Most of the Balto characters names have been taken from somewhere. Here are a few we found...

steet :




First, Balto. This probably comes from the Baltic Sea, or something to do with Baltic. There is also a theory which says that he was named after Samuel Johannesen Balto, a Norvegian man.
(source : http://www.balto-iditarod.com/)

Boris, is a common russian name for a russian goose...He could have been named after a famous russian writer.

Muk & Luk is the name of some sort of boots.
(http://www.stylemaven.com/styleguide_feature_mukluks.htm)

Kodi comes from the 'Kodiak Islands'.
(http://www.kodiak.org/geography.html)

Aleu is also named from an island, the 'Aleutian Islands'.
(http://www.alaskais.com/AKAI.htm)

On the serum run, there was once a musher whose lead dog was named Star.

Aniu would be the Inuit word for Snow.

Sumac, is also a poison...

Finally, Kaltag is named from a town of Alaska.
(http://www.explorenorth.com/library/communities/alaska/bl-Kaltag.htm)

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Updated on 17 june 2005 : I found more information on a very old Balto site! ("Balto Fan art") As it is not online anymore, I think he will not mind if I take some of it. Here's what the owner said :

I've been reading a lot of Northern history lately, specifically concerning Alaska and the Yukon, and discovered a number of interesting facts for the trivia minded as respects the naming of the supporting cast from "Balto".

The nasty malamute, "Steele", is actually rather ironically named after North-West Mounted Police Superintendent Samuel B. Steele; one of the famous contingent of Mounted Police charged with keeping order during the chaos of the 1896-1899 Klondike Gold Rush.

"Steele"'s three-dog fan club, "Nikki", "Kaltag", and "Star", derive their names from different sources. "Kaltag" is a town in Alaska that sits on the route of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race. "Star" could be a generic reference to the North Star, but could also be lifted from a tome on the Siberian Husky, in which is stated, "one should avoid giving names to dogs that are too phonetically similar to commands....(as)...the name 'Star' is too similar to "Stay", etc.", in keeping with that particular Husky's personality as depicted in the film.

"Nikki" is another venture into irony. In 1960, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company shot a film about sled-dogs on location in Banff, Alberta, entitled "Nikki, Wild Dog of the North". After filming of the movie wound up, the company found themselves with 200 or so sled dogs surplus to their requirements and all in need of a good home. The various dogs that played the title character "Nikki" (including "Nikki" himself), were given to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to form the foundation of their revitalized breeding program for use in northern patrols.

And from another contributor:

Hi! I like your site and stop by often. I was reading the book Dogsong, about a modern eskimo boy trying to keep the old eskimo tradition alive by driving a dogsled team into the wilderness. One of his articles of clothing were muck-luck. I think they were a kind mitten or something like that. He always wore them. I think Muc is the little polar bear and Luk is the big one, but I'm not sure. Hope this helps some. :-)

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Silver Snow, May 21, 2005 at 07: 30

awesome dude so Aniu means snow I could also say Silver Aniu... nah I like this new section. ~SS

Coaster, May 22, 2005 at 03: 28

I found some more information regarding Star. On page 236 of the hardcover version of the _The Cruelest Miles_ by Gay and Laney Salisbury is the following quote: "Finally, on February 15th, in the middle of a bizzard, Ed Rohn brought the second shipment of serum to Nome after a ninety-mile run. His lead dog, Star, was in the basket of his sled. Star had fallen through a fissure while crossing Golovin Bay and was badly injured."

steet, May 22, 2005 at 10: 19

Thank you, Coaster ;)

Amber Sea, May 23, 2005 at 14: 31

cool didnt know that!

Luca, May 24, 2005 at 15: 20

good job and nikki is also a town so is steele i have been to alaska many times and have been to the towns

Juuchan17, May 24, 2005 at 21: 04

wow. Thanks for the info, Steet! I think I'll write one when I get the chance for you. :)

Balto30, May 25, 2005 at 18: 07

cool!

She_Wolf_Jena, May 25, 2005 at 19: 02

I'm glad somebody finaly posted info on char. names! My cousen didn't beleive me when I found the Kodiak islands had to do with Kodi back in dec. She said it was a coincident.°x°

girlfriend Jenna!, May 29, 2005 at 20: 54

I think Balto is soo cool!:cool: :red:

HYBRID 10, May 31, 2005 at 21: 23

I thought Alue was named after the Aluetian Islands.°x°

Aleu, June 07, 2005 at 23: 00

The name Balto came from the actual dog, who's name was Balto... But if you're talking about where that came from, then Baltic Sea might be a good guess.

Gregg DeMattos, June 09, 2005 at 12: 00

how about please explaining where nava and niju come from,please.:)

nitti, June 18, 2005 at 15: 44

nice job steet:cool: ;)

Nessah, June 22, 2005 at 03: 31

Oh and just to tell you Kodi is a very common sled dog name too

Mystery Aleu R2 - D2 Fan!, June 22, 2005 at 20: 21

Cool and this means that Kodi's real name is Kodiak, and Aleu's real name is Aleutian! I mean hey! once in Balto 3 Jenna calls Kodi Kodiak! "Kodiak come here!" "Yeah Mom."lol

Epesi, June 27, 2005 at 23: 57

Just because Aleu is named for the Aleutian Islands, that doesn't mean her full name is actually "Aleutian." :P Anyway, Nava may be named for the Navajo tribe, but I'm not sure about Niju. Incidentally, "niju" means "twenty," or "double," in Japanese; there is a bridge outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo called the Nijubashi, which would mean "Double Bridge." (Correct me if I'm wrong.) I'm not sure if the character himself was named with either of those meanings in mind, but I doubt it. There may be some other meaning to the name that I don't know about.

BALTO, June 28, 2005 at 19: 20

I think it's an interesting subject of how many origins there are in the world and more interesting thing is Balto's friends and family have meaning too thier names!

BALTO, June 28, 2005 at 20: 47

Me again I want you too now that I have all the Balto movies and in neither of them talk about origins, odd... Right?

Goblincleaver, July 05, 2005 at 08: 40

Aleu is a pretty name for a wolf!:red: But I always thought Boris was named after that little munchkin guy that wanted to kill Rocky & Bullwinkle!!!:o

SRA, July 06, 2005 at 00: 45

cool

BlackwolfWSP, July 24, 2005 at 18: 00

COOL!!!!:cool: :P

Sasha, July 29, 2005 at 00: 31

I love Aleu°x°

Nichole & Alesha, November 06, 2005 at 15: 00

that is soooo neat ecspecially the 1 which means poison:o ::red: ::/:

Shadow-DHP, December 25, 2005 at 04: 54

actually, balto was named after this one guy who had the last name of balto. it was either seppala or kassen that named him that. i think it was kassen

kelev, December 27, 2005 at 17: 51

I like Aniu,Alue,and Kodi's names.Way cool,Steet!I always wondered about Balto's name....

redwolf03, January 05, 2006 at 03: 03

Just a note: Mukluks are boots.

Aleu w, April 29, 2006 at 23: 15

wow what great name facts!

baltorex, June 18, 2006 at 18: 15

bato and his friends and family are cool. I'm a big fan! :) ;)

wolf_conductor, August 21, 2006 at 06: 38 Member

Nice one! Thanks for the research!:P

keira _wolf, August 23, 2006 at 19: 44 Member

wwwoooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!

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