Donkey Kong got its name because its creator believed ‘donkey’ meant ‘stupid’ in English and wanted to convey the impression that the character was a stupid ape.

Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto has said that he chose that name for the character to give the impression that it was a stupid ape.

Donkey Kong creator Shigeru Miyamoto has said that he chose that name for the character to give the impression that it was a stupid ape.Donkey Kong made a debut in gaming arcades for Nintendo on 9 July 1981. The game was Mr Miyamoto's design debut. In an interview with Nintendo, Miyamoto said that the word 'Kong' would get everyone to think about big apes and that he wanted to give the character a name that would suggest that it was a silly gorilla. He also said that although donkey was the name of an animal, he found it can also mean someone stupid when he looked it up in the dictionary. He added that Nintendo of America (NOA) refused to use it initially saying that it did not make sense, but it also said that it would make an impression to put them together as 'Donkey Kong' suggesting the character to be a big stupid ape.