Moon Moon is a fictional dim-witted wolf character born from a Tumblr werewolf name generator in April 2013, when user Kitchiki joked that the goofy name would make them the dumbest wolf in the pack. The bit exploded into a wave of ask blogs, comics and pack-outcast jokes, and got a second life in 2018 when scientists floated 'moonmoon' as a name for submoons.
Origin
The character was born on April 5th, 2013, when Tumblr user Kitchiki reblogged a chart titled 'What is Your Werewolf Name?' and landed on 'Moon Moon' based on the initials P.W.[3]. Kitchiki's reply, written in all-caps, read 'MY NAME, IS FRICKIN MOON MOON. I'D BE THE MOST RETARDED WOLF. "OH SHIT WHO BROUGHT FUCKING MOON MOON ALONG?"'[5]. That single response, not the chart, is what turned the name into a character. According to Daily Dot, the original post picked up more than 800,000 notes[1].
On April 15th, 2013, Tumblr user Frukass replied with a short comic showing a wolf pack on a hunt getting derailed by Moon Moon rushing in to 'get the thing', which locked in the pack-outcast framing that later posts reused[5].
- Platform: Tumblr (viral spread)
- Creator: Kitchiki
- Date: 2013
Overview
Moon Moon is a fictional wolf who gets treated as the mentally slow, embarrassing member of an otherwise fierce pack[3]. The joke works by pairing menacing wolf imagery with dopey inner monologues, usually written in shouty all-caps, in the same silly-voice-for-an-animal tradition that powered Doge[1]. The name itself is the punchline, because 'Moon Moon' sounds too goofy to belong to a proper apex predator.
Most Moon Moon posts follow one of two formats. The first is a screenshot of a wolf photo captioned with the pack yelling at Moon Moon for ruining a hunt or 'bringing' him along[2]. The second is a first-person Moon Moon voice, wide-eyed and confused, asking things like whether he can 'internet too'[4]. Both lean on the same character beat: the rest of the wolves are cool, and Moon Moon is not.
How It Spread
Through late April 2013, the joke jumped from a one-off reply into a small ecosystem of dedicated Tumblr accounts, including the Ask Moon Moon blog[3], The Marvelous Moon Moon (which greeted visitors with 'hey, whatcha doing? are these the internets? can I internet too?')[4], The Official Moon Moon Blog, and F**k Yeah Moon Moon[3]. A Twitter account @MoonMoontheWolf and a Facebook page called 'Moon Moon The Wolf' launched around the same window, with the Facebook page going up on April 26th[3]. From Tumblr, the character bled onto Imgur, Tickld and Reddit, keeping the same 'idiot wolf ruins the hunt' beat[3].
Moon Moon even made a cameo in World of Warcraft's Patch 5.4 PTR, where dataminers tagged a new Darkmoon dire wolf boss called Moonfang with 'moon-moon' as a nickname[6].
The character got a full revival on October 10th, 2018, when Gizmodo covered astronomer Juna Kollmeier and Sean Raymond's paper on whether moons could have their own submoons[7]. New Scientist tweeted that the objects had been suggested to be called 'moonmoons', which racked up over 10,000 retweets and 28,000 likes[3]. Twitter users immediately dragged the 2013 wolf back into the replies, and Daily Dot ran a piece connecting the astronomy news to the old Tumblr saga[1].
How to Use
The classic template is a photo of a wolf (usually looking heroic or menacing) with a caption that treats Moon Moon as the pack's screw-up. Common conventions are all-caps dialogue, the phrase 'who brought Moon Moon along', and a stupid interior thought from Moon Moon himself. To make your own, pick a wolf image, write the rest of the pack's exasperated reaction, and give Moon Moon one dumb line that undercuts whatever serious thing is supposed to be happening.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Moon Moon?
Moon Moon is a fictional wolf character portrayed as the goofy, slow-witted outcast of his pack, usually paired with silly inner monologues[3].
Where did Moon Moon come from?
The character came from an April 5th, 2013 Tumblr post by user Kitchiki, who got the name 'Moon Moon' from a 'What is Your Werewolf Name?' chart and joked he'd be the dumbest wolf ever[3][5].
What does Moon Moon mean?
In meme use, 'Moon Moon' is shorthand for the embarrassing dummy in any group, based on the wolf character[1]. Unrelated to the meme, Urban Dictionary also logs slang senses of the name[8].
How do you use Moon Moon?
People typically caption a wolf photo with the pack yelling at Moon Moon for ruining a hunt, or write a first-person Moon Moon line like 'can I internet too?' to play the confused-idiot beat[4][5].
Is Moon Moon still popular?
Moon Moon peaked in April 2013 on Tumblr and got a second wave in October 2018 after New Scientist's viral 'moonmoons' submoon tweet pulled the old wolf jokes back into circulation[7][1].
