What’s in a name? From Puddle Jumper to Love Bug, or the proudly self-deprecating Rolling Turd, millions of Americans are naming their cars with a little personality.
A new survey of 2,000 Americans found one in three has a nickname for their car, with Buttercup’s Folly, The Slug and Old Flame some of the monikers dished out to vehicles.
Gen X and millennials are the generations most likely to name their cars, with more than 40 percent of each doing so.
Boomers are the least likely to throw out a moniker to their vehicle, with less than a third (31%) saying they’ve done this.
The survey, conducted by Talker Research on behalf of GuessingHeadlights.com found clear themes in the names Americans are lovingly bestowing on their motors– many embraced pop culture classics like Batmobile, The Millennium Falcon, or, more recently, Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon.
Others opted for names of strength, embracing power monikers like Beast, the slightly enhanced Nasty Beast or Road Warrior.
While animal names also stood out, Party Chicken, Blue Goose, Turtle and The Slug were just some of the creature-themed cars hitting America’s streets.
One practically-minded driver appropriately calls their car The Grocery Getter.
And, could the love we have for our cars be a two-way thing? One in eight Americans (12%) say they think that cars have feelings, a further 10% were unsure.
The younger a person is, the more likely they are to think cars have feelings – 26% of Gen Z’ers think their auto is more than just the sum of its parts, versus just seven percent of boomers.
Licensed Psychologist Vincent Miles of Miles Psychological Services LLC gives context as to why our bonds with our cars form and why we might feel the need to name them: “We form interesting relationships with our cars, often because these vehicles serve as unique transitional elements in our lives. We gain some of our first independence by obtaining our license as teenagers, often marking our first foray into adulthood.”
“Additionally, our car is often our very first financial investment. This creates a unique bridge between childhood and adulthood, carrying forward some of our childlike creativity and beliefs at a time when we are fighting hard to create our identity. Anthropomorphizing our car in our own imaginations allows us that playful connection with something that we inevitably spend hundreds of hours alone with (and thousands of dollars maintaining).”
WHAT ARE AMERICANS NAMING THEIR CARS?
Love Bug
Puddle Jumper
Old Flame
Buttercups Folly
Road Warrior
Batmobile
Nasty beast
The Rolling Turd
The Slug
Toothless
Silver Bullet
The Beast
The Millennium Falcon
Green Machine
Beach Whistle
Turtle
The Grocery Getter
Party Chicken
Blue Goose
Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans; the survey was administered and conducted online by Talker Research between May 9 and May 15, 2025.
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