Dinosaurs have some pretty bizarre names, many of which come from the Latin or Greek languages. The word ‘dinosaur’ itself comes from Greek and means ‘terrible lizard’. ‘Sauros’ is the word for lizard - so now you know that any dino name with ‘saur’ or ‘saurus’ at the end will mean lizard. ‘Tyrannosaurus’, for example, means ‘tyrant lizard’; add ‘rex’ and you have ‘king of the tyrant lizards’. 

While some of these names are reasonably easy to pronounce, others are something of a mouthful. And then there are the names that are just plain strange! Here, we delve into our favourite weird dinosaur names. 

Bambiraptor

This petite dinosaur was discovered by a 14 year old fossil hunter in Montana in 1995. Named after Bambi the baby deer in Disney’s classic 1942 film, this feathered, meat-eating dinosaur lived in the Late Cretaceous around 72 million years ago. Its name came from the fact that the newly-discovered skeleton belonged to a young creature. 

Giraffatitan 

As its name suggests, Giraffatitan was a huge animal with a long neck. At 23m in length and 12m tall, it had a more slender body than other sauropods like Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus. This gave it a giraffe-like shape, leading to its name, which means ‘Titanic Giraffe’. The first fossil of this Jurassic dino was discovered in Tanzania. 

Giraffatitan is one of the dinosaurs you can meet at Dinosaur World Live, which is touring the UK this summer. Search ‘family theatre near me’ and book tickets at your local venue. 

Pantydraco

Pantydraco was a plant-eating Triassic dinosaur that moved around on two legs. Its weird and wonderful name has nothing to do with pants though; this creature was first discovered in the Pant-y-ffynnon quarry in Wales and was named after it. ‘Pant-y-ffynnon’ means ‘valley of the spring’ and ‘draco’ is the Latin word for ‘dragon’, so this dinosaur has the rather beautiful moniker, ‘Dragon of the Spring Valley’. 

Drinker

This dinosaur’s name has no fancy origins - and nor was it discovered in a pub. A relatively unknown late Jurassic creature, it is named after palaeontologist Edward Drinker Cope. It’s thought to have been a similar shape to T-Rex, but measured only 2m in length and weighed no more than 10kg. 

Irritator

The origin of the name ‘Irritator’ is exactly as it sounds. When palaeontologists were given the remains of Irritator Challengeri (Irritator is actually the name of the genus), the bones were in a bit of a sorry state. Collectors had tried to patch up and reconstruct the fossils using unsuitable materials, meaning the poor palaeontologists had to clean them up before they could be studied. This inspired the name ‘Irritator’.  The ‘Challengeri’ part comes from Arther Conan Doyle’s fictional character Professor Challenger. 

Meet dinosaurs live

If you’re looking for a ‘family show near me’ this spring and summer, don’t miss Dinosaur World Live. With stunning puppetry, this production brings life-like dinos to the stage, presenting a fun and interactive experience for all ages. In 2024 it won an Olivier Award for Best Family Show UK, and is touring across Britain in 2025. Book your tickets today.