Meaningful Name/Live-Action TV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


And now, to reveal the true meaning behind the name of your favorite character...

... right after this commercial break, of course!

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Xander's name is a Discontinuity Nod to Buffy's friend from the original movie, Pike. Zander and pike are closely related species of fish.
    • Also, Buffy's surname is a nod to Scott Summers from the X-Men comics, so says Word of God. Buffy itself was meant to be a name that couldn't be taken seriously, and thus ironically unfit for someone destined to kill vampires and generally kick ass.
    • Glory (or Glorificus), a Hellgod who was named and worshipped (shamelessly) by her many minions.
  • On Angel a wizard who intended to sacrifice his virgin daughter to a demon on his 50th birthday named said daughter Virginia. It didn't work out, as his efforts to isolate her were extremely unsuccessful.
    • And Gwen Raiden, named for the Japanese god of lightning. Guess what ability she has.
    • Angel, named because his sister though he'd returned to her from the dead as an angel. Historical volumes describe him as "the one with the angelic face" and "the demon with the face of an angel". (In the opinion of some viewers, though, this was a case of Informed Attractiveness.)
    • Jasmine, so named because she loved the smell of Jasmine flowers, which in itself is meaningful, as The Language of Flowers states that the Jasmine flower symbolizes "attachment and amiability". Trust me, this is a really good example.
  • Xena: Warrior Princess had Eve, who was destined to bring about the "Twilight of the Gods". Evening and Twilight are both times of day. Or... night I suppose...
  • Arrested Development had George Michael's love interest Maeby, who was his cousin... maybe. (By the end of the series, we know they're not blood related.)
  • Livia from The Sopranos actions reflect the actions of the historical Livia, wife of Augustus Caesar.
  • The main character in The New Statesman was named Alan B'Stard. Guess what kind of personality he had?
  • Adele Channing in The L Word has the same surname as the main character in All About Eve and her storyline is clearly inspired by that film
  • The toughness of sisters Ronnie and Roxy is shown by giving them similar names to the notorious Kray twins Ronnie and Reggie.
  • Doctor Who has many examples of this trope:
    • "Image of the Fendahl" features a character named Dr. Fendelman, who has no idea that it is his hidden genetic destiny to aid an ancient and malevolent life force known as the Fendahl. As the Completely Useless Encyclopedia points out, it's a shame other aliens weren't so transparent, as the heroes could just go through their phone book and round up every Joe Dalekagent and Mary Autonduplicate. However, this example is a little different from the others; the name is an in-story indication that the Fendahl have been meddling with humanity for a long time, and the unusual name is noticed and commented on by characters in the story.
    • A Doctor Who example that has no such in-story explanation is Tremas in The Keeper of Traken; his body is taken over by the Master, whose title is a Significant Anagram of "Tremas". The Master frequently used aliases related to his name -- Reverend Magister, Mr. Seta, Colonel Masters, Sir Giles Estram -- but usually he had a chance to pick them himself.
    • There's also Mr. Professor You Are Not Alone.
    • In The Sound of Drums, The Master believes the Doctor chose his name so as to associate himself with "the man who makes people better". The Master's choice of name is naturally a massive hint towards his egotism ("a psychiatrist's field day", from the same episode). And of course, "Master" was chosen for the Doctor's arch-nemesis due to the academic connection.
    • Many of the alien races encountered in the New Series are given a Meaningful Name. In Fear Her, we meet an alien spore called the Isolus whose motivating demon is loneliness (isolation); the Carrionites in The Shakespeare Code were specifically designed to be like carrion creatures; the Adipose in Partners in Crime are made of living fat cells; the Pyrovile in The Fire of Pompeii thrive on the atmosphere of an erupting volcano; the Vespiform in The Unicorn and the Wasp takes the form of a giant wasp occasionally disguised as a human, etc.
    • In "Smith And Jones", Dr. Stoker is the first victim of what we later learn to be a blood-sucking alien called a Plasmavore. Bram Stoker is the famous author of "Dracula", and "Plasmavore" is a Meaningful Name in itself.
