Santa’s Reindeer Names & Everything Else you Need To know

Santas Reindeer Names

Santa Claus simply couldn’t pull off Christmas without his trusty reindeer crew pulling his sleigh all around the world, through the night skies.

Here’s everything you need to know about Santa’s reindeer, including names, origins, gender and order in which they pull the sleigh…

How many Reindeer does Santa have? 

Santa Claus has a total of nine Reindeer. 

The first known appearance of Santa’s reindeer was in the 1823 poem, ‘A Visit from St. Nicholas’ and featured the original eight reindeer (minus Rudolph).  The poem is now famously known as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’.

Rudolph first appeared in a 1939 booklet written by Robert May. Then the 1947 song ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ saw Rudolph’s popularity soar. 

A List Of Santa’s Reindeer Names

• Dasher

• Dancer

• Prancer

• Vixen

• Comet

• Cupid

• Donner (AKA Donder and Dunder)

• Blitzen (AKA Blixem)

• Rudolph

Does Santa have 12 Reindeer? 

No, it’s a common misconception that Santa has 12 reindeer. This is due to Donner’s name previously appearing as Donder and Dunder, while Blitzen was sometimes referred to as Blixem.

People mistakenly think these are different reindeer but they are just old names for two of the reindeer (Donner and Blitzen) that we all know and love. 

What are Santa’s Reindeer in order?

To pull Santa’s sleigh Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph are arranged into two lines of four.

Dancer (left) followed by Blitzen, Prancer, and Vixen

Donner (right)  followed by Comet, Dasher and Cupid. 

With Rudolph up front (middle) leading the way. 

Are Santa’s Reindeer Male or Female?

It is often assumed that Santa’s reindeer are a mix of male and female, but that’s incorrect. They are in fact, all female. 

All of Santa’s reindeer still have their antlers at Christmas, meaning they have to be female as male reindeer shed their antlers mid-December.

Who is Santa’s Favourite Reindeer?

It’s a common misconception that Rudolph is Santa’s favourite reindeer. 

In fact,  much like the children of the world, Santa has no favourites and loves them all equally.  

Check out these Free printable Reindeer puzzles

Is there anything else you would like to know about Santa’s reindeer, please let us know in the comments below…