Dad jokes are optional, but a little friendly competition is definitely invited.
These Father’s Day trivia questions travel from holiday history to famous fictional fathers, with plenty of family-friendly surprises along the way.
How Father’s Day Got Its Start
Start with the people and places behind the holiday, then keep the celebration going with our holiday trivia.
- In which U.S. state was the first widely recognized Father’s Day celebration held?
Answer: Washington, in Spokane - Who is most often credited with founding Father’s Day in the United States?
Answer: Sonora Smart Dodd - What inspired Sonora Smart Dodd to campaign for a day honoring fathers?
Answer: A Mother’s Day sermon - What was the name of Dodd’s father, whom she wanted to honor?
Answer: William Jackson Smart - What month hosted Spokane’s first Father’s Day celebration in 1910?
Answer: June - On what date was that first Spokane celebration held?
Answer: June 19, 1910 - What was William Jackson Smart’s occupation?
Answer: Farmer - How many children did the widowed William Jackson Smart raise?
Answer: Six children - Which U.S. president publicly supported Father’s Day in 1916?
Answer: Woodrow Wilson - Which president urged states to observe Father’s Day in 1924?
Answer: Calvin Coolidge - Which president signed a 1966 proclamation setting the national observance in June?
Answer: Lyndon B. Johnson - Which president made Father’s Day a permanent national holiday in 1972?
Answer: Richard Nixon
Calendar, Cards, and Classic Traditions
This round is all neckties, greeting cards, and one very movable Sunday.
- On which Sunday is Father’s Day observed in the United States?
Answer: The third Sunday in June - Is Father’s Day a fixed-date holiday in the United States?
Answer: No, its date changes each year - Which flower did Sonora Smart Dodd originally suggest wearing to honor a living father?
Answer: A red rose - Which flower color was suggested in remembrance of a deceased father?
Answer: White - Which holiday comes earlier on the U.S. calendar, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day?
Answer: Mother’s Day - In which month does the United States celebrate Mother’s Day?
Answer: May - What familiar clothing accessory became a stereotypical Father’s Day gift?
Answer: A necktie - Which meal is often served to Dad in bed on Father’s Day morning?
Answer: Breakfast - What paper item commonly carries a Father’s Day greeting?
Answer: A greeting card - What backyard cooking activity is closely associated with many U.S. Father’s Day gatherings?
Answer: Grilling or barbecuing - Which season begins near Father’s Day in the Northern Hemisphere?
Answer: Summer - What family term is a casual synonym for father?
Answer: Dad
Father’s Day Around the World
Passports ready: dads are celebrated on very different dates around the globe.
- Which country celebrates Father’s Day on Saint Joseph’s Day, March 19?
Answer: Italy - What is Father’s Day called in Germany?
Answer: Vatertag - German Father’s Day coincides with which Christian observance?
Answer: Ascension Day - Which country celebrates Father’s Day on the first Sunday in September?
Answer: Australia - Which neighboring country also observes it on the first Sunday in September?
Answer: New Zealand - Which Scandinavian country celebrates Father’s Day on the second Sunday in November?
Answer: Norway - Which other Nordic country marks it on the second Sunday in November?
Answer: Sweden - What is the Thai name for Father’s Day?
Answer: Wan Pho - Thailand observes Father’s Day on the birthday of which late king?
Answer: King Bhumibol Adulyadej - What date is Father’s Day in Thailand?
Answer: December 5 - Brazil celebrates Father’s Day on which Sunday in August?
Answer: The second Sunday - In Spain, Father’s Day shares March 19 with the feast of which saint?
Answer: Saint Joseph
Famous Fathers in History
No bathrobes or lawn mowers here, just dads whose children also landed in the history books.
- Which U.S. president was the father of President John Quincy Adams?
Answer: John Adams - Which president was the father of President George W. Bush?
Answer: George H. W. Bush - What shared surname belongs to presidents Theodore and Franklin?
Answer: Roosevelt - Which scientist was the father of mathematician Ada Lovelace?
Answer: Lord Byron, the poet - Which composer was the father of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach?
Answer: Johann Sebastian Bach - Which founding father was the father of diplomat John Quincy Adams?
Answer: John Adams - What was the first name of Wolfgang Mozart’s father and music teacher?
Answer: Leopold - Which evolutionary scientist was father to ten children with Emma Wedgwood?
Answer: Charles Darwin - Which U.S. president’s daughter Alice became a celebrated Washington socialite?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt - Which civil rights leader was the father of Martin Luther King Jr.?
Answer: Martin Luther King Sr. - Which Indian political leader was the father of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi?
Answer: Jawaharlal Nehru - Which British monarch was the father of Queen Elizabeth II?
