Inspired by Charles Schulz’s own dog, Andy is Snoopy's fuzzy brother. He made his first appearance in Peanuts when he visited Snoopy in the hospital. Andy can usually be seen wandering with another brother (and frequent traveling companion), Olaf; from Alaska to the desert and many places in between (often as a result of getting lost).

Belle is Snoopy’s sister. She lives in Kansas City, Missouri and has a son who is very tall and thin. In Snoopy's fantasies as the WWI Flying Ace, he periodically reunites with Belle and and his brother Spike on the Western Front, where Belle serves as a nurse in the Red Cross.

"I like to think of Charlie Brown as being an “Everyman” -most people would admit to feeling a bit like him at times. There’s a lot of myself in his character, too. When I was little, I was so convinced that I had a very plain face that I was surprised when anyone recognized me. It was the kind of thinking that prompted Charlie Brown’s round, ordinary face. After all these years, he remains the most difficult character for me to draw-I guess because of the roundness of his head." (1996)

"I like to have Charlie Brown eventually be the focal point of almost every story. No matter what happens to any of the other characters, somehow Charlie Brown is involved at the end and usually is the one who brings disaster upon one of his friends or receives the brunt of the blow. Charlie Brown has to be the one who suffers, because he is a caricature of the average person." (1975)
—Charles M. Schulz

Though their names are similar, Charlotte Braun could not be more different than Charlie Brown—she is loud, pushy, and can be very rude. Charlotte didn't last too long in the strip; Schulz let her fade away after just a few weeks. This minor character's notoriety lives on in the United States Library of Congress, however, in a letter that Schulz wrote to a fan who had expressed dislike for the character. Schulz explained that he was going to "discard" Charlotte, but that the fan and her friends would bear responsibility.

"The cat [Faron] was a mistake. First, I found I couldn't draw a cat very well. Second, he played off poorly against Snoopy, making the strip too 'cat-and-doggish.' It hurt in other ways as well, so I'm afraid Faron is gone forever.... He is now invisible, that 'cat next door'—and as such can play off better against Snoopy."
—Charles M. Schulz (1975)

"... [Franklin's introduction] brought the strongest criticism I remember. There weren't many letters, but they were quite vehement." (1971)

"The only editor who ever complained was when Franklin [a black character] came in in the 1960s. The strip showed Franklin in school with Charlie Brown [the editor objected to an integrated school]. But I just ignored him." (2000)
—Charles M. Schulz

"I suppose I introduced her [Frieda] to pep up the strip."
—Charles M. Schulz (1961)

Frieda was best known for her naturally-curly hair, which she made a point of fluffing in front of everyone. She also frequently carried her limp cat, Faron, around the neighborhood. Though she was a regular member of the Gang in the 1960s, her appearances dwindled in later decades.

"I had a dream in which I dreamed a new character whose name was a combination of Mexican and Swedish. Why in the world I had such a dream and would think of such a name as José Peterson is a mystery to me. Most of the time things that are a complete riot when you are dreaming are not the least bit funny when you wake up. In this case, however, it seemed like a good idea, so I developed a story about the arrival of José Peterson in the neighborhood, and he has remained ever since, usually playing on Peppermint Patty's baseball team."
—Charles M. Schulz (1975)

"I have never been a very successful kite flyer and have used the excuse that I never lived where there were good areas to fly kites. When I was growing up, we always lived in residential areas which had too many trees and too many telephone wires. Recollections of those handicaps inspired Charlie Brown's troubles with kite flying. As I grew older and tried to fly kites for my own children, I discovered that I still had the same problems. I observed that when a kite becomes caught in a tall tree, it is irretrievable and gradually disappears over a period of several weeks. Now obviously the kite had to go someplace, so it seemed to me that the tree must be eating it. This is how the series developed about Charlie Brown's violent battles with his local 'kite-eating tree.'"
—Charles M. Schulz (1975)

"I used to love country and western music. The whole business of Charlie Brown and the Red-Haired Girl came from listening to a Hank Williams song. I was home alone one night listening to it and it was so depressing that it occurred to me that I would do something with Charlie Brown and the Little Red-Haired Girl and that's how it all started." (1992)

