How Every Dinosaur Got Its Name

Linguist Patrick Foote of Name Explain explored the etymological history behind every dinosaur name, noting that there were far more than he originally realized.

I went to find the list of every dinosaur name …oh god, there’s 334 of them. This is fine. We can do this. So, yeah, let’s explain how literally every dinosaur got their name. At least every dinosaur, according to the Natural History Museum.

With the list in hand, Foote went on to explain the different categories of dinosaurs, where the names originated, and what they looked like.

From the well known to the tad more obscure. So today let’s dive in and find out how every dinosaur got its name!