    • In "Battlefield", Brigadier Bambera was given the forename "Winifred" to evoke Guinevere. Inevitably, she ends up engaged to Ancelyn, whose name is a variation on "Lancelot".
    • And, of course, there's Dorothy Gale "Ace" McShane.
    • There is also Donna Noble. She was one of the most accepting of her role as the Doctor's conscience (keeping him "noble") and after she became the Doctor-Donna, she married Shawn Temple, making her name Donna Temple-Noble, which can be roughly translated to "Woman Time Lord."
    • Terry Nation named several planets using this trope in his Dalek stories. Skaro is scarred by terrible wars; Aridius is a huge desert; Mechanus is the home of the Mechanoids; Desperus is a penal colony...
    • Roses symbolize love and romance, making Rose the perfect name for a love interest.
    • Amy Pond gives her daughter the name "Melody". Replace Melody and Pond for different terms that mean almost the same thing and switch the two around, and you get River Song
    • Mad Scientist Professor Lazarus built a machine to hold back death. Lampshaded in the episode.
  • Officer Don notices that the three male character of 3rd Rock from the Sun are named "Tom," "Dick", and "Harry," prompting Tommy to nervously insist that it's not like they specifically chose those names for their connotations of commonplace ordinariness.
  • Jeannie in I Dream of Jeannie, who is a genie.
  • Power Rangers has taken to doing this in recent years.
    • Wild Force had an Anti-Villain named Zen-Aku (good-evil) who would Kick the Dog one minute and Pet the Dog the next for his own reasons.
      • There was also Yellow Ranger Taylor Earhardt, missing and presumed dead ever since her fighter plane disappeared over the Atlantic was tractored to the Animarium.
    • SPD's aliens are frequently named after the animal they resemble, such as doglike Anubis "Doggie" Kruger of Sirius, catlike Kat Manx and Dr. Felix, apelike Sgt. Silverback, and birdlike Fowler Birdy. With humans it's not quite as gimmicky: Blue Ranger Sky has a flying Zord, Jack was once a thief, etc.
      • A-Squad was given the honor of being named by the fandom. The name for A-Squad Blue? Beevor.
    • Mystic Force is somewhat sneakier: Water-powered Madison shares a name with the mermaid in Splash (as well as sharing Tomoyo's name in the Cardcaptor Sakura dub; both Madisons have a penchant for capturing the other characters on film) and her tomboyish, hyperactive sister is named Vida ("Life"). A moon-powered apprentice magician is named Clare ("clair de lune" is French for moonlight). The Rangers' friend Leelee's last name, Pimvare, is an anagram of "vampire". It turns out she's The Mole, and daughter of the vampiric villainess Necrolai. Oddly, some denizens of the mystical dimension are named after weapons (Leanbow, Bowen, Daggeron) but are never shown to use their namesakes in battle.
    • In Overdrive, Mackenzie "Mack" Hartford's Humongous Mecha is based on a dump truck, and the Pink Ranger's name is Rose. Mack's name may also be a play on the computer company, since he is ultimately revealed to be a robot.
    • Turbo's lead villainess was named Divatox.
  • The only two of LazyTown's 9 recurring characters this doesn't apply to in some form are Stephanie and Ziggy. They are not total exceptions though, as in the Icelandic language versions that pre-dated LazyTown, Stephanie was named Solla Stirða (Solla Stiff), while Ziggy was Siggi Sæti (Siggi Sweet).
    • Sportacus is a corny, but appropriate, name for a athletic but not super-powered hero.
    • Trixie, the mischievous tomboy is, well, tricksy.
    • Mayor Milford Meanswell might not be very competent, but he means well.
    • Ms. Bessie Busybody is the town gossip.
    • The miserly rich kid's name is Stingy.
    • Pixel is the town computer geek/games addict.
    • Villain Robbie Rotten actually isn't quite as rotten as he thinks he is, usually behaving in a manner closer to bratty than evil.
  • Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide has a bully named Billy Loomer, a mean girl named Missy Meany, and a woodshop teacher named Dusty Chopsaw. Any questions?
