Deer is deer- all deer are deer! Well, we know that already, but as the terms “baby”, “adult”, “old” still exist, you might ask what a young deer is called. This depends on the size of the deer along with the species. So, what is a young deer called? Here, we have presented all our research on the young deer names- take a look
Table of Contents
- Young Deer and the Names
- Common Names of Deer
- The Appropriate One
- Baby Deer calling for its mom
- Wrap Up
Young Deer and the Names
Young deer are called Fawn. This is the most common name for baby deer. The young deer is called fawn. Also, the newborn deer are referred to by this name. Then what is a calf? Why do some people call it a calf?
Yes, young deer can be called calf as well. At times, they are also named kids. However, the name of a deer depends on several things. Mostly, the species of this animal has so many things to do with the name. No matter it is an old, young, or adult deer, the specific names can vary depending on the species of deer we are talking about.
Mostly they are called fawn, kid, or calf. But if you know the exact name of a specific species of deer, you can simply call it that. After all, who doesn’t want to be more accurate?
Common Names of Deer
Here, we will talk about the most common names of deer. Also, we will discuss the details on the species because the names of young deer depend on the family and species too.
Fawn
As we have told you above, the most common name among all the deer is fawn. No matter which species it is, you can always call it a fawn. What is fawn? Well, the young-aged small or medium-sized deer species is mostly known as a fawn.
This is a name for the white-tailed deer. Also, you can call the roe deer younger self a fawn. The muntjac deer is also called by this name. Where did fawn come from? This name came from Old French. In Old French, there is a noun called “faon” and this is referred to as “a young animal.”
Though this was not specific for the deer only, this name later was adapted in English for this family. Another language that is connected here in Middle English. A word called “faunen” is the origin of the name.
This is a verb is it refers to “rejoice” or “be glad.” A newborn comes into the light of the world as a proud or glad moment. This is what this name means. These small kids don’t have horns and after a period, they start having antlers.
The newborns don’t have horns or antlers. They start growing antlers at 4-5 months of age. More specifically, they grow buttons first, and then it grows into the antler. Then what is a small deer with horn called? The same, they are called fawn with or without the antler or buttons!
Calf
We have also described another common name for the young deer which is a calf. While fawn is the most common, the larger species of deer is called calf typically. So what are the larger species of deer?
The Elk and Moose are the larger species. Also, reindeer are a large species of deer. This species is comparatively larger and if you see an Elk, Moose, or Reindeer young deer, you can call it a calf!
A very frequent question we get is “what is a young red deer called?” You are in the right section, it is also a calf. Red deer is also a larger species of deer. And so, people call it a calf if it is young. But a very important thing to be careful about is the name calf is not for deer only. The calf is a name that is referred to for other animals too.
If you are seeing a young elephant or dolphin, you can call it a calf too. Also, young or baby cows and giraffes are called calves at times. So, this is mostly a common name for the young animals and deer can be called the same!
Kid
Kids are called kids- isn’t that obvious? As we call a human child or young children as kids, the young deer can be called kids too. But why do people call a baby deer kid? The reason behind this is the size of the newborn.
The newborns are called kids often because when a deer is born, the size of the deer is almost similar to the size of a human newborn. The same thing goes for goats too. They are called kids for the same reason.
These newborn animals are the same sized as newborn deer. We have talked a lot about baby deer, but what is baby deer meat called? The meat of a kid, calf, or fawn is called venison.
The Appropriate One
We have discussed the common names of deer. But what about the appropriate one! In general, should we call a baby deer a fawn, a kid, or a calf? We recommend you to call a baby deer a calf or a fawn. Using the word kid can be more unspecific.
Also, keep in mind that it is very infrequent that people call a young deer a kid. Instead, called it fawn or calf can be more specific and most people do it! Always remember that a fawn or a calf takes almost a year to mature.
And this is when the male fawns get adult and are called stags. On the other hand, the female fawns get adult and are called doe. However, the young female and male fawns have no differences in their names. Instead, they are called male fawns or male calves and female fawns or female calves.
Baby Deer calling for its mom
Read More: Do Female Deer Have Antlers
Wrap Up
There are other names for young deer too. But we have only emphasized the common names and the ones that are known to a lot of people. While the size of the deer species is a matter when it comes to calling the fawn or calf, we recommend you to call it anything you feel better if you don’t know the specific name. A little more research will bring up some other names too!