Did You Know? One Piece

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The name Thousand Sunny is a name suggested by Iceburg that describes a ship as bright as the sun that will cheerfully sail through a thousand seas. However, before the ship was properly named as such, a couple of other names were suggested by the crew (most by Luffy, and most involving the word "lion"). These names include the following:

Bear!! Polar Bear!! Lion (クマ!!白クマ!!ライオン号 Kuma!! Shirokuma!! Raion Gō): Luffy's first suggestion for the ship's name.

Luffy suggested Black Bear Polar Bear Lion Tiger in the FUNimation dub.

Tiger!! Wolf!! Lion (トラ!!狼!!ライオン号 Tora!! Ōkami!! Raion Gō): Luffy's second suggestion for the ship's name.

Luffy suggested Super Wolf Gorilla Bear in the FUNimation dub.

Squid!! Octopus!! Chimpanzee (イカ!!タコ!!チンパンジー Ika Tako Chinpanjī): Luffy's third suggestion for the ship's name.

Dumpling, Gorilla, Lion (ダンゴ・ゴリラ・ライオン号 Dango Gorira Raion Gō): Luffy's fourth suggestion for the ship's name.

Luffy suggested Dandelion Lion Dandy Unbearable Bear in the FUNimation dub.

Boss Lionel (ライオネル親方 Raioneru Oyakata): Zoro's suggestion for the ship's name. Zoro suggested Big Boss Lionel in the FUNimation dub.

Little Darkness (暗黒丸 Ankoku-maru): Robin's suggestion for the ship's name.
Robin suggested Creature of Darkness in the FUNimation dub.

Monsieur Sunflower (ムッシュひまわり Musshu Himawari): Sanji's own suggestion for the ship's name.

New Battle Franky, Lion Gang Champion (ニューバトルフランキー「ライオンギャングチャンピオン号」 Nyu Batoru Furanki "Raion Gyangu Chanpion Gō"): A name which Franky intended to call the ship.

This naming issue had also affected fans and readers alike before the ship was actually named. Many assumed that the ship's name was "" due to Iceburg's comment that the Pirate King should ride a ship with the theme of the king of all beasts, a lion.

In and , as well as in , Brook called the Sunny "Lion-Chan", much to Franky's chagrin.

The Thousand Sunny's lion figurehead being mistaken for a sunflower is part of a running gag involving sunflowers and lions. The gag first appeared with Nami's dress when she was young. The dress originally had a sunflower design but Bell-mère stitched on some eyes and a mouth in order to make it a lion. This gag is also featured in the cover art of a chapter with Zoro trying to capture a lion who is hiding behind him among a bunch of sunflowers.