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This is most common in the United Kingdom, but still happens elsewhere.

In the United States, puns are more popular for [[Idiosyncratic Episode Naming|titles of individual episodes]]. See ''[[Knight Rider]]'', ''[[Airwolf]]'' and ''[[~~Remington Steele (TV)|~~Remington Steele]]''. Also, see many animated series for individual episode title examples. See [[Punny Name]] for characters; also compare [[Justified Title]].

In the United States, puns are more popular for [[Idiosyncratic Episode Naming|titles of individual episodes]]. See ''[[Knight Rider]]'', ''[[Airwolf]]'' and ''[[Remington Steele]]''. Also, see many animated series for individual episode title examples. See [[Punny Name]] for characters; also compare [[Justified Title]].

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== Fan Works ==

* ''[[~~The End Is Near (Fanfic)|~~The End Is Near]]'', a ''[[~~Death Note (Manga)|~~Death Note]]'' fanfic in which Near plays a major role.

* ''[[The End Is Near]]'', a ''[[Death Note]]'' fanfic in which Near plays a major role.

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* ''[[Saving Grace]]'' [[Running Gag|is about a woman named Grace]] who gets a "last chance angel" (named Earl) who's trying to save her from going to hell because she drinks and boinks a lot.

* ''[[Will and Grace]]'', about roommates named... something or other.

* ''[[~~Greys~~ Anatomy]]'', a medical drama named after the main character Doctor Meredith Grey and after a classic mid-19th-century medical book, ''Gray's Anatomy''. Just be thankful they didn't call it Grace Anatomy.

* ''[[Grey's Anatomy]]'', a medical drama named after the main character Doctor Meredith Grey and after a classic mid-19th-century medical book, ''Gray's Anatomy''. Just be thankful they didn't call it Grace Anatomy.

* ''[[Tru Calling]]'', a drama about Tru Davies, who receives the "calling", an injunction to [[Set Right What Once Went Wrong]].

* ''[[Hope And Faith]]'', about two sisters by those names.

* ''[[Joan of Arcadia]]''

* ''[[Lie to Me (TV)|Lie to Me]]'' sounds similar to the lead character's name (Lightman), who, ironically enough, ''uncovers'' lies for a living.

* ''[[Lie to Me (TV series)|Lie to Me]]'' sounds similar to the lead character's name (Lightman), who, ironically enough, ''uncovers'' lies for a living.

* Parodied on ''[[30 Rock ~~(TV)~~|Thirty Rock]]'' where Kenneth described his ideas for TV shows: "I have an idea for a show about a teacher named 'Art'. I call that one ''Art School''. And one about a Jewish guy who opens an ice cream parlor. That one's called ''Ice Cream Cohen''. And a drama about two cops: one named 'Cash' and one named 'Carry'. I don't have a title for that one."

* Parodied on ''[[30 Rock|Thirty Rock]]'' where Kenneth described his ideas for TV shows: "I have an idea for a show about a teacher named 'Art'. I call that one ''Art School''. And one about a Jewish guy who opens an ice cream parlor. That one's called ''Ice Cream Cohen''. And a drama about two cops: one named 'Cash' and one named 'Carry'. I don't have a title for that one."

* ''[[The Royal Family]]'' (not to be confused with ''The Royle Family'' from British TV, also an example), a [[Dom Com]] starring comedian Redd Foxx as Alfonso Royal, the patriarch of the titular family. Short lived owing to Foxx's death after filming seven episodes of the show.

* ''[[New Amsterdam]]'': The hero, detective John Amsterdam, is secretly immortal and has been living in New York since it was the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam.

* ''[[~~Get Smart (TV)|~~Get Smart]]'', featuring the inept secret agent Maxwell Smart.

* ''[[Get Smart]]'', featuring the inept secret agent Maxwell Smart.

* ''[[Better Off Ted]]'', a sitcom about a man named Ted who works in research and development at an unscrupulous corporation.

