Highlights

• Lucky the Dog proves you can be cute and spooky at the same time with his unique design and lazy personality.
• Sherb the Goat is a lazy cutie in New Horizons, with an adorable design and love for napping and bugs in the walls.
• Ione the Squirrel is cosmically cute with a space-themed design and names based on cosmology and mythology.

Let's face it, the villagers in Animal Crossing are the best part of the game. These adorable little villagers are a huge part of what makes the series so popular, and something about their designs makes players just adore them. With their catchphrases and personalities, their cuteness is what motivates players to complete their quests and bring them gifts.

Every player has their favorite villager. Whether they're cute, sporty, or snooty, each animal has their unique charm and style, so, luckily, New Horizons lets players have a say in who leaves the town. Across five console games and several spin-offs, there are hundreds of villagers to choose from, but some of them easily rank among the cutest in the entire franchise.

Updated March 23, 2024 by Alexandra O'Leary: Animal Crossing is one of Nintendo's most successful franchises, with millions of players all over the world. While there's been little news about a new Animal Crossing, Pocket Camp is still going strong with regular updates and new faces.

With over four hundred villagers across just under ten games, it's near impossible to decide which ones are the cutest. There are a few different reasons a player might find a villager cute. It might be their look, or their personality; sometimes a grumpy villager ends up being more adorable than angry. Other villagers have cute themes and dialogue lines, making them endlessly endearing. Every player will have their own personal favorite character, but there are dozens of undeniably adorable villagers that deserve some recognition. So, who are the cutest villagers in Nintendo's cutest series? We've updated this list to find out.

25 Lucky The Dog

Cute & Spooky

• First Appearance: Animal Forest

Lucky is a dog that proves one can be both cute as well as spooky at the same time. He is a highly desired villager for his unique design, being a dog with glowing eyes in a full-body cast. It is up to fan interpretation as to whether he is actually a mummy, or if he's alive and considered lucky to have survived some incident (since his name is Lucky).

While Lucky may look spooky, he is a villager with a lazy personality, so his favorite activities are napping, snacking, and being an all-around wholesome individual.

24 Sherb The Goat

Adorably Lazy

• First Appearance: New Horizons

Sherb was a new villager added with the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and is an adorable little pale blue goat with a blue lock of hair atop his head. Sherb is a lazy personality villager, but this just makes him all the more endearing. He'll often tell the player how the bugs in the walls are talking to him and he's just overall super cute in everything he does.

Sherb's house is very neat and tidy and is largely in hues of green and purple. Sherb has a love of napping, and this is also emphasized by his favorite K.K. Slider song being Hypno K.K.

23 Ione The Squirrel

Cosmically Cute

• First Appearance: New Horizons

Squirrels are automatically known as some of the cutest villagers in the Animal Crossing series. Ione, introduced in 2.0 of New Horizons, definitely did not disappoint in terms of design. Her entire look is space-themed, with her tail looking like a galaxy.

Part of what makes Ione cute are her names across multiple languages as they relate to cosmology or mythology. Ione itself is ancient Greek for a violet flower and a nymph in mythology. Her other names such as Spica and Vega are based on stars.

22 Maple The Cub

OG Cutie

• First Appearance: Animal Forest

This cub villager looks like a total teddy bear. She has also been in every Animal Crossing game so far. She is the cutest of the cub villagers, with Stitches coming in at a close second (mostly because some players find him creepy instead of cute).

Maple's fur is the color of maple syrup, so her look and her name fit together in a rather cute way. The light peach blush and hair tuft are also sweet little details. She is one cub you would not mind coming to your campsite.

21 Sasha The Bunny

Adorable Seafoam Bunny

• First Appearance: New Horizons

Sasha is the cutest boy bunny of all with large sweet eyes and seafoam-colored fur. His ear tips, hands, and nose are white and his tail and hair have a splash of yellow. His personality is lazy, making him one of the cutest ACNH villagers next to Dom the sheep.

Many players thought Sasha would be a girl because of his feminine design and name, however, Sasha is actually a name used for both boys and girls.

