What is Short for Dino? An Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs Named Dino

Hey friend! Have you ever wondered about dinosaurs named Dino? As a fellow dino lover, let me walk you through the fascinating history and pop culture status of Dino as shorthand for dinosaurs. Get ready for some wild dino facts!

The Origins of "Dino" as a Dinosaur Nickname

Let‘s start at the beginning – where did this nickname come from anyway? Dino emerged as a casual shorthand way to say dinosaur. It comes directly from the Greek word "deinos." Fun fact: Deinos means "terrible" or "fearfully great." Not such a cute origin!

This ties directly back to the roots of the word dinosaur itself. In 1842, famous British paleontologist Richard Owen coined the term Dinosauria to describe the giant fossil beasts we know as dinosaurs today. He drew from the Greek "deinos" and "sauros" meaning lizard.

So both dinosaur and dino stem from the same intimidating Greek source. But how did the fearsome deinos become the adorable dino? Fossils were first called "dinosaurs" in a technical paper intended for academics. But the public latched onto the snappy short form dino in more casual conversation.

By the early 1900s, dino became the hip, cute way to talk about dinosaurs. Especially as dinosaurs shifted to beloved figures of children‘s entertainment. Brontosaurus sounds big and formal – whereas dino sounds endearing.

Over 100 years later, dino still endures as a fun shortening of dinosaur. People use it to name dinosaur toys, refer to dinosaur movies or games ("That new dino flick looks awesome!"), or make punny jokes.

Paleontologists even slip into informally calling a dinosaur specimen "a new dino." So that‘s the story of how deinos spawned dino!

Dino as a Given Name

While most associate Dino with dinosaurs, it‘s also used as a given name for people! Dino is primarily a boys‘ name meaning "little sword" or "part of God" in Italian. It also has roots in Greek and Hindi.

How common is Dino? As a name geek myself, I had to run the numbers:

Popularity Ranking for Dino as a Boy‘s Name Over Time

Year	Popularity Ranking
1880	Not ranked
1930	Not ranked
1980	#2863
2020	#6036

Based on Social Security Administration baby name data, Dino has never even broken into the top 1000 most popular boy‘s names! It peaked in the 1980s but remains super rare today. In 2020, only 38 baby boys were named Dino in the entire United States.

So while it will probably remind people of dinosaurs, Dino works great if you seek a unique name. Plus it sounds spunky, energetic, and cute for a little boy.

The name Dino is most common among the Italian American community, like actor Dino Paul Crocetti (Dean Martin). But even in Italy, Dino ranks outside today‘s top 200 names.

Fun side note: Dean Martin‘s real name Dino was chosen because his dad was a big fan of boxer Dino Sangiantomo. So one unique name inspired another!

Slang Meanings of Dino

Beyond referring to dinosaurs, Dino has some slang and abbreviation meanings too:

• DINO – Stands for "Democrat in Name Only." A Democrat perceived as too conservative or willing to work with Republicans. Often used critically. Barack Obama accused Bernie Sanders of being a DINO in 2020.

• 🦖 – The emoji of a sweet T-rex head can reference dinosaurs or pokes fun at something outdated or obsolete. Like calling an old laptop "a dinosaur."

So in political slang, a DINO is seen as antiquated. Just like the original dinosaur deinos!

Why Do We Call Them Dinosaurs? A History

Now that we‘ve covered the nickname Dino, let‘s explore a brief history of the name dinosaur itself:

The first scientific papers on dinosaurs appeared in the 1820s, describing fossils of Megalosaurus, Iguanodon, and Hylaeosaurus. But these giant reptiles had no collective name beyond "large fossil lizards."

Enter natural history superstar Richard Owen. After studying these partial fossils, Owen realized they represented a new type of extinct animal. He named this new order Dinosauria in 1842, based on the fearsome Ancient Greek roots mentioned above.

Owen envisioned dinosaurs as elephant-sized rhino/lizard mashups. Of course, later finds revealed dinosaurs like Brontosaurus that matched Owen‘s Cross Plains Mastodon in size!

While Owen coined Dinosauria in a technical paper, the term soon became popular science lore. The word dinosaur entered the Oxford English Dictionary by 1884. Dino followed as a laid-back short form. And the rest is history!

When Did Dinosaurs Live?

Before diving into pop culture dino characters, let‘s quickly cover when real dinosaurs lived. The Mesozoic Era spanned ~185 million years from 252 to 66 million years ago. It‘s better known as the "Age of Reptiles" or "Age of Dinosaurs."

The Mesozoic contains the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. Some major dinosaur debuts:

• Triassic (252-201 million years ago) – Earliest dinosaurs like Eoraptor appear. Still overshadowed by large reptiles.

• Jurassic (201-145 million years ago) – Iconic dinosaurs including Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, and Allosaurus thrive.

• Cretaceous (145-66 million years ago) – Tyrannosaurs reign. More modern birds emerge. Ends with the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction.

So the Mesozoic Era represents the golden age of famous dinosaur groups we know today. Now let‘s see some pop culture dinosaurs named Dino!