  • Heroes has a few examples as well:
    • Villain Sylar's real name is Gabriel Gray, "Gabriel" being a nod to his obviously Catholic background (and additionally, Maya at one point describes him as "Just like the angel."), and "Gray" meaning dull or ordinary which he lamented being prior to his finding out he had superpowers. Alternatively, one could take Gray to mean Gray Matter. It's also possible to interpret it in such a way that 'Gray' signifies having the whiteness of the angel Gabriel darkened...in other words, turned evil.
      • With a slight spelling change, it could even be an X-Men reference. The first power he absorbs is telekinesis.
    • Then again, for a show with a character actually named Hiro (meaning he's a "hero", plus the in-show reason was he was named after "Hiroshima", thus giving poignancy to his quest to stop New York from being destroyed by a nuclear bomb), Sylar's pretty subtle.
    • And as Sylar's good counterpart, we have Peter (a saint and angel just as Gabriel) who can fly. Angela Petrelli subverts this only in the fact that she isn't an angel.
    • Also, both the names Peter Petrelli and Gabriel Gray are a subtle nod to the legions of classic comic book superheroes / -villains whose first and last names begin with the same letter (Peter Parker, Lex Luthor, etc.)
  • About half the characters on Lost have barely veiled names, either of the personality variety (Jack Shepherd, Miles Straume) or of the winks-to-philosophers variety (John Locke, Danielle Rousseau, Charlotte Staples Lewis, Desmond David Hume).
  • Brothers and Sisters: Katherine "Kitty" Walker
  • Star Trek
    • Hoshi Sato of Star Trek: Enterprise: "hoshi" is Japanese for "star", "sato" can be read as "at home" -- her name essentially means "at home by the stars".
    • And in the original series, Uhura is very close to the Swahili "uhoro", meaning "freedom" -- one of the Federation's ideals at the time. Her full name is "Nyota Uhura", which means "Star Freedom".
    • Captain James Tiberius Kirk was named in part after a character created by Gene Roddenberry for a previous television show, but the history behind the name Tiberius is probably why it was given specifically to Kirk. (Ironically, the Emperor Tiberius was one of Rome's weakest emperors and one of its most unpleasant, if Tacitus's stories about his pedophilia are to be believed. And while Tacitus is known to let his own biases color his accounts, he's generally considered to have left the most reliable records of the Roman Empire.)
    • Miles O'Brien is introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation as a transporter tech, but he was originally a soldier and a member of a shock combat squad. The name Miles means "soldier".
    • William T. Riker's middle name was the subject of speculation for the first few seasons, until it was set to be "Thomas" in the 6th Season episode "Second Chances." "Thomas" means "twin," which is exactly what Riker discovered he was in this episode thanks to a transporter accident.
    • An inadvertent Meaningful Name is that of Elim Garak. The character is constantly putting on an act, so one would think his surname was a reference to the great English actor, David Garrick. Yet he was named after one of the writer's prior characters. (Garak shares his first name with a rather strict Mennonite sect. The fact that his mother's first name is the reverse of his is, according to the writers, intentional -- but his character was created first.)
    • Picard's Borg designation, Locutus, comes from the Latin word "loqui", meaning "to speak". Appropriate, as the Borg wanted Picard to "speak" on their behalf.
    • Montgomery Scott is a Scot! Though "Scott" is a real Scottish clan name.
    • Then there's Data and his brother Lore, which is doubly meaningful, as Lore, the more emotional android, has a name that is a somewhat more emotionally charged word for the same thing.
      • Not the same thing: Lore is stories pertaining to something's history (yes, usually invoking emotion). Data, however, simply refers to information that is usually of a scientific or mathematical nature. However the point is valid about the meaning of the names.
    • In the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Dagger of the Mind", a reformed criminal is named Lethe, like the classical river of forgetfulness. We learn her treatment was to have her mind erased.
    • In "All Our Yesterdays", the time-warping library on Sarpeidon is run by the Ancient Keeper Mr. Atoz ("A TO Z").
  • The live action/CGI combined show Ace Lightning is packed with meaningful names (no surprise really, since the show's about a corny superhero videogame come to life): Ace Lightning (the hero, duh) Sparx (the spunky redhead sidekick) Lord Fear (bad guy) Lady Illusion (temptress), Anvil (the team muscle), Dirty Rat (exactly what it sounds like), Random Virus (guy with a good/evil complex of epic proportions).
