What’s in a Name? The Surprising History and Many Monikers of the Piggy Bank

When you think of saving your spare coins as a child, chances are you picture a ceramic pig with a slot on its back. It is a universal childhood milestone: feeding the pig your loose change, listening to the satisfying clink echo inside, and eventually facing the bittersweet moment of smashing it open to count your riches.

But have you ever wondered why a coin container is shaped like a pig—or what else people call it around the world?

Beyond the Pig: Other Names for a Coin Bank

While “piggy bank” is the dominant term in American English, the object goes by several different names depending on geography, material, and design.

1. Money Box or Savings Box

In British, Australian, and South African English, the generic term for this item is a money box or savings box. Unlike the American focus on the animal shape, these terms focus entirely on the function. They can be made of wood, tin, plastic, or glass, and often feature a lock and key rather than a rubber stopper at the bottom.

2. Penny Bank

Historically, before inflation made pennies worth very little on their own, these were widely known as penny banks. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, mechanical iron penny banks were popular parlor novelties where pulling a lever would animate a figure depositing your penny into a box.

3. Cerdito or Alcancía (Spanish)

In Spanish-speaking countries, you will often hear it called an alcancía (derived from Arabic roots meaning a treasury or chest). However, in many Latin American countries, it is affectionately referred to as a cerdito (little pig) or chanchito, keeping the porcine tradition alive.

4. Tirelire (French)

The French word for a piggy bank is tirelire—an expressive, onomatopoeic word that sounds a bit like the cheerful rattling of coins inside a ceramic container.

The Etymological Accident: How the Pig Got Its Name

The story behind why we call a pig-shaped bank a “piggy bank” is one of the most famous linguistic misunderstandings in history.

Long before plastic or ceramic pigs existed, English households stored their excess money in jars and pots made of a dense, orange-colored clay called pygg.

1. The Pygg Clay Era: During the Middle Ages and up through the 17th and 18th centuries, potters made kitchen jars, bowls, and storage containers out of pygg clay.
2. The Savings Jars: When people saved money at home, they would drop coins into these affordable clay pots, which naturally became known as “pygg banks” (banks made of pygg).
3. The Great Confusion: As the English language evolved through the 18th and 19th centuries, the old word pygg fell out of everyday use, eventually merging in pronunciation with the animal pig.
4. The Literal Shape: By the 19th century, English potters—noticing the pun or perhaps leaning into a clever marketing gimmick—began molding coin banks in the literal shape of pigs. The linguistic accident became a physical reality, and the tradition stuck permanently.

From Clay Pots to Digital Vaults

Today, the classic piggy bank has evolved far beyond its humble clay and porcelain roots.

• Digital Counter Banks: Modern piggy banks often feature LCD screens on the lid that automatically count the value of coins as you drop them in, providing instant gratification.
• The Metaphorical “Piggy Bank”: In finance, we still use the term as a metaphor. You might hear someone talk about dipping into their “corporate piggy bank” or government agencies drawing from a “pension piggy bank.”
• The Cashless Shift: Ironically, in an increasingly cashless society where tap-to-pay and digital transactions dominate, physical piggy banks are experiencing a nostalgic revival. Parents and educators use them as tangible tools to teach children the foundational habits of budgeting, delayed gratification, and saving.

Whether you call it a money box, an alcancía, or a piggy bank, this timeless object remains a powerful symbol of future security. It proves that even the smallest, most repetitive actions—like dropping a single coin into a slot—can eventually build something substantial.

What do you call your childhood coin saver? Did you grow up smashing a ceramic pig, or did you keep your savings in a lockbox?