Hedgehog Name Generator

Press for five hedgehog names, each with a line: a prickly plant, a word for hedgehog or a habit.

Hedgehog Name Generator

  1. NoseyThe nose goes first.
  2. GooseberryA gooseberry bush has spines that scratch whoever picks from it.
  3. Sewing KitEverything sharp in one small package.
  4. HurcheonScots for hedgehog.
  5. Cake PopA ball of cake on a stick.

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How it works

Press for five names for a hedgehog. The list is built on the animal: prickly plants and seed cases, the word for a hedgehog in old English and other languages, what a hedgehog does, its spines, and small round foods.

Read the full guide

Prickly plants and old words

Each plant name says what the plant is: a teasel has a prickly stem, and a conker grows in a spiky green shell. Urchin is an old English word for a hedgehog, Hérisson is the French one and Igel the German.

Names from its habits

Hedgehogs grunt, snuffle and squeal, so Snuffle is on the list. Tight Ball is for the way one rolls up when it feels threatened, and Hoglet is the real word for a baby hedgehog.

Questions and answers

What is a good name for a hedgehog?

A good hedgehog name comes from its spines or its habits. Thistle and Bramble are prickly plants. Snuffle is one of the noises a hedgehog makes. Hairbrush, Pine Needle and Quilliam are for the spines.

What is a baby hedgehog called?

A baby hedgehog is called a hoglet. Hoglet is on the list, in the group of names from what a hedgehog does.

What is the word for hedgehog in other languages?

The list has more than thirty, each from its own dictionary entry: Hérisson in French, Igel in German, Erizo in Spanish, Riccio in Italian, Siili in Finnish and Draenog in Welsh among them.

Are these the names of hedgehogs from games and books?

Not on purpose. We wrote the names and left out the hedgehogs of well-known games, books and films by hand. The words in other languages are real words, each read in its own dictionary entry.

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All 137 hedgehog names

Names from prickly plants 31

  • Acanthus Acanthus plants have spiny leaves.
  • Agave An agave leaf ends in a very sharp spine.
  • Barberry Many kinds of barberry have spines on their shoots.
  • Bramble A bramble's stems are covered in sharp prickles.
  • Buckeye Buckeye is another name for the horse chestnut, whose seeds grow in a spiky shell.
  • Burdock The prickly heads of burdock catch on fur and clothing.
  • Burr A chestnut grows inside a spiny case called a bur or burr.
  • Cactus Most cacti have spines where other plants have leaves.
  • Chestnut A sweet chestnut grows inside a very sharp, spiny case.
  • Cleavers Cleavers cling with the small hooked hairs on their stems and leaves.
  • Cocklebur A cocklebur's seeds grow in a hard bur covered with stiff, hooked spines.
  • Conker A conker is the glossy brown seed inside the horse chestnut's spiky green shell.
  • Cupule Beechnuts grow in a spiny cup called a cupule.
  • Dog Rose The stems of a dog rose are covered with small, sharp, hooked prickles.
  • Echinacea The flower's name comes from the Greek for hedgehog, after its spiny center.
  • Echinops Echinops, the globe thistles, have spiny leaves and round flower heads.
  • Eryngo Eryngos, or sea hollies, are herbs with spiny leaves.
Show all 137 hedgehog names (120 more)

Names from prickly plants, continued

  • Furze Furze is another name for gorse, a thorny shrub.
  • Gooseberry A gooseberry bush has spines that scratch whoever picks from it.
  • Gorse Gorse is a thorny evergreen shrub.
  • Hawthorn Hawthorn is a shrub or small tree, usually with thorny branches.
  • Holly Holly leaves often have a spiny edge.
  • Juniper Young junipers have needle-like leaves.
  • Quickthorn Quickthorn is another name for hawthorn.
  • Sandbur Sandburs are grasses with sharp, spine-covered burrs.
  • Sloe Sloe is another name for the blackthorn, a spiny shrub.
  • Spike Ball Spike ball is another nickname for the sweetgum tree's seed ball.
  • Sticker Ball Sticker ball is a nickname for the sweetgum tree's spiny seed ball.
  • Teasel A teasel has a prickly stem and a flower head ringed with spines.
  • Thistle Thistles carry sharp prickles on their leaves and stems.
  • Whin Whin is another name for gorse, a thorny shrub.

The word for a hedgehog 38

  • Arici Romanian for hedgehog.
  • Broddgöltur Icelandic for hedgehog.
  • Draenog Welsh for hedgehog.
  • Egel Dutch for hedgehog.
  • Ericius A Latin word for a hedgehog.
  • Eriçó Catalan for hedgehog.
  • Erinaceus Latin for hedgehog, and the genus of the European hedgehog.
  • Erinaco Esperanto for hedgehog.
  • Erizo Spanish for hedgehog.
  • Erizun Romansh for hedgehog.
  • Ezis Latvian for hedgehog.
  • Ežys Lithuanian for hedgehog.
  • Furze-Pig A hedgehog, in the dialect of England's West Country.
  • Gràineag Scottish Gaelic for hedgehog.
  • Gráinneog Irish for hedgehog.
  • Hedgepig A hedgehog, in the dialect of Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
  • Hérisson French for hedgehog.
  • Hurcheon Scots for hedgehog.
  • Igel German for hedgehog.
  • Igelkott Swedish for hedgehog.
  • Igil The Old English word for a hedgehog.
  • Jeż Polish for hedgehog.
  • Ježek Czech for hedgehog.
  • Kalunguyeye Swahili for hedgehog.
  • Kirpi Turkish for hedgehog.
  • Ouriço Portuguese for hedgehog.
  • Ourizo Galician for hedgehog.
  • Piggsvin Norwegian for hedgehog.
  • Pindsvin Danish for hedgehog.
  • Riccio Italian for hedgehog.
  • Rizzu Sicilian for hedgehog.
  • Siil Estonian for hedgehog.
  • Siili Finnish for hedgehog.
  • Sün Hungarian for hedgehog.
  • Sündisznó A second Hungarian word for a hedgehog.
  • Tindasvín Faroese for hedgehog.
  • Urchin An old English word for a hedgehog, still heard in some dialects.
  • Yrchoun The Middle English word for a hedgehog.