    • These meaningful names can also apply to the humans however: the teenage protagonist Mark Hollander's name is from the God, Mars, and relates to war and battle. The resident Geek is more commonly known as the rather comical Chuck (and has a habit of throwing up whenever stressed or disturbed). The nice, helpful Girlfriend and Girl Next Door Samantha Thompson's name means "listener" (which works for her) and it's quite obvious that the owner of the carnival wasn't named "Duff" accidentally.
  • Three's Company had Jack Tripper -- a ladykiller in a different sense...
    • He was also something of a klutz, frequently getting "tripped up"
  • "A Thing About Machines", an episode of The Twilight Zone, tells the story of Bartlett Finchley. Lord Finchley was a technophobe in a poem by Hillaire Belloc.
    • In the episode "Jess-Belle", the title character wants another woman’s fiance for herself and stops at nothing to win him -- not even selling her soul to the local witch and becoming one herself in the process.
  • In an episode of Ugly Betty, the judge is quite appropriately surnamed Biotch.
  • Al Swearengen from Deadwood swears, often, though he is based on a person of the same name and similar speaking habits in real life.
    • There is also the character of Trixie (who in the series gives her surname as "the Whore") who was was in life called "Tricksie".
  • Dollhouse
    • The main character, a Blank Slate that gets reprogrammed with other people's memories to create the desired personality, is named Echo.
    • The Ensemble Darkhorse male Doll who gets a happy ending was codenamed Victor. The primary antagonist for most of the first season was Alpha.
    • Topher Brink. Topher is a shortened version of Christopher, meaning "Christ-bearer". But with the "Christ" part removed, it's just "Bearer". Topher's character is the bearer of knowledge and technology in the Dollhouse. He bears the technology to end the world, but he also bears a way to save the world (much like the story of St Christopher bearing an unusually heavy Christ child across a river-- sort of like when he has to haul the tech up in a backpack to the top of the building). He ends up bearing the world to the ``brink`` of destruction.
    • The Dollhouse is run by Rossum Corporation. Late in the show, we meet the Big Bad, who is not named "Rossum". He named the corporation as an homage to RUR, a 1920s play about a company that makes artificial people for use as servants.
  • Firefly lampshades this with Malcolm Reynolds name which can be shortened to "Mal" In one episode, River says "Mal. Bad..." Simon walks away, seeming to agree. When Simon is out of earshot she completes her sentence with "...in the latin." Showing the viewer that she was not drawing a connection between his name and his personality. Underneath Mal's gruff exterior, he actually IS one of the nicest guys "in the 'verse", which is pointed out by Kaylee in the first episode. Also, since according to Word of God Firefly is inspired by the book The Killer Angels, Mal is most likely named after a real life Civil War general John Reynolds. John Reynolds is portrayed in the book as one of the Union's best soldiers.
  • CSI
    • Sophia Curtis in season 5, a character who stands out for her knowledge and wisdom (Sophia) as well as her social savoir-faire and good manners (courtesy, geddit?). Eventually she is driven away by the unchecked lunacy taken out on her by the regular cast.
    • That other character whose name is assonant with "Will Graham" (Manhunter). First name rhymes with Dilbert, but any physical resemblance or common ground of generalized nerdiness/impatience with bureaucratic obstruction would be purely coincidental, should anyone ever spot it.
    • Detective Brass who's name evokes the somewhat archaic term "the brass" as a reference to authority.
    • The name Grissom sounds like "gruesome", which is the apt word for some of the crime scenes encountered on the show.
    • Sara probably also fits here... Sara Sidle...Suicidal...
  • Kamen Rider is full of examples of meaningful names.
    • Kamen Rider Kabuto has a couple of characters whose Catch Phrase contains the kanji of their own name. This includes protagonist Souji Tendou ("Walking the path of heaven, ruling over all") and The Rival Tsurugi Kamishiro ("The man who replaces the gods with a sword's slash"). Parodied in the Hyper Battle video, when The Lancer Arata Kagami asks for a Catch Phrase of his own, and Tendou suggests "The man who washes his face in front of a mirror (kagami) every day."
