title: How to convert variable into string in python
body: <p>I have a problem similar to this, however I do not know what the term is</p>
  <pre><code>cat = 5
  dog = 3
  fish = 7
  animals= [cat, dog, fish]
  for animal in animals:
      # by animal name, I mean the variable name that's being used
      print(animal_name + str(animal))
  </code></pre>
  <p>It should print out</p>
  <pre><code>cat5
  dog3
  fish7
  </code></pre>
  <p>So I am wondering if there is an actual method or function I could use to retrieve the variable name being used as a string.</p>