What Should I Name My Teddy Bear

One press names your teddy bear, with a line on why the name suits.

His Royal SoftnessThe proper way to address a very soft bear.

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How it works

What should I name my teddy bear? Press the button and find out. Each name comes with a line on why it suits, from the color of the fur to the size of the bear.

Read the full guide

Match the name to the bear

After your first press, a list under the button narrows the draw. Pick the fur: Brown and honey, White and cream, Black and gray, or Pink and pastel. Pick the size: Very big or Tiny. Grand titles, Food names and Old-fashioned names suit any bear.

Not a bear?

Rabbit, elephant or dog holds names for other soft toys, such as Warren for a rabbit and Trumpet for an elephant. Say the name out loud three times. If it still sounds right, it is the one.

Tips

Naming a whole shelf of toys? Press again for each one and write the names on a card, so nobody forgets who is who.

Questions and answers

Why is it called a teddy bear?

It is named after Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, who was often called Teddy. In 1902 a newspaper cartoon showed him with a bear, and a shopkeeper put a soft toy bear in his window with a sign reading Teddy's bear.

What is a good name for a brown teddy bear?

Try a brown thing: Tawny, Russet, Walnut, Syrup or Barley. For a big, dark brown bear, Pumpernickel. The Brown and honey group holds more.

What is a cute name for a tiny teddy bear?

Something small: Mitten, Bead, Lentil, Dollop, Eggcup or Keyring, for a bear small enough to hang from one.

What are funny names for a teddy bear?

Give it a title, such as Sir Stuffington, Admiral Snooze or Mayor of Pillowtown. Or call the biggest bear in the room Shrimp.

Are any of these names from books or films?

No. Every name was checked against a list of bears from stories, films, games and cartoons, and the ones that matched were taken out.

All 98 names

Brown and honey 10

Bagel Round, golden brown and best when squeezed.
Barley The pale gold of a field at harvest.
Brioche Soft, golden and a little shiny.
Burlap For a rough, sandy bear, after the cloth of old sacks.
Pumpernickel A long name for a large, dark brown bear.
Russet A reddish brown, like autumn leaves and potato skins.
Syrup Golden brown and impossible to put down.
Tawny The word for a warm, sandy brown.
Thatch For golden fur that sticks up like a straw roof.
Walnut Brown and wrinkled at the seams, like the shell.

White and cream 11

Cotton As white and soft as the fluff of the plant.
Eiderdown A thick, soft quilt, and a thick, soft bear.
Flurry A light fall of snow, for a light white bear.
Icing White, sweet and on top of everything.
Lambswool For curly cream fur.
Linen The soft cream of a clean sheet.
Marshal Mallow A white bear with a badge and a name like a marshmallow.
Oatmeal A plain, warm cream, like breakfast.
Snowcap For a bear as white as the top of a mountain.
Tofu Pale, soft and square in the shoulders.
Tundra Named after the wide, frozen plains of the far north.

Show all 98 names (77 more)

Black and gray 9

Blackberry A dark purple-black, like the fruit.
Foggy For gray fur with soft edges.
Galosh A rubber overshoe, for a bear the color of one.
Mulberry A deep purple-black berry.
Raincloud Gray, heavy and full of something soft.
Raisin Small, dark and a little wrinkled.
Slate The blue gray of a roof in the rain.
Sleet A pale, wet gray, halfway between rain and snow.
Wellington A grand name for a black bear, and a British word for a rain boot.

Pink and pastel 12

Confetti For a bear with spots of every color.
Flamingo The pinkest name there is.
Lavender A pale purple, named after the flower.
Parfait Layers of pink and cream.
Peony A big, ruffled pink flower, for a big, ruffled pink bear.
Posy A small bunch of flowers, and an old name for a girl.
Primrose A pale yellow spring flower with an old-fashioned ring.
Seafoam A green so pale it is nearly white.
Sherbet For a bear in fizzy, pale colors.
Sorbet For fur the color of a scoop of raspberry ice.
Sugar Mouse A small pink sweet, for a small pink bear.
Taffy Pink, stretchy and a little sticky from being loved.

Very big 10

Armchair For a bear you sit in, not with.
Beanbag For a bear you can sink into.
Bolster A long, firm pillow, and a bear that props you up.
Brontosaurus A very long name for a very large bear.
Galumph A word for moving in a big, clumsy, happy way.
Ottoman For a bear the right height to put your feet on.
Pillow What a very large bear turns into at bedtime.
Plenty There is plenty of this bear to go round.
Shrimp The joke name for the biggest bear in the room.
Walrus A big animal's name for a big, whiskery bear.

