Hansel and Gretel Inspired Dog Names

Introduction

Hansel and Gretel is an ancient fairy tale created by the Brothers Grimm. We're honestly sure that everyone is familiar with this tale, as it's one of the most famous fables in existence. Because of its popularity, untold storytellers have riffed on the story and created their versions over the centuries. This article will only focus on the original version of the story, first told by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Hansel and Gretel aren't witch hunters in this version, nor are they secretly monsters in disguise - they're simply two little kids who are abandoned in the woods and find themselves at the mercy of a cannibalistic witch.

Hansel & Gretel Inspired Dog Names in Pop Culture

Featured Famous Hansel & Gretel Dog

Sultan

The Brothers Grimm were active from the early 1810s to the late 1850s. Within that period, the duo created and re-envisioned at least 200 stories as a writing team. Most of us know their more popular stories (Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Rumpelstiltskin), but Old Sultan remains one of the Grimm's more obscure fables. Old Sultan is just as devilishly clever and moral as any of the Grimm's other fairy tales - the same way that Hansel and Gretel is a diatribe against poor parenting, Old Sultan is an ode to good dogs all around the world. We hope that by shedding light on this lesser-known Grimm Brothers tale, dog owners try to get their pets to follow in Old Sultan's pawsteps.

Long ago, a farmer lived in the countryside with his wife and his pet dog, Sultan. Sultan served the Farmer for years, helping the man protect his land and flock without fail. As Sultan got older, however, his strength waned and his senses dulled. In time, Sultan was too slow to stave off predators, too tired to bark and alarm his master, and too lazy to herd the man's cattle. One night the farmer ran out of patience with Sultan and resolved to put him down the following morning.

The farmer's wife detested the idea, asking her husband to think of all the good Sultan did for the family in his youth. The farmer was too angry to listen to reason and decided to stick to his guns, both figuratively and literally speaking. Sultan overheard his master's crushing words and immediately felt terrible. During Sultan's darkest hour, a friendly wolf stopped by and offered to help the old hound escape his ultimate fate. In return, Sultan would allow the wolf to take one of the farmer's sheep in the future.

The following day, when Sultan was supposed to be executed, the dog and the wolf put their scheme into action. Everything went according to the wolf's plan, earning Sultan his redemption. Time passed and the wolf eventually came back to cash in on his side of the bargain. Sultan couldn't bring himself to betray his master, however, and told the wolf he'd stay true to the farmer. Enraged, the wolf allied with a wild boar and made plans to attack the farmer. Old Sultan and a stray cat intervened at the last minute, helping the wolf and the boar see the error of their ways.

Hansel & Gretel Inspired Dog Name Considerations

Hansel and Gretel are just two characters created by the legendary Brothers Grimm. The Grimm Bros. first published Hansel and Gretel's story back in 1812, right around the time when Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm started making a name for themselves. Most modern versions of the story depict Hansel and Gretel as two disobedient children who wandered off into the woods and nearly paid for their delinquency with their lives. This version of the story places the blame on Hansel and Gretel's shoulders and gives the tale an "always listen to your parents" moral. While that's no doubt a valuable lesson for young children to learn, it's not the tale that the Brothers Grimm originally wanted to convey.

In the Brothers Grimm's version of Hansel and Gretel, the children are willfully abandoned by their parents due to a scarcity of food. The children's stepmother convinces their father to ditch the kids in the woods for the sake of survival. Dad doesn't want to do it but eventually caves. If not for Hansel and Gretel's intelligent decision to leave a trail for themselves to follow, the kids would've been up the creek without a paddle. The moral of the Brother Grimms' original version of the fable is for kids to be as smart and self-sufficient as possible.

If you have an independent pup or a dog that likes to do things their own way, consider a Hansel and Gretel name for them. Alternatively, choose a fun name from another Grimm tale.

Male Hansel and Gretel Inspired Dog Names

Votes	Name	Vote
0	Hansel Gretel's brother
0	Hans A shorter version of Hansel
0	Engelbert Engelbert Humperdinck wrote a Hansel and Gretel Opera
0	Humperdinck Engelbert's glorious surname
0	Jacob The elder Grimm
0	Richard After Richard Strauss
0	Georg Richard Strauss's middle name
0	Karlheinz Karlheinz Böhm played Jacob in 1962
0	Laurence Laurence Harvey played Wilhelm in 1962
0	Ludwig Jacob's middle name
0	Frog After the Frog King
0	Froggie A nickname based on the Frog King
0	Jeremy Jeremy Renner played Hansel in 2013
0	Lee Jeremy Renner's middle name
0	Wilhelm The younger Grimm brother
0	Joringel The lover of Jorinde
0	Jory A shorter version of Joringel
0	Goldie Inspired by the Gold Mountain
0	Berg German for mountain
0	Carl Wilhelm's middle name
0	Tailor After the Brave Little Tailor
0	Taylor A homonym for Tailor
0	Mutig German for brave
0	Aesop The Greek storyteller
0	Grimm Inspired by the Brothers Grimm
0	Little After the Three Little Men
0	Wenig German for Little
0	Rumpelstiltskin The hair trigger straw spinner
0	Rumpelstilzchen German for Rumpelstiltskin
0	Göttingen After the Göttingen Seven

Female Hansel and Gretel Inspired Dog Names

Votes	Name	Vote
0	Gretel Hansel's sister
0	Greta Another name similar to Gretel
0	Margarete The longer version of Gretel's name
0	Marge A nickname for Margarete
0	Rapunzel The Princess with impossibly long hair
0	Rudaba The Persian story Rapunzel is based on
0	Roodabeh Another way to spell Rudaba
0	Petrosinella Rapunzel's Italian equivalent
0	Basile After Giambattista Basile
0	Cinderella The owner of the Glass Slipper
0	Barbara Saint Barbara inspired Rapunzel
0	Barb A shorter version of Barbara
0	Saulė A Baltic goddess in a similar situation as Rapunzel
0	Žemyna One of Saulė's children
0	Mutter German for mother
0	Cindy A shorter version of Cinderella
0	Rhodopis Cinderella's Greek counterpart
0	Ye Xian A Chinese tale that inspired Cinderella
0	Tấm A reference to The Story of Tấm and Cám
0	Schwester German for sister
0	Nourie After Nourie Hadig
0	Hadig Nourie Hadig is Snow White's Armenian counterpart
0	Belle Based on Toute-Belle
0	Gold-Tree Snow White's Scottish interpretation
0	Schneewittchen German for Snow White
0	Bella After Bella Venezia
0	Venezia Bella Venezia is the Italian version of Snow White
0	Myrsina Snow White's Greek equivalent
0	Myrtle Another name for Myrsina
0	Dornröschen German for Sleeping Beauty