Highlights
- Lucky the Dog proves you can be cute and spooky at the same time with his unique design and lazy personality.
- Sherb the Goat is a lazy cutie in New Horizons, with an adorable design and love for napping and bugs in the walls.
- Ione the Squirrel is cosmically cute with a space-themed design and names based on cosmology and mythology.
Let's face it, the villagers in Animal Crossing are the best part of the game. These adorable little villagers are a huge part of what makes the series so popular, and something about their designs makes players just adore them. With their catchphrases and personalities, their cuteness is what motivates players to complete their quests and bring them gifts.
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Every player has their favorite villager. Whether they're cute, sporty, or snooty, each animal has their unique charm and style, so, luckily, New Horizons lets players have a say in who leaves the town. Across five console games and several spin-offs, there are hundreds of villagers to choose from, but some of them easily rank among the cutest in the entire franchise.
Updated July 9, 2024 by Alexandra O'Leary: With over four hundred individual villagers contained in under ten games, the expansive universe of Animal Crossing is rivaled by few. These adorable critters move in and out of the player's town, living peaceful and friendly lives as the world passes them by. Villagers usually have a personality that defines their hobbies and dialogue, as well as how they decorate their rooms.
While each player will have their selection of favorite villagers, there's no denying that some of them are so unbelievably adorable that gamers can't help but agree to all their bizarre tasks. Whether it's their endearing little looks or the silly way they speak, there's a plethora of reasons these iconic villagers are so cute - and only the most adorable have made the cut.
28 Lucky The Dog
Cute & Spooky
- First Appearance:Animal Forest
Lucky is a dog that proves one can be both cute as well as spooky at the same time. He is a highly desired villager for his unique design, being a dog with glowing eyes in a full-body cast. It is up to fan interpretation as to whether he is actually a mummy, or if he's alive and considered lucky to have survived some incident (since his name is Lucky).
While Lucky may look spooky, he is a villager with a lazy personality, so his favorite activities are napping, snacking, and being an all-around wholesome individual.
27 Sherb The Goat
Adorably Lazy
- First Appearance:New Horizons
Sherb was a new villager added with the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and is an adorable little pale blue goat with a blue lock of hair atop his head. Sherb is a lazy personality villager, but this just makes him all the more endearing. He'll often tell the player how the bugs in the walls are talking to him and he's just overall super cute in everything he does.
Sherb's house is very neat and tidy and is largely in hues of green and purple. Sherb has a love of napping, and this is also emphasized by his favorite K.K. Slider song, Hypno K.K.
26 Tad The Frog
Derpily Endearing
- First Appearance:Animal Crossing
Tad is a sweet little Frog villager with his two eyes on top of his oval head. His design, from his massive pupils to his squiggly mouth, is undeniably adorable - enough to make any player want him to stay. Even cuter, his name comes from Tadpole, meaning he really is just a little guy.
Tad has the jock personality, meaning he's serious about exercise and often very energetic. This is best demonstrated in New Horizons, where he can be seen running around with his arms out like a plane whenever he feels like it. His look has stayed almost the same from his first appearance in the original Animal Crossing, proving that sometimes simplicity is key to good design.
25 Ione The Squirrel
Cosmically Cute
- First Appearance:New Horizons
Squirrels are automatically known as some of the cutest villagers in the Animal Crossing series. Ione, introduced in 2.0 of New Horizons, definitely did not disappoint in terms of design. Her entire look is space-themed, with her tail looking like a galaxy.
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Part of what makes Ione cute is her names across multiple languages as they relate to cosmology or mythology. Ione itself is ancient Greek for a violet flower and a nymph in mythology. Her other names such as Spica and Vega are based on stars.
24 Maple The Cub
OG Cutie
- First Appearance:Animal Forest
This cub villager looks like a total teddy bear. She has also been in every Animal Crossing game so far. She is the cutest of the cub villagers, with Stitches coming in at a close second (mostly because some players find him creepy instead of cute).
Maple's fur is the color of maple syrup, so her look and her name fit together in a rather cute way. The light peach blush and hair tuft are also sweet little details. She is one cub you would not mind coming to your campsite.
