The word 'dodo' most likely came from the Portuguese word 'doudo' (also spelled 'doido'), meaning 'simpleton' or 'fool.' Portuguese sailors encountered the bird on Mauritius in the early 1500s, found it completely unafraid of humans, and apparently named it accordingly. The earliest written use of the word 'dodo' in English that we can point to is in a 1628 letter by Emmanuel Altham, and the first time it appeared in an English printed book was Thomas Herbert's 1634 travelogue. So the short version: Portuguese sailors probably coined it, and an Englishman put it on paper first.
How Did the Dodo Bird Get Its Name? Discovery and Etymology
Maya Castellanos
5 May 2026
The dodo's naming story in plain English
When Portuguese ships began stopping at Mauritius in the early 1500s, they found a large, flightless, thoroughly unbothered bird wandering around their campfires. The bird had no natural land predators and had never learned to fear anything. It walked up to sailors, showed no aggression, and was easily caught. From the Portuguese sailors' perspective, the creature was, frankly, a bit dim. So they called it 'doudo,' their word for a fool or simpleton. That name stuck, softened slightly in spelling over the decades, and became 'dodo' in the English records we still use today.
What makes the story slightly complicated is that the Portuguese weren't writing careful natural history notes on the beach. The naming happened informally, through sailors' slang and ship logs, not through any formal scientific description. That's why pinning down an exact 'first use' requires digging through 17th-century manuscripts and travelogues rather than a clean, single source.
Who discovered the dodo vs who actually named it
These are genuinely two different questions, and mixing them up is the most common mistake people make when researching this topic. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach Mauritius, likely around 1507 to 1513, and so they were almost certainly the first Europeans to encounter the dodo. But 'encountering' something and 'naming' it in a way that survives in the written record are very different things.
The Dutch get involved next. Dutch Vice-Admiral Wybrand van Warwijck led an expedition that arrived at Mauritius in 1598, and it was the Dutch who formally settled and documented the island over the following decades. Dutch records from that period use their own names for the bird, most notably 'Walghvoghel,' meaning something like 'disgusting bird' or 'nauseating fowl' (apparently the meat wasn't great), and later 'Dronte.' The Dutch term 'Dodaars' also appears in some records, though that name was applied to other birds too.
So to be precise: Portuguese sailors likely named the bird 'doudo' colloquially in the 1500s, Dutch explorers documented it under different names starting in 1598, and English writers adopted and printed the word 'dodo' in the 1620s and 1630s. No single person both discovered and named the dodo in one tidy moment.
A timeline of first encounters and naming records
| Date | Who | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| c. 1507–1513 | Portuguese sailors | First Europeans to reach Mauritius; likely first to encounter the dodo informally; no surviving primary-text naming record from this period |
| 1598 | Dutch expedition under Wybrand van Warwijck | Mauritius formally visited and later renamed after Prince Maurits; Dutch records begin; bird documented as 'Walghvoghel' |
| 1628 | Emmanuel Altham (English) | Writes a letter from Mauritius to his brother Sir Edward Altham (now held at the Morgan Library); the term referencing 'dodo' appears here, making it the earliest known English written use |
| 1634 | Thomas Herbert (English) | Publishes 'A Relation of Some Yeares Travaile, Begunne Anno 1626,' widely cited as the first printed English book to use the word 'dodo'; Herbert also attributes the name to Portuguese origin |
| Late 1600s onward | Various European writers | The word 'dodo' becomes standard across European languages; the bird itself is extinct by the 1660s–1680s |
Thomas Herbert's 1634 book is particularly useful because he actually comments on the name's origin, noting it as a 'Portuguize name' tied to the bird's simpleness. That's an early 17th-century writer telling us directly where he thought the word came from, which gives the Portuguese-origin theory solid historical grounding even if it isn't a primary Portuguese source itself.
The etymology: why 'dodo' of all things
There are four main theories for where the word 'dodo' comes from, and they aren't all mutually exclusive. Here's how each one holds up.
The Portuguese 'doudo' theory (strongest case)
The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, Etymonline, and the Académie française all point to the Portuguese word 'doudo' (modern Portuguese 'doido'), meaning simpleton, fool, or someone a bit mad. The logic is intuitive: Portuguese sailors saw a bird that walked toward them without fear, let itself be caught, and showed none of the survival instincts they'd expect from wildlife. Calling it a 'fool' of a bird makes complete sense in that context. This is the most widely accepted etymology, and it has the backing of Herbert's own 1634 commentary describing the Portuguese-origin connection.
