A male deer is called stag or buck , a female deer is called doe , and a young deer is called fawn . For most deer the male is called a `` buck '' and the female is a `` doe '' , but the terms vary with dialect , and especially according to the size of the species . For many larger deer the male is a `` stag '' , while for other larger deer the same words are used as for cattle : `` bull '' and `` cow '' .