Santa's Reindeer Names in English and French (and the Caribou Connection)

Santa's reindeer names in order are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, plus Rudolph at the front. The first eight come from the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” first printed in the Troy Sentinel in New York on December 23, 1823.¹

In Quebec and across French-speaking Canada, the Père Noël's team has French names too: Tornade, Danseur, Fringant, Furie, Comète, Cupidon, Tonnerre and Éclair.² And here is a very Canadian twist: the animals pulling the sleigh are the same species as the caribou on our 25-cent coin.

Below you'll find both sets of names, what they mean, where Rudolph came from, the reindeer that really live in Canada, and the fun fact that settles the playground debate: Santa's reindeer are probably girls.

Santa's reindeer names in order, in English and French

The order comes straight from the poem, where Santa calls out his team by name. The French names are the ones listed on French Wikipedia; they are translations, so books and films may use slightly different ones.²

The first six English names haven't changed since 1823.¹ The poem was published anonymously. Clement Clarke Moore, a New York professor, claimed it in 1844, although some scholars argue that Henry Livingston Jr. wrote it.³

What do the reindeer names mean?

Most names describe how the reindeer move: quick, light and lively. Vixen is the word for a female fox, Comet races through the sky, and Cupid is the Roman god of love. The two last names are the most interesting, because they're not English at all.

Donner and Blitzen: thunder and lightning

In the first printing, reindeer seven and eight were called Dunder and Blixem, from the Dutch words for thunder and lightning. Moore changed them to Donder and Blitzen in 1844, and Donner became the standard spelling in the early 20th century.¹ The French versions, Tonnerre and Éclair, simply say thunder and lightning again.²

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: the 9th reindeer

Rudolph was created by Robert L. May, a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store in Chicago. The store gave the story away to kids as a Christmas booklet in 1939, about 2.5 million copies that first year and 6 million by 1946.⁴ In January 1947 the company transferred the copyright to May himself.⁴

Songwriter Johnny Marks turned the story into a song, and Gene Autry's 1949 recording made it a hit.⁴¹ Then came television: the stop-motion special by Rankin/Bass premiered on NBC on December 6, 1964, and it is the longest-running Christmas TV special. NBC aired it again for its 60th anniversary in 2024.⁵ Canadian kids have grown up with it on their screens every December ever since.

Why is Rudolph's nose red?

Science has an answer. In 2012, researchers from the Netherlands and Norway published a study in the BMJ showing that reindeer noses have about 25 percent more blood vessels than human noses. The rich blood supply keeps the nose from freezing and helps regulate brain temperature, so a reindeer nose really can look red.⁶

Caribou: Canada's reindeer

Reindeer and caribou are the same species, Rangifer tarandus. In North America, the wild animals are called caribou and the domesticated ones reindeer.⁷ The word caribou reached English through French, from the Mi'kmaq word qalipu, meaning “snow shoveler,” because the animals paw through snow to find food.⁷

You can find a caribou in your wallet: the 25-cent coin shows a caribou head designed by Canadian sculptor Emanuel Hahn, with the design dating from 1937.⁸ Next time you get a quarter back as change, let your child hold it and say: “That's one of Rudolph's relatives.”

Wild caribou are not doing as well as Santa's team. Boreal woodland caribou were designated Threatened in Canada in 2002, and the George River herd of Labrador and northern Quebec, once 800,000 to 900,000 animals in the 1990s, was estimated at fewer than 9,000 by January 2018.⁷

Real reindeer in Canada: the great drive to the Mackenzie Delta

Canada even has herded reindeer of its own. In December 1929, a herd set out from Alaska led by Andrew Bahr, a Lapland herder, on a journey of about 2,400 kilometres toward the Mackenzie Delta in the Northwest Territories. It took nearly five years. On March 6, 1935, the herd was corralled at Reindeer Station, with 2,370 animals of the 3,442 that had set out.⁹

That herd's descendants are still managed in the North today, and herding there has grown into a multi-million-dollar industry.⁹ So when kids ask whether Santa's reindeer are real, you can answer: yes, and some of them live in the Northwest Territories.

Are Santa's reindeer girls?

Look at any picture of Santa's team: they all have antlers. That's a clue. Male reindeer usually shed their antlers before Christmas, while pregnant females keep theirs until they give birth in spring, according to Greg Finstad of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Reindeer Research Program.¹⁰

So a team with antlers on Christmas Eve is most likely made of females, or of castrated males (steers), which also keep their antlers longer. Either way, kids love the idea that Comet and Cupid might be girls.

Santa's reindeer: more fun for the season

Kids who love the reindeer usually want to write to the North Pole. Canada Post has answered Santa's mail since 1974, and in 1982 it extended the program across the country; letters use the postal code H0H 0H0.¹¹ Our guide to the Santa Claus address has the details. On Christmas Eve you can watch the whole team fly with our Santa tracker, and if your child is asking big questions, read is Santa real?

Santa's reindeer: frequently asked questions

What are Santa's reindeer names in order?

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, in the order of the 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Rudolph is usually added as the ninth reindeer at the front of the team.

What are Santa's reindeer called in French?

French Wikipedia lists Tornade, Danseur, Fringant, Furie, Comète, Cupidon, Tonnerre and Éclair, with Rudolphe in front. Translations vary between books and films, so you may meet other versions at school or in a Quebec storybook.

Are reindeer and caribou the same animal?

Yes. Both are Rangifer tarandus. In North America the wild animals are called caribou and the domesticated ones reindeer.

Which animal is on the Canadian quarter?

A caribou. Sculptor Emanuel Hahn designed the caribou head in 1937, so the 25-cent coin in your pocket is a good way to show kids a Canadian reindeer cousin.

Are there real reindeer in Canada?

Yes. A herd of about 2,400 animals reached the Mackenzie Delta in the Northwest Territories in 1935 after a long drive from Alaska, and its descendants are still herded there.

Are Santa's reindeer boys or girls?

If they still have antlers on Christmas Eve, very likely girls (or castrated males). Male reindeer usually drop their antlers before Christmas, while pregnant females keep theirs until spring.

Where did Rudolph come from?

Robert L. May wrote the story in 1939 for the Montgomery Ward department store in Chicago, which gave away about 2.5 million copies that year.

Sources

1. 1Wikipedia: Santa Claus's reindeer (en.wikipedia.org)
2. 2Wikipedia (French): Rennes du Père Noël (fr.wikipedia.org)
3. 3Wikipedia: A Visit from St. Nicholas (en.wikipedia.org)
4. 4University of Utah: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (lib.utah.edu)
5. 5NBC Insider: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, what to know (nbc.com)
6. 6ScienceDaily: Why Rudolph's nose is red (2012) (sciencedaily.com)
7. 7Wikipedia: Caribou (en.wikipedia.org)
8. 8Wikipedia: Quarter (Canadian coin) (en.wikipedia.org)
9. 9Canada's History: The Great Canadian Reindeer Project (canadashistory.ca)
10. 10NBC News: Santa's reindeer are probably all girls (2008) (nbcnews.com)
11. 11Wikipedia: Canada Post (en.wikipedia.org)