The Dutch 'dodoor' theory
Some etymologists have proposed that the word derives from the Dutch 'dodoor,' meaning a sluggard or lazy person, which would carry a similar insulting meaning. The Dutch were deeply involved in Mauritius during the period when the dodo was being documented, so this isn't an unreasonable candidate. However, the Portuguese connection is generally considered better supported, partly because the Portuguese arrived earlier and partly because early English writers like Herbert specifically point to a Portuguese origin.
The onomatopoeia theory
A more playful theory, associated with researcher Van Wissen (1995) and older sources, suggests that 'dodo' is mimetic: it copies the sound the bird actually made. The idea is that the dodo's call sounded something like 'doe-doe,' and sailors simply wrote down what they heard. It's a fun theory and linguistically plausible (plenty of bird names are onomatopoeic, after all), but as the Dutch etymological dictionary Ensie notes, there aren't strong primary sources to support this over the Portuguese-origin explanation. The call theory remains speculative.
The Malay connection
A smaller body of research suggests Malay-language influence, given that Portuguese sailors regularly traded through Southeast Asian routes and could have borrowed or blended vocabulary. This theory is less developed and not widely cited in major dictionaries. It's worth knowing about if you're digging deep into the etymology, but it shouldn't displace the Portuguese-origin explanation as your working answer.
Common misconceptions worth clearing up
- Misconception: One person discovered and named the dodo. Reality: The Portuguese encountered it first, the Dutch documented it under different names, and English writers adopted and printed 'dodo' decades later. It's a layered, multi-language history.
- Misconception: Thomas Herbert invented the word 'dodo.' Reality: Herbert was the first to print it in an English book (1634), but Emmanuel Altham used it in a letter six years earlier (1628), and the word almost certainly existed in Portuguese sailor slang long before either of them.
- Misconception: The dodo's name comes from what it looked like. Reality: The name comes from its behavior, specifically its fearlessness and apparent lack of survival instinct, not its physical appearance.
- Misconception: 'Dodo' is a Dutch word. Reality: The most credible etymology traces it to Portuguese. The Dutch had their own names for the bird ('Walghvoghel,' 'Dronte') and those are separate from the word 'dodo.'
- Misconception: Later popular anecdotes are reliable primary sources. Reality: Much of what gets repeated about the dodo comes from secondary summaries. For anything you want to verify, you need to trace claims back to the actual 17th-century manuscripts and editions.
How to research this properly today
If you want to go beyond the popular-etymology version and actually verify these claims, here's how I'd approach it. The goal is to get as close to primary sources as possible rather than relying on one encyclopedia entry that may be copying another.
- Start with major etymological dictionaries. The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and Etymonline both give the Portuguese 'doudo' origin with a date range of 'early 17th century.' These are good baselines but not endpoints.
- Track down the Altham letter (1628). The Morgan Library and Museum holds the autograph letter signed by Emmanuel Altham from Mauritius to his brother Sir Edward Altham, dated June 18, 1628. Their catalog is searchable online, and this is the earliest known English-language manuscript reference to 'dodo.'
- Find Thomas Herbert's 1634 travelogue. The Open Library has records for 'A Relation of Some Yeares Travaile, Begunne Anno 1626' (1634 edition). Herbert's own commentary on the word's Portuguese origin, quoted in sources like Languagehat, is the earliest printed English explanation of the etymology.
- Cross-check the Dutch records. For the 'Walghvoghel' name and Wybrand van Warwijck's 1598 visit, Dutch colonial voyage records are the primary reference. Comparing Dutch nomenclature with the 'dodo' etymology side by side helps clarify that these are parallel naming traditions, not the same one.
- Consult specialist etymological dictionaries. For the Dutch-language side, the Ensie etymological dictionary of Dutch bird names ('Verklarend en etymologisch woordenboek van de Nederlandse vogelnamen') directly discusses the competing theories, including the Portuguese 'doudo' and onomatopoeic 'doe-doe' explanations, with notes on the strength of evidence for each.