23 Sasha The Bunny
Adorable Seafoam Bunny
- First Appearance: New Horizons
Sasha is the cutest boy bunny of all with large sweet eyes and seafoam-colored fur. His ear tips, hands, and nose are white and his tail and hair have a splash of yellow. His personality is lazy, making him one of the cutest ACNH villagers next to Dom the sheep.
Many players thought Sasha would be a girl because of his feminine design and name, however, Sasha is actually a name used for both boys and girls.
22 Tipper The Cow
Snootily Sweet
- First Appearance: Animal Crossing: Wild World
Tipper the cow is a lovely little cow with the snooty personality trait, meaning she struts around with a hilarious self-confidence that makes her even more endearing. This fabulous fashionista has lovely long eyelashes and a funky sweater on, with a cheeky little smile permanently plastered on her face. Unfortunately, some villagers might find her difficult to get along with and often Tipper will leave a conversation with another villager feeling sad and dejected - the perfect time for a player to swoop in and cheer her up.
There's some adorableness about Tipper's snootiness, particularly as she's named after the act of "cow tipping" - a decidedly un-graceful hobby. Whoever designed the cows at Animal Crossing: Wild World did an excellent job, because despite her more abrasive dialogue, Tipper is the cutest.
21 Poppy The Squirrel
Fluffy Charmer
- First Appearance: City Folk
The squirrel villagers are particularly cute due to their tiny bodies with their fluffy tails and large heads. Poppy was introduced in Animal Crossing City Folk and she was popular enough to appear in the Animal Crossing track in Mario Kart 8.
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Out of the Animal Crossing personalities, Poppy's is normal so she is pretty kind to the protagonist and easy to make friends with. Other squirrels that are super cute include Marshal and Peanut but Poppy takes a place on this list because her beady little eyes are just too adorable.
20 Pekoe The Cub
Adorably Dainty Bear
- First Appearance:City Folk
Pekoe debuted in Animal Crossing: City Folk and has been in every title since. She is an adorable little bear cub villager whose hair and ears are styled to look as if she is wearing a traditional Chinese hairstyle, which goes nicely with her default clothing.
The Chinese theme continues in her home decor, which is stunningly beautiful and is mainly comprised of items from the Imperial series. Pekoe also appears on the cover of K.K. Slider's song Imperial K.K., which also happens to be her favorite song.
19 Tia The Elephant
Elegantly Delicate
- First Appearance:New Leaf
The thing that has made Tia a popular character is that she is not just an elephant, but that her design is also based on a teapot. Her name is also very similar to the word "tea." While there are other cute elephants, Tia takes the cake.
Her clever design has inspired a lot of fan art by various fans. She just looks so delicate, as though she is truly made of porcelain. Her colors are also super cute and mellow and give her a dainty appearance.
18 Cookie The Dog
Peppy Puppy
- First Appearance:Animal Forest
Cookie is the cutest dog villager, with Bones and Goldie as close seconds depending on your tastes. While a lot of the cuter villagers have a normal personality, Cookie is peppy, so she is very friendly and easily excitable. She has appeared in most games, but regrettably, she was absent in Animal Crossing: Wild World.
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Her cutest traits are her name, glittery eyes, and pink fur, not to mention her default outfit is also pretty adorable. Her name likely comes from the idea that dog treats are "cookies", as her catchphrase of "arfer" also plays on her being a dog.
17 Rosie The Cat
Popular Friendly Kitty Kat
- First Appearance:Animal Forest
Rosie stands as one of, if not the most popular Animal Crossing villager. She is a cat, and a lot of the cat villagers are adorable. She has appeared in every game, has a peppy personality, and was even a major character with a good deal of screen time in the Animal Crossing anime, Dōbutsu no Mori.
Her popularity stems from being a long-time character, being adorable, and having a friendly personality. For some older fans, just having her around is a nice nostalgic nod to the older games.
16 Shino The Deer
Uniquely Darling Deer
- First Appearance:New Horizons
Shino is a new villager who immediately captures the hearts of players with her unique design. She is the only female deer character in Animal Crossing to ever have horns, and her eyebrows are styled like a Noh mask. If that is not unique enough, she is also the first peppy deer villager and her birthday is on Halloween.
