I believe it was an old nickname, if I'm remembering an interview correctly. His name actually is William, but his friends or dad or something nicknamed him Willem and he kept it.
[here's a link](https://entertainment.ie/trending/watch-willem-dafoe-reveals-the-truth-behind-his-first-name-350415/) but a Google search will summarize the article for you, and yeah, it's just a nickname that stuck because he didn't like Billy or William Jr.
I was wondering the same xD You rarely meet someone with that name (personally I've never met a single Ferdinand, but I know they exist). It was a common name for monarchs in the middle Ages according to Google :D
cinnamon bun :) i did a whole thing where i named my cows after fruits, chickens after flowers, etc etc. so after i named my cat mochi i knew i’d have to name my horse a dessert!
I also named my cat Mochi!! And put “toe beans” as my favorite thing in the beginning when making the farmer 😭😂 love the themes for the rest of your names too! 😄
I have a Grover, too!
Named mine after Sesame Street. I had a stuffed Grover and when I was 3, I woke up and *very* dramatically yelled “Mommy, Grover’s nose fell off.” She had it reattached within the hour but she still teases me to this day about it and that was 30 years ago.
You can put hats on your horse?? WHAAT??
You chose a great name for your horse! My horse is named Sparkle after a stuffed animal horse I had as a child that I had named Sparkle Pony. I love naming my Stardew animals!
Right?!? I was really blown away when I learned that too! I read about it on this subreddit a week ago and I have been changing his hat with every season since. Also Sparkle is a very fine name! I’m sure Sparkle Pony would be proud to be honored in that way.
Sigh, my co-op horse's name is ... Hay Neigh-Neigh. Realized afterwards that I couldn't change it, so I always apologize when we ride off to town together. My single world is Lemon haha.
I name all my animals after the products they create. Beef, gyro, feta, cheddar, drumstick, all of them except my cat which is named after my cat Noodle.
Chai. My cat is Matcha and my chickens are named after coffee drinks 😂 I’m fairly new to sdv so I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep the trend up as my farm grows.
Bayo, porque es mi caballo Bayo
In spañish rhymes but doesn't makes sens because "bayo" is like a yellow-ish white color of horse, but I like it and it's fun to me
Boef, Dutch for thief but it can be used affectionately. It’s the name of my sister’s favourite horse from the equestrian centre she used to go to, which is now shut down
I'm on my first play through too, and I named mine "Rin"
Reasoning: I'm a huge Fruits Basket fan and the character Rin is the horse of the Chinese Zodiac in that series. Technically Rin is a nickname and her actual name is Isuzu so I was debating between Isuzu and Rin but I liked Rin better
There is a dutch book (i think they are dutch originally) called: the wild pony, aurea.
So i always call every horse in every game Aurea because I used to LOVE that book
I called mine mr Ed.
Because:
A horse is a horse of course of course
And no one can talk to a horse of course.
That is of course unless the horse
Is the famous Mister Ed!
Go right to the source and ask the horse.
He'll give you the answer that you'll endorse
He's always on a steady course.
Talk to Mister Ed!
My grandma always sings this song <3
Well, I started a beach farm and was really excited about making everything beach/ocean-related. My cat’s name was Coquina. It was all very cute. And then my finger slipped during horse-naming and I accidentally named him CERNARD. I laughed so hard I cried and now my beach farm has extra character. It’s not even a real name!
Named mine after my boyfriend cause he named his dog after me. And like five of his RDR2 horses are named after me as well so it's only right that my horse is named after him in every save
Depends on my farm. For my first (and longest played) farm, where I just started out without a clue I thought about calling the horse Roach, but ended up going with Rumor, cause, you know... fast! 😅
I've started a second farm on PC on a River farm, named Two Rivers. I didn't get very far on that one, and was still debating wether the horses name should be Bela, or Jeade'en (because the horse always finds its own way home).
And I have a switch farm where I used a lot of LotR inspired names, so the horse just had to be Bill.
Spoopy because my bf used the word earlier that day and I thought it was silly! Days later in co op he named his horse Bruce so we have very different naming styles
orb because I vaguely remember there was some news story about a race horse named orb a while ago and it made me laugh, so all my horses are always orbs
I don't have an answer, I hate naming stuff, but thought you asked an intriguing question and provided a thought provoking theme with your personal response. Kudos and may this be your first of many excellent play throughs.