* The short-lived series ''Payne'', itself a remake of ''[[Fawlty Towers]]'', renamed the hotelier "Royal Payne" to make the pun work again.

* There's also Tyler Perry's ''House of Payne''.

* [[Friends|Joey]] starred in the abortive [[Robots And Detectives|buddy cop/robot show]] ''Mac & [[Fun ~~With~~ Acronyms|C.H.E.E.S.E.]]''. There was some [[Lampshade Hanging]] about the [[Contrived Coincidence]] of the robot's full title abbreviating so well...

* [[Friends|Joey]] starred in the abortive [[Robots And Detectives|buddy cop/robot show]] ''Mac & [[Fun with Acronyms|C.H.E.E.S.E.]]''. There was some [[Lampshade Hanging]] about the [[Contrived Coincidence]] of the robot's full title abbreviating so well...

* ''[[Castle]]'' has an [[In Universe]] example. Several of Rick Castle's books in the Derek Storm series were in this pattern -- ''Gathering Storm, Storm Season, Storm Rising, Storm Warning, Storm's Break, Storm Fall'' -- and he plans on doing the same for his new character, Nikki Heat -- ''Heat Wave, Summer Heat, In Heat'', etc.

* ''[[Castle]]'' has an [[In-Universe]] example. Several of Rick Castle's books in the Derek Storm series were in this pattern -- ''Gathering Storm, Storm Season, Storm Rising, Storm Warning, Storm's Break, Storm Fall'' -- and he plans on doing the same for his new character, Nikki Heat -- ''Heat Wave, Summer Heat, In Heat'', etc.

* ''[[Hart to Hart]]'', about Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, a CEO and freelance photographer, respectively. [[They Fight Crime|They solve crimes!]]

* ''[[Crossing Jordan]]''

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* The short lived, early-90s show ''Mann & Machine" featured a futuristic detective named Mann [[Robots And Detectives|and his robot partner]] (played by Yancy Butler).

* [[Saturday Night Live]] had a sketch featuring a game show parody called "What is ''[[Burn Notice]]''?" The contestants had no idea, and one of the wrong answers was a guess that it was "about the detective team of Michael Burn and Chet Notice."

* One episode of ''[[Married ~~With~~ Children]]'' saw a network making a TV show based off of the Bundy family; the show was titled "Pease in a Pod". No points for guessing the family's name.

* One episode of ''[[Married... with Children]]'' saw a network making a TV show based off of the Bundy family; the show was titled "Pease in a Pod". No points for guessing the family's name.

* ''[[Raising Hope]]'' and ''[[Running Wilde]]'', a pair of back-to-back sitcoms on Fox. The former is about raising a baby named Hope. The latter is about a guy named Wilde who runs an eponymous oil business.

* ''[[Martial Law]]'', a cop drama about a Chinese police officer and martial arts expert named Sammo Law.

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== Newspaper Comics ==

* ''[[~~Heart of the City (Comic Strip)|~~Heart of the City]]'' is about a girl named Heart who lives in [[The City|Center City]], [[Useful Notes/Philadelphia|Philadelphia]].

* ''[[Heart of the City]]'' is about a girl named Heart who lives in [[The City|Center City]], [[Useful Notes/Philadelphia|Philadelphia]].

* ''[[~~FoxTrot (Comic Strip)|~~FoxTrot]]'' is about the lives of the Fox family.

* ''[[FoxTrot]]'' is about the lives of the Fox family.

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== Western Animation ==

* Parodied on an episode of ''[[Clone High]]'' when George Washington Carver (as Leon Black) and Gandhi (as Tandoori Jones) made the [[Salt and Pepper]] cops "Black and Tan".

* ''[[~~Ben 10 (Animation)|~~Ben 10]]'', about [[Steven Ulysses Perhero|Ben Tennyson]], who is 10 years old and acquires a [[Clingy MacGuffin]] that allows him to turn any of into 10 different aliens.

