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Simple question: is there any information about the inspiration or thought process behind the creation of the name Shrek for the eponymous film and franchise?

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    I just learned today about E.T.'s real name being Zrek and made a joke about that being the inspiration for Shrek. I'm assuming that's not actually the case, but just making a note here about the inspiration behind my question. Commented yesterday
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    Since you're asking about the inspiration for the film, the technically correct answer would be that it came from the book of the same name upon which the film is nominally based, but that's not a helpful answer. Commented yesterday
  • @jwodder Oh, huh, I didn't even know it's based on a book. That might make the question easier to answer ... Commented yesterday
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    Any connection with German actor Max Schreck, who played the vampire in the original Nosferatu?  And/or his in-joke namesake Max Shreck, a villain in the movie Batman Returns? Commented yesterday
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    @gidds - Both seem to have the same root, that the word Schreck in Yiddish means something like "yikes!" or "eek!" Commented yesterday

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William Steig, the author of Shrek! (the children's book on which the film is based) was raised by parents who both spoke Yiddish frequently in the home environment. The word "Shrek" is a variant of "Schreck", which liberally translates in Common Yiddish as "fright" or "scare".

Shrek - interj.

Expression of consternation: OH NO! “Shreck, I left my wallet back in the dorm.” [<Yid. <HG Schreck (fright)]

Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish

The work that accompanied the exhibition of his life and works at the Jewish Museum, New York; From The New Yorker to Shrek: The Art of William Steig (and which draws heavily on interviews with the author, his wife and his contemporaries) notes that...

...His 1990 picture book Shrek! —which means “fear” in Yiddish- is the story of two monsters who passionately fall for each other, defying the fairytale notion that love is only for the young and beautiful.

The Art of William Steig: A Retrospective

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    For all his output and contact with the newspapers, Steig didn't actually do a lot of interviews. Tracking down a primary source is proving annoying, but I'm just about happy with this answer. He certainly spoke Yiddish and the word was in common Yiddish usage. Commented yesterday
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    As a side note, the same root is in Panzerschreck - German WWII bazooka. Commented yesterday
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    Out of curiosity, does this word have any etymological connection to the word "shriek"? It seems related, as that is a reaction one might have to being frightened. Commented 20 hours ago
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    @Valorum: To nitpick a little: on the one hand, Yiddish shreck is from German schrecken, which is natively West Germanic — so even if it’s a direct cognate of English shriek and its Scandinavian relatives, it wouldn’t itself be of Norse origin, the shared ancestor would be proto-Germanic. But also, the origin of schrecken is apparently unclear — it may or may not go back to the same PG root as shriek. Commented 15 hours ago
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    @PLL - That's one hell of a nitpick. I shall defer since my knowledge of etymology is limited to only a few different kinds of insects. Commented 13 hours ago

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