Fans of video games have always enjoyed theorizing lore-based mysteries of their favourite characters. This is no different for the Animal Crossing franchise, as many villagers have elaborate theories attached to them by the community. One of them is how old is Ankha in Animal Crossing.
Ever wanted to find out some fun trivia about Ankha, everyone’s Ancient Egyptian snooty cat villager? Continue reading to find out!
How Old is Ankha in Animal Crossing?
According to Ankha herself, she was alive during Cleopatra’s reign. Ankha is roughly about 2,100 years old. Cleopatra VII Philopator was a Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC. If she is telling the truth that is, but we all know Animal Crossing villagers often spew utter nonsense…
How do fans know this? Well, Ankha’s e-reader letter in the GameCube version of Animal Crossing says the following:
“Life on the island is so relaxing. It reminds me of my younger days spent riding fair Cleopatra’s barge. When you get to be my age, you need to relax, me meow.”
Pretty crazy, right?
What Does Ankha’s Name Mean?
Ankha’s English name is derived from the ankh, which is an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol representing “life”. This could be a subtle reference to the fact that she symbolizes life, as she is over 2,000 years old.
Interestingly, her localized name in other languages has some other references. In the Japanese, Korean, Chinese, German, Spanish, French, and Italian versions, her name roughly translates to Cleopatra.
The table below shows all of her other names, including those that translate to Cleopatra roughly.
| Name | Translation (English) |
| ナイル Nairu (Japanese) | Nile; from the famous Egyptian river, the Nile River |
| 클레오 Keulleo (Korean) | From Cleopatra |
| 艳后 Yànhòu (Mandarin Chinese) | From 埃及艷后/埃及艳后, a byname of Cleopatra |
| Анка Anka (Russian) | Similar to English name |
| Ankha (Dutch) | Same as English name |
| Kleo (German) | From Kleopatra, the German name for Cleopatra |
| Neferti (French) | From the Egyptian pharaoh Nefertiti |
| Cleo (Italian) | Derived from Cleopatra |
| Patri (Spanish) | Derived from Cleopatra |
Could Ankha be some sort of immortalized version of Cleopatra? Maybe in the Animal Crossing universe, Cleopatra was turned into a snooty cat villager and given eternal life. We can only speculate…
Ankha’s Aesthetic
It is also no secret that Ankha depicts some sort of ancient Egyptian cat. The yellow stripes that wrap horizontally around her head with the cobra emblem emulate the headdresses that Egyptian pharaohs wore. In previous titles, she even had a scarab charm instead of the cobra we see in New Horizons.
She also features ancient Egyptian-like eyeliner which points to her ancient heritage. The type of cat she is also references her ancient routes, as she is speculated to be an Abyssinian cat. These cats were the oldest types of domesticated animals in existence, appearing first in ancient Egypt.
Did you know that the ancient Egyptians were the first civilization to domesticate cats? That’s right, you have them to thank for your lovable little balls of fur.
Thanks for reading my article! I hope you have enjoyed exploring the age-old mystery of how old is Ankha in Animal Crossing. I have a bunch more Animal Crossing articles that you can check out here!