Dino Characters

While real dinosaurs had majestic scientific names, fictional dinos are often just nicknamed Dino. Here are some of the most famous pop culture characters called Dino:

Dino from The Flintstones

One of the earliest cartoon dinosaurs, Dino starred alongside Fred and Wilma Flintstone starting in the 1960s. He‘s a Snorkasaurus (fictional dinosaur breed) that behaves like a pet dog. Dino barks, wags his tail, and gives slobbery licks!

Though purplish-red, he is traditionally called a "purple dinosaur." Dino stopped talking after his first appearance but remains the Flintstones‘ beloved pet. He even appeared in the 1990s live action films!

Baby Dinos – The Ice Age Toddlers

In the 2009 sequel Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Sid the Sloth adopts three baby Triceratops he names Buck, Dino, and Eggbert. These adorable "Baby Dinos" walk on two legs, speak gibberish, and even wear diapers!

The trio provided some comic relief but also tug at the heartstrings, like when Buck and Eggbert become separated from the group. Who knew CGI dinos could make you cry?

Dino the Dinosaur – Retro Video Game Hero

Dino is the quintessential retro video game dinosaur mascot. Various games feature Dino as a fun-loving oaf stumbling through the prehistoric world. Titles include:

• DinoPark Tycoon (1993)
• Prehistorik Man (1996)
• Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (1997)
• Dino Crisis (1999)
• Peter Punk (2016)

This lovable dinosaur helps establish a cute, friendly tone for games set in the Mesozoic Era. He‘s the perfect prehistoric pal!

I hope you enjoyed this mini tour through pop culture Dinos. Now let‘s get into some seriously weird dinosaur names!

Outlandish Dinosaur Names

While "Tyrannosaurus rex" and "Brontosaurus" roll right off the tongue, some dinosaurs have truly wild names. Paleontologists get creative with Ancient Greek and Latin roots. Here are some of my favorite oddball names:

Bambiraptor

This tiny feathered dinosaur was named in 2000 after the Disney film Bambi. Just like the cute fawn, Bambiraptor had a slender build and big eyes. But don‘t forget it was still a vicious carnivore!

Fun Fact: Bambiraptor is believed to be an early relative of Velociraptor.

Dracorex hogwartsia

Named in 2006 for its dragon-like skull, this pachycephalosaur‘s species name references Harry Potter‘s Hogwarts School. The amateur paleontologist who discovered Dracorex was a big Potter fan.

Fun Fact: The skull now resides at the Children‘s Museum of Indianapolis!

Gasosaurus

This plant-eating theropod lived up to its "gas lizard" name! Gasosaurus had adaptations in its hips and gut to help digest all that vegetation, possibly leading to…powerful gas.

Fun Fact: Fossilized Gasosaurus poo gives clues to its ancient diet!

Stygimoloch

With its spiky domed head, this pachycephalosaur‘s name means "demon from the river Styx." Must have been alarming emerging from a river!

Fun Fact: Its dome may have been for head-butting, not species recognition.

Irritator

In 1996, fossils of this spinosaur were improperly assembled. The mistakes irritated paleontologists, so they named it Irritator as a dig at themselves!

Fun Fact: Irritator lived alongside Spinosaurus in Cretaceous Brazil.

And who could forget Ornithodesmus ("bird link"), Deinocheirus ("terrrible hand"), and Leaellynasaura ("Leaellyn‘s lizard")? Dinosaur names are wildly creative!

Mythic Creatures and Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs died out 66 million years before humans. But a few mythological beasts seem straight out of prehistory! Could ancient peoples have found fossils that inspired monster myths?

Deino and Persis – The Graeae Sisters

In Greek myth, Deino ("the dread") and her sister Persis ("destroyer") were Graeae – fearsome daughters of the sea gods Phorcys and Ceto. The Graeae shared one detachable eye! Deino‘s name means "terrible" in Ancient Greek – just like the root of dinosaur!

Theory: The Graeae were inspired by fossil plesiosaurs – long-necked marine reptiles resembling serpents.

Typhon – Father of Monsters

The deadliest monster in Greek myth, Typhon was a winged serpent with dozens of snake-dragon heads. He challenged Zeus for control of Earth. Zeus only defeated him by dropping mountains on him!

Theory: Typhon was imagined based on ancient peoples finding dinosaur and mammal fossils confused together.

Mokele-mbembe – The Congo Dino?

Active in remote Congo swamps, this cryptid is described as having a long neck, tail, humps, and claws – much like a sauropod dinosaur!

Theory: Mokele-mbembe may be inspired by the very last surviving sauropods. Some hope to still find living dinosaurs in Africa.

While we can‘t say for sure, it‘s tempting to imagine these mythic beasts were rooted in vague ancestral memories of dinosaurs. How would ancient Greeks react to finding massive Iguanodon bones? We can only speculate!

I hope you enjoyed this jam-packed explainer on dinosaurs named Dino – from the nickname‘s origins to its pop culture status. Let me know if you have any other questions! Dinos for life!