| Since you mainly see dolphins in the zoo or aquarium, it | | | | |
| is not very likely that you will have one as a pet. There | | | | - Splash |
| have been many famous dolphin names throughout | | | | |
| history and in the movies. Flipper is the one that comes | | | | - Jumper |
| to mind from the television series. Other dolphins | | | | |
| usually have place names attached to them because | | | | - Flippy |
| they always appear in the same places year after | | | | |
| year. Some of these are: | | | | - Echo |
| | | | | |
| - Dingle Dolphin - this is the dolphin that appears in the | | | | - Freedom |
| harbor of Dingle, Ireland. Some of the names people | | | | |
| have given this dolphin are Fungie, Dorad, Tarquin, and | | | | Dolphins seem to choose their own names by their |
| Fungi. | | | | whistle. Experts who study dolphins have determined |
| | | | | that each one has a distinctive whistle and those in |
| - Dusty - this is the dolphin that has been a regular | | | | captivity have a repertoire of whistles. They think that |
| visitor to Doolin and Dereen, also in Ireland. It has been | | | | these whistles may actually be the way in which they |
| called by different names, such as Orb, Mushroom, | | | | call one another. |
| Molly, Dolly and Fainne. | | | | |
| | | | | When you choose a name for a dolphin, it is important |
| - Sandy - this dolphin likes the waters off the Aran | | | | to know the kind of dolphin that it is so you can |
| Islands. It has been simply named Aran. | | | | choose something that really suits. There are nine |
| | | | | different kinds of dolphins: |
| - Dony - this dolphin appears in the vicinity of the Dingle | | | | |
| Peninsula in Ireland. | | | | - Bottlenose dolphin, which has a cut off face |
| | | | | |
| Many are wondering if the dolphins seem to be | | | | - Striped dolphin, which is narrow and skyblue and |
| attracted by place names starting with the letter "D" | | | | white in color |
| because of the areas in which they seem to return to | | | | |
| year after year. | | | | - Risso's dolphin, which is gray |
| | | | | |
| When zoos or aquariums receive a new dolphin or | | | | - Dusky dolphin, which has dark beak |
| one is born in captivity, they usually have a dolphin | | | | |
| naming competition. In such a competition, people from | | | | - Atlantic White Sided dolphin, which has a pointed |
| all over submit a name for the dolphin either | | | | beak |
| electronically or by mail. The staff or committee | | | | |
| responsible for choosing a name will then sort through | | | | - White-beaked dolphin - aptly named because of its |
| the extensive list of names they receive to decide on | | | | white beak |
| a suitable one. Quite often, they will simply make a | | | | |
| random draw and use the name that is selected. | | | | - Hourglass dolphin, which has a crossed beak |
| Some of the commonly submitted names in such a | | | | |
| competition Flipper always seems to find its way into | | | | - Northern Right Whale dolphin, which is very smooth |
| such a naming competition, but other commonly | | | | and found only in northern waters |
| submitted names include: | | | | |
| | | | | - Peale's Dolphin, which is generally found around |
| - Squeal | | | | Australia |
| | | | | |
| - Squeak | | | | When you do your research on the type of dolphin, |
| | | | | then you may be able to come up with a suitable |
| - Blue | | | | name. |