Bugs Bunny that another proposed name for the character was "Happy Rabbit." In the actual cartoons and publicity, however, the name "Happy" only seems to have been used in reference to Bugs Hardaway. In "Hare-um Scare-um", a newspaper headline reads, "Happy Hardaway." Animation historian David Gerstein disputes that "Happy Rabbit" was ever used as an official name, believing that the only usage of the term was from Mel Blanc himself in humorous and fanciful tales he told about the character's development in the 1970s and 1980s; the name "Bugs Bunny" was used as early as August 1939, in the Motion Picture Herald,
Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid out and catch something for dinner. Three take off like jets from an aircraft carrier. One stays behind, his back turned. This is Beaky Buzzard (Killer) who is shy, easily embarrassed, and a little on the slow side. Against his will, his mother kicks him out of the nest with instructions to at least catch a rabbit. Beaky spots Bugs Bunny and, after sneaking around some clouds 'stalking' his prey, soars down to catch him. Bugs makes like an air-traffic controller and "guides" Beaky down, purposely causing him to crash. After some heckling and trickery from Bugs, a chase ensues.