What was Pac-Man’s original name?

Few video game characters are as instantly recognisable as a yellow circle with a wedge-shaped mouth. Surely his name has always been Pac-Man? The Apple is certain, and has already eaten three imaginary dots. The Sole, who has spent many lunchtimes under desks next to kids arguing about arcade games, says the name had a quick and very sensible makeover.

The short answer

Pac-Man was originally called Puck Man. That was the name used when Namco launched the arcade game in Japan in 1980. The name was changed for the American market, reportedly over fears that vandals would scratch the ‘P’ into a rude word starting with ‘F’.

The real story

The game was designed at Namco by Toru Iwatani, and its big idea was refreshingly simple: instead of blasting things, you eat them. A maze, a lot of dots, four ghosts and one very hungry hero.

The character’s name came from a Japanese expression, paku-paku, an onomatopoeic way of describing a mouth opening and closing over and over, like someone munching. That gave the working name Pakkuman, which became Puck Man, a name that also suited the character’s round, puck-like shape.

As for the design itself, Iwatani has told the story of looking at a pizza after a slice had been taken out and seeing a mouth in the shape that was left. It is a lovely origin story, though it rests on his own recollection.

When the game headed to the United States, he was renamed Pac-Man. Arcade cabinets lived in public places, and it did not take much imagination to see what a bored teenager with a marker pen could do to ‘Puck’. The new spelling kept the sound and removed the risk.

The ghosts got memorable names too: Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde. The Apple insists Clyde is her favourite because he seems the least organised, which she finds relatable.

Why people get it wrong

Pac-Man became a global phenomenon under his American name, with merchandise, cartoons and endless sequels. The original Japanese name lived mostly in early arcade cabinets and collectors’ trivia.

And the new name fits so perfectly that it feels like it was always meant to be. That is the sign of a very good rebrand. Ask most players today and they would struggle to believe the character ever answered to anything else, which is exactly what the people who renamed him were hoping for.

The Wiper fully supports the name change, as he has personally been defaced by more whiteboard markers than he can remember. Which, admittedly, is not many.

“A whole name change just to stop people drawing on it. I get it. I’ve been drawn on by bored kids for thirty years and nobody ever gave me a rebrand.”