A Pig Named "Porkchop"

Vyvyan: Bacon Sandwich here is known as a pig ferret.
Guard: Bacon Sandwich? That's a funny name for a ferret.
Vyvyan: Aha, that's why I had you fooled because it's not a ferret it's a pig!

— The Young Ones

A lot of animals' main relationship with humans is as a food source. We also like to give animals names. Sometimes the name reflects this relationship.

When used for an actual farm animal, this is an acknowledgement of its fate and a reminder not to get too attached. When used for a Housepet Pig, it is more ironic, referencing that the animal isn't going to be treated this way. When used as a Funny Animal's actual name, it's just weird. It might also have kind of disturbing implications if you think too hard about it.

A mouse or rat named after cheese products would not be an example as although it is a naming stereotype of them, such products don't come from said animals. For rats and mice with cheese-related names, see Stock Animal Name. A cow, sheep, or goat named after cheese (and other dairy) products, however, would, as said products come from such animals.

This trope doesn't just apply to meat; this also applies to other food products from animals, such as cows with milk-related names, chickens with egg-related names, sheep with wool-related names, and bees with honey-related names.

Pigs are particularly prone to this, possibly because the English language has a lot of words for pork products.

Subtrope of Theme Naming. Might be a Punny Name if the name is a pun on meat. Compare Edible Theme Naming, A Dog Named "Dog", A Lizard Named "Liz", and Species Surname. Related to Carnivore Confusion.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• In Excel♡Saga, Excel names a stray dog she designates for emergency rations “Menchi”, a.k.a. mince meat.
• In Monster Musume, a lot of the Monster Girls working at the Black Lily ranch have names like this, such as Mil (from milk), Cream, Urt (from yogurt), or Chizu (from cheese).
• Nagasarete Airantou gives us Tonkatsu the piglet, Karaage the chicken, and Beefsteak (yes, in English) the calf. These names are likely intended as a harmless joke, as the people of Airantou explicitly acknowledge the animals are all sapient and thus have a mostly-vegetarian diet.
• In Silver Spoon, Hachiken got attached to a piglet, which he named Pork Bowl (with suggestions from his friends since the pig will be raised for meat and slaughtered eventually...). He later did the same with a bunch of other piglets (much to his friends' dismay). All of this is Hachiken's way to Thank Your Prey.
• In Future Boy Conan, Jimsy names the pig he raised Umasou (Japanese for "it looks delicious").
• In Chapter 49 of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Fujiwara names a fish she had gotten to help Shirogane practice filleting for their home economics class Namero (a type of minced fish dish). The English translation of the manga keeps this theme but changes it to either Philly (in the fan translation) or Tartare (in the official Viz release).
• Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle: When the Demon Castle starts to raise giant demonic birds as a side gig, the Princess naturally decides to name them things like "Fried Chicken", "Buffalo Wing", and "Nugget."

Comic Books

• Bacon And Egg is a Swedish comic about a pig and a duck named Bacon and Egg.
• The Beano has Rasher the Pig (as in, a rasher of bacon).
• One of DC Comics' Funny Animal characters is a pig named Peter Porkchops. He first appeared in Leading Comics in 1948; in 1982, he was revived for Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!, in which he became the Super Hero Pig-Iron.
• In the Disney Ducks Comic Universe, Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge McDuck have ancestors named Roast McDuck and Stuft (stuffed) McDuck.
• Monica's Gang: Chuck Billy owns a pig named Porkchop. In the Brazilian original, the pig is called Torresmo (which means "pork rind" in Portuguese).
• Spider-Ham: The main character is Peter Porker the Funny Animal pig. His superhero name, Spider-Ham, also contains a meat product. Subverted, however, as Spider-Ham is not a pig that bitten by a spider, but a spider who was bitten by a pig.
• Sonic the Comic: One of the Funny Animal Freedom Fighters is a pig named Porker Lewis.
• Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW): A Recurring Extra and eventual Ascended Extra is a sheep we eventually learn is named Lanolin. Lanolin is a type of wax found in sheep’s wool used to make makeup and skincare products.

Comic Strips

• Bloom County: Outland had a pig named Hamon Eggs.
• Dennis the Menace (UK): Rasher, Dennis' pet pig, is named after the British English word for a strip of bacon. The Rasher strip introduced his relatives Hamlet, Virginia Ham, and Uncle Crackling.
• Garfield: When Jon got a goldfish, Garfield immediately named him Sushi.
• Li'l Abner: Salomey the pig, whose name is a play on "salami".
• Mother Goose and Grimm has Ham the pig.
• Oink!: Many one-shot pig-parodies of comic strip heroes have food-based names, such as Ham Dare: Pig of the Future.
• U.S. Acres: Lanolin the sheep is named after an oil extracted from wool and used for soaps and cosmetics.

