I was asked the other day...

[TF76]

... Why is Bumble bee called Bumble bee?

My answer "because that's his name.".

What's your answer?

[Paulbot]

Because like a bumblebee, Bumblebee is small, yellow and black... and annoying ;)

[loophole]

Because like a bumblebee, Bumblebee is small, yellow and black... and annoying ;)

+1 got it one there Paulbot :D

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

+1. He's about as aerodynamic as a bumblebee too...

[TheDirtyDigger]

Punchbuggy would be a better name.

[nettie!]

cos that's his name and what i call him.

[Sky Shadow]

Because when faced with a transforming yellow Micro Change Volkswagen toy, Jim Shooter, Denny O'Neill and Bob Budiansky thought, "we'll call it 'Bumblebee'. Let's save 'Slag', 'Erector', 'Thrust', 'Big Daddy', 'Discharge', 'Drill Nuts', 'Slapper' and 'Windbreaker' for the future."

[GoktimusPrime]

Remember that these are code names. The concept of a bumblebee wouldn't exist on a machine world such as Cybertron. G1 never really covered this anamoly, but the movie-verse explains that their names are 'designations.' His real name is probably something like 0011101110011101011101010110110011101100111011010 :p

[JuzMel]

Because like a bumblebee, Bumblebee is small, yellow and black... and annoying ;)

Nooo he's not annoying. :mad: He's the bestest friend anyone could have. ;)
Bumblebee cause in G1 he's small enough to buzz here and there without much notice. (But I can't say the same thing for the Movie version :p)

[dirge]

Because, unlike other bees, he dies if his stinger breaks off after he stings you?

[SofaMan]

I did actually enjoy in the new movies how they took the name and turned it into a visual theme for the robot. Having his battle mask look like a bee's face, and the car doors positioned like wings (and even the occasional flutter!).

I always assumed he was Bumblebee originally since he was small, yellow and black.

[Adzma]

Punchbuggy would be a better name.
This is his name as far as I'm concerned from now on. :D

[GoktimusPrime]

I've always been disappointed that among all the G1/G2 names reused in Beast Wars, they never used "Bumblebee" or "Hound" (would've been tonnes better than K-9 (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/K-9) :/).

[Kyle]

I used to think it's because he's a yellow Volkswagen BEE-tle... :o

[Robzy]

I used to think it's because he's a yellow Volkswagen BEE-tle... :o+1

He's black and yellow... and he turns in to a "bug"! Plus, his G1 toy had an insect-like face (sort of).

[SofaMan]

I've always been disappointed that among all the G1/G2 names reused in Beast Wars, they never used "Bumblebee" or "Hound" (would've been tonnes better than K-9 (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/K-9) :/).

One of several lost opportunities in BW.

[Sky Shadow]

I've always been disappointed that among all the G1/G2 names reused in Beast Wars, they never used "Bumblebee" or "Hound" (would've been tonnes better than K-9 (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/K-9) :/).

Now I think of it, the Beast Wars were relatively conservative compared to today's name reuses. Lots of obvious G1 animal names never made it to the Beast Wars (Krok, Ground Hog, Goldbug, Slugfest, Weirdwolf, Snapdragon, Apeface, Catilla, Beastbox, Horri-bull, Finback, Bugly, Longtooth, Octopunch, Ratbat, Sharkticon, Birdbrain, Wildfly, Lionizer, Tyrannitron, Wingthing, Catgut, Scorpulator, Gatoraider, Tracks, Swoop, Pounce and many, many more.)

[GoktimusPrime]

...I can't believe they mispelt Laserbeak as "Lazorbeak." Intentional or accidental, it still massively sucks either way. Wth does "lazor" stand for?? Perhaps 'Loser Acronym with Zero Opportunity for Redemption.' :/

[yukitora]

i thought only maximals would be named after their scanned animals

[GoktimusPrime]

...that would make more sense, but alas no. Optimus Primal was definitely still called that on Cybertron as those who knew him on Cybertron (and other off-world Maximal colonies) knew him by that name when they later encountered him on prehistoric Earth (e.g.: Depthcharge, Ravage) and when he temporarily was transported to the planet Gaea (e.g.: Lio Convoy etc.).

There are exceptions to this... Airazor and Tigatron only adopted their names after coming to Earth and scanning alt modes - on Cybertron they had other names which they'd since forgotten after nearly being killed fighting Buzzsaw and Laserbeak. BW Megatron was originally known by a different name until the theft of the Golden Disk, after which he intentionally renamed himself after the reknowned Decepticon leader (as Ravage once said to him, "You have his name, but not his army.").

A lot of other BW TFs who were 'born' on Earth obviously only adapted names there. Protoform X never officially had a name other than that until he joined the Beast Wars and was assigned the name "Rampage" by Megatron.

[yukitora]

i just thought maybe Bumblebee was a maximal type before joining the ranks and getting a car mode. since there is nothing for a bee to eat on cybertron. but thats just me. he'd be awsome as a maximal! i should draw it really.