    • Kamen Rider Decade: Protagonist Tsukasa's name contains the kanji for "gate", befitting his status as a dimensional wanderer; Kamen Rider Decade is the tenth main Rider of the Heisei era of the franchise (from 2000 to May 2019). The Hikari ("light") family runs a photo studio. Finally, Decade's rival Diend is named Daiki Kaitou, who steals "treasures" from the alternate universes he visits. The show takes it a step further by giving Meaningful Names to some of the AU versions of previous Kamen Riders:
      • Yuusuke Onodera is named for Kamen Rider creator Shotaro Ishinomori (birth name: Shotaro Onodera).
      • Shoichi Ashikawa's name is a combination of the names of the three Agito Riders: Shoichi Tsugami (Agito), Ryo Ashihara (Gills), and Makoto Hikawa (G3). The Decade version of Shoichi was once G3, evolved into Gills before Tsukasa arrived, and became Agito by the end of the arc.
      • Shinji Tatsumi's surname contains the kanji for "dragon", while his former partner Ren Haguro's surname means "black wings". Their Contract Monsters are a dragon and a bat, respectively.
      • Takumi Ogami's surname means "wolf"; the original Takumi's surname, Inui, was a homophone for "dog". Both are references to Takumi's status as the Wolf Orphnoch.
      • Kazuma Kendate's name is a lengthy one. The "ken" in "Kendate" means "blade", while the "date" means "to rouse"; Blade's primary weapon is the Blade Rouser. His teammates have similar theme names: Sakuya Hishigata/Kamen Rider Garren, modeled on the Suit of Diamonds (the surname means "diamond-shaped") and Mutsuki Kuroba/Kamen Rider Leangle, modeled on the Suit of Clubs ("kuroba" is the phonetic pronunciation of "clover").
    • Shouchi Tsugami. His first name means "First Call," and if you were attacked by an Unknown, who would you call? Also, Makoto Hikawa's first name means "Truth" and he's a cop.
    • Kamen Rider Ryuki has a couple:
  • House MD has House and Wilson instead of Holmes and Watson.
  • Supernatural has Anna Milton, a fallen angel.
    • Harvelle means female warrior
    • Ben means son
    • Sam/Samuel means "name of God" or "God has heard" which is rather ironic considering that he was Lucifer's vessel.
    • Dean means leader
    • Castiel means steadfast
      • That's ironic.
    • Winchester, as in the guns, and the Winchester family curse (specifically the family that made the guns)
  • In The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Cameron's name is a direct reference to James Cameron, and in the producer's DVD Commentary on the first season DVD, they mentioned that Cameron was supposed to follow James Cameron's original concept of the Terminator: a subtle infiltrator designed to spy and get close to a target.
    • A deliberately chosen one, it's definitely not a coincidence that John Henry has not only the same first name as John Connor, but also last name that's a first name.
    • It should also be pointed out that John Connor, the savior of mankind, shares his initials with a certain other fellow with the same job description...
  • Bones:
    • Dr. Brennan, whose first name is Temperance, which is fitting description. Further, before her name was changed as a child, her name was Joy. Brennan's withdrawn nature is usually attributed (by Sweets) to her intense inner emotional vulnerability, her fear of being hurt, which traces back to her parents' abandonment of her.
    • Agent Booth, the ex-sniper, is apparently related to John Wilkes Booth.
    • Dr. Sweets, the cheery young psychologist is... well, sweet. But his first name, Lance, has less gentle connotations, and may be a reference to the fact that he was abused and scarred as a young child.
  • Used and lampshaded in Seinfeld:

Kramer: Bookman? The library investigator's name is actually, Bookman?
Librarian: It's true.
Kramer: That's amazing. That's like an ice cream man named, "Cone".

    • An in-universe example. Remember George's alias, Art Vandelay? Guess who shows up in the finale.
  • Brandy from Noah's Arc, who oscillates between Lady Drunk and Bottle Fairy.