* ''[[Ben 10]]'', about [[Steven Ulysses Perhero|Ben Tennyson]], who is 10 years old and acquires a [[Clingy MacGuffin]] that allows him to turn any of into 10 different aliens.

** The Hebrew dub of the show keeps the title, which literally means: ''Ben is 10 years old''.

* ''[[King of the Hill]]'' is about Hank Hill and his family; to keep the pun intact, the Latin American dub is called ''Los Reyes de la colina'', and Hank Hill was renamed Héctor Reyes.

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* ''[[Eek the Cat]]'', about a purple cat named Eek!.

* ''[[X-Men|Pryde of the X-Men]]'', a 1989 animated pilot (unrelated to the later animated series from the early 90's) featuring, naturally, Kitty Pryde.

* ''[[Taz Mania]]'' - The main character is Taz and the show is set on Tasmania.

* ''[[Taz-Mania]]'' - The main character is Taz and the show is set on Tasmania.

* ''The Roman Holidays'', a 1972 Saturday morning cartoon set in ancient Rome, about a family with the surname(!?) Holiday.

* ''These Are the Days'', a 1974 Saturday morning cartoon about a Waltons-like family with the surname Day.

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== Literature ==

* ''[[The Now Show]] Book of Records'' has a list of the Worst TV Sitcom Premises. ''Sticks and Stones Will Break My Bones'' is about Eddie Sticks and Brian Stones, who work the bone-crusher in an abattoir. ''There's No Smoke Without Fire'' is about Eddie Smoke, who goes on holiday without his friend Brian Fire, only for Brian to track him down. ''Rhythm is a Dancer'' is about Maggie Rhythm, [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|who is a dancer]].

* ''[[The Now Show]] Book of Records'' has a list of the Worst TV Sitcom Premises. ''Sticks and Stones Will Break My Bones'' is about Eddie Sticks and Brian Stones, who work the bone-crusher in an abattoir. ''There's No Smoke Without Fire'' is about Eddie Smoke, who goes on holiday without his friend Brian Fire, only for Brian to track him down. ''Rhythm is a Dancer'' is about Maggie Rhythm, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|who is a dancer]].

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* ''[[Strange]]'': About a supernatural investigator named John Strange.

* ''[[Saving Grace]]'': About a widow gardener who becomes a drug dealer to solve her financial problems.

* ''[[Grace And Favour]]'' (shown in the United States as ''Are You Being Served? Again!''): About the owners/employees of "Grace Manor" (Incidentally, ''[[Are You Being Served? ~~(TV)~~|Are You Being Served]]'' probably stands as the only show to ever feature a major character called Grace and ''not'' make a punny name out of it).

* ''[[Grace And Favour]]'' (shown in the United States as ''Are You Being Served? Again!''): About the owners/employees of "Grace Manor" (Incidentally, ''[[Are You Being Served?|Are You Being Served]]'' probably stands as the only show to ever feature a major character called Grace and ''not'' make a punny name out of it).

* ''[[Robins Nest]]'': In the sequel series to ''Man About the House'' (the original British inspiration for ''[[~~Threes~~ Company]]''), newly-qualified chef Robin Tripp moves into his own place with his girlfriend, and starts a business with her father.

* ''[[Robins Nest]]'': In the sequel series to ''Man About the House'' (the original British inspiration for ''[[Three's Company]]''), newly-qualified chef Robin Tripp moves into his own place with his girlfriend, and starts a business with her father.

* ''[[Breeze Block]]'': About the Breeze family, who live in a tower block in Newcastle.

* ''[[The Brittas Empire]]'': About a pompous but well-meaning oaf called Gordon Brittas who runs a leisure centre.

* ''[[Romans Empire]]'': About a businessman called Roman.

