How Santas Reindeer Got Their Names

How Santa's Reindeer Got Their Names If you ask the average American to name Santas reindeer, the first name to pop up will probably be  Rudolph  (the Red-Nosed Reindeer). The next two would no doubt be  Donner  and  Blitzen. But is this correct? And where did these names come from? Origin of Reindeer Names The popular Christmas song  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer† was a 1949 hit tune sung and recorded by Gene Autry and based on a character originally created by a marketing team for Montgomery Ward in 1939. The lyrics were written by  Johnny Marks, who borrowed most of the reindeer names from the classic 1823 poem â€Å"A Visit from Saint Nicholas† (more commonly known as â€Å"Twas the Night before Christmas†) by Major Henry Livingston, Jr. (Historically,  Clement Clarke Moore has been credited for the poem, but most scholars now believe Livingston to have been the poet.) The original poem refers to â€Å"eight tiny reindeer† (Rudolph actually makes it nine tiny reindeer) and names them: â€Å"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!/On, Comet! on, Cupid! on Dunder and Blixem!† Later Versions Dunder and Blixem? Youve always heard Donner and Blitzen, right? The former were Dutch names written into the poem by Livingston. Only in later versions, modified by Moore in 1844, were the two names changed to German:  Donder  (close to  Donner, thunder) and  Blitzen  (lightning), to better rhyme with Vixen. Finally, for some reason, in the song â€Å"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer† Marks turned Donder into Donner. Whether Marks made the change because he knew German or because it just sounded better is uncertain.* In any event, there is certainly some logic in using German  Donner  and  Blitzen  (thunder and lightning) for the names. Since 1950 or so, the two reindeer names have been  Donner  and  Blitzen  in both â€Å"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer†Ã‚  and the â€Å"A  Visit  from Saint Nicholas.