Answer: King George VI
Movie Dads on the Big Screen
Cue the popcorn and visit our movie trivia when this cinematic dad round ends.
- In Finding Nemo, what kind of fish is Nemo’s father, Marlin?
Answer: A clownfish - Who plays George Banks in the 1991 Father of the Bride?
Answer: Steve Martin - In The Lion King, who is Simba’s father?
Answer: Mufasa - Who voices Mufasa in the 1994 animated film?
Answer: James Earl Jones - In Mrs. Doubtfire, what disguise does Daniel Hillard adopt?
Answer: An elderly British nanny - Who plays Daniel Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire?
Answer: Robin Williams - In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, who plays Indiana’s father?
Answer: Sean Connery - What is Indiana Jones’s father’s first name?
Answer: Henry - In Star Wars, who is Luke Skywalker’s father?
Answer: Anakin Skywalker, also known as Darth Vader - In Back to the Future, what is Marty McFly’s father called?
Answer: George McFly - Which actor plays Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird?
Answer: Gregory Peck - In The Pursuit of Happyness, what is the father’s name?
Answer: Chris Gardner - Which actor plays Bryan Mills in Taken?
Answer: Liam Neeson
TV Dads and Sitcom Legends
The remote belongs to the trivia host now, so settle in with these television patriarchs and our bigger TV trivia collection.
- What is the name of the father on The Simpsons?
Answer: Homer Simpson - Who voices Homer Simpson?
Answer: Dan Castellaneta - On Full House, what is the widowed father’s name?
Answer: Danny Tanner - Which actor played Danny Tanner in the original Full House?
Answer: Bob Saget - What is the surname of Philip, Vivian, and their children on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
Answer: Banks - Who played Philip Banks in the original sitcom?
Answer: James Avery - On Modern Family, who is Claire and Mitchell’s father?
Answer: Jay Pritchett - Which actor plays Jay Pritchett?
Answer: Ed O’Neill - On Family Matters, what is the Winslow father’s first name?
Answer: Carl - What is Carl Winslow’s occupation?
Answer: Police officer - On Everybody Loves Raymond, what is Raymond’s father’s name?
Answer: Frank Barone - Which actor played Mike Brady on The Brady Bunch?
Answer: Robert Reed - On Bluey, what is Bluey’s father called?
Answer: Bandit
Animal Fathers and Family Science
Nature has some remarkable dads, and our animal trivia has even more wild facts.
- In which fish does the male carry developing young in a pouch?
Answer: The seahorse - Which male bird incubates an egg on his feet through the Antarctic winter?
Answer: The emperor penguin - What warm fold covers an emperor penguin’s egg?
Answer: A brood pouch - Male Darwin’s frogs protect tadpoles in what body part?
Answer: Their vocal sacs - Which large flightless bird has a male that incubates eggs and raises chicks?
Answer: The emu - Male rheas may care for eggs laid by how many females?
Answer: Several females - What is an adult male chicken called?
Answer: A rooster - What is an adult male horse called?
Answer: A stallion - What is a father dog called in breeding terminology?
Answer: A sire - What term describes an animal’s biological father in a pedigree?
Answer: Sire - Which primate fathers often carry infant twins on their backs?
Answer: Marmosets - Do male or female jacanas usually provide most chick care?
Answer: Males - In a lion pride, are cubs usually raised only by their biological mother?
Answer: No, females often raise cubs cooperatively
Songs, Sayings, and Dad-Worthy Odds and Ends
Finish with lyrics, language, and a few facts worthy of the world’s finest hand-drawn card.
- Which Cat Stevens song is a conversation between two generations?
Answer: Father and Son - Which Luther Vandross song recalls dancing with his father?
Answer: Dance with My Father - Which Paul Simon song begins with a father shining like a national guitar?
Answer: Father and Daughter - Which band recorded the 1981 song Daddy’s Home?
Answer: Cliff Richard recorded that hit version - Who sang Papa Don’t Preach?
Answer: Madonna - Which Temptations song begins by describing a rolling-stone father?
Answer: Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone - What does the Latin root pater mean?
Answer: Father - Which word meaning fatherly comes from pater?
Answer: Paternal - What does the phrase 'like father, like son' suggest?
Answer: Children often resemble their parents - What is a father’s father called?
Answer: A grandfather - What is a person married to someone’s parent but not their biological parent called?
Answer: A stepparent - What affectionate British term for father rhymes with 'glad'?
Answer: Dad - Which punctuation mark makes 'Dads' possessive when referring to one dad?
Answer: An apostrophe before the s: Dad’s
Sources and Further Reading
- History: Father’s Day
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Father’s Day
- Library of Congress: Father’s Day
- Smithsonian’s National Zoo: Emperor Penguin
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance: Seahorse
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