Bevo got his name in 1916, when University of Texas magazine editor Ben Dyer wrote after the Thanksgiving football game, “His name is Bevo. Long may he reign!”. The exact reason Dyer chose the word “Bevo” is still debated.

Quick Scoop: Name Origin

  • The steer was originally called Bo before the new name appeared in print later that fall in 1916.
  • In the December 1916 issue of The Alcalde (the Texas Exes magazine), editor Ben Dyer publicly christened the mascot “Bevo,” which is the first documented use of the name.
  • Dyer never explained why he picked that exact word, and he died without leaving a clear answer, which is why the origin story still feels a bit mysterious today.

Popular Theories About “Bevo”

Several explanations circulate in UT folklore and history pieces about how Bevo got his name. None can be proven definitively, but these are the main contenders:

  1. The “near beer” theory
    • In 1916, Anheuser-Busch launched a non-alcoholic drink called Bevo , right as Prohibition-era pressure was rising, and it quickly became widely known.
 * Some historians suggest the mascot was named after this beverage, either as a playful nod to a trendy product or simply because the word was already in the cultural air in 1916.
  1. The “beeve / beef-o” theory
    • “Beeve” (or “beeves”) is an old plural form of beef , and also a slang term for cattle or steers destined for meat.
 * One modern UT history account argues that “Bevo” was likely coined as a play on that word, essentially “Beef-o,” which fits a big Longhorn steer perfectly.
  1. What did not happen: the branding myth
    • A long-told campus legend says Texas A&M students branded “13–0” (a score from an earlier Aggie win) into the steer, and UT students then altered the brand to read “BEVO.”
 * Historical records show the name “Bevo” was already in print **before** the 1917 branding incident, so the prank may have boosted the name’s fame but did not create it.

Forum-Style Take: Why This Still Trends

In fan forums and recent feature pieces, “how did Bevo get his name” keeps resurfacing because it mixes sports rivalry, campus myth, and a bit of unsolved trivia. Depending on which theory fans prefer, Bevo is either named after a Prohibition-era drink, a cattle term turned catchy nickname, or some mix of both—giving Longhorn followers plenty to debate every season.

Bottom line:

  • Documented fact: Ben Dyer publicly named the mascot “Bevo” in 1916.
  • Best-evidence theories: a nod to the Bevo drink, or a play on “beeve/beeves” (beef) with an “-o” ending.
  • Debunked: the idea that the A&M branding prank created the name.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.