What is the name of SpongeBob's pet snail?

SpongeBob’s pet snail is named Gary.

Gary lives with SpongeBob in the pineapple house in Bikini Bottom. Although he is a sea snail, the character vocalizes mainly with cat-like meows, creating one of the show’s most recognizable jokes. SpongeBob and other characters understand Gary’s meaning even when viewers hear mostly meowing.

Gary is generally portrayed as level-headed, sophisticated, and more sensible than his owner. That makes him a useful foil to SpongeBob’s impulsive enthusiasm. His oversized pink shell is also a recurring visual feature, and the series plays humorously with the idea that the shell has far more interior space than it should.

Gary receives a major storyline in “Have You Seen This Snail?”, a fourth-season episode that first aired in 2005. After SpongeBob neglects him, Gary runs away and is temporarily adopted by an elderly woman. The episode is sometimes remembered simply as “Where’s Gary?”, but both titles refer to the same story and confirm the pet’s name.