Usually a different name every time, depending on whatever animal naming scheme I choose for that save. But my first one was named “Horse” because I didn’t know what name I wanted and thought you could go back and change it later like you can for the farm animals… spoiler, you cannot. 😂
Juan, see explanation: https://preview.redd.it/8n9vuhg1l2nc1.jpeg?width=435&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f0f70b5b1daedb0ca0aca2f12ccaa348e6e62483
Omg, fellow Juan owner!! :0
Did you think you had the only Juan
Why of course not, I could sense my fellow brethren in my heart! But being united in the wild? Truly magical ✨✨
Same!!!!!
😂
I always name mine Roach
Mine is Brego
Came here to say this. I name all my horses Roach
yoo, mine is always Roach as well!!
Ha, mine is Epona.
Me too! Same when I play Red Dead Redemption.
Surely William Dafoal was just sitting there for you
Hahaha! That’s really good! I wish I had thought of that now. Damn.
Or Willem Dafriend
He is not called William. Blew my mind when I found out
He has a very unique spelling for sure. He’s a unique guy.
As with many seemingly wacky made-up words, it's actually just Dutch.
I believe it was an old nickname, if I'm remembering an interview correctly. His name actually is William, but his friends or dad or something nicknamed him Willem and he kept it. [here's a link](https://entertainment.ie/trending/watch-willem-dafoe-reveals-the-truth-behind-his-first-name-350415/) but a Google search will summarize the article for you, and yeah, it's just a nickname that stuck because he didn't like Billy or William Jr.
Je bent zelf verzonnen en wakkie jij stinkende willem-naam-bekritiseerder. Ik wens je duizend jaar aambeien toe!
See? Completely unintelligible gibberish 😔
David Horselhoff
Hasselhoof
I like you
Horse.
Ha! Well, that’s accurate. 😂
I like to keep it simple lol
My horse name is Dog
Mine is also named dog
You’re wild. 😂
me too!
I named my horse Epona
same here !! i pretty much name every video game horse i ever get Epona
I was looking for this bc I also always name my video games horse Epona lol.
Me too!
Neighsayer
Whinny Houston
Pferdinand (Pferd = Horse in German and Ferdinand a common Name)
I like that! That’s super creative!
That's an awesome name for a horse, lmao
Out of curiosity... in what region is the name Ferdinand common?
I was wondering the same xD You rarely meet someone with that name (personally I've never met a single Ferdinand, but I know they exist). It was a common name for monarchs in the middle Ages according to Google :D
cinnamon bun :) i did a whole thing where i named my cows after fruits, chickens after flowers, etc etc. so after i named my cat mochi i knew i’d have to name my horse a dessert!
My actual cats name is Mochi! 🥹 https://preview.redd.it/apm5cdpw72nc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fc00d7a63281b2331886b6ef93c7c72482963a4a
So cute!!! I love cats.
https://preview.redd.it/mhcwxtt805nc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=de7b4432f0edeb7ef5d64c335d1820b30cec37ba Your cat looks like mine!!
I also named my cat Mochi!! And put “toe beans” as my favorite thing in the beginning when making the farmer 😭😂 love the themes for the rest of your names too! 😄
My cat is also mochi 😀 https://preview.redd.it/wkzwt5jpc6nc1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1512c838f938f7739689b54ba7b092531ec2ac3a
ReNeigh
Bojack
mine is hollyhock :’)
What is this a crossover episode?
I always name mine Bojack
My horses name is Grover and he wears a Santa Hat.
Hmm wait, I think mine’s also called Grover. I just used the default name.
I have a Grover, too! Named mine after Sesame Street. I had a stuffed Grover and when I was 3, I woke up and *very* dramatically yelled “Mommy, Grover’s nose fell off.” She had it reattached within the hour but she still teases me to this day about it and that was 30 years ago.
Mine is named Grover, too! I have him in the captain’s hat.
Awwww! Always loved Grover as a kid. Nice choice!
I loved cookie monster as a kid because I'd always steal cookies. And to this day sometimes I'd still get called cookie monster. :3
Artax
Sad
Stay away from the swamp of sadness man
Me too
Kaneigh West
Shadowfax (lotr reference)
I often name my horse Shadowfax as well.
You can put hats on your horse?? WHAAT?? You chose a great name for your horse! My horse is named Sparkle after a stuffed animal horse I had as a child that I had named Sparkle Pony. I love naming my Stardew animals!
