What is a common name for a muskrat?
Muskrat is the muskrat's common name. Muskrat derives from a
Native American word that was mispronounced by English settlers as
musquash. People eventually thought that had something to do with
its musky odor, and the name changes to musk beaver and then
muskrat. The scientific name of the muskrat is Ondatra
zibethicus.