Piggy Bank Another Name: Common Synonyms and Terms

Beyond the Swine: Exploring Alternative Names and the Surprising History of the Piggy Bank

Few household objects evoke as much instant nostalgia as the classic coin receptacle. While most of us grew up dropping spare change into a ceramic or plastic pig, this humble financial companion goes by many different titles depending on where you live, how formal the setting is, and the traditions you grew up with.

If you are looking for alternative names for a piggy bank, or curious about why this iconic container took on its porcine shape in the first place, you are in the right place.

Common Alternative Names for a Piggy Bank

Depending on regional dialects and the shape of the container itself, several terms are used interchangeably with “piggy bank”:

• Money Box: This is the most common alternative, particularly in the United Kingdom, Australia, and other Commonwealth nations. It is a broad term that applies to any container used to store cash or coins, regardless of its shape.
• Penny Bank: A traditional North American term dating back to an era when pennies made up the bulk of children’s savings. It emphasizes the coin currency stored inside rather than the design of the box.
• Coin Bank: A modern, functional descriptor often used in retail or educational contexts to describe any container with a slot designed specifically for coins.
• Savings Bank: A slightly more formal term, though historically “savings bank” also refers to a financial institution. In domestic settings, it highlights the purposeful act of saving rather than just storing loose change.
• Cochinita or Chancho: In many Spanish-speaking cultures, children’s coin banks are frequently shaped like little pigs (cochinita means little female pig, and chancho means pig), carrying on the global tradition of porcine savings containers.

The Fascinating Etymology: Why Do We Call It a “Piggy”?

The most intriguing aspect of the piggy bank isn’t just its alternative names—it’s how a pig became associated with financial savings at all. Surprisingly, the name has very little to do with the animal for the first few centuries of its history.

During the Middle Ages in England, people stored loose coins in jars and pots made from an affordable, dense orange clay called pygg. Over time, as the English language evolved, the pronunciation of the material pygg shifted to sound identical to the animal, pig.