Tintin Forums

I'm not being funny about this, but I have had so many people say to me (obviously, I'm in the USA) when I refer to Tintin, "Oh, I remember Rin Tin Tin." Is there any connection between the names?

I just read in Wikipedia that the original dog was named after a puppet named "Rintintin" that French children gave US soldiers. So, both names at least come from the same language.

Welcome to the forum msegers!
I found the same thing via Rin Tin Tin's official site a few months back (see this post).
I can't verify this, but I think Rin Tin Tin was originally a drawing of a puppet (before he later became a real puppet given away by children) created by the artist Francisque Poulbot (who was famous for drawing Parisian scamps).

A possible influence on Hergé?

Further possible signs of this influence here.
Just in case the link expires, it points to a page about a book, issued in 1927; it's not by Poulbot himself, but set at an exhibition he designed for the Paris International Exposition of 1925, and featuring his characters.

The book is credited to Henry René d'Engamella - (apparently the self-styled "Mayor of Joujouville"), which is a pseudonym for one Henry René d'Allemagne (See what he did? He reversed his surname...!), and with 70 water-colour illustrations by a J. Vasquez.

The name of the book? La trés vèridique histoire de Nette et Tintin visitant le village du jouet(The Very True Story of Nette and Tintin Visiting the Toy Village)...!

So Rin Tin Tin did get abbreviated to the more familiar Tintin...!

Influence or not, that really is a nice find! Could he be the original Tintin? (with just that name, no 'Lutin' or 'Rin')

I also found this site which shows a few of Poulbot's original dolls. The text is rather poorly babeled, but it does mention that Poulbot was also a sculptor and designed the dolls himself, so that maybe answers my earlier point about whether they originated as drawings.


"Tin Tin" is the French sound for a bell, so perhaps it naturally makes for a 'cute' French name (not forgetting that it's a very nasal 'tan tan' in French). I'm guessing the original French pronunciation of the puppet/dog is also probably more like 'ran tan tan'.

There's a museum for Rin Tin Tin if you want to know more: www.rintintin.com/museum.htm

You know, you shouldn't mock Rin Tin Tin. He is older than Tintin, and he might end up biting you on the leg.

I think at his advanced age, it is more likely to be a rather toothless gumming...
Could be! As it has now cropped up in a few places, perhaps we are learning that the diminutive name Tintin might actually have been one in actual use, and not just an ad hoc creation at all?
It might just be something which has fallen out of use - along the lines of names like "Gussie" for "Augustus", which have disappeared from the radar as boy's names (in both its forms), at least in Britain.

Oh, those dolls are pretty disturbing, don't you think? Like a cross between Macaulay Culkin and Chucky...!

Another reason not to mock him. Imagine one of those biting you on the leg!

And msegers has brought all this together in a nice little essay here. Glad we could be of help!

We should also remember the rather stupid dog to be found in Lucky Luke - Rin Tin Can (or Rintanplan in French)!