* Parodied heavily in ''[[This Morning With Richard Not Judy]]'' which described shows such as ''Chalk and Cheese'' (Ian Chalk and Ian Cheese are two men. They are very different. However, they eventually become friends and realise they are not so different after all. With hilarious consequences), ''Fruit and Nuts'' (Ian Fruit and Ian Nuts are roommates. Ian Fruit is allergic to nuts and Ian Nuts is allergic to fruit. Ian Nuts is a homicidal maniac. Consequently, he's always trying to sneak fruit and nuts into everything they eat. With fatal consequences.) and ''Bent Coppers'' (Ian and Iain Bent are brothers who are policemen. One is corrupt and the other is homosexual. They both suffer from curvature of the spine, and they're made of copper - they're robots in the future. With hilarious consequences.)

** The ''Chalk and Cheese'' joke was also used by ''[[Dead Ringers (TV)|Dead Ringers]]'' and ''[[Private Eye]]'', both referring to police shows - a reference to how ITV was producing a lot of them with [[Pun-Based Title|Pun Based Titles]] (hence the page quote).

** The ''Chalk and Cheese'' joke was also used by ''[[Dead Ringers (TV series)|Dead Ringers]]'' and ''[[Private Eye]]'', both referring to police shows - a reference to how ITV was producing a lot of them with [[Pun-Based Title|Pun Based Titles]] (hence the page quote).

* ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'' had a sketch featuring rival comedy duos called "Fish and Chipp" and "Pin and Cushion". Chipp and Pin leave to form their own duo (Chip & Pin [[We Are Still Relevant Dammit|being a then-new form of credit card payment]]); to their chagrin, Fish & Cushion are far more successful. ("That doesn't even ''mean'' anything!") To add insult to injury, Fish & Cushion went on to star in the ads for the Chip & Pin system...

** Possibly inspired by popular 1980s double acts Little & Large and Cannon & Ball.

* Parodied in a series of [[Real Trailer Fake Movie|fake previews]] by satellite channel UK Gold to publicise its new American imports: one involved a pair of British coppers named Alan Tea and George Biscuits going over to work in the States with the obvious [[Fish Out of Water]] gags - the series, naturally, was called "Tea and Biscuits".

* Parodied in a series of [[Real Trailer, Fake Movie|fake previews]] by satellite channel UK Gold to publicise its new American imports: one involved a pair of British coppers named Alan Tea and George Biscuits going over to work in the States with the obvious [[Fish Out of Water]] gags - the series, naturally, was called "Tea and Biscuits".

* One ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' episode includes a fake talk show called ''It's A. Tree'', hosted by Arthur Tree. [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|Who's a talking tree.]]

* One ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' episode includes a fake talk show called ''It's A. Tree'', hosted by Arthur Tree. [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Who's a talking tree.]]

* ''Nelson's Column'', a 1990s show about a newspaper columnist called Gavin Nelson.

* ''The Life Of Riley'', about a [[Dysfunctional Family]] called Riley.

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* ''[[Scott And Bailey]]'' is an example of this trope purely for its own sake - the show has precisely nothing to do with [[wikipedia:Motte-and-bailey|Motte and Bailey castles]], but is in fact a [[Buddy Cop Show]] about DC Janet Scott and DC Rachel Bailey. Unless of course it's a [[Fridge Brilliance|really obscure homage]] to ''[[Castle]]''?

* ''[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0201387/ Moon and Son]'', about a professional "psychic" called Gladys Moon and her genuinely psychic son Trevor.

* ''[[Black Books]]'', about misanthropic bookshop owner Bernard Black ([[In Universe|whose shop itself]] is also called "Black Books").

* ''[[Black Books]]'', about misanthropic bookshop owner Bernard Black ([[In-Universe|whose shop itself]] is also called "Black Books").

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== Anime and Manga ==

* ''Mach GoGoGo!'', the Japanese version of ''[[~~Speed Racer (Anime)|~~Speed Racer]]'', is named after the vehicle the main character drives. "Go", aside for being a legitimate English word and the Japanese word for "[[One, Two, Three, Four, Go|five]]", is also used as a suffix to indicate numbers. Thus, the Mach Five is known as the Mach Go-Go (Mach No. 5). Speed Racer himself (the character) is known by the name of "Go Mifune" in Japan (Go Hibiki in the 1997 remake).

