Is there anything more adorable than a pet duckling? Who wouldn’t want to own a little ball of feathered fluff? Even when ducks grow out of their adorable duckling phase, they can be surprisingly characterful, with each possessing a distinct personality.
What better way to commemorate those personalities than with a great duck pet name?
Still, while we give plenty of attention to names for dogs, cats, and horses, the same is lacking for ducks.
So let’s correct that oversight and delve into great duck name ideas!
Famous Duck Names
Alongside mice and rabbits, ducks have carved out a nice niche for themselves as one of the most cartooned animals of all-time. They may not be in Playbill, but ducks fit the bill showbiz-wise.
If you doubt that, consider the fact that “Daffy” and (politics notwithstanding) “Donald” are known the world over as two of the most popular cartoon characters ever. What’s more, both Daffy and Donald have the distinction of playing “second fiddle” to their studios’ “main stars” in Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse, a fact both are all too aware of, so there’s definitely an underdog element to these duck names.
Of course, Disney and Warner Bros. didn’t stop there. Donald has a whole social circle with his girlfriend Daisy, his uncle Scrooge, and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louis, while Tiny Toons Adventures gave us Plucky Duck, a young duck following in Daffy’s footsteps. Disney went so far as to create a whole spinoff Indiana Jones-for-kids show for Scrooge and the nephews, Ducktales, which brought us more fun duck names such as Webbigail Vanderquack and Launchpad McQuack – and how can you say no to duck names like that?
Finally, there’s Wild Wing, the mascot for the Anaheim Ducks. Taken from the Disney animated TV show The Mighty Ducks featuring anthropomorphic ducks playing for the team while fighting aliens in space (yes, really), Wild Wing has long outlasted his wild 90s origins to become one of the most distinctive mascots in the NHL.
Funny Duck Names
Those last few duck names might sound a bit funny – and if so, rest assured, there are plenty more like them. All you have to do to create a great funny name is come up with some “eggselent” duck-related puns or clever plays on words.
Some great examples of funny duck names include:
- Turducken
- Aflac
- Fowl Play
- Fowler
- Christie Beakley
- Seducktive
- Ducktape
- Webster
- Quacker
- Eggspresso
- Hot Wings
- James Pond
- MacDuck
- Lame Duck
- Quackerjack
- The Not-So-Ugly Duckling
- Mother Ducker
Cute Duck Names
If there were a formula for determining cuteness, people would use it all the time. On the other hand, that might suck some of the magic and cuteness out of “cuteness.” Still, it’s worth looking at some of the tendencies that make something cute in the first place and see how it could be applied to your little ducklings.
For starters, you’ll want to think about what sounds we usually give to things to make them cute. In English, we often add a “y” to the end of a name to make it affectionate (for example, from Tom to “Tommy,” Bill to “Billy,” Jane to Janey, and so on) while Spanish uses “-ito” and “-ita” suffixes for the diminutive form.
Adding those suffixes to names can help make them cuter for ducks as well.
What is another surefire way to create a cute duck name? Using the name of a food product and applying it to your duckling. Granted, not every food name is cute (“Campbell’s Tomato Soup” hardly exudes cuteness) but even in cases such as that, you’ll likely have a funny name on your hands. Meanwhile, food names such as “Oreo,” “Cookie,” “Snickers,” “Sprinkles,” and other sweet-sound sweeter-tasting names are a recipe for cuteness.
Duck Names for Males
Granted, we live in an age where gender norms are falling fast, and with good reason, but if you’re looking for a stereotypical “boys name” for your little duckling, you can get the biggest comedic effect out of it by going with over the top with hilariously way too big, way too tough names, or celebrity names which match that.
Bubba! Rocky! Vin Diesel! Schwarzenegger! Stallone!
Those are clearly names that sound way too “big” for a little boy duck or duckling, but that’s what makes them so funny and adorable.
Duck Names for Females
You want to follow the same philosophy when giving female ducks names. Celebrity names can be a great way to give your duckling more regal-sounding names, such as Charlotte, Cleopatra, Genevieve, and Regina. On the flip side, you might wish to embrace names that are more playful such as Gretchen or Becky. Throw in some pop star names such as Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Beyonce, and Lady Gaga, and you have a fantastic mixture of female duckling names ranging from silly to sassy.
Duck Names for Duos and Trios
There are so many great famous duos and trios to apply their names to your ducks, you want to think about what qualities they have that are mirrored in the ducks or ducklings. For example, if you have one fat and one thin duck, you might consider “Abbott and Costello” or “C-3PO and R2-D2.” If you have two female duckling rebels, Thelma and Louise or Daria and Jane might be fitting, and if you have one golden-yellow duckling and one darker-brown one, Anna and Else is a natural fit.
A fan of literature?
Romeo and Juliet, Elinor and Marianne (of Sense and Sensibility Dashwood fame), Frodo and Sam from Lord of the Rings, and Sherlock and Watson can be great choices. If you have a trio on your hands, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis from The Three Musketeers (bonus points for adding d’Artagnan) or Harry, Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter could be great.
If you’re more sci-fi minded, you might consider Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, and Luke, Han, and Leia could work well for trios, or Rick and Morty or The Doctor and whichever Doctor Who companion you like most for a duo.
Sitcom casts for shows such as Friends or The Big Bang Theory can help fill out the names for larger groups.
Any number of different duck and duckling names can be cute or funny enough to be a real quack up.