[GoktimusPrime]

Maximals aren't a type, they're a faction (who, alongside Predacons, were created after the end of the Autobot-Decepticon war and both armies were formally disbanded). On Cybertron the Maximals and Predacons still transform into vehicles. Maximals and Predacons can transform into beasts, vehicles or even plants - anything that they can scan. The series was called "Beast Wars" because most of them transformed into beasts, but not all of them.

Examples of various alt modes in Beast Wars/Machines
Beast mode (Rattrap) (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Rattrap) <--as you can see he was a motorcycle on Cybertron
Vehicle mode (BB) (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/BB)
Plant mode (Botanica) (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Botanica)

P.S.: Before Bumblebee came to Earth and became a VW Beetle, his original alt mode on Cybertron was this hover-car (http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/0/09/Bumblebee-CyberToon.jpg).

[G1Optimal]

IMO the reason why Bumblebee is called Bumblebee is....



He is Fast enough to escape the deceptions "and is able to Ecaspe at the least, almost unscathed even if he is not" so much, so it seems he can "Fly" out of trouble even though he has no wings.
(Real life Bumblebees have small wings and scientists have been puzzled by how they can fly till very recently:) ...i think:confused:)
From what i have been told a Real Bumblebee will never stop "Stinging" if you hurt it & The Decepticons probably think he is so much of a pain to them it "Stings"

and based on the G1 Bumblebee ...
He has a small Alt mode i concider to be a "Bug" or "Insect" (or what ever a Bumblebee whould be classed as)

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah but remember that the very concept of a bumblebee would not exist on Cybertron. The Transformers wouldn't even have a word for bumblebee before coming to Earth. It's like say, the English language - didn't have a word for kangaroo prior to the 1760s-70s; the word had to be adapted from the Guugu Yimidhirr (a language from North Queensland) word "Gang-urru". So the fact that they still called him "Bumblebee" on Cybertron, millions of years before coming to Earth, never made any sense. :)

Or maybe they did call him Bumblebee, and "Bumblebee" in Cybertronian probably means "Daniel (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Dan_Gilvezan)*" ;)

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*which in turn is Hebrew for "judge." d:

[G1Optimal]

Yeah but remember that the very concept of a bumblebee would not exist on Cybertron. The Transformers wouldn't even have a word for bumblebee before coming to Earth. It's like say, the English language - didn't have a word for kangaroo prior to the 1760s-70s; the word had to be adapted from the Guugu Yimidhirr (a language from North Queensland) word "Gang-urru". So the fact that they still called him "Bumblebee" on Cybertron, millions of years before coming to Earth, never made any sense. :)

Or maybe they did call him Bumblebee, and "Bumblebee" in Cybertronian probably means "Daniel (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Dan_Gilvezan)*" ;)

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*which in turn is Hebrew for "judge." d:

:D to the Daniel bit...

well they had ships
They could of Explored the universe before there wars (example: Jetfire is a scientist and was found on earth):confused::confused:

and to use you language translation reason:
who's to say they didn't also find a place that by coincidence had a Creature with a similar characteristics to a Bumblebee and "was named that" or "translated" to something similar from the place from "where it was found language" to the current "Cybertronian" at the time.:confused::confused:

[yukitora]

its a tough topic isnt it? it becomes nuts when bumblebee went 'goldbug' on us. He coulda got the name 'Shitpeice' (rude awakening of OP - youtube).
OP coulda named him Shitpeice!

and in reality, a bumble bee is more brown and yellow then black. And being a Bee, why cant he fly? (except epi 1, when the whole gang flew and then didnt in the 2nd ep!i)

so really, for bumbleebee to be called Bumblebee on cybertron before comeing to earth, he would have had to of come from elsewhere. u dont just wake up one day and decide to call yourself bumbleebee. but i do think he woulda became more of his name overtime, like - keeping himself small, always yellow, and forever scout like, like bees natually do. :D

[G1Optimal]

its a tough topic isnt it? it becomes nuts when bumblebee went 'goldbug' on us. He coulda got the name 'Shitpeice' (rude awakening of OP - youtube).
OP coulda named him Shitpeice!

and in reality, a bumble bee is more brown and yellow then black. And being a Bee, why cant he fly? (except epi 1, when the whole gang flew and then didnt in the 2nd ep!i)

so really, for bumbleebee to be called Bumblebee on cybertron before comeing to earth, he would have had to of come from elsewhere. u dont just wake up one day and decide to call yourself bumbleebee. but i do think he woulda became more of his name overtime, like - keeping himself small, always yellow, and forever scout like, like bees natually do. :D

if we are looking for something blame for the Yellow and Black Bumblebees
my "Primary Suspect" is the Pre-School like shows and books that i remember as a young child..:D:D

and IMO i am personally sticking, to the "Language Translation" problems "which" could be why this is regarding Bumblebee's name...

[Oilspill]

Bee's name has always bothered me. I thought most of the other 1st series 1984 characters were given great names, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, Ironhide, Ratchet etc.

All names that were plausible Cybertronian names. But Bumblebee just doesn't make sense to me as a name for a Cybertronian. It's always bugged me (no pun intended!).

Also, names that explicitly reference their alt mode bother me a bit as well, which was particularly frequent during Beast Wars. But that's just me.