Ironic Name: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|'''Ahabsson:''' You know Makaisson? The greatest dwarf shipwright who ever lived? Although I understand his ''Unsinkable'' had a few teething problems.
'''Felix:''' I understand that it sank.
|''[[Gotrek and Felix]] (Redhand's Daughter)''}}
So, you're watching a new show on TV. You notice the series has a gloomy-looking [[Goth]] character and you wonder what they named her. Maybe something dark like "Raven" or "Misery" or "Lady Death".
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{{examples}}
== Advertsing ==
* A '[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9zGS77o6co Red Apple Ale] features two businessmen during the 1920s, and the larger of the two men is called 'Tiny'.
== Anime and Manga ==
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** Hikaru's full name is Azuma Hikaru, or "light of the East," and upon hearing this name, his new father Masato's first hope was that Hikaru would grow up to climb the corporate ladder. Which... he most likely won't do.
** Miyu means "beautiful feather", but she acts far less delicate than her name would suggest, as does [[Huge Schoolgirl|the fifth-grade kendo champ Misaki]], whose name means "beautiful blossoms."
* The given name of Nozomu Itoshiki of ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou
* Satoshi from the ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' anime. His name means "wisdom" yet he's a solid example of an [[Idiot Hero]].
* In ''[[Y:
== Comics ==▼
▲* In ''[[Y the Last Man]]'' the main character, Yorick, was named for the Shakespearean [[Posthumous Character]] of the same name and his most interesting trait is that he ''doesn't'' die. Similarly his sister {{spoiler|Hero spends a lot of time as [[The Atoner]] for a good reason...}}
* [[Dreadful Musician]] Harmony Smurf from ''[[The Smurfs]]''.
== Film ==
* The main family's last name in ''[[The Incredibles]]'' is Parr, meaning "average"
* Tiny from ''[[House of 1000 Corpses]]'' and ''[[The Devil's Rejects]]'' fits this since he's clearly a giant. The actor who in this role, Matthew McGrory, was seven feet and six inches tall when he died of natural causes in 2005.
* There's a character in ''[[Zootopia]]'' named Flash, who happens to be a sloth and move rather slowly. {{spoiler|In the last scene, it's revealed that Flash is a ''very fast'' car driver who frequently breaks the city speed limits, making his name actually apt but bringing another level of irony.}}
== Literature ==
* ''[[
** The Carters from ''[[
** Adora Belle Dearheart from ''[[
* Pippin Galadriel Moonshine in ''[[
* Festina Ramos from ''[[The League of Peoples Verse]]'': in ''Expendable'', she bitterly notes in her narration that "Festina" means "The Happy One" and her typical state of mind is anything but happy.
* The ''[[Kitty Norville]]'' series is about a werewolf named Kitty. Whenever anyone comments on it, she says the name came first.
* In the book of [[The Bible|Ruth]], Naomi (whose name means "pleasant") [[
* In ''[[Jennifer Scales]] and the Messenger of Light'', the twisted, monstrous villain with [[Casting a Shadow|darkness-related powers]] is named Evangelos, which means "Messenger of Light".
* In the ''[[Robin Hood]]'' stories, Little John's [[Ironic Nickname]] directly derives from the intersection of his given name, John Little with his physically imposing stature.
* ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]''
** Two of the Freys have names that are ironic in terms of who they are named for. The severely mentally retarded Aegon (generally known as Jinglebell because his jerkass grandfather makes him act as a jester) is named after a great military leader and ruler. Similarly, Rhaegar Frey, a slimy and totally mediocre man, is named after a [[Pretty Boy]] [[Knight in Shining Armor]] who was both a sensitive intellectual and a military genius.
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*** Another Pate is the royal whipping boy and gets flogged for bad deeds by the Princes (or just when Cersei wants to teach her son a lesson).
*** Pate of Oldtown was murdered and had his identity stolen by a shape-shifting assassin.
* Each of [[John Steakley]]'s novels features a character named Felix ("happy/lucky") who is [[Blessed
* Varsian the Immortal from ''[[
* A much more subtle example is from ''[[Harry Potter]]''. Amycus Carrow is one of Voldemort's Death Eaters, but his name is a variation on the Latin word ''amicus'' which means "friend".
** [[YMMV|Perhaps the other Death Eaters consider him to be a friend.]]
▲== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' seems to love doing this. You'd think that characters with names like Angel, Faith, and Glory would be heroic characters, but they're all villains. While Angel does pull a [[Heel Face Turn]] eventually, he's still a vampire and becomes more of an [[Anti-Hero]] than a shining example of heroism.
* The BBC show ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' had a villain called Valiant, who was using underhanded tactics to cheat in a tournament.
* ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]'': Starting around season 3, Sheriff Rosco started a K-9 unit by acquiring Flash. Flash is a lazy Basset Hound who does nothing but loaf around, receive Rosco's affections, and occasionally [[Evil-Detecting Dog|bark at Boss Hogg]].
== Music ==
* The members of [[ZZ Top]] are famed for their [[Badass Beard
* [[Lamb of God]] quite frankly doesn't sound anything like the bunch of choir boys you'd expect. In fact, their previous band name, Burn the Priest, is actually much more fitting to the band's sound.
