In the comic series Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin’s stuffed tiger is named Hobbes.
Hobbes appears to Calvin as a living, articulate tiger, but other characters generally see him as a stuffed toy. This difference between Calvin’s imagination and the adults’ perception is one of the strip’s defining comic devices.
The character is named after Thomas Hobbes, the English philosopher. Cartoonist Bill Watterson chose the name as a contrast to Calvin, who was named after theologian John Calvin. Their names reflect the intellectual interests that often shape the strip’s jokes.
Hobbes is Calvin’s closest companion and frequently challenges Calvin’s plans, even though he also joins his friend’s games and adventures. The strip ran in newspapers from 1985 to 1995 and ended when Watterson decided to stop producing it.