There is an unsolved mystery surrounding the Christmas season: What is the true first name of Santa Claus' wife, Mrs. Claus?
In December 2024, an X user asked: "Why do we just call her Mrs. Santa Claus? I need to know her government name." Another person inquired: "What is Mrs Claus' first name? Would suck if it was Tiffany or some such nonsense." One user similarly asked: "It's 2024. Why don't we know Mrs. Claus' first name?"
Over the decades, film and TV show scriptwriters have used various first names for Mrs. Claus. Below, we explore whether the earliest writings about her and Santa Claus reveal a true answer.
Right off the top, it is important to note that The Associated Press previously reported that "the Santa Claus legend can be traced back to St. Nicholas, a Christian monk who lived in the fourth century in what is today the country of Turkey." Given that St. Nicholas was a monk, he was not married. Consequently, there was no equivalent to Mrs. Claus during his time.
Gertrude
Over the years, the subject of Mrs. Claus' first name has resulted in online misinformation. Authors of some articles have falsely claimed that Gertrude was the oldest name given to Mrs. Claus. Those articles cited author James Rees' 1849 work "Mysteries of City Life; Or, Stray Leaves from the World's Book."
By reviewing Rees' story "A Christmas Legend," which mentions Santa and the name Gertrude, the holiday tale shows that the author used Gertrude as the name given to a mother of two children who hoped that Santa Claus would brighten up their seemingly hopeless Christmas. However, that mother — Gertrude — was not Mrs. Claus.
The authors of the aforementioned articles misinterpreted Rees' story and printed incorrect information. Other websites subsequently followed their lead by republishing the same conclusion.
Rees' story is available for free on Google Books on page 91 or on SantasWhiskers.com.
Jessica
According to Fandom.com, the creators of the 1970 stop-motion animation film "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" called Mrs. Claus' character Jessica.
Newspapers printed several mentions of the name Jessica Claus in the years following (possibly because of the film).
On Dec. 18, 1974, The Desert Sun newspaper reported that a 6-year-old girl named Michelle Hill met Santa in a department store and knew his wife as Jessica Claus.
Then, on Dec. 15, 1989, the Salina Journal newspaper also published a story about a woman portraying Mrs. Claus, who referred to herself by the name of Jessica Claus.
Mrs. Claus was also named Jessica in the Iowa City Press-Citizen on Nov. 27, 1998, as well as in the Iowa newspaper The Gazette on Nov. 28, 1999.
Further, actor Ryan Reynolds referred to Mrs. Claus as Jessica in an Instagram post on Dec. 5, 2022, leading to several blog articles declaring it the official name of Santa's wife. However, this name originated in 1970.
Other Names
As previously mentioned, scriptwriters for movies have given Mrs. Claus a variety of first names.
For example, in the 1985 film "Santa Claus: The Movie," Mrs. Claus' name was Anya. In 2011, Mrs. Claus' name was Margaret in the movie "Arthur Christmas." The 2020 film "Fatman" featured her name as Ruth.
There were also unsupported claims that her first name was either Holly, Mary or Carol among others.
Mrs. Claus
Despite these names, newspaper archives and books from the 19th and early-20th century indicated that Mrs. Claus is simply Mrs. Claus.
The December 1851 issue of The Yale Literary Magazine referred to Santa's wife as Mrs. Santa Claus. This is potentially one of the strongest clues to suggest she was never given a first name during the early popularization of the Santa Claus legend in the U.S. by cartoonists like Thomas Nast.
Some 102 years later, on Dec. 24, 1953, the Columbus Ledger in Georgia published an article saying Santa Claus' wife was simply Mrs. Claus. Other newspaper writers also simply named her Mrs. Claus in previous decades.
On Nov. 21, 1967, the Paterson Evening News in New Jersey printed: "What is Mrs. Claus' first name? Santa generally calls her Honey."
On Dec. 7, 1962, the Paradise Post in California observed: "Speaking of Mrs. Claus, we forgot to ask her first name." The story continued: "Come to think of it, it was never even mentioned by Clement Clark Moore when he wrote 'The Visit from St. Nicholas' back in 1822. In fact, he never mentioned Mrs. Santa Claus, which is a man for you!" Moore's poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" is today better known as "Twas the Night Before Christmas."
On Dec. 15, 1972, the Estherville Daily News in Iowa wrote: "We know absolutely nothing about Mrs. Claus — she has not even been given her own identity by having a first name!"
On Dec. 25, 1983, The Marion Star in Ohio reported: "Mrs. Claus doesn't even care that no one calls her by her first name. Santa calls her 'dear.'"
Finally, the Indiana Gazette, on Dec. 9, 1999, asked young readers to help find a name for Mrs. Claus. The writer called the initiative the "Name Mrs. Claus Contest," as a true and original name was not known.