What early working name was used for Crash Bandicoot's main character?

The early working name for Crash Bandicoot’s main character was Willy the Wombat.

Naughty Dog founders Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin initially considered several unusual Australian marsupials while designing a mascot for their 3D platform game. They chose “Willy the Wombat” as a temporary name while the character’s species and appearance were still evolving.

By October 1994, the character was effectively a bandicoot, but the provisional name remained in use because the team had not settled on a final identity. “Willy” was eventually abandoned because it sounded too childish and was already associated with another property. The character became Crash Bandicoot during preparations for the 1996 E3 presentation; the name referred both to his species and his habit of smashing crates.

A common mix-up is “Willie” rather than “Willy.” Sources use both spellings in historical discussion, but “Willy the Wombat” is the standard answer for the early working name. Other candidate names, including Dash, Smash, and Bash, were considered later but were not the original working name.