In ACNH, you will get to meet a large number of animals/ villagers whom you can invite to your Island. Some of these villagers in Animal Crossing New Horizons may be considered somewhat rare as they are hard to discover when searching through a large pool of (animal) villager species.
Since there are more than 400 villagers in ACNH, which also include variants of different class animals, finding a specific villager will not be an easy task. The reason for this is quite simple as certain villager species have less chance of spawning compared to the rest of the villagers in Animals Crossing New Horizons.
All things considered, you need to keep one thing in mind: there are no such things as proper rare villagers in Animal Crossing New Horizons.
However, based on their popularity, most of these variants are often harder to come across. This makes them somewhat rarer to find compared to the ones you usually get tired of seeing daily, so you will need to travel a lot to find these specific villagers and invite them to your Island.
The list of rarest villagers in Animal Crossing New Horizons that I have compiled below (in no particular order) includes all the villagers added to the game so far, including the villagers from the ACNH 2.0 update.
1. Goldie and Cookie
You may be thinking that there are 16 Dog Villagers and finding Goldie and Cookie wouldn’t be too hard, but that is where you are wrong. You see, the larger the number of the specific villager species gets, the more difficult it is to find certain individual villagers like these is very slim.
Moreover, both Goldie and Cookie are equally popular dogs, and adding them to your island will be beneficial in increasing your island’s popularity. Lastly, in terms of personality traits, Goldie is Normal, whereas Cookie is Peppy, so you will be really lucky if you manage to find them both in ACNH.
2. Marty
If you are out looking for a rare bear cub villager, then Marty should be a top option on your list. You can scan its Amiibo cards to get a better hold of its location, but your chances of running across this particular bear villager may still be low. As for the personality traits, Marty is Lazy and uses the catchphrase Pompom in Animal Crossing New Horizons.
3. Marshall
There is also one rare NPC villager among the squirrel types that you will have a hard time finding, and it happens to be Marshall in ACH. Marshall also has a Smug personality trait, which increases his popularity. Because of his extreme rarity, Marshall is considered quite a catch and has an insane price in ACNH villager trading circles.
4. Judy
If you are searching for a cute snooty bear to add to your island, then look no further. You should continue your search for the rare bear cub villager called Judy. Her unique appearance, coupled with her personality traits, makes her an excellent option as the quirkiest villager in ACNH, and that is also the prime reason that Judy is valued the highest among the other bear cub villagers.
5. Molly
Among the Duck Villagers, there is one NPC called Molly, who is a rare cute duckling villager that can be quite hard to find.
Molly has a normal personality. This means that she can be easily adjusted at your Island with your villagers in ACNH. Moreover, she might not get along too well with the cranky personality-type NPC, but overall, she is a nice addition to your Island and a must-have as well.
6. Raymond and Bob
The most famous Cat Villagers that are equally rare, similar to the extent of the octopus villager types, are Raymond and Bob in ACNH. These particular cat villagers are highly sought after and also considered Dream villagers.
Raymond is the most popular Rare (cat) villager in Animals Crossing: New Horizons and is basically considered the Pikachu of the Animal Crossing universe. You will need to travel to a lot of mystery islands in order to find Raymond, especially as finding him is next to impossible.
On the other hand, Bob has a lazy personality trait and can get along with all types of villagers with the exception being the snooty ones in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
7. Sasha
Sasha is the new (rare) villager who was introduced as part of the 2.0 upgrade in ACNH. You will need to take your time exploring mystery islands to find Sasha, a male rabbit villager.
There are a total of 22 Rabit villagers, which makes finding Sasha more difficult. In terms of personality, this particular rabbit villager is lazy, but it is his looks that make him more popular and worth having on your island. Just never give him spoiled turnips as he will get angry.
8. Lily
Lily, a frog villager, can also be counted among the most rare villagers in Animal Crossing New Horizons. This particular frog villager is popular due to its cuteness and also its normal personality.
Frog villagers have the third largest villager count of 18; therefore, finding one specific villager among these will be a challenging task, and your chances of finding Lily in ACNH will be limited to 5.5 % during your search on those Mystery Islands.
9. Petri
There are a total of 20 Mouse Villagers, and if you are looking for a mouse villager with a science-based snooty personality, then Petri is the one you need to find. Since Petri is part of the 2.0 upgrade therefore Petri has already become pretty famous compared to the rest of the villagers.
Once you find Petri, you can also explore her science lab and check what she is working on.
10. Lucky
Lucky is a unique Dog villager who can be distinguished by the bandages covering his face. He has a Lazy personality and is fun to play with and during the nighttime, you will be able to notice his right eye glowing yellow as well.
There are a total of 17 Dog villagers, and since they have a big number, therefore, your chances of stumbling upon Lucky will be slim. It’s the appearance of Lucky, the Dog villager that earns him a spot among the popularity rankings.
Once you find Lucky, you will also be able to check out Lucky’s house, and it will have a unique graveyard look similar to this bandaged dog villager in ACNH.
Rarest Villager types in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
In terms of Villager species, there are certain Rare Villager types or species that you will have a hard time encountering during your playthrough.
During your exploration, you will come across a lot of different villager types in ACNH. You will also get to learn that the more animals in a species, the rarer that villager is. This way, you can easily determine that there are some fan-favorite NPC villagers that are even rarer to find.
I have listed all these villager types, including their encounter rarity, in the table below:
| Species | Number of Villagers | Rarity |
| Elephant | 13 | 4.4 % |
| Bull | 9 | 3.2 % |
| Bear Cub | 16 | 2.5 % |
| Cat | 23 | 3.2 % |
| Frog | 20 | 3.2 % |
| Chicken | 14 | 5.7 % |
| Hippo | 10 | 3.2 % |
| Ostrich | 12 | 3.8 % |
| Eagle | 11 | 3.8 % |
| Deer | 12 | 4.4 % |
| Kangaroo | 11 | 3.2 % |
| Horse | 15 | 4.4 % |
| Goat | 10 | 4.4 % |
| Bear | 16 | 2.5 % |
| Rhino | 9 | 2.5 % |
| Crocodile | 7 | 3.2 % |
| Bird | 21 | 5.1 % |
| Gorilla | 12 | 3.8 % |
| Mouse | 15 | 4.4 % |
| Wolf | 13 | 3.2 % |