"Linus is strong enough to carry a strip by himself. His biggest weakness, of course, is the blanket. But he's very bright. If I want to quote the Bible or say something profound, it comes best from Linus. But he's not a little intellectual. Linus's problem is that he's under the thumb of this dominating sister and a mother who puts notes in his lunch telling him to study harder. As Charlie Brown says, 'No wonder he carries that blanket.' I like to work with Linus. He's a neat character." (1971)

"Linus is Lucy’s brother, Charlie Brown’s friend, and Sally Brown’s “Sweet Babboo” (according to her, but not to him). He came from a drawing I made of a face almost like the one he has now. I experimented with some wild hair, and then showed the sketch to a friend of mine named Linus Maurer. He thought it was kind of funny and we both agreed it might make a good new character for the strip. Linus’s blanket was inspired by the blankets that my first three children dragged around the house." (1996)
—Charles M. Schulz

"Now about Lucy being so mean. She is mean first because it is funny, and because it just follows the standard comic-strip pattern—that the supposedly weak people in the world are funny when they dominate the supposedly strong people. There is nothing funny about a little boy being mean to a little girl. That is simply not funny! But there is something funny about a little girl being able to be mean to a little boy." (1968)

"Lucy comes from that part of me that's capable of saying mean and sarcastic things, which is not a good trait to have, so Lucy gives me a good outlet." (1971)

"At first Lucy was cute: then crabby; then a fuss-budget. When Linus came along, it gave her a chance to be a dominating sister. I don't know why, but Lucy has always worried me." (1972)
—Charles M. Schulz

Marbles is Snoopy's spotted brother whose appeared in the strip during a story arc from late September to early October 1982. Unlike Snoopy's other siblings Spike and Belle, Marbles does not participate in Snoopy's WWI fantasies—he does not believe Snoopy's doghouse is a Sopwith Camel, nor does he believe that Lucy and her shopping cart are a nurse and an ambulance.

Maynard briefly appeared for eight strips in July 1986 as Peppermint Patty's tutor—her teacher and father both thought some extra-cirricular studying might improve her grades. However, when Peppermint Patty discovered that Maynard was getting paid for his services rather than tutoring her out of the goodness of his heart, she literally threw him out of the house! (As an interesting side-note, Maynard is Marcie's cousin.)

"I first created Marcie as one of those nameless campers who was exploring the great outdoors and had Peppermint Patty as a camp monitor. Along with Peppermint Patty, Marcie has been a good addition to the strip. I like the relationship the two girls have. There is a real friendship there. They are different people, but they are both sincere little girls." (1996)

"[Peppermint] Patty was never very smart. Then one day Marcie appeared. Marcie is devoted to her, calls her "Sir" and doesn't mind following her around, which is deceptive. Marcie is one-up on Patty In every way. She sees the truth of things, where it invariably escapes Patty. I like Marcie." (1980)
—Charles M. Schulz

Olaf first appeared as Lucy's contestant in an "Ugly Dog" contest—which he won! Olaf is chubbier than his other brothers and sister, and is distinguished by his hunting cap. In later appearances Olaf can usually be seen wandering with another brother (and frequent traveling companion), Andy; from Alaska to the desert and many places in between (often as a result of getting lost).

"In 1950, when I started Peanuts ... I had just four characters: Charlie, Shermy, Snoopy and Patty—not Peppermint Patty but just a plain girl with straight hair. They weren't much, but they grew."
—Charles M. Schulz (1972)

"Peppermint Patty is a favorite of mine; I think she could carry a whole strip by herself. She never fails to make hits on the baseball diamond or fall asleep in the classroom. Her name was inspired by my noticing a dish of candy that was sitting around the house. In this case I created the character to fit the name." (1996)

"Peppermint Patty, the tomboy, is forthright, doggedly loyal, with a devastating singleness of purpose, the part of us that goes through life with blinders on. This can be wonderful at times but also disastrous." (1980)
—Charles M. Schulz

"I now have 20 characters, but there are really only six. I have not given the others depth enough to make them really useful. Pig-Pen, for instance. He's only good when he's dirty. And I don't think about little boys who need a bath all that much."
—Charles M. Schulz (1972)

"So here I am riding on the back of my mom's bicycle... Now it's a shopping cart in the supermarket... Now it's a stroller through the mall.. Then, back on the bicycle... Sometimes I go a whole day without touching the ground!"
—Rerun Van Pelt (April 7, 1987)

