The Afrikaans name for the Bull Terrier is Varkhond (Pig-dog). Many people think it is because of the pig-like appearance of the head and eyes. However, this name is more likely to have arisen as a result of the use in the past of cross-bred bull terriers during bush-pig and warthog hunting in South Africa, particularly in the Eastern Cape.

There is also a miniature version of this breed; this distinct breed is officially known as the Miniature Bull Terrier. Bull Terriers are prominently featured in Jonathan Carroll's 1980 novel The Land of Laughs. A Bull Terrier appears in several scenes of the 1976 film Je t'aime... moi non plus. Not having seen one before, one of the main characters has difficulty determining whether it is a dog or a pig.

Bull Terriers have also featured in television shows such as the 1970s television show Baa Baa Black Sheep, in the opening credits of the British television show Barking Mad, and in the short lived Fox series Keen Eddie.

A Bull Terrier is the main character in a Max Brand novel "The White Wolf".

Spuds Mackenzie, a dog featured in an advertising campaign for Bud Light beer in the late 1980s, was a bull terrier.

American children's writer and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg features a bull terrier named Fritz in at least one scene in every book.