Animal Theme Naming: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Wolf's Rain]]'': The four main characters are all named for aspects of the wolf; Kiba (Fang), Tsume (Claw), Hige (Whisker), and Toboe (Howl). The pun in the title of the second episode, "Toboe, Who Doesn't Howl", is thus lost in the English translation.

* ''[[Noein]]'' has the Dragon Knights, who are all named after different birds(Karasu=Crow, Fukurou=Owl and so on) that were representative of their personalities. I guess being called Dragon Knights sounded cooler than being called Bird Knights.

* ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'' have all the named members of Jackal's gang (which consists only of himself, Fox and Hawk) and some of the Shura warriors (Hyoh, Shachi, Zebra)

 

* The Phantoka Makuta from ''[[Bionicle]]'' all have a bat theme going on, and are named appropriately: Antroz (''Antrozous pallidus'', or pallid bat), Chirox and his Matoran partner Kirop after Chiroptera, and Vamprah should be obvious. Then there is Makuta Bitil, based off a beetle.

* Marvel's Serpent Squad and its successor, the Serpent Society, consists of supervillains with snake-themed codenames.

* ''Scarecrow: Year One'' begins with the established character of Jonathan Crane and goes on to introduce his ex-mentor Professor Pigeon and his grandmother Olivia Dove (in a different apparent [[Shout-Out]] to ''Psycho'', her original name was Marion).

 

* In ''[[Kill Bill]],'' Bill gives each of his agents of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad code names matching the 5 snakes that have the deadliest poisons in the world: Black Mamba, California Mountain Snake, Cottonmouth, Copperhead, and Sidewinder. Bill himself is also called "Snake Charmer".

* The protagonists of ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' have a bird theme - there's Jack ''Sparrow'', Elizabeth ''Swann'', and Will ''Turner'' (a type of swan, appropriately enough).

* In ''[[Gnomeo and Juliet]]'', the lawn movers Benny was looking up on the Internet are all named after different types of cats, except for [[Odd Name Out|the Terrafirminator.]] Guess which lawn mover Benny ended up buying!

 

* ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'': You can sometimes spot an [[Animorphism|Animagus]] or lycanthrope in the series by their name. Professor Remus Lupin was a [[Wolf Man|Werewolf]] (not only is Lupine the generic name for a Wolf, Remus is the brother of Romulus, two boys who were literally [[Raised by Wolves]] and created Rome), another werewolf is Fenrir Grayback (Fenrir is the wolf that eats Odin in norse mythology), Sirius (another name for Dog Star) Black a black dog, and Rita Skeeter was a bug ("skeeter" being a slang term for mosquito).

* In Tom Holt's ''Barking''. The werewolf law firm is named Ferris and Loop (after Fenris and Lupine) while the vampire firm is named Crosswoods (cross: trans. Woods: sylvania).

* ''[[The Faerie Wars Chronicles]]'' every faerie's name is that of a butterfly, lampshaded in the third book and also linked to the fact that when they travel through a wild portal to the analogue world, they become miniature and sprout wings. Like a butterfly. The most notable are; [[wikipedia:Holly Blue|Holly Blue]], [[wikipedia:Pyrgus malvae|Pyrgus Malvae]], [[wikipedia:Apatura iris|Apatura Iris - the Purple Emperor]], [[wikipedia:Polygonia c-album|Prince Comma]], [[wikipedia:Painted Lady|the Painted Lady - Madam Cynthia Cardui]], [[wikipedia:Black Hairstreak|Lord Black Hairstreak]], [[wikipedia:Gonepteryx|Silas Brimstone]], [[wikipedia:Chalkhill Blue|Jasper Chalkhill]], [[wikipedia:Nymphalis antiopa|Nymphalis Antiopa]] and Cleopatra Antiopa (an amalgamation of a species of Brimstone butterfly and the Antiopa species).

