Hear me roar: 20 celebrities with animal nicknames

Sometimes, hes known as James Howlett, other times as Logan, but mostly, hes known as Wolverine.

While this fictional superhero has an animal-related nickname, that is not uncommon in real life either.

These are some notable people with animal-derived monikers.

Catfish Hunter We could have done a list exclusively of athletes, but we wanted some variety.

Still, starting with an athlete made sense.

Not only that, we figured it made even more sense to go with one of those athletes where theres a good chance you dont know their real first name.

We know Catfish Hunter as Catfish Hunter.

It helps that he was a Yankee, but he also was a pitcher on the Oakland Athletics team that won three World Series in a row.

Hunter made the Hall of Fame off the back of eight All-Star Game appearances and a Cy Young.

By the way, his name was James.

Tiger Woods Yeah, you likely know Woods real first name is Eldrick, but he has always been, and always will be, Tiger.

If not for injuries he would have definitively gone down as the greatest golfer to ever live.

Many would still make the claim that Tiger deserves that crown, and that is a convincing argument.

He wasnt just Tiger Woods.

He was Tiger.

He was a living legend who changed the face of golf.

Its probably easier to do that when people arent calling you Eldrick all the time.

Bear Bryant Sure, all the stuff named after Bryant in Tuscaloosa is named after Paul Bryant (or Paul W.

Bryant), but lets get real.

To everybody at the University of Alabama or otherwise, he is Bear Bryant.

Bear won six national titles, all with the Crimson Tide, and is considered one of the best college football coaches in history.

Of course, fellow former Alabama coach Nick Saban may have usurped that throne from him, but Saban doesnt have a cool animal nickname.

Howlin Wolf Lets get away from the athletes! The worlds of jazz and blues are packed to the brim with nicknames.

Legendary blues musician Howlin Wolf wasnt known by any part of his real name.

He was known professionally exclusively as Howlin Wolf.

While the man born Chester Burnett is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, hes an acclaimed musician and considered one of the best bluesmen in history.

John Entwistle Entwistle is a musician like Howlin Wolf, but hes also a different flavor of animal nickname.

Professionally, and personally, he was known by his real name.

However, he also had a nickname he would be known by.

It was more like, say, Eric Clapton being called Slowhand.

The nickname is well-known if it didnt overtake his real name.

The Who bassist, considered one of the best rock bassists to ever live, was also known as The Ox.

He was also apparently known as Thunderfingers, but honestly The Ox is the one we knew.

Chris Andersen If not for his nicknames, and all his tattoos, Andersen would probably not be well remembered.

While he played in the NBA from 2001 until 2017 (save for a two-year drug ban), he only averaged 5.4 points per game in his career.

However, Andersen was known as Birdman.

For whatever reason, that helped the high-flying journeyman stick in peoples minds.

Since were at it, we will also shout out Tony Hawk, sometimes called The Birdman, and rapper Bryan Williams, always known as Birdman.

Charlie Parker In terms of jazz musicians, few are as beloved as Parker.

Even Miles Davis, no slouch himself, called Parker one of the two pivotal figures in the history of the genre (alongside Louis Armstrong).

Of course, when Clint Eastwood directed a movie about Parker, it was called Bird, after his famed nickname.

Originally Parker was nicknamed Yardbird, which was shortened to bird.

Brevity surely helped here.

Cat Stevens Yes, Cat Stevens changed his name to Yusuf Islam after converting to, well, Islam, and he would tour as Yusuf exclusively for a while.

Now, though, hes willing to be called Cat Stevens, the name he recorded under when he became famous, again.

In those days, he was one of the most-popular folk singer-songwriters out there, never under his original name Steven Georgiou.

And, of course, well also mention another singer-songwriter Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power.

Bobby Slayton The X of Y is a common nickname trope.

The King of Pop.

The Godfather of Soul.

The Queen of Mean.

That last one is the nickname of standup comedian Lisa Lampanelli, and shes not the only standup with a nickname.

Slayton, like Lampanelli, is known for his aggressive style.

In his case, though, he got the nickname The Pitbull of Comedy.

Dog the Bounty Hunter The bounty hunter part of the name that Duane Chapman is best known as has nothing to do with animals.

