The nine, in order

  1. Dasher
  2. Dancer
  3. Prancer
  4. Vixen
  5. Comet
  6. Cupid
  7. Donner
  8. Blitzen
  9. Rudolph joined in 1939, leads from the front

The order of the first eight is the order the poem calls them in, as it is usually printed today: "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!"

Where the eight came from

They first appear in the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, better known by its opening line, 'Twas the night before Christmas, and attributed to Clement Clarke Moore.

Dunder and Blixem

The poem's first publication in 1823 used Dunder and Blixem, from Dutch words meaning thunder and lightning. An 1844 version changed them to Donder and Blitzen, and the German spelling Donner became standard in the early twentieth century.

And then there was Rudolph

Robert L. May wrote Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in verse in 1939 for the Montgomery Ward department stores, which gave it away to children as a Christmas book. Gene Autry's 1949 recording of the song made Rudolph a household name.

A quick way to remember them

Pair them up the way the poem does: Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. Four pairs, with Rudolph out in front. Most children have the song's opening lines already, which list all eight before Rudolph gets a mention.

Sources