 

* In ''[[Neighbours]]'', regular character Jarrod "Toadfish" Rebecchi got his nickname by analogy with his [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome|long forgotten]] older brother Kevin "Stonefish" Rebecchi. Later storylines introduced his cousins: Scott "Stingray" Timmins and Wayne "Tadpole" Reeves.

* [[Super Sentai]]

** ''[[Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger]]'' has this in spades with the heroes' real names corresponding to their totem animal: Kakeru '''Shishi''' (Lion), Gaku '''Washi'''o (Eagle), Kai '''Same'''zu (Shark), Sotaro '''Ushi'''gome (Cattle [he had the bison]), and in each of these cases the kanji for the animal's name was the same as it was written in their name. Sae '''Taiga''' (for tiger) and Tsukumaro '''Oogami''' (''ookami'' being "wolf") are the only stretches.

 

* Referenced by the name of the band Mechanical Animal, which consists of Dan Fox, Eden Swan and [[Punny Name|Jaque Rabbit]].

 

* ''Volpone'': This one is [[Older Than Steam]] (at least), as Ben Jonson used it in his 1607 play, in which wealthy trickster Volpone (fox) and his double-crossing servant Mosca (fly) attempt an involved con game on the lawyer Voltore (vulture), the decrepit Corbaccio (raven), and the thuggish Corvino (crow).

 

* ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]: Mask of the Betrayer'': Slightly lampshaded when your character meets Efram the Stag and Susah the Crow, part of a five-person group of siblings known as "The Menagerie," who ask for your help in finding their sister, Kaelyn the Dove. You have the option of asking "'The Dove?' Are you all named after animals?" when they tell you this.

* ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' series

** In ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', members of FOXHOUND are named after animals.

* ''[[Punch-Out!!]]'': The Major Circuit opponents in the NES version of included King '''Hippo''', Great '''Tiger''', and Bald '''Bull'''. Also included is Don Flamenco, which sounds sort of like "Don '''Flamingo'''".

* In ''[[Ace Combat]] X: Skies Of Deception'', the Aurelian Air Force squadrons seen in-game are named after bird genera.

* Fighter models in ''[[Tachyon the Fringe]]'' not used exclusively by either [[Mega Corp|GalSpan]] or [[La Résistance|the Bora]] tend to be named after predatory fish (e.g. Mako, Piranha). Might be an oblique nod to [[Space Is an Ocean]].

 

* The Pack in ''[[Gargoyles]]'' had names after wild canines: Fox, Wolf, Jackal, Dingo, Coyote, and Hyena (OK, a hyena isn't actually a canine, but they look and behave similarly). The London Clan, who all look like animals, tend to be named after the animal they most resemble. Exceptions to the rule are Coco (short for Constance), Lunette and Pog. Could be some of the clan elders like virtue names and names from myth and legend.

* ''[[El Tigre]]'' has the eponymous character, his father, White Pantera (panther), and grandfather Puma Loco. Their past generations have included people such as Dark Leapord, Golden Leon (lion), Mighty Cheetar, and Justice Jaguar. On the villains side we have the Flock: Lady Gobbler, Vultura, and Black Cuervo (raven).

* In ''[[Thundercats 2011]],'' overlaps with [[A Dog Named "Dog"]] due to an abundance of [[Beast Folk]] and [[Petting Zoo People]]. [[Catfolk]] Lion-O, Cheetara, Tygra, Jaga, Panthro, Lynx-O, Leo and Panthera all look as one would expect, as do Wilykat and Wilykit, [[Fishmen|Fishman]] Captain Koinelius Tunar and [[Lizard Folk|Chameleon]] Khamai.

 

* The military is fond of this for their vehicles, most notably the US Air force (note however that they don't always match the "type" of vehicle). Examples being the F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-18 Hornet/Super Hornet, F-22 Raptor, F-117 Nighthawk, Sr-71 Blackbird, etc.

* Apple nicknames versions of the OS X operating system after [[Panthera Awesome|big cats]].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Theme Naming Tropes]]