  • In an episode of QI, Stephen Fry mentions "nominative determinism," the social theory that if your name is meaningful its meaning will reflect in your career choice. David Mitchell: "That's why you run that caff."
  • Strangers with Candy has this trope in perverse forms only Stephen Colbert, Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello could've conceived. Most obvious is Principal Onyx Blackman. There's also Stew the meat-man ("Simmer down, Stew") and Mr. Noblet's son, Seamus -- the first syllable sounds like "shame," which is Noblet's primary emotion when it comes to his family, since he's a closeted homosexual. That one may sound like a slight stretch until you've listened to the DVD commentaries, wherein it's explained that school grief counselor Cassie Pines was named to evoke the image of "casket" and "pine box," and that Orlando, the frequent butt of racist Filipino "monkey" jokes, was originally going to be named Simeon. Then there's the all-white school production of A Raisin in the Sun, where the starring students' all have last names like "Chalk" and "Snow"... the list goes on.
  • Red Dwarf has Arnold Judas Rimmer. He is indeed a backstabbing, unlikeable, selfish, cowardly smeg.
    • Less obvious, but rewarding if you speak Polish, is Kochanski. Kochac means "to love". What better person to be called Lover than Lister's girlfriend? According to Word of God, however, it was not deliberate - it was the name of one of the creators' schoolfriends, as was Rimmer.
  • Subversion: In Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, a Monster of the Week has a name that means "felony" and is of a species whose name means "villain". As the plot was one character's attempt to prove him innocent and the true culprit guilty, the names were an Anvilicious way of making him the obvious suspect (which he was anyway).
  • The cringeworthy Icarus Base from Stargate Universe. Borders on insulting if Viewers are Morons.
    • What, Poseidon Adventure base, or Towering Inferno base were already taken? Or was it just a case of "Unsubtle allusion to hubris and haste that will end badly" base was too much of a mouthful to say?
    • Arguably justifible in they were trying to 'fly higher than ever' in the sense of dialing the ninth chevron. Makes you wonder about the symbolism involved such that flying into suns stops them from dying... (Then again isn't that a Greek myth? Maybe the Ancients had something to do with that? The terms for Destiny and Death are historically linked... to bad it was cancelled, maybe that was their plan all along!!!)
    • And from Stargate SG-1, we have the Prometheus, the first Earth warship, built from reverse-engineered alien technology, and named for the Titan who stole fire from the Olympian Gods to give to Man. As well as the later Daedalus class starships, named for Icarus's father, who made two sets of wings so that they could fly to freedom.
    • The names of the Tau'ri members of SG-1 with a subtle dig at Cameron Mitchell being the replacement to Jack O'Neill.
      • Jonathen 'Jack'= God has given
      • Samantha= name of God/God has heard
      • Daniel= God is my judge
      • Cameron= Crooked/bent nose
  • May or may not be intentional, but consider Charmed's Cole Turner. Take a guess what he does the entire time he's on the show.
  • In Russell T. Davies's drama The Second Coming, the protagonist was the son of God. His love interest is named Judy.
  • "Wrangler" Jane, who runs the town's local general store in F Troop, is Jane Angelica Thrift.
  • When the producers of The Avengers needed to replace actress Honor Blackman, the networks sent down word to make sure the character had "male appeal" Or as the network shorthand was written... "M appeal".
  • Human Target's Guerrero, which is Spanish for "warrior". Though Guerrero comes across as laid-bad computer geek, you don't want to piss him off.
  • Gen Ootoris last name usually means "phoenix" or "big bird". Seeing as Alien Magma destroyed his home planet, all the stuff he went through in the show, and how he survived again and again to fight another battle, "phoenix" sounds about right.
  • Dan Moroboshi. His last name means "falling star". Also, when he first came to Earth, brave Jiro Satsuma was falling to his death after saving his best friend's life. Not only did Ultra Seven save his life, but he honored the Earthling as well.
  • NBC's brief 1993 Revival of Route 66 starred James Wilder and Dan Cortese as Nick Lewis and Arthur Clark. Making the road wonderers....that's right....Lewis & Clark.
  • In Lexx, a character named Doctor Longbore talks, at great length, in a monotone voice. Prince, ruler of the planet Fire, is heavily implied to be Satan.
