There are many iconic monsters out there with catchy official titles like Gremlins or Xenomorphs. Some even have actual names like Godzilla and the many kaiju that he battles. However, some monsters in cinema are never given an official name, leading to fans coming up with fitting names themselves.
Sometimes these creatures are officially given a name later on or the fan name spread so much that it was turned into the official canon. From giant alien creatures to silent stalkers of the sea, here are the monsters that got their names from their demographic.
Space Jockey - Alien
Thanks to Ridley Scott and his two prequel movies Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, the official name for the extraterrestrial race in the Alien franchise is Engineer. This is the race from which the alien pilot in the original movie originates with the beings said to be responsible for the creation of the human race. However, despite their importance, up until 2012, fans had only seen a small glimpse of the decaying corpse of the creature and it was never given an official name.
Unofficially, the name Space Jockey had been used for the creature during the production of the original film. The term even appears in F. S. Clarke's 1979 book Cinefantastique, as well as on trading cards. Fans ran with the name until the official moniker for the race was given in Prometheus.
Clover - Cloverfield
Being one of the most creative uses of found footage in cinema, Cloverfield was all from the perspective of a group of civilians. As a result, there was never a chance for anyone to dub the strange aquatic kaiju with a name as it rampaged through New York City. It's mostly referred to as the monster or the Cloverfield monster by viewers.
However, Clover was the name used for the creature during development and, since learning this fact, fans of the film have taken on Clover (or Clovie) as a means to give the kaiju a name much like Godzilla.
Frankenstein - Frankenstein
Anyone who has read the Mary Shelley novel or properly watched the films will likely get frustrated when the monster is referred to as Frankenstein. This is factually wrong as the monster is always referred to as simply "the monster" or "the creature."
Victor Frankenstein is the name of the scientist that creates the monster, so his creation is technically "Frankenstein's monster." However, ever since a poster for Boris Karloff's 1931 film featured the monster with the title over his face, "Frankenstein" has been the public name for it for almost a century.
Bioraptors - Pitch Black
Pitch Black, nor any of its marketing material or official statements, contains any mention of Bioraptors. In fact, according to concept art by creator Patrick Tatopoulos shared on Twitter, they are simply labeled as "Nightfall Predators."
Where the name Bioraptor came from is a bit of a mystery, with no sources to speak of on the internet, yet somehow it became the official name for these first threats that helped spawn the Riddick universe - demonstrating the power of fans when it comes to giving monikers to unnamed characters.
Rexy - Jurassic World Franchise
This is both official and unofficial depending on the canon. In the Jurassic World franchise, the main Tyrannosaurus Rex that spans across the whole timeline has no name. However, in Michael Chrichton's book, he did give the T-Rex the rather simple but effective name of Rexy.
As a result of this and the popularity of the T-Rex with so many iconic moments across multiple movies, fans took the name to heart and started calling her Rexy. Even though the film version was given a name by animatronic creator Phil Tippet, as detailed by Geek Tyrant.
Slimer - Ghostbusters
By this point, the name Slimer is as marketable as the Ghostbusters themselves but it's a little-known Ghostbusters fact that this wasn't the name Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis had in mind. In fact, the green blob of a ghost was given the title Onionhead Ghost during production.
However, the unofficial name of Slimer caught on due to a throwaway line from Ray Stantz when he mentions "slimers" that the team have caught. When The Real Ghostbusters animated series came along, Slimer became the official name for the ghost which transitioned into Ghostbusters II.
Bruce - Jaws
Probably one of the famous examples of unofficial names is the shark from Jaws. Sometimes fans refer to the animal as Jaws but the most common nickname is Bruce - the same name that was used for the great white shark in Finding Nemo.
The nickname came about thanks to director Steven Spielberg who dubbed the shark animatronic Bruce during production. Newsweek details that Spielberg began calling the shark the same name as his lawyer because the animatronic gave him and the production team many problems during filming. The name has stuck and so many longtime fans of Jaws still refer to the shark as Bruce.
Brucette - Jaws 2
The legacy of Bruce carried over into the Jaws sequel with a second shark coming along to terrorize Amity. Much like in the first film, the shark has no official name, but it has been given multiple nicknames by fans over the years - such as Scarface due to its burnt face.
However, due to Bruce being so famous and the scene in which Brody suggests that maybe the shark is trying to get revenge for him, fans created the moniker Brucette. It's a cute and humorous nod do the idea that Brucette is Bruce's mate trying to get revenge. For those interested in behind-the-scenes Jaws facts, it also turns out that Brucette was just as difficult to work with as her supposed partner, as the animatronic shark also caused numerous problems for the production team on Jaws 2.
Vengeance - Jaws: The Revenge
Sadly, where Jaws 2's line about sharks getting revenge was simply Brody not understanding shark behavior, the fourth film went all out with that concept. Jaws: The Revenge is about a shark trying to personally hunt the Brody family for the deaths of sharks in the past.
This silly and ridiculous plot led to fans calling this fourth shark Vengeance. It adds to the so-bad-it's-hilarious quality of the fourth film that only raised more questions about the Jaws franchise than answers.
Pinhead - Hellraiser
It's unanimous that the iconic cenobite leader from the Hellraiser movies is called Pinhead. That's how he's referred to in the movies, games, comics, and merchandise. However, creator Clive Barker never named him that in either the movie or his book. In fact, Barker hates the name Pinhead.
In the first Hellraiser, Pinhead was actually credited as Lead Cenobite while in the novel he's called The Hell Priest. It was because of his distinct look that fans kept calling him Pinhead and then, by the third film, he was officially named Pinhead by the filmmakers.