{"Status":true,"Message":"","Response":{"post":{"postuid":"6d0e1e01-58eb-4deb-8da0-446957a9a018","tenantuid":"45a0010e-ec76-43e9-9914-4376bfa80903","projectuid":"4025e8c9-71ea-4557-850d-662c78598919","title":"Why Is It Called Pickleball?","slug":"article/why-is-it-called-pickleball","html":"\u003Cp\u003EPickleball was reportedly named after a dog named Pickles, owned by one of the sport\u0027s co-founders, who would chase down stray balls during early games. A competing account credits the term to \u0022pickle boat,\u0022 a rowing term for a boat crewed by leftover oarsmen, used to describe the mix of borrowed equipment and rules in the game\u0027s earliest days. Both stories are widely repeated, and there\u0027s no single, universally verified origin.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022the_dog_story\u0022\u003EThe Dog Story\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe most commonly told version traces back to the family of one of pickleball\u0027s co-founders in the mid-1960s. According to this account, the family\u0027s dog, Pickles, would run off with the ball during games on the family\u0027s badminton court, and the name stuck as a playful nod to the dog\u0027s antics. This version has become the most widely circulated explanation among players and in popular media coverage of the sport\u0027s history.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022the_pickle_boat_story\u0022\u003EThe Pickle Boat Story\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA second account, sometimes cited by family members involved in the sport\u0027s founding, traces the name to \u0022pickle boat\u0022 \u2014 a rowing term referring to a boat assembled from the leftover rowers not selected for other crews. The idea is that the new game was likewise cobbled together from a mix of existing equipment and rules borrowed from badminton, table tennis, and tennis, similar to how a pickle boat crew was assembled from what was left over.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ccite class=\u0022recommended\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022title\u0022\u003ENote\u003C/span\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoth origin stories have been told by people connected to the sport\u0027s founding family over the years, and there isn\u0027t a definitive, universally agreed-upon answer. Most modern sources present both explanations side by side rather than declaring one definitively correct.\u003C/p\u003E\u003C/cite\u003E\u003Chr\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022frequently_asked_questions\u0022\u003EFrequently Asked Questions\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Ch3 id=\u0022was_pickleball_really_named_after_a_dog\u0022\u003EWas pickleball really named after a dog?\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is one of the two most commonly told origin stories, and it\u0027s widely repeated in popular accounts of the sport\u0027s history. However, the \u0022pickle boat\u0022 rowing explanation is also frequently cited, and there\u0027s no single confirmed answer.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ch3 id=\u0022does_the_name_have_anything_to_do_with_actual_pickles_the_food\u0022\u003EDoes the name have anything to do with actual pickles (the food)?\u003C/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENo \u2014 neither commonly told origin story relates to the food. The name comes either from a dog named Pickles or from the \u0022pickle boat\u0022 rowing term, depending on which account you go by.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Chr\u003E\u003Ch2 id=\u0022related_articles\u0022\u003ERelated Articles\u003C/h2\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://pickleball.com/docs/en/article/who-invented-pickleball\u0022\u003EWho Invented Pickleball?\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https://pickleball.com/docs/en/article/how-to-play-pickleball-a-complete-beginners-guide\u0022\u003EHow to Play Pickleball: A Complete Beginner\u0027s Guide\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/li\u003E\u003C/ul\u003E\u003Chr\u003E\u003Cp\u003EQuestions about pickleball basics? Email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:support@pickleball.com\u0022\u003Esupport@pickleball.com\u003C/a\u003E.\u003C/p\u003E","publish_status":0,"post_type":"Article","authoruid":"42b786ed-5ff2-467c-9593-d828908ee6d2","author":{"authoruid":"42b786ed-5ff2-467c-9593-d828908ee6d2","name":"Christy Cook","url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-cook-texas/","photo_url":"https://graffiti-auf7e6dwhxhcbwek.z03.azurefd.net/45a0010e-ec76-43e9-9914-4376bfa80903/4025e8c9-71ea-4557-850d-662c78598919/4fd2cf59-047a-4a00-8a6d-2d9c6c9f91fe.jpg?v=1114665229","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-cook-texas/"},"featured_image_updating":false,"meta_description":"Discover the two popular origin stories behind pickleball\u0027s name: a dog named Pickles or the \u0022pickle boat\u0022 rowing term, with no definitive answer.","keywords":"pickleball origin; dog named Pickles; pickle boat; sport history; co-founders; rowing term; borrowed equipment; game rules; mid-1960s; competing accounts","display_toc":true,"has_workingcopy":false,"allow_indexing":true,"sort_order":2,"total_views":114,"date_stale":"2027-05-03T00:00:00","date_published":"2026-06-30T12:31:47.913","date_updated":"2026-06-30T12:31:47.92","date_created":"2026-06-30T12:29:59.047"}}}