  • The Big Bad of season two of the original Life On Mars? Frank Morgan. Who wanted to help Sam "get home". This is also in the midst of all the other Oz references (such as one of Gene's nicknames for Sam being "Dorothy" - as in, someone lost in a strange land trying to get home, or a "Friend of Dorothy").
  • A Yes-Man in an episode of The Goodies has the quite simple name of "Arthur Minion". Also, despite being Danzas, the main characters' names are strangely appropriate at times, such as Tim being timid, Graeme Garden spending an episode as a gardener, and Bill Oddie being generally odd.
  • The attractive middle-aged woman who attempts to seduce the eponymous protagonist in The Hard Times of RJ Berger is Mrs. Robbins, which is a Shout-Out to Mrs. Robinson from The Graduate.
  • In Wizards of Waverly Place, the principal's name is Mr. Laritate and the art teacher's name is Ms. Majorheeley.
  • Emma in Degrassi the Next Generation is a meta-example, being named after the Emmy Award Degrassi Junior High got for her mom's Teen Pregnancy storyline.
  • In Babylon 5, the exploration ship Captain Sheridan's wife was on was named Icarus. Perhaps a bad idea.
    • In a similar vein, the Babylon stations were named for the Tower of Babel, where a united humanity, all speaking the same language, built a tower that would touch the heavens. Needless to say, that didn't work out. The first three Babylon stations were destroyed in construction, and the fourth disappeared without a trace.
    • Captain John Sheridan, who according to Word of God, was a direct descendant of US Army General Phillip Henry Sheridan. Who is best known for fighting in the American Civil War.
    • Delenn of the Family Mir, whose family name comes from the Russian word for "Peace".
      • That is a zig-zag. She is a diplomat by trade and certainly desires peace. But she is better associated with war, both because of her mistakes in her younger years, and her inspiring war-leadership during the show.
  • Sesame Street: Abby Cadabby's shy classmate Gonnigan has the ability to become invisible... which he does quite often.
  • The TV series of The Walking Dead has a Centre for Disease Control scientist named Edwin Jenner. His namesake, Edward Jenner, was the first person to successfully and scientifically inoculate against smallpox. Subverted in that the Dr Jenner from the show has no idea how to go about curing the plague.
  • Jazz piano player John "Johnny" Staccato in the eponymous 1959 noir drama - and yes, that's his real given name; he doesn't change it after becoming a Private Detective.
  • Kurt Hummel from the musical tv show Glee is named after Kurt Von Trap from the musical The Sound of Music.
    • Might count for some if not all of the other Glee-club members too. Rachel's full name is Rachel Barbra Berry. She is a huge Barbra Streisand fan. Quinn's name rhymes with Finn and sounds like Queen. Santana Lopez is probably be named after the guitarist Carlos Santana and the singer Jennifer Lopez. Brittany S. Pierce's name is already explained on Glee; Britney Spears. Also: Kurt rhymes with Burt. As of season two: coach Bieste, which is pronounced "beast" and fits with her manly personality. Puck's first name, Noah, is slightly ironic. Noah is a typical Nice Jewish Boy name and contrasts with Puck's bad-boy attitude.
  • The witty writers of Barney Miller had a bit of fun with this. The Lovable Borderline Pedophile director of the Rainbow House children's home, which housed a disproportionate number of child prostitutes, was named Gower. A man who was desperate for a seat on the space shuttle's first commercial flights was named Corbett. Recurring character Frank Luger liked to talk about the olden days when cops used a lot more gunplay to subdue malefactors.
  • Jeff Winger on Community, he's spent his adult life, well, winging it.
  • The Fresh Beat Band is filled with these. Two band members are Twist and Shout. Their music teacher is Miss Piccolo. Their friend Reed owns a music store. Another friend is named Melody, and sings.
  • On Black Books, the three main characters all have meaningful surnames: Manny Bianco is a rather nice and happy person while Bernard Black is mean and cynical and hates almost everyone. Fran's surname is Katzenjammer (German slang for "hangover").
  • Veronica Mars whose name means "true image", which ties in with her being a Born Detective and having a pathological obsession with finding the truth (which often comes with taking a picture of it since she's a Private Detective).
