K.K. Slider’s original Japanese name in the Animal Crossing series is Totakeke.
In the Japanese versions, the guitar-playing dog is called Totakeke, written とたけけ. The name is a reference to Nintendo composer and sound designer Kazumi Totaka, whose name can be rearranged in Japanese name order as “Totaka K.” Totakeke is therefore both the character’s Japanese name and a wordplay tribute to the person who inspired him.
K.K. Slider debuted in the original Japanese game Dōbutsu no Mori in 2001, later localized for the Nintendo GameCube as Animal Crossing. In every mainline game, he performs songs for villagers and the player, usually with his guitar and famously without a shirt.
The English name “K.K. Slider” is not a literal translation of Totakeke. “K.K.” preserves the initials suggested by Totaka’s name, while “Slider” is the localization chosen for the musician character. Another common mix-up is DJ K.K., a persona he adopts in Animal Crossing: New Leaf; that is an alternate stage identity, not his original Japanese name.