The moment Shino was announced, Animal Crossing fans started creating many pieces of art of her. Diana, another cute female deer villager, finally has competition in terms of popularity.
15 Sprinkle The Penguin
Pastel Princess
- First Appearance:New Leaf
Sprinkle the Penguin is a certified cutie, with her blue swirly hair and innocent round eyes - she's sure to win anyone's heart. This little penguin sports a lovely winter sweater and two waddling feet that carry her around town with a pep in her step.
Sprinkle has the Peppy personality type, meaning she's spirited and optimistic. She'll usually be wandering around town spreading joy and trying to enlist the player into her various hijinks. Sprinkle is the only Peppy penguin in the whole franchise, meaning she's one of a kind - and with her adorable design, she's a sure favorite for any Animal Crossing lover.
14 Merengue The Rhino
Adorable Dessert Design
- First Appearance:New Leaf
Merengue is similar to Tia in terms of having a very imaginative design. She is a Rhino with pink skin, whipped cream on her head, and a strawberry for a horn, which makes her reminiscent of a dessert. Essentially, she is part Rhino and part strawberry shortcake, which is adorable.
Her default clothing is the Chef's Outfit, which is rather fitting for her food theme. Like Tia, her unique design has made her a favorite for fan artists and there is some amazing fan art of this villager out there.
13 Kiki The Cat
Lovable Little Kitty
- First Appearance:Animal Forest
Kiki is a villager veteran, as she has been in every Animal Crossing game. It is believed that her name may come from Hayao Miyazaki's anime film Kiki's Delivery Service since the witch, Kiki has a black cat. Another theory is that "Kiki" is just a reference to the sound of the word "kitty-cat."
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Of course, the black cat villager would be on this list. Her fur color makes those large and adorable eyes pop. She is also a normal personality villager, so she is super nice to the protagonist.
12 Aurora The Penguin
Button-Eyed Angel
- First Appearance:Animal Forest
Aurora has a classic penguin look, which, combined with the Animal Crossing art style, makes her the cutest little penguin in the whole world. Compared to other penguin villagers, Aurora is the most accurate to how actual penguins look, and she's named after the natural phenomenon that usually occurs in the South Pole - where penguins live.
This adorable, big-eyed dear has a Normal personality and has appeared in all the main Animal Crossing games - making her a staple of the franchise. In New Horizons, her house is covered in ice-themed walls and floors, which will likely remind her of home. She's friendly, endearing, and ridiculously cute.
11 Beau The Deer
Laid-Back, Lovely Dude
- First Appearance:New Leaf
Beau's first appearance was in New Leaf and he has shown up in almost all Animal Crossing games since. Beau has the Lazy personality which matches his low-lidded eyes and chilled-out expression. It also means that Beau is laid back and won't cause any trouble, making him a fast friend.
Beau's adorable by design, and he always looks content, which means he's a good villager to have wandering around. Beau will also get along with most other villagers and just doesn't have it in him to engage in any conflict. He likes natural things and nature, so he can be found looking at flowers and even watering multiple at once.
10 Sylvana The Squirrel
Ferret-Like Cutie
- First Appearance:Animal Forest e+
Sylvana first appeared in Animal Forest e+ but didn't return to the series until the Welcome Amiibo update for Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Fortunately, she also reappeared for New Horizons since she is so cute. Though she is a squirrel, her facial markings are more reminiscent of a ferret.
She is a normal type villager who has an absolutely beautiful home that is set up to be a picnic amidst a cherry tree grove. Rather fittingly, her favorite song is Spring Blossoms.
9 Lolly The Cat
Ridiculously Sweet
- First Appearance:Animal Forest e+
It is amazing how sometimes just taking away a character's nose makes them all the more adorable. That was Lolly's case anyway. Though her original Japanese name is Ramune, which if you think about it, is even cuter than Lolly since Ramune is a special Japanese soda.
Lolly does refer to sweets though, like a lollipop and her catchphrase is "bonbon" which is candy in French. However, that catchphrase is a little odd when one considers "bonbon" is also the name of another villager.