- Be skeptical of single-source claims. If a website says 'Dutch sailors named the dodo' without citing a specific document, or attributes the naming to one specific person without a manuscript reference, treat it as a secondary summary that needs verification.
One practical tip: when you search for the Altham letter or the Herbert travelogue, search by the specific dates and institutional holders (Morgan Library, Open Library) rather than just the names, because there are a lot of derivative summaries floating around that can crowd out the actual archival records in search results.
Where 'dodo' fits in the bigger picture of bird naming
The dodo's naming history is actually a great case study in how common bird names form. Sailors and travelers rarely had ornithologists on board. They named what they saw using the vocabulary of their own language and their immediate impressions, whether that was the bird's behavior (doudo, the fool), its taste (Walghvoghel, the disgusting bird), or its sound. The name that survived wasn't necessarily the most accurate or the earliest; it was the one that made it into influential printed texts at the right moment in history.
That pattern shows up across bird names everywhere. If you're curious how the dodo's name compares with other extinct birds whose names start with the same letter, or if you're wondering how to spell or say 'dodo' correctly, those are rabbit holes worth exploring. If you want a concrete example, try looking up a specific extinct bird that starts with D, like the dodo extinct birds whose names start with the same letter. If you also want the exact pronunciation, this guide on how to pronounce dodo bird can help you nail it spell or say 'dodo' correctly. If you’re asking how do you spell dodo bird, the short answer is that it’s spelled D-O-D-O how to spell or say 'dodo' correctly. And if you're naming a pet bird after this most famous of extinct species, the name carries a lot of etymological weight: you'd essentially be calling your bird 'the simpleton,' which, depending on your bird's personality, might be perfectly apt. If you want inspiration for your own pet, there are also good names for a dodo bird that fit the bird's quirky, “simpleton” vibe.
FAQ
Is “dodo” definitely Portuguese, or could another language be the source?
Portuguese is the leading explanation, but it is not “proven” from a single Portuguese primary document. The stronger reasoning is the early European presence in Mauritius plus English writers who explicitly connect the word to Portuguese vocabulary, while other theories (Dutch, sound imitation, Malay) have less direct evidence.
Did the Portuguese name the bird formally, like a scientific species name?
No. The naming appears to have been informal, based on sailors’ impressions and slang, later filtered into logs and travel writing. Because it was not a standardized scientific description, you should expect multiple competing labels from different nations before “dodo” stabilized.
Who should you credit for the first use of the word, the Portuguese sailors or the English writers?
It depends what you mean by “first use.” Portuguese sailors likely used the label orally or in non-surviving records in the early 1500s, but English writing gives the earliest clear surviving evidence you can point to, like the 1628 letter and the 1634 printed book.
Why do Dutch sources show different names like “Walghvoghel” and “Dronte”?
Different ships and national crews applied their own terms while documenting the island. The Dutch descriptions came later than the initial Portuguese encounters, so their names often reflect Dutch impressions (including taste-related judgments) rather than preserving the earliest Portuguese slang.
Was “dodo” originally spelled the same way every time?
Not exactly. The spelling appears to have softened or shifted as the term moved between languages and manuscripts. That is why researchers treat early spellings and variants as clues to origin rather than as separate, unrelated words.
What’s the best way to avoid mixing up “encountering” the dodo with “naming” it?
Use two separate timelines. One timeline tracks who first reached Mauritius, and another tracks when a specific word appears in surviving documents. A place-and-date match for arrival does not automatically tell you who coined the name that later became “dodo.”
Does “dodo” refer to the bird’s sound, behavior, or personality?
The most supported interpretation is behavior-linked labeling (a “simpleton” or “fool” based on the bird’s lack of fear). The sound-based theory exists, but it is speculative, and you should treat it as a secondary possibility rather than the main etymology.
If I’m researching further, what should I search for besides author names?
Search by document details that narrow results to archives, such as specific years, letter dates, collection names, and holding institutions. This helps you find the digitized or cataloged primary items rather than modern summaries that can multiply errors.
How do I spell and pronounce “dodo” correctly if I’m quoting it in writing?
Spelling is D-O-D-O. For pronunciation, many English speakers use a short, direct “DOH-doe” pattern, but if you are writing for a specific audience (for example, American versus British English), it can help to specify the intended accent in your style notes.