Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a three part pancocojams post series about the name "Frankenstein" in English language children's recreational rhymes.
This post presents some information about 19th century author Mary Shelley's novel entitled Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus.
This post also includes some responses to the question "Why do so many people believe the monster's name is Frankenstein when that really was the name of the doctor who created the monster?"
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-name-frankenstein-in-examples-of.html_ for Part II of this pancocojams series. That post presents examples of children's recreational rhymes that include the name "Frankenstein" (A-L).
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-name-frankenstein-in-examples-of_21.html for Part III of this pancocojams series. That post presents examples of children's recreational rhymes that include the name "Frankenstein" (M-Z)
The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Mary Shelley for writing the Frankenstein novel and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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This series replaces the now deleted November 2020 pancocojams post "The Name "Frankenstein" In Examples Of Children's Jump Rope & Handclap Rhymes."
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
This post departs from the primary mission of this pancocojams blog which is to present information and examples of African American culture and other Black cultures throughout the world.
As is the case with some other examples of recreational rhymes that are showcased on pancocojams, I'm sharing information and examples of the background of rhymes that include the name "Frankenstein" because I'm interested in collecting, studying, and sharing recreational rhymes.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE FRANKENSTEIN NOVEL
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein#Frankenstein_and_the_Monster
"Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley (1797–1851) that tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20.[2] Her name first appeared in the second edition published in Paris in 1821.
[...]
It has had a considerable influence in literature and popular culture and spawned a complete genre of horror stories, films and plays.
Since the publication of the novel, the name "Frankenstein" has often been used to refer to the monster itself.[8][9][10]
[…]
Frankenstein and the Monster
Part of Frankenstein's rejection of his creation is the fact that he does not give it a name, which causes a lack of identity. Instead it is referred to by words such as "wretch", "monster", "creature", "demon", "devil", "fiend", and "it"."...
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This sentence is given in italics to highlight it.
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WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT FRANKENSTEIN IS THE MONSTER;S NAME INSTEAD OF THE NAME OF THE DOCTOR WHO CREATED HIM?
Source #1
From AI Overview (retrieved January 21, 2026 in response to my question "Why is the monster in the novel "Frankenstein" called by that name and not the monster's inventor?")
The monster in Frankenstein isn't called by a specific name in Mary Shelley's novel; he's referred to as the "creature," "wretch," or "fiend," while Frankenstein is the surname of his creator, Victor Frankenstein. This common confusion stems from popular culture, especially the 1930s Universal films and subsequent adaptations, where the title and marketing often blurred the creator's name with the creation, leading the public to mistakenly believe "Frankenstein" was the monster's name.
In the Novel
Victor Frankenstein: The scientist who creates the being.
The Creature: The being himself is never given a proper name in the book, though he refers to himself as "Adam" in relation to Victor as his "God" or "Father," and others call him "creature," "monster," "wretch," or "devil".
Why the Misconception Grew
Early Adaptations: Even the first successful stage play (1823) left the monster unnamed, but later stage and film versions began to label the monster as "Frankenstein".
Film Influence: The iconic 1931 film Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff as the creature, heavily popularized the idea, especially with titles like Bride of Frankenstein.
Cultural Shortcut: "Frankenstein" is a shorter, more memorable shorthand for "Frankenstein's monster," making it the default name in casual speech and media.
In essence, the monster's lack of a name in the novel highlights his alienation, but popular media eventually gave him a name by adopting his creator's surname, despite the original text's clear distinction."
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Source #2
From https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-many-people-believe-that-Frankenstein-is-the-monsters-name-instead-of-the-doctors
Response #1 - Mark Stamp, 2018
“The monster was never given a name in the story. So referring to it always involved phrases like “the monster” “it” or “Frankenstein’s monster” to clarify you were talking about the book but that last one is a mouthful.
Words have power, so the gravest mockery that Victor Frankenstein could give to his creation was to not give it a name.
Beyond that, something tells me that plastering “Frankenstein” in big letters over posters with Boris Karloff’s neanderthalish makeup may have had something to do with the association.
Response #2-
"Nevermind the movie posters and popular culture, the BOOK is called “FRANKENSTEIN” and to a casual observer (and many readers) is about the creation, not the creator. Thus, the name has been regularly applied in the same way.
There’s some apparent ambiguity in the subtitle, too - ‘A modern Prometheus’ - given that Prometheus stole from the gods (just as Dr. took/copied the ability to grant life from God) despite being just a lowly creation of the same (just as the ‘monster’ was merely a creation). And what did Prometheus take but fire - the fire channeled by Dr. into creation. Both the man and the monster can be aligned with Prometheus, both the man and the creation (son) therefore also have claim to the name.”…
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Source #3
From https://www.facebook.com/groups/1310508596300250/posts/1721425888541850/ English Literature Society- Read More Books
Admin, October 3, 2025
"Do you know The Monster In Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein" Has No Name
A common misunderstanding is that the monster is named Frankenstein, when in fact he remains nameless throughout the novel. It is thought that during a reading of the book, Shelley referred to the monster as 'Adam,' a nod to the Garden of Eden."
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This concludes Part I of this pancocojams series.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
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