Fan Works

• Elementals of Harmony: In My Little Praetor: "Second Opinion", there's minotaur siblings, a.k.a bull/cow men, with the nicknames of Chuck, Spare Rib, and Headcheese.
• Pokémon Crossing: Downplayed:
  • The Sussexes (a family of chickens) have this for their names: Mornay is named after 'eggs mornay', Tamako is a pun on tamago (Japanese for egg), and Holly is a pun on hollandaise sauce. Holly's deadname (Benedict) is a reference to eggs benedict.
  • The Chavignols (a family of goats) are named after a French goat cheese.

Film — Animated

• Moana has Pua the pig, whose name comes from the word "puaka", which means "pig" and "pork" in various Polynesian languages. Maui nicknames Heihei the chicken "Drumstick", and makes no secret that he wants to eat it.
• Toy Story: One of the main characters is a piggy bank named Hamm. When playing, Andy gives him the character name "Evil Dr. Pork Chop".
• Zootopia: Towards the end, there's a ram named Woolter.

Film — Live Action

• Varsity Blues, Billy Bob's pet pig is named Bacon.

Literature

• In Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, Tsurugi names her pet rabbit "Meat".
• The Hungarian short novel Legenda a nyúlpaprikásról features a rabbit named Paprikás, i.e. "stew".
• Codex Alera: Maximus picks up a bull-like riding beast called a taurg during the campaign in Canea. In revenge for his saddlesores and the creature's general disposition, he names it Steak-And-New-Boots.
• In Haruhi Suzumiya, there is a cat named Shamisen after a stringed instrument traditionally covered with cat skin.

Live-Action TV

• In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Spike's Affectionate Nicknames for Dawn include "Nibblet" and "Platelet." Spike, it should be mentioned, is a vampire.
• iCarly: The baby chicks that Carly and Sam hatch in "iHatch Chicks" are named after egg-based puns: Shelley, Huevo, Omelet, Benedict, Yoko^note As in, "Yolk"-o., and Poachy.
• Neighbours: The Kennedy family once had a pet sheep called Cassie, which was short for Lamb Casserole.
• Top Gear: Two specials have the presenters having to ride horses. In the first instance, Jeremy names his horse Tesco, and in the second one, Burger.
• The Young Ones: Vyvyan tries to sneak a pig into a TV game show by claiming it's his team's mascot, Bacon Sandwich. (Granted, he also claims it's a deformed ferret rather than a pig, but he later admits that that part isn't true.)

Puppet Shows

• The Muppets:
  • There are pigs named Link Hogthrob (as in sausage links) and Dr Julius Strangepork in The Muppet Show.
  • There is a boar named chieftain Spa'am in Muppet Treasure Island.
  • A female pig in Muppets Tonight gets a twofer with her name, Spamala Hamderson.
• Shari Lewis' signature puppet Lamb Chop, which got its own show in the 1990s, Lamb Chop's Play-Along.

Video Games

• Amanda the Adventurer has a sheep character named Wooly.
• Animal Crossing:
  • There is a duck named Pate, who is named after the liver used as a dish.
  • Zucker the octopus's original Japanese name is "Takoya", from "takoyaki", a food made with octopus meat — his design is even based on a takoyaki ball!
  • Two chicken villagers are named Egbert and Benedict (after eggs Benedict). Ironically, they're both male.
  • There are bull villagers named Angus and T-Bone, respectively named for a kind of beef and a kind of steak.
  • A cow villager is named Patty, after a hamburger patty.
  • There are pig villagers named Chops, Cobb, Hambo, Pancetti, Rasher, and Spork; respectively named for pork chops, Cobb salad (often made with bacon), ham, pancetta, bacon, and pork.
  • Another pig villager is named Kevin.
  • One of the frog villagers is named Jambette, from the French word for "leg," "jambe."
  • For a non-food but still an animal product example, there is Elmer the horse, as in the brand of glue. Although this could be an outdated example, as Elmer's Glue isn't made from horses anymore.
  • Another one would be Pashmina the goat, named after pashmina wool, and Woolio and Cashmere the sheep.
  • There is an alligator villager named Boots, a reference to alligator leather boots.
• Banjo-Tooie has a pig who introduces himself as Chris. When Kazooie remarks that it's not a very pig-like name, he clarifies that his full name is Chris P. Bacon.
• Cuphead:
  • One of the many-many villains in the game is a bee named Rumor Honeybottoms.
  • The DLC has Esther Winchester, a cow cowgirl who's named after a brand of beef. Taken even further for Black Comedy when she gets turned into living beef sausages thanks to her own vacuum gun malfunctioning.
  • And of course, Porkrind the shopkeeper pig.
• Donkey Kong:
  • Diddy Kong Racing: Drumstick the Rooster, "drumstick" being the term for a chicken leg being used as food.
  • Donkey Kong Country Returns and its sequel Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze have a pig named Professor Chops.^note Although he wasn't given that name until the latter. In the former, he's just called "Tutorial Pig".
• In Illusion of Gaia, the princess has a pet pig named Hamlet. In a surprising subversion of the Ironic Name, he pulls a Heroic Sacrifice and barbecues himself.
• Littlewood: The only Pig Man the Player Character ever runs into is named Hamilton.
• Minecraft: Subverted in Minecraft: Story Mode. The protagonist has a pet pig named Reuben. Some have drawn parallels to the form of sandwich, but a Reuben sandwich uses corned beef for its meat, not pork.
• Pokémon Scarlet and Violet introduces the piglike Pokémon Lechonk. "Lechón" is a roasted pig dish found in many Hispanic countries.
• Splatoon:
  • The first game introduces a squid Idol Singer duo called the Squid Sisters, comprised of Callie and Marie. If you put both of their names together, they form a pun on the word "calamari", a term for squid served as food.
  • Splatoon 2 introduces a spider crab named Bisk. His name is derived from the word "bisque", a type of soup that is commonly made from crabs or other crustaceans.
• Super Mario Bros.:
  • There are recurring shark enemies named Sushi.
  • Paper Mario 64: One of the partners is a Cheep-Cheep (a fish-like creature) named Sushie.
  • Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: Chef Shimi, also a Cheep-Cheep, is named after sashimi.
  • Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars: A Giant Squid fought as a boss is named King Calamari.
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: In one of the fights in the arena, you fight side-by-side with a wild boar named Porkchop.
• Fallout: The series features a recurring series of canine characters all named "Dogmeat".
• Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves: General Tsao the Chinese rooster is named after a chicken dish.
• Yakuza 0: Nugget the Chicken. Mildly ironic in that Kiryu adopted Nugget after deciding not to let a bowling alley attendant slaughter, cook, and serve it to him.
  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon features Nugget's Expy Omelette, who, like Nugget, is something of a financial wizard.

