Every Animal EmojiEmoji
A Japanese word (絵文字) meaning 'picture character' — small graphical symbols used in digital communication to express ideas, emotions, and objects. in UnicodeUnicode
Universal character encoding standard that assigns a unique number to every character across all writing systems and symbol sets, including emoji.
The Unicode StandardUnicode Standard
The complete character encoding system maintained by the Unicode Consortium, defining characters, properties, algorithms, and encoding forms. includes over 140 animal emojis — making it one of the richest emoji categories. From beloved pets to exotic wildlife, from insects to sea creatures, the emoji animal kingdom is vast. Here is the complete collection, organized by species type and ranked by popularity.
The Most Popular Animal Emojis
Before the full list, here are the animals people reach for most:
| Rank | Emoji | Animal | Why It's Popular |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🐶 | Dog Face | Unconditional love, pet pride |
| 2 | 🐱 | Cat Face | Cat culture dominates the internet |
| 3 | 🐸 | Frog | Meme culture (Pepe the Frog), humor |
| 4 | 🦁 | Lion | Pride, strength, bravery |
| 5 | 🐧 | Penguin | Adorable, tech mascot (Linux) |
| 6 | 🦋 | Butterfly | Beauty, transformation, spring |
| 7 | 🐼 | Panda | Cuteness, conservation |
| 8 | 🦊 | Fox | Cunning, popular in fandom |
| 9 | 🐻 | Bear | Warmth, "bear hug" energy |
| 10 | 🦄 | Unicorn | Magic, rarity, uniqueness |
Mammals: Domestic and Wild 🦁
Pets and Domestic Animals
🐶 Dog Face | 🐕 Dog | 🦮 Guide Dog | 🐕🦺 Service Dog | 🐩 Poodle | 🐱 Cat Face | 🐈 Cat | 🐈⬛ Black Cat | 🐇 Rabbit | 🐹 Hamster | 🐭 Mouse Face | 🐮 Cow Face | 🐷 Pig Face | 🐽 Pig Nose | 🐸 Frog | 🐔 Chicken | 🐣 Hatching Chick | 🐤 Baby Chick | 🐥 Front-Facing Baby Chick | 🦆 Duck | 🦃 Turkey | 🐰 Rabbit Face | 🐾 Paw Prints
Big Cats
🦁 Lion | 🐯 Tiger Face | 🐅 Tiger | 🐆 Leopard | 🐻 Bear | 🐻❄️ Polar Bear | 🐼 Panda
Wild Mammals
🦊 Fox | 🦝 Raccoon | 🦌 Deer | 🦬 Bison | 🐗 Boar | 🦏 Rhinoceros | 🦛 Hippopotamus | 🐘 Elephant | 🦒 Giraffe | 🦓 Zebra | 🐴 Horse Face | 🐎 Horse | 🦄 Unicorn | 🐂 Ox | 🐃 Water Buffalo | 🐄 Cow | 🐑 Ewe | 🐏 Ram | 🐐 Goat | 🦙 Llama | 🦘 Kangaroo | 🦥 Sloth | 🦦 Otter | 🦨 Skunk | 🦡 Badger | 🦫 Beaver | 🦔 Hedgehog | 🐿️ Chipmunk | 🦇 Bat | 🦎 Lizard | 🦭 Seal | 🦧 Orangutan | 🦍 Gorilla | 🐒 Monkey | 🐵 Monkey Face | 🙊 Speak-No-Evil Monkey | 🙉 Hear-No-Evil Monkey | 🙈 See-No-Evil Monkey | 🐺 Wolf | 🦌 Deer | 🐓 Rooster
Camelids and Exotics
🐪 Camel (one hump) | 🐫 Two-Hump Camel | 🦒 Giraffe | 🦘 Kangaroo | 🦙 Llama | 🦨 Skunk
Birds 🦅
The bird category is one of the most richly represented:
🐦 Bird | 🦅 Eagle | 🦆 Duck | 🦉 Owl | 🦚 Peacock | 🦜 Parrot | 🦩 Flamingo | 🦢 Swan | 🦤 Dodo | 🕊️ Dove | 🐧 Penguin | 🐦⬛ Black Bird | 🐦🔥 Phoenix | 🪺 Nest with Eggs | 🪹 Empty Nest | 🐓 Rooster | 🦃 Turkey | 🦆 Duck | 🐣 Hatching Chick | 🐤 Baby Chick | 🐥 Front-Facing Baby Chick | 🦡 Badger | 🦅 Eagle | 🦉 Owl | 🦤 Dodo
Notable Birds
- 🕊️ Dove: Peace, hope, and the Holy Spirit
- 🦚 Peacock: Beauty, pride, and display
- 🦤 Dodo: Extinction, something lost forever
- 🐧 Penguin: Cuteness and Linux/tech culture
- 🦩 Flamingo: Elegance and tropical vibes
Reptiles and Amphibians 🐊
🐊 Crocodile | 🐢 Turtle | 🐍 Snake | 🦎 Lizard | 🦕 Sauropod | 🦖 T-Rex | 🐸 Frog | 🦎 Lizard | 🦎 Lizard | 🐲 Dragon Face | 🐉 Dragon | 🦎 Lizard
Dinosaurs
🦕 Sauropod (Brachiosaurus type) — long-necked herbivore 🦖 T-Rex — the apex predator emoji, great for "big and scary"
Sea Creatures 🐬
The ocean is well-represented in Unicode:
🐳 Spouting Whale | 🐋 Whale | 🐬 Dolphin | 🦭 Seal | 🦈 Shark | 🐟 Fish | 🐠 Tropical Fish | 🐡 Blowfish | 🦑 Squid | 🐙 Octopus | 🦐 Shrimp | 🦞 Lobster | 🦀 Crab | 🦪 Oyster | 🪸 Coral | 🐚 Spiral Shell | 🦋 Butterfly (as transformation from caterpillar) | 🐌 Snail | 🪼 Jellyfish | 🦭 Seal
Deep Sea Favorites
- 🦈 Shark: Danger, predator, "loan shark"
- 🐙 Octopus: Intelligence, multiple arms
- 🦑 Squid: Deep sea mystery
- 🪼 Jellyfish: Added in Unicode 15.0 — instantly popular
Insects and Bugs 🦋
Small but mighty in the emoji world:
🦋 Butterfly | 🐛 Bug (caterpillar) | 🐝 Honeybee | 🪱 Worm | 🐞 Lady Beetle | 🐜 Ant | 🦟 Mosquito | 🦗 Cricket | 🕷️ Spider | 🕸️ Spider Web | 🦂 Scorpion | 🐞 Lady Beetle | 🐝 Honeybee | 🪲 Beetle | 🪳 Cockroach | 🦠 Microbe
Most Used Insects
- 🦋 Butterfly — by far the most popular, used for beauty and transformation
- 🐝 Bee — hard work, nature, honey
- 🐞 Lady Beetle — luck, cuteness, spring
- 🕷️ Spider — Halloween, fear, Spider-Man
Mythical Animals 🦄
Unicode includes some legendary creatures:
🦄 Unicorn — magic, rarity, Silicon Valley startups 🐲 Dragon Face — power, Chinese culture, fantasy 🐉 Dragon — full dragon body, more majestic 🦕 Sauropod — prehistoric giant (not mythical but ancient)
Animals by Emoji Personality
Use these animal emojis to communicate personality traits:
| Trait | Emoji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Wise | 🦉 | Wisdom, knowledge, night |
| Loyal | 🐶 | Faithfulness, friendship |
| Cunning | 🦊 | Cleverness, slyness |
| Fierce | 🦁 | Courage, leadership |
| Gentle | 🐘 | Patience, memory, gentleness |
| Free | 🦅 | Freedom, vision, America |
| Slow | 🐢 | Patience, perseverance |
| Fast | 🐆 | Speed, agility |
| Rare | 🦄 | Uniqueness, magic |
| Cute | 🐼 | Cuteness, conservation |
Explore Animal Emojis
Use our Emoji Keyboard to search for any animal emoji by name, and our Stats Dashboard to see how animal emojis compare in frequency to other categories.