20 Poppy The Squirrel

Fluffy Charmer

• First Appearance: City Folk

The squirrel villagers are particularly cute due to their tiny bodies with their fluffy tails and large heads. Poppy was introduced in Animal Crossing City Folk and she was popular enough to appear in the Animal Crossing track in Mario Kart 8.

Out of the Animal Crossing personalities, Poppy's is normal so she is pretty kind to the protagonist and easy to make friends with. Other squirrels that are super cute include Marshal and Peanut but Poppy takes a place on this list because her beady little eyes are just too dang adorable.

19 Pekoe The Cub

Adorably Dainty Bear

• First Appearance: City Folk

Pekoe debuted in Animal Crossing: City Folk and has been in every title since. She is an adorable little bear cub villager whose hair and ears are styled to look as if she is wearing a traditional Chinese hairstyle, which goes nicely with her default clothing.

The Chinese theme continues in her home decor, which is stunningly beautiful and is mainly comprised of items from the Imperial series. Pekoe also appears on the cover of K.K. Slider's song Imperial K.K., which also happens to be her favorite song.

18 Tia The Elephant

Elegantly Delicate

• First Appearance: New Leaf

The thing that has made Tia a popular character is that she is not just an elephant, but that her design is also based on a teapot. Her name is also very similar to the word "tea." While there are other cute elephants, Tia takes the cake.

Her clever design has inspired a lot of fan art by various fans. She just looks so delicate, as though she is truly made of porcelain. Her colors are also super cute and mellow and give her a dainty appearance.

17 Cookie The Dog

Peppy Puppy

• First Appearance: Animal Forest

Cookie is the cutest dog villager, with Bones and Goldie as close seconds depending on your tastes. While a lot of the cuter villagers have a normal personality, Cookie is peppy, so she is very friendly and easily excitable. She has appeared in most games, but regrettably, she was absent in Animal Crossing: Wild World.

Her cutest traits are her name, glittery eyes, and pink fur, not to mention her default outfit is also pretty adorable. Her name likely comes from the idea that dog treats are "cookies", as her catchphrase of "arfer" also plays on her being a dog.

16 Rosie The Cat

Popular Friendly Kitty Kat

• First Appearance: Animal Forest

Rosie stands as one of, if not the most popular Animal Crossing villager. She is a cat, and a lot of the cat villagers are adorable. She has appeared in every game, has a peppy personality, and was even a major character with a good deal of screen time in the Animal Crossing anime, Dōbutsu no Mori.

Her popularity stems from being a long-time character, being adorable, and having a friendly personality. For some older fans, just having her around is a nice nostalgic nod to the older games.

15 Shino The Deer

Uniquely Darling Deer

• First Appearance: New Horizons

Shino is a new villager who immediately captures the hearts of players with her unique design. She is the only female deer character in Animal Crossing to ever have horns, and her eyebrows are styled like a Noh mask. If that is not unique enough, she is also the first peppy deer villager and her birthday is on Halloween.

The moment Shino was announced, Animal Crossing fans started creating many pieces of art of her. Diana, another cute female deer villager, finally has competition in terms of popularity.

14 Merengue The Rhino

Adorable Dessert Design

• First Appearance: New Leaf

Merengue is similar to Tia in terms of having a very imaginative design. She is a Rhino with pink skin, whipped cream on her head, and a strawberry for a horn, which makes her reminiscent of a dessert. Essentially, she is part Rhino and part strawberry shortcake, which is adorable.

Her default clothing is the Chef's Outfit, which is rather fitting for her food theme. Like Tia, her unique design has made her a favorite for fan artists and there is some amazing fan art of this villager out there.

13 Kiki The Cat

Lovable Little Kitty

• First Appearance: Animal Forest

Kiki is a villager veteran, as she has been in every Animal Crossing game. It is believed that her name may come from Hiyao Miyazaki's anime film Kiki's Delivery Service since the witch, Kiki has a black cat. Another theory is that "Kiki" is just a reference to the sound of the word "kitty-cat."

Of course, the black cat villager would be on this list. Her fur color makes those large and adorable eyes pop. She is also a normal personality villager, so she is super nice to the protagonist.

