Looking for an Easter-themed name for a new baby? Have you been craving Cadbury eggs since the pregnancy test came back positive?
Okay, it’s a little – or maybe a lot silly – to think about narrowing your possible name list down to famous rabbit names.
But believe it or not, it isn’t a bad list. They’re zippy, retro, daring, even classic. You could safely name triplets from the list and no one would guess that you were inspired by the furry little creatures.
Famous bunny names like Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail are all perfect for pets. But they’re off the list for our children, even though famous rabbit names are often pretty recognizable.
We all know the Energizer Bunny, but it’s short on name inspiration for a real life child. Likewise, The Secret Life of Pets gave us Snowball, a cute choice for a white-furred pet … but not so much for a human.
Arguably the most famous rabbits of our time often don’t have names at all. Bugs Bunny, Rabbit from Winnie-the-Pooh, Bambi‘s Thumper, and the White Rabbit Alice meets when she falls down the rabbit hole all fall short of given name status.
Still, rabbits symbolize lots of positive things – fertility, yes, but good fortune, too. The rabbit is one of twelve signs in the Chinese Zodiac, described as “elegant, imaginative, and courteous.”
Read on for some of the best names worn by bunnies over the years.
BASIL
Basil Stag Hare is a character from Brian Jacques’ Redwall series. This makes him a warrior bunny, despite the scholarly name.
BENJAMIN
That other bunny from the mind of Beatrix Potter, Benjamin Bunny is quite well known. There’s also a minor Sesame Street character known as Benny Bunny.
BAXTER
Arthur the Aardvark has a BFF named Buster Baxter. He’s a bunny. Let’s hear it for alliteration! Buster might not be the best given name, but Baxter feels like a jazzy possibility.
BRIAR
Disney World and Disneyland’s Splash Mountain attraction is gone, replaced by a New Orleans-themed ride centered around Princess Tiana. But for decades, the ride was all about a rabbit – Brer Rabbit. The “br’er” came from “briar,” as in the briar patch. The Br’er Rabbit stories came from Song of the South, a dated and problematic movie destined to remain in the Disney vault. But Briar feels like a rabbit-adjacent name regardless.
CLOVER
As with Briar, Clover is a logical choice. But it’s cemeted among famous rabbit names thanks to the talking bunny sidekick from Disney’s Sofia the First. Clover is, of course, a favorite food for bunnies.
COCO
A light brown rabbit from the Animal Crossing video game world.
DAISY
Like plenty of these names, Daisy feels like a default. But it does belong with famous bunny names. There’s a super smart bunny in PBS Kids’ cartoons nature cat. On a far darker note, in the video game franchise Doom, Daisy is the main character’s pet’s name.
DYLAN
A children’s classic in much of the English-speaking world, TV series The Magic Roundabout was originally produced in the 1960s. Dylan is their guitar-playing bunny, named after none other than Bob Dylan.
EDWARD
Have you read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane? It’s a charming tale of love and growth and change and serendipity. And it makes me love the name Edward, nevermind the sparkly vampires and all of those British kings.
FRANK
He’s part of the plot of Donnie Darko – a creepy bunny in a cult classic.
FRED, FREDERICK
In 2011’s Hop, E.B. is the future Easter Bunny, while Frederick “Fred” O’Hare is an ordinary human who gets mixed up with E.B. when he runs away from his birthright.
HARVEY
Harvey is the bookend to Donnie Darko’s Frank. The Jimmy Stewart movie Harvey was a playful tale of the reclusive Elwood P. Dowd and his invisible rabbit friend. All ends happily.
HAZEL, HOLLY, DANDELION, SILVER, BLUEBELL
This list comes from Watership Down – and while they’re all bucks – boys – in the book, many of these lean more feminine. Other rabbit names from the novel include Fiver, Acorn, Speedwell, and so on – all of which feel a little less human.
JASPER
Somehow, Jasper seems to belong with boy bunny names. Sure enough, 2023 children’s book Jasper the Rabbit and the Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds puts this name on the list.
JUDY
Inspired by Judy Hops, the determined rabbit who goes into law enforcement – and saves the day! – in 2016’s Zootopia.
LILY
In the Peter Rabbit TV series, Lily Bobtail is a light gray bunny in a red dress, known for her keen intelligence and love of reading.
LOLA
First introduced in 1996’s Space Jam, Lola Bunny is a girlfriend for Bugs Bunny. She’s continued to make regular appearances in various Looney Tunes productions. Ace, Lexi, Buster, and Babs have also featured in various Warner Brothers productions.
LUNA, IO
The Japanese anime Jewelpet hasn’t reached the US, but it just might. Luna and Io are two rabbit characters from the series.
MARCH
This might just work! March appears on this list thanks to Alice in Wonderland’s March Hare. He’s mad, of course, ranging from a daffy delirium in the 1951 animated classic to an eccentric cook in Tim Burton’s 2010 reboot. Looking for something more subtle? The March Hare’s given name is Thackery.
MAX and RUBY
Rosemary Wells’ popular children’s books have become an animated television series called Max and Ruby. It’s a Nick Jr. staple. Other bunnies making appearances on the show answer to Louise, Martha, Valerie, and Morris.