* ''Mach GoGoGo!'', the Japanese version of ''[[Speed Racer]]'', is named after the vehicle the main character drives. "Go", aside for being a legitimate English word and the Japanese word for "[[One, Two, Three, Four, Go|five]]", is also used as a suffix to indicate numbers. Thus, the Mach Five is known as the Mach Go-Go (Mach No. 5). Speed Racer himself (the character) is known by the name of "Go Mifune" in Japan (Go Hibiki in the 1997 remake).

* ''Hokuto no Ken'', the Japanese title of ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'', can be interpreted as both, a reference to the martial art style ''Hokuto Shinken'' (the "Hokuto Divine Fist") or the main character himself, Kenshiro (who is nicknamed Ken, as in "Ken of Hokuto").

** The important word here is "Ken", which translates to "Fist".

* Arguably ''[[Darker Than Black]]'', given that the name of the [[Anti-Hero]], Hei, is Chinese for "black".

* The Japanese for ''[[~~Hayate the Combat Butler (Manga)|~~Hayate the Combat Butler]]'', ''Hayate No Gotoku,'' literally means ''Just Like the Hurricane!''--but, well, the hero's name is Hayate Ayasaki, and the first name [[Meaningful Name|just means that]].

* The Japanese for ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'', ''Hayate No Gotoku,'' literally means ''Just Like the Hurricane!''--but, well, the hero's name is Hayate Ayasaki, and the first name [[Meaningful Name|just means that]].

* ''[[Maria Holic]]''. In this case, "Maria" refers to the Virgin Mary and therefore its Catholic girls' school setting, but sounds ''very'' similar to Mariya, the name of one of the show's central characters and [[Villainous Crossdresser]], on whom the heroine has a crush.

* The title of ''[[Tenchi Muyo]]'' comes from a Japanese idiom equivalent to the saying "This Way Up". When interpreted literally, it means "No Need for Tenchi" or "No Need for Heaven and Earth".

* The title of ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'' comes from a Japanese idiom equivalent to the saying "This Way Up". When interpreted literally, it means "No Need for Tenchi" or "No Need for Heaven and Earth".

* ''[[Heroic Age]]'' - the main character is named Age, and he is heroic. Simultaneously a reference to the "heroic age" of [[Greek Mythology]], which the series references heavily.

* ''[[Tantei Gakuen Q]]'' is about the "Qualified" class of a school for detectives. The main character just happens to be named Kyu.

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== Literature ==

* Every even-numbered novel and most of the anthologies in the main universe ''[[~~Honor Harrington (Literature)|~~Honor Harrington]]'' novels have a pun on the name 'honor' somewhere in their titles. One wonders whether the reason the next novel isn't due out for a long time is that the author finally ran out of puns.

* Every even-numbered novel and most of the anthologies in the main universe ''[[Honor Harrington]]'' novels have a pun on the name 'honor' somewhere in their titles. One wonders whether the reason the next novel isn't due out for a long time is that the author finally ran out of puns.

* Every book in Robert Asprin's ''[[Phules Company|Phule's Company]]'' series is a pun on the main character's surname, which is... [[Captain Obvious|Phule]]. Hence ''Phule's Paradise'', ''A Phule And His Money'', ''Phule's Errand''...

** His ''[[Myth Inc]]'' series had similarly punny titles - some off ''missing'' and some off ''mythic''.

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== Video Games ==

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda a Link To ~~The~~ Past]]'': The main character is named Link; he has to deal with the consequences of the past of Hyrule.

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past]]'': The main character is named Link; he has to deal with the consequences of the past of Hyrule.

* ''X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse'': the game centers around a mutant apocalypse which involves one of the X-Men's adversary, an evil mutant named Apocalypse.

* ''[[Will Rock]]'': main character? Willford Rockwell.