12 Aurora The Penguin

Button-Eyed Angel

• First Appearance: Animal Forest

Aurora has a classic penguin look, which, combined with the Animal Crossing art style, makes her the cutest little penguin in the whole world. Compared to other penguin villagers, Aurora is the most accurate to how actual penguins look, and she's named after the natural phenomenon which usually occurs in the South Pole - where penguins live.

This adorable, big-eyed dear has a Normal personality and has appeared in all the main Animal Crossing games - making her a staple of the franchise. In New Horizons, her house is covered in ice-themed walls and floors, which will likely remind her of home. She's friendly, endearing, and ridiculously cute.

11 Beau The Deer

Laid-Back, Lovely Dude

• First Appearance: New Leaf

Beau's first appearance was in New Leaf and he has shown up in almost all Animal Crossing games since. Beau has the Lazy personality which matches his low-lidded eyes and chilled-out expression. It also means that Beau is laid back and won't cause any trouble, making him a fast friend.

Beau's adorable by design, and he always looks content, which means he's a good villager to have wandering around. Beau will also get along with most other villagers and just doesn't have it in him to engage in any conflict. He likes natural things and nature, so he can be found looking at flowers and even watering multiple at once.

10 Sylvana The Squirrel

Ferret-Like Cutie

• First Appearance: Animal Forest e+

Sylvana first appeared in Animal Forest e+ but didn't return to the series until the Welcome Amiibo update for Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Fortunately, she also reappeared for New Horizons since she is so cute. Though she is a squirrel, her facial markings are more reminiscent of a ferret.

She is a normal type villager who has an absolutely beautiful home that is set up to be a picnic amidst a cherry tree grove. Rather fittingly, her favorite song is Spring Blossoms.

9 Lolly The Cat

Ridiculously Sweet

• First Appearance: Animal Forest e+

It is amazing how sometimes just taking away a character's nose makes them all the more adorable. That was Lolly's case anyway. Though her original Japanese name is Ramune, which if you think about it, is even cuter than Lolly since Ramune is a special Japanese soda.

Lolly does refer to sweets though, like a lollipop and her catchphrase is "bonbon" which is candy in French. Though that catchphrase is a little odd when you consider "bonbon" is also the name of another villager.

8 Etoile The Sheep

A Fuzzy Purple Star

• First Appearance: New Leaf

Etoile is a pastel pink and purple sheep with the Normal personality type. Like a few other villagers, her design is based on Sanrio characters, namely Little Twin Stars. This theme influences her thoughts too, since she has a few dialogue lines that reference stars and the sky.

This cutie will always live in pink, pastel houses with star and cloud motifs. Like most Normal villagers, she's very nice and will easily befriend the player. Like other Sanrio-themed villagers, her camper van has Kiki and Lala - the Little Twin Stars - on it. To add to all this cuteness, her birthday is on Christmas Day - proving her to be both a figurative and literal gift. Her adorable little face and fluffy star-themed look easily make her one of the sweetest villagers in the whole series.

7 Judy The Cub

Proper & Pastel

• First Appearance: New Horizons

Judy was a new addition to the franchise with the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and is so adorable it's unreal. Judy features beautiful blue and purple pastel hues and has sparkly eyes that complete her cuteness-personified look.

Judy has an interest in music and her house furnishings look rather childlike in appearance, largely featuring the wooden block series in bright colors. Despite her sweet appearance, Judy is of the snooty personality type, which means she can come across as mean at times to both the player and other villagers.

6 Kid Cat The Cat

Seriously Cute Superhero

• First Appearance: Animal Forest e+

Kid Cat is one of the cutest of the Jock personality villagers. He is one of five superhero-themed villagers which include Agent S the squirrel, Rocket the gorilla, Filly the horse, and Big Top the elephant. Out of those five, Kid Cat is also the most adorable.

His initial catchphrase is "psst" like everything he is telling you is a secret. It is theorized that he was inspired by a popular Japanese franchise called Super Sentai. What can we say? The cat villagers make up most of the cutest character designs.