Tom & Jerry were originally named “Jasper & Jinx” by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Only Tom was ever identified on-screen by his original name (“Jasper”). The name Jinx was used by H&B in their television cartoon about the mice Pixie and Dixie and their adversary the feline Mr. Jinx.

The Tom and Jerry cartoon was originally created by animators William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. MGM’s animation department had yet to produce any hit cartoon characters since it began in the early 1930s, unlike other animation studios operating at the time. Not yet named in their debut theatrical short, Puss Gets the Boot (1940), Tom (the scheming cat) and Jerry (the spunky mouse) nonetheless were a hit with audiences.