== New Media ==
* ''[[Vigor Mortis]]'': Vita (Latin "life") is a necromancer.
== Newspaper Comics ==
* One strip of ''[[Hi and Lois]]'' had Chip encounter a [[Perky Goth]] girl who told him she dressed all in black because, "Black is my color. Black is my mood." And her name? "Sunny."<ref>Despite what she said about her mood, "Sunny" seemed to fit her personality just fine.</ref>
== Radio ==
* In ''[[
== Video Games ==
▲== Video Game ==
* ''[[Modern Warfare]]''
** The first name of the terrorist you spend most of the game fighting (Vladimir Makarov) name means "ruler of peace".
** Shepherd is usually the nickname of someone who takes care of a group of people under his watch as best as he can, as well protecting them from danger.
* In ''[[Heavenly Sword]]'', Nariko is a Japanese name that means "Gentle Child". She's anything but.
* Isaac from ''[[
* ''[[
* ''[[Inazuma Eleven]]'' lampshades this with one of its managers, whose last name is Otonashi. Otonashi means "quiet"
* ''[[Clay Fighter]]'': One of the characters is named Tiny, and he's a muscle man.
* ''[[Psychonauts]]'', The manual explain Raz's last name is Aquato, and he has issues with water. The explanation to this is thanks to a family's curse, which why Raz isn't able to go into bodies of water let alone swim.
* Muffet from ''[[Undertale]]'', a spider-girl named after a girl best known for being afraid of spiders.
* Tiffany "Susan" Pompoms of ''[[El Goonish Shive (Webcomic)|El Goonish Shive]]'' always goes by her middle name, because she considers her actual first- and last-name to be too "perky and upbeat" for her cynical, sardonic personality. (Ironically, it's been made quite clear that if it wasn't for ONE [[For Want of a Nail|traumatic childhood event]], she would've wound up fitting her name just perfectly.)▼
▲== Web Comics ==
▲* Tiffany
* ''Dangerously Chloe'' has the team of angels consisting of Prudence, Charity and <s>Zachy-poo</s> [[Aerith and Bob|Zachuriel]]. We don't know whether the [[Celestial Bureaucracy]] got Ministry of Ironic Naming, but the saying "Once is an accident. Twice is a trend." applies.
** Pandora (who ''did'' infiltrate the Heaven repeatedly) is having fun with this, if only because she [[Screwy Squirrel|barely can restrain herself from messing with people for a few minutes]]. So, of course, as a succubus in [[Paper-Thin Disguise]] she assumed the name "[https://pixietrixcomix.com/dangerously-chloe/volume-2-page-138 Chastity Abstinence]".
== Western Animation ==
* ''[[
** Pipsqueak is anything but small.
** Also, Mai, whose name means "Smile." She's pretty much played as a [[Goth]] who finds everything boring.
** In the [[Sequel Series]] ''[[
* [[Ruby Gloom]], from the eponymous show: her last name is "Gloom", but she is [[Perky Goth|anything but gloomy]].
* Angelica from ''[[
* ''[[
== Real Life ==
* ''Freakonomics'' contains the examples of Winner Lane, whose most noted achievement was his criminal record and subsequent prison time, and Loser Lane, his brother, who ended up becoming much more successful (and now goes by "Lou").
* An American destroyer captain led the destroyer charge that scored a number of torpedo hits at Suriago Strait. His name was Coward.
* Similarly, John Coward was the first officer of [
* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor, had the names of the legendary founder of Rome and the first Roman Emperor. Originally called Romulus Augustus, the -ulus was added, making the name "Little Augustus".
* Comedian Adam Hills cites a real life example in his shows: he goes on a rant about [[Irony]] and how many people don't understand it. After one such show, a woman comes up to him and informs him that she is diabetic. Her name is Candy.
* There was this robber and murderer named [
* One of the officers (and prime fall guy) responsible for the Rodney King beating is named [
{{quote|
* Similarly, the last racist anthropologist to be taken seriously was named Carleton ''Coon''.
* GG Allin was among the most controversial musicians of the late 1980s until his death in 1993 due to his blasphemous, obscene, transgressive, disgusting actions on stage. It was common for members of his band and audience to be covered in his bodily fluids… and [[Tempting Fate|that’s if they were lucky]]. Allin was often loaded with laxatives and the results… well; let’s just say it takes the phase “brown note” [[Up to Eleven|a new meaning]].
** When he started school as a kid, his parents legally changed his name to Kevin Michael from his birth name in hopes he wouldn’t be made fun of. What was Allin’s birth name…? His birth name was “Jesus Christ” Allin… you heard right.
* There’s a breed of dog known as [https://web.archive.org/web/20150221201639/http://www.ukcdogs.com/Web.nsf/Breeds/CompanionDog/AmericanBully American Bully], that’s similar to their Pit-bull cousin. However, one of the main traits that are deemed objectionable is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noOLZyOOjUA aggressive behavior] towards humans and other animals although they would likely protect their families when they have to, common in dogs. {{context|reason=How is this an example of the trope as written? The name sounds completely non-ironic to me.}}
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Naming Conventions]]
▲[[Category:Ironic Name]]
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