    • Also, Wallace means foreigner in Norman French--in the pilot episode of the series, Wallace is the new kid in town.
    • Plus, the Mars family lives in Neptune, and Veronica drives a Saturn. A character makes the connection in an early season 3 episode.
  • Hilariously subverted in The Stinger for an episode of The Colbert Report:

Stephen: Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince, named Dragon. It just so happened that in Dragon's kingdom, there lived a fearsome dragon, named Wizard. So Dragon went to the town wizard, named Town Drunk, to ask for help. So Town Drunk put a spell on the town drunk, named Prince, which made Prince look like a female dragon, for the purpose of confusing Wizard. The next thing you know, Wizard, the dragon, flew down to meet Prince, now a dragon, thanks to Town Drunk the wizard. At which point the great wizard Town Drunk cast a spell banishing Wizard forever, and Dragon was pleased.

  • Highlander the Series' Duncan MacLeod, whose first name translates to "dark skinned warrior"
  • In Friends, the Running Gag of Phoebe using the alias "Regina Phalange" began in "The One in Vegas," when she pretended to be an agent interested in making money off of Joey and his identical hand twin. "Philange" is the technical term for "finger."
  • In Psych, the Santa Barbara PD arrests a notorious serial killer named Mr. Yang in the season three finale. Is anyone really surprised when a Mr. Yin starts leaving a trail of bodies in the season four finale?
  • Victorious: Jade West, reference the wicked witch of the west and her "jaded" personality.
    • Their teacher is Mr Sikowitz, as in 'Psycho-'Wits'.
    • The main character is called Tori.. vicTORIous?
    • Vice Principal Dickers from "The Breakfast Bunch". His loud talking, aggressive one-liners and some of his actions (including trying to make Tori pop an arm pimple) show that he's certainly worthy of that name.
  • Wonder Woman TV Series: Invoked by Hippolyte, Queen of the Hidden Elf Village Paradise Island:

Queen Hippolyte: I named this island "Paradise" for an excellent reason. There are no men on it. Thus, it is free from their wars, their greed, their hostility, their... barbaric... masculine... behavior. [she bites her hand]

  • The 1960s Batman series had number of these: Lord Marmaduke Ffogg, Mrs. Max Black, widow. Pat Pending, the richest inventor on Earth.
  • One episode of Austin and Ally features the vile, unscrupulous music manager, Demonica Dixon.
  • Once Upon a Time lives and breathes this trope. Snow White is Mary Margaret Blanchard ("blanc" is French for white), Red Riding Hood is Ruby, the Evil Queen is Regina Mills...
  • In Westworld, the name Dolores refers to her status as a 'doll' or plaything for her human creators. Her partner, Teddy, is likely a reference to 'teddy bears', the soft and cuddly toys for kids. (Maeve's daughter is seen playing with dolls).
    • The name of the company behind Westworld, Delos, is taken from the Greek for 'visible, manifest',[1] which is where the word 'psychedelic'[2] (mind-manifesting) comes from. A slightly more obscure reference would be to the Greek island of Delos[3] which alludes to the fact that Westworld is an isolated location, cut off from the world. Combine these two concepts together and you get an isolated location where artificially intelligent minds are made manifest.
  • When asked by the producers of The Addams Family to name his heretofore-unnamed cartoon characters, Charles Addams included several meaningful names, such as Fester and Morticia. But the most prominent such name (and ironically the least noticeable as such) was that of daughter Wednesday -- one of Addams' friends suggested her name, inspired by the third line of the nursery rhyme "Monday's Child": "Wednesday's child is full of woe"; that does indeed seem to describe Wednesday Addams. In the pilot of the Netflix series Wednesday, Morticia claims that is why she named her, citing the rhyme as her favorite, making it a Prophetic Name as well.
Back to Meaningful Name
  1. ↑ δῆλος in Ancient Greek wiktionary.org
  2. ↑ psychedelic wiktionary.org
  3. ↑ Delos in Greece wikipedia.org
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Meaningful_Name/Live-Action_TV?oldid=1993536"