Donder or Donner? If you've ever had doubts about your memory of the reindeer traditionally listed in seventh place, you're not alone. Moore's 1844 version of the poem is the one that became the standard and established 'Donder' and 'Blitzen' as the names of two of Santa' reindeer in the memories of generations of children. How do you spell Donner or Donder? Learn the correct spelling of Donner or Donder & other commonly misspelled words & phrases in the English language.! Did Clement C.
Moore name one of Santa's reindeer Donder or Donner? The Washington Post claims to have found the definitive answer in a 1844 collection of Moore's verses. Reindeer name games: Is it Donder or Donner? Santa's reindeer will need to have embedded chips or ear tags and respond to their names, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
However, Moore's poem underwent changes over the years, and in the 1860s, the names of the last two reindeer were altered to "Donder" and "Blitzen," meaning "thunder" and "lightning" in Standard Dutch. "Donner" didn't start kicking around until the early 20th century, and it's derived from German instead of Dutch. Dear Ernest, I notice you use Donner as one of the main reindeer in Santa's group but isn't it Donder who was one of the original reindeer who pulled Santa's sleigh? Thanks, Rhona Hi Rhona, Good catch.
But Donner and Donder are actually one-and-the-same. While "Donder" is his proper name. Lastly, we get to 'Donner' and 'Blitzen.' 'Donner' was originally 'Donder' which is Standard Dutch meaning "thunder." 'Blitzen' comes from the Standard Dutch 'bliksem,' which means "lightning." We've always thought these two were the bad boys of the sleigh.
- Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) December 19, 2023. Donder? Writers and librarians have argued over the name for nearly two centuries, trying to decide whether Moore meant to name his seventh reindeer Donder or Donner. Come Cupid! Come Donner and Blitzen! Original 1939 edition by Robert L.
May. By the time of its publication, reindeer number 7 was being referenced as both Donder and Donner, but due to the immense popularity of May's poem, the name Donner stuck. Songs and films about Rudolph soon followed and that seemed to seal the deal, in popular culture.