Of course, Duane Dog Chapman was known as Dog, and is known as Dog, by many.

The bounty hunter part became part of the nomenclature once he became the star of a reality show called Dog the Bounty Hunter.

Hes done other shows, though, and while the bounty hunter was dropped from the title, he is always Dog, and never Duane.

Lady Bird Johnson Animal nicknames can be found in the political space as well.

To the best of our knowledge, Lady Bird Johnson is the only first lady to be name checked as the name of a pet of a fictional character.

The Hills named their dog Lady Bird out of respect for the former first lady, of course.

They are Texans, after all, as were Lyndon B.

Johnson and his wife Claudia, who was born and died in the Lone Star State.

Glenn Robinson Robinson is one of those first-overall picks whose career turned out...fine.

He was not a star, but he was not a flop.

Robinson made two All-Star Games and played in the NBA from 1994 until 2005.

You dont feel disappointed drafting a guy like Robinson first overall, but you arent satisfied either.

Of course, the Bucks would have rather had Jason Kidd or Grant Hill, who went second and third.

Robinson had a cool, iconic nickname, though, and Kidd and Hill dont.

Hes Big Dog.

Hes the definitive Big Dog of sports.

George the Animal Steele Professional wrestlers rarely go by their real names, and Steele is no different.

Born William Myers, he took the name George Steele professionally.

However, he went one step further.

He was always George the Animal Steele, and whether heel or face he had a wild man gimmick.

Steele was popular enough he ended up in the WWE Hall of Fame, and he was also in the movie Ed Wood.

Dennis Rodman Rodman didnt need a nickname to stand out.

He was a great player, one of the best defensive players ever, but he was not a generic personality.

There was the tattoos, the hair dye, the marrying Carmen Electra.

Also, a lot of unpleasant legal issues and political leanings.

So, you know, maybe he is worthy of the nickname The Worm.

Fred McGriff While he finished his career with 493 home runs, falling short of 500, McGriff still got elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Sure, he needed the Veterans Committee to select him after the BBWAA definitely made it clear he was not Hall of Fame material in their eyes, but it technically counts.

Either way, McGriff belongs in the sports nickname hall of fame.

Owing to McGruff, the anthropomorphic canine who wanted you to Take a bite out of crime, McGriff was bestowed the nickname Crime Dog.

Doja Cat Doja Cat is a creature of the internet.

It feels fitting that she has a stage name that is derived from her affinity for cats and a particularly strain of marijuana.

Also, Doja Cat rose to fame thanks to Soundcloud and her memed 2018 novelty song Mooo!.

While the rapper has expressed regret for having a weed strain in her stage name, it is not unreasonable for somebody with the birth name Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini to find something else to go with.

Plus, stage names are common in rap anyway.

Jim Morrison Morrison was the extremely-popular frontman of the extremely-popular 70s band The Doors.

These days, there are many who find The Doors, and Morrison specifically, pretentious and inane.

Maybe thanks to his extensive drug use and love for poetry, Morrison had a couple nicknames as well.

He was Mr.

Mojo Risin, but he was also The Lizard King.

Jeanette Lee If you have heard of a real-life pool player, theres a decent chance it is Lee.

Basically theres her and Willie Mosconi.

Lee, a frequent ESPN2 staple back in the day, was helped by her mix of success and her nickname.

Thanks to her all-business nature around the table, and her all-black outfits, Lee became known as Black Widow.

That was also the nickname of former competitive eater Sonya Thomas, the first winner of Nathans womens hot dog eating contest.

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Thee Stallion is one of the most-popular musicians in the world.

The Houston-based rapper is always known by her stage name.

In fact, there is a decent chance you dont know her last name at all.

Megan Thee Stallion certainly pops more than Megan Pete would.

Goose Gossage We come full circle.

Gossage is another former MLB pitcher known almost exclusively by his animal-related nickname.

With his distinct nickname, and even-more-distinct facial hair, Gossage was one of the first modern closers in baseball.

Goose led the American League in saves three times, though he was a journeyman pitcher.

Even so, Richard Gossage was voted into the Hall of Fame.

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies.

He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television..

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