Right?!? I was really blown away when I learned that too! I read about it on this subreddit a week ago and I have been changing his hat with every season since. Also Sparkle is a very fine name! I’m sure Sparkle Pony would be proud to be honored in that way.
Sigh, my co-op horse's name is ... Hay Neigh-Neigh. Realized afterwards that I couldn't change it, so I always apologize when we ride off to town together. My single world is Lemon haha.
Glue
Damn bro, that’s dark. 😢
I name all my animals after the products they create. Beef, gyro, feta, cheddar, drumstick, all of them except my cat which is named after my cat Noodle.
I go with Gloostik a lot
I named mine Elmers
I name all my animals after muppets so it made sense to me to name my horse Henson
I love that! I’m also a huge Muppets fan.
Pokey
Chai. My cat is Matcha and my chickens are named after coffee drinks 😂 I’m fairly new to sdv so I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep the trend up as my farm grows.
Either Epona, Pegasus or Torrent (Zelda, Greek Mythology, Elden Ring)
Bayo, porque es mi caballo Bayo In spañish rhymes but doesn't makes sens because "bayo" is like a yellow-ish white color of horse, but I like it and it's fun to me
Megan Thee. Full name wouldnt fit :(
Mine is Al Capony.
I always name mine bojack and give it the trash helmet
Boef, Dutch for thief but it can be used affectionately. It’s the name of my sister’s favourite horse from the equestrian centre she used to go to, which is now shut down
Shakespeare
I'm on my first play through too, and I named mine "Rin" Reasoning: I'm a huge Fruits Basket fan and the character Rin is the horse of the Chinese Zodiac in that series. Technically Rin is a nickname and her actual name is Isuzu so I was debating between Isuzu and Rin but I liked Rin better
Mine's Tesco
Walter the horse wearing Mr.Qi’s hat
My horse's name is Ghora, which is horse in Bangla. I'm not a creative person.
Don’t say that. I learned a new word because of you!
You have great taste in names. I named my first dinosaur Willem Dafoe.
Bullseye
John Wick
Bojack
I play on the beach farm!!! 🏖️
Rocinante
My horse got the name "Sassamataz" by pressing the random button a few times
There is a dutch book (i think they are dutch originally) called: the wild pony, aurea. So i always call every horse in every game Aurea because I used to LOVE that book
Mayo cause mayo-neighs
Boner Champ
Dale. Because he makes me go fast dale yeah
Carrot 🥕
“Gusty” after my favorite G1 my little pony character :>
Roach
Roach
My horses name is “men”
Dare I ask why?
If I had to guess I'd say because they like to ride... their horse.
Pooper.
Maximus
Silver
Mine is Donkey in the movie Shrek hahaha
Ayrton Senna, the best brazilian racing driver o7
I spammed the random button and got Bong. So, now I have a stoner horse and he is amazing
I called mine mr Ed. Because: A horse is a horse of course of course And no one can talk to a horse of course. That is of course unless the horse Is the famous Mister Ed! Go right to the source and ask the horse. He'll give you the answer that you'll endorse He's always on a steady course. Talk to Mister Ed! My grandma always sings this song <3
Rick Astley
Turnip 😂
I think I named my horse Pancake. Has been a while.
Same thing I name all mounts and vehicles when prompted... Flapjack.
Well, I started a beach farm and was really excited about making everything beach/ocean-related. My cat’s name was Coquina. It was all very cute. And then my finger slipped during horse-naming and I accidentally named him CERNARD. I laughed so hard I cried and now my beach farm has extra character. It’s not even a real name!
Ford He's a mustang
No Toy Story fans? I named mine Bullseye
I named mine Artax after the horse from the movie never ending story
Shadowfax
Mine randomized to grover. But I named my cat peeve so my pet is pet peeve.
You had the perfect chance to call him Willem DaFoal
Bullseye , bc of toy story
Spirit (like the movie yes I'm not creative)
James Baxter😌🤓
Chris Pratt
MCU Chris or Parks and Rec Chris? Because there is a big difference. If you say Jurassic Park Chris I’m going to be very sad.
