For 14 years, our users on our social media, GitHub, and even in real life have asked us: “Why is your product called DBeaver?” or “Why did you choose this specific animal as your mascot?” We often receive jokes about this topic, so today, we finally share our behind-the-scenes story.

The first impression

We asked other DBeaver team members about their first impressions of the name “DBeaver”. Before they knew the real story, where did they think the “Beaver” came from?

“Before joining the team, I’d heard the catchphrase “eager beaver”, which means “one who works harder than others”. So, my first association with the name was that it is connected with hard work and diligence.”
– Anna, Event Manager

“I first thought that a beaver administers its dam like our users administer their databases. This is a very truthful association, in my opinion.”
– Vladimir, Technical Writer

“I had a couple of ideas. The first was that someone in the company really liked beavers. The second is that it could be someone’s last name.”
– Tati, Customer Success Manager

“Beavers are only occasionally seen during the day. They usually wake at dusk and are also active at dawn. The same applies to many tech guys, and I am no exception.”
– Stacy, Head of Content

“The first thought that came to my mind was that beavers are very persistent and hardworking animals. And, at the same time, they are very cute.”
– Iraida, Technical Support Engineer

But really, why beaver?

DBeaver started in 2010 as a personal project by the company’s future CTO. Back then, it was trendy to name startups after animals or to choose animals as company mascots.

This trend was observed across all tech companies but was particularly noticeable in the database world. Some of the most notable examples that you are likely already familiar with are an elephant for PostgreSQL and a dolphin for MySQL. And database management tools were also often named after animals, such as Toad and SQuirreL.

Company founders use animal metaphors as inspiration and choose animals that symbolize traits that connect to their brand. For example, the PostgreSQL logo refers to the title of Agatha Christie’s book “Elephants Can Remember”, which highlights the fact that this animal has a good memory. This idea was born back in 1997, but its symbolism has been preserved to this day.

So, what do we know about beavers?

• Beavers are considered “ecosystem engineers,” recognized for their ability to construct dams and create ponds. While some might consider beavers pests, they can actually help us manage water-related issues such as drought, flooding, and pollution.


• Beavers are one of the few animals that modify their habitat. Beavers build watertight dams made of woven sticks, reeds, branches, and saplings caulked together with mud and rocks. The dams form slow-moving ponds that reduce stream erosion and provide brand-new habitats for small fish and other aquatic wildlife.


• Beavers are extremely gentle and highly intelligent animals. A famous animal behaviorist, Donald Griffin, said “When we think of the kinds of animal behavior that suggest conscious thinking, the beaver comes naturally to mind”.


• Beaver is a great animal to adopt its values ​​and project them into your work. It is not difficult to associate with this awesome animal. Database experts build a variety of databases, create complex queries, design their own solutions, troubleshoot, and keep their finger on the pulse of the dynamic world of databases. And we are glad to help our users with all of these, as beavers help people to maintain the ecosystem.

Wordplay or where the letter “D” came from

Our brand is sometimes misspelled, which is unsurprising if you don’t know what it means. So, let’s talk about where the letter “D” came from and why the first two letters are capitalized.

It’s very simple: The name ‘DBeaver’ is a play on words, using the common abbreviation “DB” for “database”.” When merging “DB” with “Beaver, you get “DBeaver”, and it becomes clear that it is the name of a database management tool.

Beavers are experts in trees

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of beavers? We bet you thought of trees. Indeed, these animals are the world’s best tree experts!

The fun fact is that the relational database itself usually has a tree structure, where every node originates from the root. From this point of view, our mascot is also a symbol of knowledge and skills, since even the most cumbersome and bulky tree will not stop the beaver from doing their job.

“Beavers” unite our team and our community

The story behind DBeaver’s name resonates with what database experts do. Just like beavers shape their environment, you’re building, adapting, and improving the world of data. We’re all part of this evolving ecosystem, and we’re thrilled to be on this journey with you.

The DBeaver mascot has naturally become a part of our everyday lives, representing creativity, progress, and the desire to improve. These qualities connect us and make our community what it is today.