Web Animation

• JaidenAnimations: A variation in Jaiden's Nuzlocke playthrough of Pokemon Ruby, where she names her Torchic (a Pokemon based off a baby chicken) "Teriyaki," as a joke on teriyaki chicken.
• In The Oats Series, there is a pig who is a rapper, known as, you guessed it, Porkchop the Rapper. His rap song that he sings in the first Oats Movie also contains numerous references to pigs and pork.

Webcomics

• The sarnothi people from Selkie raise giant eels both for food and for their leather, which is traditionally used to make clothing. Hinting at this eventual fate, one particular eel is named Pants.
• XO Seal: One of the members of the Livestock Mob is a rotund pig named Pork Round.

Western Animation

• Courage the Cowardly Dog has a rare vegetarian example, as the eggplant army in "Journey to the Center of Nowhere" is headed by two guys named after Baba ghanoush and ratatouille.
• The Dragon Prince: A fictional-species variant in the form of Bait the glow-toad. In-universe, glow-toads are used as bait to catch fish. Callum mentions that it was King Harrow who came up with the name and uses it as an example of his stepfather's weird sense of humor.
• Drawn Together: One of the housemates is a pig named Spanky Ham.
• In Hazbin Hotel, Angel Dust has a demonic pig for a pet named Fat Nuggets.
• Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts: Kipo names a mutant pig "Mandu", a type of Korean dumpling that sometimes contains pork, because her body shape reminded her of them.
• Looney Tunes has Porky Pig who is obviously a pig, as well as a chicken named Egghead Jr.
• Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: The name of the pig is Hamilton, unlikely to be a coincidence. His full name is, in fact, Hamilton Hocks.
• The Magic School Bus: Mr. Ruhle's pet chicken Giblets is named after the edible offal of a bird, typically the heart, gizzard (stomach), liver, and other organs.
• Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series: Duke L'Orange is an anthro duck whose name is a play on "duck a l'orange".
• Milly, Molly: There is a bull named Beefy.
• South Park: In "Cock Magic," the boys adopt a scrawny chicken to partake in a Magic: The Gathering tournament, and name him "McNuggets".
• Robot Chicken: A Wonder Pets! sketch has the pets help out a calf named Veal, rescuing her from a cramped stall and bringing her to the neighboring Laughterhouse to cheer her up. Only after she's been killed do they realize that the 'S' fell off and it's actually a slaughterhouse.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) has a number of such characters in the toyline, due to its propensity for Punny Names:
  • There's a villainous mutant bull named Groundchuck. Chuck is a certain cut of meat from cattle, and ground chuck is commonly used for burgers.
  • There's also a heroic mutant manta ray named Ray Fillet, with a fillet being a boneless cut of meat. His toy came with a partner, a generic-looking mutant fish named Fishstix, which is an obvious pun on fish sticks, which are ground fish that's been pressed into a stick shape and fried.
• Tiny Toon Adventures: Porky Pig's counterpart is a pig named Hamton J. Pig, a play on "ham".
• The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat: Peking Duck is a duck character named after a specific way to cook his kind.

Real Life

• The piglet Chris P. Bacon.
• Farmers sometimes employ this trope to distinguish animals that are to be eaten from ones that are to be kept long-term. This helps ensure their kids don't get too attached to the ones slated for somebody's dinner table.

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