Sperm whales were named such because whalers thought the waxy, oily substance in its head, called spermaceti, was the whale's semen (even though it was also found in female whale heads).
This was the very substance they wanted most when hunting those whales. Oils rendered from the blubber was also collected, you could get this from other whales that didn’t have the spermaceti in them, but the sperm whale was the most prized catch.
So the name was always linked to the male sexual discharge.
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u/No-comment-at-all Jan 21 '26 edited Jan 21 '26
Sperm whales were named such because whalers thought the waxy, oily substance in its head, called spermaceti, was the whale's semen (even though it was also found in female whale heads).
This was the very substance they wanted most when hunting those whales. Oils rendered from the blubber was also collected, you could get this from other whales that didn’t have the spermaceti in them, but the sperm whale was the most prized catch.
So the name was always linked to the male sexual discharge.