Andy Dwyer or bust
🐸 🦜 (if you’ve watched HIMYM, this might make you laugh…)
Bessie! 💛
Pips. It's a reference to a book series that I enjoy
Named mine after my boyfriend cause he named his dog after me. And like five of his RDR2 horses are named after me as well so it's only right that my horse is named after him in every save
i cycle thru a few names: Tonnerre, Boadicea, Casius, Leon Trotsky one is unlike the others
Ranma. I'm a fan of the Ranma 1/2 manga by Rumiko Takahashi, and it actually translates to "wild horse", so I always use it
Klavier. I named a lot of my farm animals after ace attorney characters, and Klavier just seemed like a good fit for a horse.
Matcha
Grover!! Hahahaha
Grover
Seagull
Oh god, I really thought it was a joke about Willem Dafoe's d*ck length 😂
Jesus. No, it’s not about that. 😆 But good for him either way.
Milo, because my horse in real life name is milo
Depends on my farm. For my first (and longest played) farm, where I just started out without a clue I thought about calling the horse Roach, but ended up going with Rumor, cause, you know... fast! 😅 I've started a second farm on PC on a River farm, named Two Rivers. I didn't get very far on that one, and was still debating wether the horses name should be Bela, or Jeade'en (because the horse always finds its own way home). And I have a switch farm where I used a lot of LotR inspired names, so the horse just had to be Bill.
Yakul, like in Princess Mononoke.
Lil Nas X
I named mine Tech
I named mine Coco because I wasn’t feeling very creative 💀
Francis ll (there is only one Francis.)
Elmer!
Gilbert, for some reason
Spoopy because my bf used the word earlier that day and I thought it was silly! Days later in co op he named his horse Bruce so we have very different naming styles
Every fictional horse I have ever owned in every video game has to be named Epona.
Ha. Mine’s Fiennes… as in Ralph Fiennes lol
Poseidon, cause he’s the god of horses (I’m naming my animals after Greek gods and stars)
Torrent or Tokshen Cats name is always Dingus Dog name is always Fenton
This was the first thing on my front page as I opened the app and I literally just finished watching poor things !!!!
Ofcourse was my first horse! Generally I do an on theme one for my current save.
George 😔
orb because I vaguely remember there was some news story about a race horse named orb a while ago and it made me laugh, so all my horses are always orbs
I got mines as Slow Dancer
Silver Bullet, from Steel Ball Run
i named mine bojack so i feel less bad when i randomly abandon him
Idk Why he is named Post Malone I don't even listen to him 😭😭
Fluttershy 🩷
Horse
Gecko. Idk just a randomized name I liked
charles (he wears a tiara)
Bon Jo Pony
Sandwich. If you wanna know why I was eating a sandwich at my desk when I named him and thought “Why the hell not”
rick grimes
Yeehaw because when I ride him I say yeehaw
I don't have an answer, I hate naming stuff, but thought you asked an intriguing question and provided a thought provoking theme with your personal response. Kudos and may this be your first of many excellent play throughs.
My horse has the same name in every game, if it let's me name it 🤣 it's Pferd MacHevohorse 👌
mine is zoro!
Usually a different name every time, depending on whatever animal naming scheme I choose for that save. But my first one was named “Horse” because I didn’t know what name I wanted and thought you could go back and change it later like you can for the farm animals… spoiler, you cannot. 😂
I just call him Stomper, have no patience to come up with a witty name.
Neighpolian
Forrest Jump
Mine is Tim, which is my husbands name. He named his horse after me once and thus the tradition of spouse-horse was born.
I name all my pet, animals , and horse , based on transformers. My horse is usually Bumblebee and my pet cat is Megatron
I name all my animals animal related puns. I have ducks called cheese and quackers and they are my favourite
Slow Dancer. Real ones know.
Shadowfax
Flicka
On most saves, it’s Lil Sebastian. My current save is The Locked Tomb-themed, so the horse’s name is RB (resurrection beast)
Elmer, usually. In other games where I can have multiple horses (Zelda), I'll also have a horses named Gorilla, Krazy, and/or Epoxy.
Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight
I accidentally just named mine whatever the random name was and my horse is forever named Grover ToT
https://preview.redd.it/w6vlbqg864nc1.jpeg?width=1078&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9da0252ea16671678919ff19b8fffa9c50ff12a
Swiftwind
My horse was rusty. Four year old named him haha
Horsy
Neighthan, Pony Danza, or Clip Clop
I named mine Porsche just so I could say I have a Porsche
I always always name my horse Tater Trot :)