Names from what a hedgehog does 29

  • Anoint Hedgehogs sometimes perform a ritual called anointing.
  • Border Patrol Walks the edge of the flower bed.
  • Curl Up What it does best.
  • Dusk Trotter Out as soon as the light goes.
  • Fifteen Million Hedgehogs have changed little over the last 15 million years.
  • Four-Toes The four-toed hedgehog has only four toes on each hind foot.
  • Hedge Bottom A good address for a hedgehog.
  • Hoglet A baby hedgehog is called a hoglet.
  • Hollow Hair Each spine is a hollow hair, stiffened with keratin.
  • Keratin A hedgehog's spines are hollow hairs made stiff with keratin.
  • Leaf Pile Where to look first.
  • Log Pile Bed, pantry and front door in one.
  • Melon Among many other things, hedgehogs eat berries and melons.
  • Night Patrol Does the rounds after dark.
  • Night Rambler Hedgehogs are mainly nocturnal.
  • Nosey The nose goes first.
  • Pygmy The four-toed hedgehog, a popular small pet, is also called the African pygmy hedgehog.
  • Rustle The sound in the leaves before you see anything.
  • Seventeen There are 17 species of hedgehog.
  • Snail Finder Hedgehogs feed on insects and snails, among much else.
  • Sniffer Finds everything by smell.
  • Snuffle Hedgehogs are fairly vocal: they grunt, snuffle and squeal.
  • Tight Ball A hedgehog rolls into a tight spiny ball when it feels threatened.
  • Truffle Snout A pointed nose, always in the dirt.
  • Trundle Low, round and steady.
  • Tuck Rolling up, a hedgehog tucks in its furry face, feet and belly.
  • Unroll Give it a minute.
  • Whiffle A small snuffly sort of name.
  • Winter Sleeper All wild hedgehogs can hibernate.

Names from spines and bristles 24

  • Bed Head Sticks up in every direction.
  • Boot Brush Lives by the back door.
  • Bottlebrush Round, stiff and bristly.
  • Bristlecone A cone with a prickle on every scale.
  • Coir Mat The rough doormat by the step.
  • Darning Needle The big one in the sewing box.
  • Fork Tines Points, all in a row.
  • Hairbrush The bristly side up.
  • Hat Pin Long, sharp and old-fashioned.
  • Nailbrush A scrubbing brush you can hold in one hand.
  • Needlepoint Sewing done by a hedgehog.
  • Pincushion Round, soft underneath and full of pins.
  • Pine Needle Thin, brown and found under trees.
  • Pipe Cleaner Fuzzy, bendy and a little bit wiry.
  • Porcupinch Smaller than a porcupine, same idea.
  • Prickleback Says where the prickles are.
  • Quillbert A formal name for a prickly gentleman.
  • Quilliam William, with quills.
  • Scrub Brush Stiff bristles, round shape.
  • Sewing Kit Everything sharp in one small package.
  • Spikelet A small spike.
  • Spiky Bun A round roll with a hairstyle.
  • Splinter Group A whole back of little points.
  • Teasel Top A head like a dried flower.

Small round names, for a hedgehog in a ball 15

  • Baby Beet Round, with a little root for a nose.
  • Bao Bun Round, soft and pale underneath.
  • Cake Pop A ball of cake on a stick.
  • Cheese Puff Light, round and orange.
  • Croquette A small brown roll of potato.
  • Donut Hole The round middle, sold on its own.
  • Dough Ball Before it is baked, it is just this.
  • Hash Brown Golden brown and a little bristly.
  • Jawbreaker A hard round sweet.
  • Malt Ball Round, brown and gone in one bite.
  • Matzo Ball A dumpling that floats.
  • New Potato Small, round and brown from the soil.
  • Pearl Onion A very small onion.
  • Potato Puff A small round bite.
  • Rissole A small browned patty.

How this list was compiled: Own list of 137 names for a hedgehog, made on 3 October 2026. The names from prickly plants each say what the plant is, from English Wikipedia's article on that plant; the names from a hedgehog's habits are from its articles Hedgehog and Four-toed hedgehog (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehog, CC BY-SA 4.0); the words for a hedgehog in old English and in other languages are each from that word's own entry in English Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hedgehog). All were read on 3 October 2026. The other names and every line are ours. A name we wrote was left out when it stands on this site's lists of pet, dog, cat, horse, fish or teddy bear names or on another animal's name page; the hedgehogs of well-known books, films and games were left out by hand. 38 of the 137 names (28 in 100) also stand on another list of this site, most of them plants. Licence: The names we wrote and the line under every name are our own work. Meanings of real names and words draw on English Wiktionary, and facts about the animal and its folklore on English Wikipedia, both under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).