'Maine Coon' named after a French river and the raccoon

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This is mainly about the origin of the name 'Maine' in Maine Coon. Although, it may interest some to know that Pinterest and TikTok do not allow searches for 'Maine Coon' as it is impolite and unacceptable today due to the woke movement to use the word 'Coon'. I understand that. But if you want to search for 'Maine Coon cats' you have to search for 'Maine cats' instead. Times have changed and the cat fancy should change in line with modern thinking and culture.

'Maine Coon' named after a French river and the raccoon
'Maine Coon' named after a French river and the raccoon. This is the Maine River fronted by a Maine Coon! Image: MikeB

Maine

Obviously 'Maine' comes from the US state of Maine which is believed to be named after the French province in the north of the country called 'Maine'. The province is named after the Maine River that runs through it. And the name of the river originates in 'Cemaine', from the Latin Cenomania, from the name of the Gaulish Cenomani tribe of Gallia Celtica. So, the first part of the name 'Maine Coon' comes from a French river. I guess you would not see that connection.

Coon

This now unfortunate word, which should really be removed from the name and the cat breed called 'Maine cat', probably comes from the misguided belief by some people, in the 19th century, that the cat was a cross between a domestic cat and a raccoon. Such a mating is genetically impossible. Another theory is that a Captain Coon had many ships' cats, and they came ashore on his travels down the east coast of America during the early years of the state of Maine. This seems fanciful.

Either way 'Coon' is now outdated and outmoded, and the cat fancy might consider renaming the breed which would be a big step for them as it is a very popular and well-known breed.

But in combination the name 'Maine Coon' has a very dubious origin. Very peculiar. Perhaps it is time to rename the breed entirely.

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