Tiny 11

Bead Small, round and easy to lose.
Bobbin As small as a spool of thread.
Captain Button A small bear in charge of a large bed.
Dollop A small, soft blob, like cream on a pie.
Eggcup A bear that could sit in one.
Iota A word for the smallest possible amount.
Keyring For a bear small enough to hang from one.
Lentil About as small as a bear can get.
Mitten A bear that fits inside a glove.
Morsel A very small bite.
Snippet A little piece snipped off something bigger.

Grand titles 10

Admiral Snooze Commander of the bed, mostly asleep.
Doctor Patches For a bear who has been mended more than once.
The Duke of Blankets His lands run from the pillow to the footboard.
His Royal Softness The proper way to address a very soft bear.
Lady Buttonsworth A title for a bear proud of her buttons.
Lord Threadbare For an old bear, loved until the fur wore thin.
Mayor of Pillowtown Elected by the other toys, every night.
Professor Stuffing Knows everything, says nothing.
Queen Quilt Her kingdom covers the whole bed.
Sir Stuffington A knight, stuffed to the ears.

Food names 1

Parsley For a rabbit who would raid the herb bed.

Old-fashioned names 11

Bertram For a bear who sits up very straight.
Constance A good name for a bear who is always there.
Dorothea A long name to grow into; Dot on ordinary days.
Egbert A very old name, for a bear who has seen a lot.
Gladys For a bear who looks after the others.
Harold For a bear who looks as if he reads the paper.
Lionel For a bear in a bow tie.
Mavis A name from a great-grandmother's time.
Myrtle An old name borrowed from a green shrub.
Orson A name that comes from an Old French word for a bear cub.
Wilfred Sounds like a bear who keeps his slippers by the fire.

Rabbit, elephant or dog 13

Bobtail For a rabbit, after its short, round tail.
Fanfare For an elephant who likes to announce itself.
Fetch For a toy dog who never has to.
Lop For a rabbit whose ears hang down.
Rags For a floppy dog made of soft cloth.
Scruff For a toy dog with untidy fur.
Slipper For a toy dog, after what a real one would chew.
Squeaker For a toy dog with a squeak inside.
Stick For a toy dog, after the best thing on any walk.
Tiptoe A joke name for a soft elephant, the heaviest toy on the bed.
Trumpet For an elephant, after the sound it makes.
Trunk For an elephant who carries its own luggage.
Warren For a rabbit: a real name, and the word for a rabbit's burrows.

How this list was compiled: Own list of names for a teddy bear or another soft toy, written 2026-10-01 for children. Screened by script. (1) Wikipedia's List of fictional bears, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_bears, read 2026-09-30: cut as bears from stories, games or mascots: Maple, Avalanche, Bernard, Ernest, Cornelius, Percival, Theodore, Blossom, Humphrey, Barnaby, Jasper, Tutu, Powder, Coal, Ambrose and Sugar; Wilfred matches only an author's name and stays. (2) An exact-title pass on the English Wikipedia API, 2026-10-01 (each name with bear, the Bear, character, mascot, toy and teddy): Albert cut (Albert the Bear); Lavender and Stick match characters that are not bears and stay. (3) This site's name and character lists (pet, dog, cat, fish, plant, robot vacuum, sourdough, car, horse, nickname, Wi-Fi, cartoon, film, game and anime characters, mascots): many candidates cut, among them Biscuit, Toffee, Marshmallow, Midnight, Button, Pickle, Peanut and Ursula. (4) A rude-word list: Grapefruit, Skyscraper, Scrap, Farthing and Tumbleweed cut on a substring; Lady Buttonsworth and Captain Button read and kept. Left out by hand: Velveteen and Corduroy (toys from well-known books). Facts checked on English Wikipedia: the toy is named after President Theodore Roosevelt, after a 1902 newspaper cartoon and a shop sign reading Teddy's bear (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear, 2026-09-30); Orson comes from the Old French for bear cub (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_(given_name), 2026-10-01); a warren is a network of rabbit burrows (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_(burrow), 2026-10-01); tundra is a frigid biome (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra, 2026-10-01). Licence: own work