these were the famous 12 reindeers.

10.Annabelle (Hebrew origin) Known to have transformed from "a calf into a reindeer".

11.Arrow (Old Norse origin) "Rudolph’s cousin".

12.Blizzard – Blitzen’s daughter.

13.Chet (English origin) From a 2002 "Christmas film".

14.Chopper From a 2004 album.

15.Delphi (Greek origin) "Partner of Blitzen", the reindeer.

16.Leroy (Old French origin) "The redneck reindeer".

17.Mitzi (German origin) Introduced as "Rudolph’s mother".

18.Nixon (Irish origin) From a 2004 album.

19.Olive (Walsh origin)  Jack Russel Terrier named as Olive

20.Snowcone  "Another calf".

21.Zoey (Greek origin) Rudolph’s love interest.

Reindeers From The Life And Adventures Of Santa Claus

Here are the reindeer's names inspired by television shows.

22.Chantel (French origin) "Featured in South Park".

23.Clarice (Latin origin) "A TV character".

24.Fireball (Old English origin) "Blitzen’s son".

25.Fluffy – Featured in South Park.

26.Frost (Germanic origin) "Husband of Vixen, the reindeer".

27.Holly ( English origin) "Vixen’s daughter".

28.Horace (Latin origin) "Featured in South Park".

29.Max (Modern Latin origin) "Inspired by Dr. Seuss".

Kidadl has lots of great names articles to inspire you. If you liked Santa's Reindeer Names then why not take a look at Goat Names, or for something different take a look at The Three Musketeers Names.

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Written by Georgia Stone

Bachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

Georgia Stone picture

Georgia StoneBachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

Georgia is an experienced Content Manager with a degree in French and Film Studies from King's College London and Bachelors degree from Université Paris-Sorbonne. Her passion for exploring the world and experiencing different cultures was sparked during her childhood in Switzerland and her year abroad in Paris. In her spare time, Georgia enjoys using London's excellent travel connections to explore further afield.

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