Who Names the Southern Resident Orcas?

In the Puget Sound area, we have three pods of orcas known as the Southern Residents. I am often asked how our orcas got their names.  

Each orca has both a scientific name and a regular name.  Their scientific name is given to them by the Center for Whale Research. The letter designates to which pod they belong: J, K, or L. The number following the letter is the order in which they were named. J1 was the first member of J pod to be named, J2 the second, and so on. Our newest calf in J pod is J45.

Their regular name is given to them by The Whale Museum. Calves are named after they have survived their first year.  Members of the museum send in their choices for names, a list of favorites is compiled, and a vote is held. All members of the museum are eligible to vote.  One of the cutest sets of  names belongs to J22 who was named Oreo, and her offspring who are J34 DoubleStuf and J38 Cookie. J1 who is probably the most famous is Ruffles because of his tall, wavy dorsal fin. And J2 is the oldest at present. She is Granny who is approximately 98 years old.

A complete set of our orcas scientific names and their regular names can be found on The Whale Museum’s website.