He is a hare.

So why is his name Bunny? (Last name)

@SergeantQueen Oh. You are right. : )

I don’t know that it’s his last name at all, any more than Annie is Little Orphan Annie’s last name or Curious George is going to be called Mr. George when he grows up. But as far as I know, there’s no such thing as a “bunny” apart from rabbits.

Now that you’ve raised the question, I’d be more interested to know why he’s “Bugs.”

I think it is a last name because Bugs Bunny’s significant other is named Lola Bunny and I hope it’s because they got married and she took his last name, otherwise it implies that they could be family and that’s potentially incest.

“Bunny” is often used for a baby rabbit, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, the word “bunny” is derived from the word “coney” (pronounced “cunny”), which is what rabbits were called until the 18th century. So where did “rabbit” come from? Turns out it used to be the word for a baby hare.

“I hope it’s because they got married and she took his last name, otherwise it implies that they could be family and that’s potentially incest.”

Or maybe it’s one of those situations where there aren’t a lot of surnames? There are real world populations that are way more diverse than their distribution of surnames might imply.

@RedDeerGuy1
He is referred to as a Hare occasionally in Looney Tunes which is quite weird because a Hare is different than a Rabbit, which he is also referred to as, so what is he?

@SavoirFaire ”Turns out it used to be the word for baby hare” that is interesting because a rabbit and a hare are different species.

He is a Bunny Rabbit. A teenager.

@zenvelo ooooo I never considered that option!!!

Oh, dear, now I’m worried about Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Donald and Daisy Duck. I always thought they were, you know, a pair, but not married; they were just called Mouse and Duck (respectively) because that’s what they were. I did wonder as a kid whether all the Ducks (except Scrooge) were named “Duck” and why bother to have last names if they were all the same; because I knew a species wasn’t a surname.

Plenty of unrelated people with the same last names end up getting married. Maybe that’s the case with Bugs and Lola?

He’s full grown, a male, and he likes girl rabbits. He’s a rabbit. Which is a hare. But not a jack rabbit. “Bunny” is his name, not a description.

“Remarkable Rabbits” on PBS Nature right now. Just started.
“How hares differ from rabbits?”

@SergeantQueen Yup! Language evolves in interesting ways. “Rabbit” started out as a word for a baby hare, started being used for baby coneys as well, then replaced the word “coney,” which evolved into “bunny,” which became the new word for baby coneys/rabbits. And there was already an alternate name for a young hare (“leveret”), so that just became standard. Also, “bunny” is technically an informal term for a young rabbit. It is more common these days for baby rabbits to be called “kits” or “kittens.” So, yeah.

It’s “Bunny” because the cartoon is designed for children.

@Dutchess_lll No, it was the opening cartoon for plenty of adult films. It wasn’t a child’s matinee feature.

It was the Warner Bros logo for the beginning of movies made by Warner Brothers. The original cartoon / creation was for kids.

Neither. He’s a waskily wabbit at best and a varmint at worst! Also, he’s a cross-dresser.

Silly wabbit! Tricks are for kids!

I always thought he was just a waskily Wabbit.

Cookie took my answer. Bugs is a wabbit!

Bunny is a surname derived as others describing the trade or other characteristic distinguishing the individual—like “Johnson”, “Smith” or “Fletcher”.

You can understand this if you assume such creatures have the implied middle name of “The” still retained by Sylvester the Cat or Scrooge McDuck with the “mc” utilized as “of” the Duck clan. Only the animals receive such treatment. There is no Elmer the Fudd, and someone has switched Yosemite Sam’s first and last names, which explains why he is always ill tempered. Then there’s the Road Runner whose first and last names combine to derive his occupation. His adversary is saddled with the deliberate misnomer “Wylie” as cruel ridicule. It’s the cartoon equivalent of “Stable Genius”.

It’s like Foghorn Leghorn.
He’s a big cock that stutters, oh the irony.