"Sally is Charlie Brown’s little sister. He was so pleased when she was born that he passed out chocolate cigars. She may never win Linus’s heart, but she has her big brother wrapped around her little finger. Sally is a character who expresses indignation well. She is completely puzzled by all of the things she has to go through in school, and is a favorite of many people because she is so uninhibited." (1996)

"Sally...is the complete pragmatist. I personally do not like her; she is rude to her big brother Charlie. I could easily become angry with her. Yet there is a certain charm when she fractures the language: 'By golly, if any centimeters come in this room, I'll step on them!'" (1980)
—Charles M. Schulz

"Schroeder? Well, in the first year I needed a baby. My own children were very small. I'd just bought a toy piano for my daughter Meredith. He had to do something so I had him grow up quickly and play Beethoven." (1980)

"If Schroeder ever married Lucy his career would go down the drain. But I don't think he'll marry her." (1967)

"Schroeder was named after a young boy with whom I used to caddy at a golf course in St. Paul. I don't recall ever knowing his first name, but just Schroeder seemed right for the character in the strip even before he became the great musician he now is." (1975)
—Charles M. Schulz

"In 1950, when I started Peanuts ... I had just four characters: Charlie, Shermy, Snoopy and Patty.... They weren't much, but they grew." (1972)

'[Shermy] ... was named after a friend of mine." (1971)
—Charles M. Schulz

"The dog that finally turned out to be Snoopy was really a composite of dogs I had drawn down through the years. There were a lot of funny little dogs in a weekly feature I drew for a paper in St. Paul, Minnesota about 1948-49. I finally sold the Peanuts strip paper in St. Paul, Minnesota about in 1950 and then seriously started to create some definite characters. From the kids and dogs I had already drawn, Snoopy emerged. He was a dog something like I had when I was a teenager." (1978)

"Snoopy and these kids aren't the brightest, but this dog knows about the Olympics and that they are in Grenoble, in France, but he doesn't even know how to get there. He doesn't even know that an ocean exists. This again ties the fantasy to the real world and keeps him always a bit of a real dog, and yet not a real dog. It is treading a very thin line, which is what makes these things successful when they are successful." (1968)

"Snoopy's appearance and personality have changed probably more than those of any of the other characters. As my drawing style loosened, Snoopy was able to do more things, and when I finally developed the formula of using his imagination to dream of being many heroic figures, the strip took on a completely new dimension." (1975)
—Charles M. Schulz

"Spike, Snoopy's brother, is a beautiful example of images evoked by a location: we know he lives with the coyotes outside Needles, and that's about all we know. There is about him, with his thin, faintly exotic mustache and soulful eyes, an air of mystery that is totally foreign to what Snoopy is. Our imagination takes over."
—Charles M. Schulz (1980)

Violet was the first new major character to join the Peanuts cast, and she and Patty quickly established themselves as best friends. Her last name was mentioned only once, on April 4, 1953, when Patty called her a tattletale. In the early strips, Violet was best known for her gourmet mud pies.

Violet began her run in the strip wearing two braids, but began periodically putting it up in a ponytail in 1952. As the strip progressed she wore it up more often, and by the end of the strip her hairstyle looked more like a bun. When she was introduced in 1951 as the first new character to compliment the original four (Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Patty, and Shermy), Schulz intended her to be "the pretty girl in the strip" (1971 interview).

"Woodstock has been many birds. He appeared gradually as I discovered I was drawing this one little bird more and more. It seemed only natural to call him Woodstock. He's Snoopy's friend and confidant. He just worships Snoopy and would do anything for him, even type his letters for him." (1971)

"I named Woodstock, the bird, after the festival. Some people think he's a bat or a butterfly. That's Woodstock's problem. He doesn't know who he is. But I can do beautiful things with him - like the time he and Snoopy went camping, Woodstock makes a little pillow out of twigs and gazes up at a huge moon. Just then a flock of geese flies over. You know and he knows he'll never be able to do anything like that." (1972)

"Woodstock knows that he is very small and inconsequential indeed. It's a problem we all have. The universe boggles us. In the larger scheme, we suddenly realize, we amount to very little. It's frightening. Only a certain maturity will make us able to cope. The minute we abandon the quest for it we leave ourselves open to tragic results. Woodstock is a lighthearted expression of that idea." (1980)
—Charles M. Schulz

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