OLIVER and GRACE
Max and Ruby eventually become older siblings, when twins Oliver and Grace are born.
OSWALD
Before there was Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney created this rabbit. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was a smash in the 1920s and lived on in comic books into the 1950s, along with his adopted sons Floyd and Lloyd. Disney has revived the original version of the rabbit, making him famous once more.
PERCY
For most of Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit is simply known by the color of his fur. But when ABC introduced the character in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, they gave him the name Percy. That doesn’t appear in the original Lewis Carroll stories, but we’ve been expanding on his ideas about Wonderland for generations.
PETER
The the granddad of all famous rabbit names. From Peter Rabbit to Peter Cottontail, this name screams long floppy ears. Except that Peter is an unassailable classic, too – a rock, literally.
REESE
Where is there a bunny by this name? In the candy aisle, of course. Have you spotted the Reester Bunny? If you’re a chocolate and peanut butter fan, you probably already know that not only does Reese’s make peanut butter eggs, they also make peanut butter-filled bunnies, which puts Reese on the famous rabbit names list. Sort of.
ROGER
The animated rabbit at the heart of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? wears a noble name, with roots in Norman England. His wife, Jessica Rabbit, is an animated human, but it’s enough to earn Jessica a place on the list of female rabbit names, too.
ROMARIN
Do you know The Bellflower Bunnies? It’s another animated series, originally produced in Montreal as La Famille Passiflore. In French, the rabbits are Romarin, Pirouette, Agaric, Mistoulef, Dentdelion, Onesime, and Zinnia. In English, they’re Poppy, Violette, Periwinkle, Mistletoe, Dandelion, Bramble, and (again) Zinnia. Many of these have potential.
TRIXIE
In Mo Willems’ Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, the little girl is named Trixie. Her beloved stuffed rabbit is called Knuffle Bunny. Now factor in the Trix Rabbit, gracing breakfast tables for generations and repeating the catchphrase “silly rabbit, Trix are for kids” in countless commercials. I think Trixie is at least famous bunny names-adjacent, and fits on this list.
VELVET
Inspired by the Velveteen Rabbit, an enduring children’s story from Margery Williams. The characters don’t have names, only descriptions – like “the boy” or “the nanny” – and that extends to the toys, too. But Velvet seems like an obvious nod to the beloved tale.
What’s your favorite famous rabbit name? Are there others that should be on this list?
First published on March 29, 2013, this post was revised on February 20, 2024 and again on April 10, 2025.
I raised and showed rabbits professionally. Some of my rabbits names were: Zoe, Billy Sue, Aberman, Trixie, Buck, McKenzie, Lola, Lorelei, Dolce, Violet, Max and Gucci… Just to name a few. Aberman, Dolce and Gucci each were ARBA champion’s in the 1990’s. 🙂 My favorite rabbit name from your list will always be Peter. Although, I’m surprised that you didn’t add Velvet, from the Velveteen rabbit and lets not forget that Velvet made Eleanor’s list of wacky middle names list. It was Up there with jony, Biggles, Fiddleworth, Danger, adventure, ect….
We’ve been reading Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake this week (highly recommended for Clio), so we can add Betty to the list.
My Easter-born hubby is Paul.
My son’s inutero nickname was Hase (“bunny”) and last year at a “breakfast with the Easter Bunny”, we started joking about naming him Harvey, Bugs, Roger, Thumper, Buster… which ultimately led to the name we picked, Peter. So although he’s a July baby, the Easter Bunny helped name my son.
My grandpa was named Oswald, and it’s kind of funny to see his name suggested as a baby name. Whenever I’ve mentioned his name IRL, friends have acted like it was the worst name ever. 🙁 Maybe it needs a few more years?
Now that is a truly lovely story! And Peter is a great name. 🙂
Oswald feels like it would wearable in the right neighborhoods – in the edgiest, hippest ones right now, a little brother for Homer. So, yeah, maybe a decade or so and it might be back for those of us elsewhere …
Actually I believe it was originally Briar Rabbit and Brer was just sort of an accented version of that. Great story though.
Br’er is an contraction of brother.
I love Harvey (boy), Dandelion (girl), Poppy (girl), and Holly (boy).
When I was little I had a book, Leo the Lop, about a rabbit, Leo, with floppy ears. Such a cute little book, and mine came with a toy stuffed Leo. https://img0.etsystatic.com/011/1/7459605/il_570xN.430832068_68b3.jpg
Leo the Lop – I remember him! Yes, he definitely belongs on this list.
How about Brer Rabbit? I know Brer is more of an address than a name (I think it’s short for brother) but it’s kind of cute! I think if people can use -son names, using a name that means “brother” shouldn’t be an issue. A Brer would fit in with the Bears and Briars of today.
I like Harvey. It was my grandfather’s name and I’m fond of it. Its quirkier than Henry but I think it could conceivably work. Interestingly, my (Australian) husband said that to him it sounds ‘extremely American.’
As a kid, myfavourite Redwall hare was named, incredibly/wonderfully, Honorable Rosemary, Hon Rosie for short. I would use Rosemary, but not Honorable. Romarin is interesting but I don’t know how to pronounce it.
I like Luna and Zinnia for girls.