Common minke whale this mistake during Foyn's whaling operations in the Varanger Fjord between 1868 and 1885." It has formerly been known as the little piked whale, the lesser or least rorqual, and the sharp-headed finner. American whalemen in the 19th century simply thought of them as "young finbacks" or a "Finback's calf", apparently under the impression that they were juveniles of their larger relative, the fin whale. They were also called zwergwal (German: "dwarf whale") or vågehval (Norwegian: "bay whale"). In Japan they are called koiwashi-kujira ("little sardine whale") or minku-kujira ("minke whale"). In Greenland they are known by the Danish name
Bryde's whale whales different from "B.edeni", and it is unclear whether Sittang whales were applied for later classified Omura's whales by locals. In Japan, early whalers called it or . It preys on the anchovy and it was commonly associated with the skipjack. As modern whaling shifted to the Sanriku area, whalemen confused the sei whale with it; now only applies to the latter. Incidentally, anchovies are dominant prey for both species off Japan. They are now called , for their resemblance to the sei whale. The taxonomy is poorly characterised. The two genetically distinct, candidate species/subspecies/morphologies are Bryde's whale "B. brydei"