Coypu this invasive species's endurance controversial to human occupants throughout most of its range. The genus name "Myocastor" derives from the two Ancient Greek words (), meaning "rat, mouse", and (), meaning "beaver". Literally, therefore, the name "Myocastor" means "beaver rat". Two names are commonly used in English for "Myocastor coypus". The name "nutria" (from Spanish "nutria") is generally used in North America, Asia, and throughout countries of the former Soviet Union; however, in most Spanish-speaking countries, the word "nutria" refers primarily to the otter. To avoid this ambiguity, the name "coypu" or "coipo" (derived from the Mapudungun language) is used
Alan (given name) is today Russia, and who were known to Classical writers in the 1st century CE. According to historian Bernard Bachrach, the Alans settled in parts of what is today France, including Brittany, in the Early Middle Ages. Bachrach stated that the use of forms of the name in given names, surnames, and place names, are evidence of the continued influence of the Alans on the Gaulish, Breton and Frankish peoples. The Breton name "Alan" can not be a direct loan from the ethnic name of the Alans (rendered as "Alānī" or "Halānī" in Latin, from Scytho-Sarmatian "*Al[l]ān-", derived from Old