History Main / MeaningfulName

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'':
** Leonard Church. Means nothing at first, but in ''Reconstruction'', [[spoiler:after Church is revealed to be an [=AI=], we hear the Director of Project Freelancer narrate an EpilogueLetter about how all [=AIs=] are based off of a human mind. He then signs off with his own name, [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate Doctor]] Leonard Church.]]
** And then there's Project Freelancer's cleanup crew, who are headed by Agent Washington, also known as '[[IncrediblyLamePun Wash]]'.

** When Raven learns Cinder Fall's full name, she accuses Cinder of making up her surname to reflect her abilities, something both Cinder and Watts imply is true. [[spoiler:Cinder Fall became the Fall Maiden by hunting down the previous one and killing her to obtain the power. As a result, her surname is broadcasting that she is the Maiden of the autumn season.]]

** Raven's subordinate, Vernal, has a name that references springtime. Along with her massive arm tattoo of a phoenix rising from flowers instead of fire, it advertises her as the Spring Maiden. [[spoiler:The reason Raven spotted Cinder Fall's ridiculously appropriate name is because Vernal's name exists for the same purpose; Raven trained Vernal to be a decoy to protect the real Spring Maiden from Salem.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': As per the "Color Naming Rule", all named characters must have a name which is (or is at least refers to) a color.
** The main character is named Ruby Rose, and is associated with [[ColorMotif red]] and [[FlowerMotif roses]]. Weiss Schnee literally translates to Literature/SnowWhite in German, [[FairytaleMotifs which she is themed around]]. Blake is a first name generally [[TomboyishName given to boys]] that means "black" in Old English, also alluding to her ColorMotif; in addition, her last name Belladonna refers to the the Creator/{{Disney}} adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''. Finally, Yang Xiao Long translates to roughly "Little Sun Dragon" in Chinese, hinting at both her ColorMotif (again) and her [[PlayingWithFire fire-based abilities]]. And that's just the main cast.
** Nora Valkyrie is a BloodKnight ActionGirl, as befits her Viking surname. Nora is also the name that Thor, the God of Thunder, takes up when he attempts to get back his legendary hammer.
** Pyrrha Nikos' surname translates to "victor of the people", referencing her status as TheAce and her compassion for those weaker than her. Her first name means 'flame-colored', and [[PropheticName predicts]] her [[SignificantGreenEyedRedhead bright red hair]]. "Pyrrha" is also said to be the name Achilles took when he crossdressed to hide. [[spoiler:[[AchillesHeel She is also struck down the same way Achilles was.]]]] On top of that, her full name brings to mind the phrase "PyrrhicVictory", which very much describes [[spoiler:[[AccidentalMurder her defeat of Penny]] in the Vytal Festival tournament]].
** Ruby and Yang's father is Taiyang Xiao Long, "Great Sun Dragon." This also adds an extra layer of meaning to Yang's name, as she is basically named "Junior."
** Ruby's uncle Qrow is, unfortunately, deserving of the name, since the reason why he doesn't hang around his family too often is because of [[spoiler: his [[TheJinx living bad luck charm semblance, thus befitting of an actual bad luck-inducing crow.]] It works great when he's up against his enemies, be it Grimm or other humanoid foes, but not so much for family and friends as the series demonstrates this detail a few times.]]
** Professor Ozpin, one of only two characters [[OddNameOut without a color-related name]], is a reference to the title character of ''Literature/TheWizardOfOz'', whose names formed the anagram OZPINHEAD. He's heavily associated with the color green, is highly secretive, and possess knowledge and abilities others lack.
** The series BigBad, Salem, is the ''other'' character without a color-related name. She is named for Salem, Massachusetts, the city infamous for the [[WitchHunt Salem Witch Trials]], in which a populace was overcome with fear, paranoia, and malice, leading humans to blame each other for a crisis of their own design and sentence each other to meaningless deaths, dividing them through their own fears, vices, and dependence on a higher authority. This is exactly how Salem operates, sowing division from the shadows. She herself is also a witch, with chalk-white skin, black veins, red eyes, [[spoiler:and genuine magic at her disposal]].
** Probably Invoked by Cinder Fall, who [[spoiler: plots to become the Fall Maiden, and eventually succeeds]]. Raven even lampshades by saying she "has a last name so appropriate she probably chose it herself." Cinder doesn't argue the point, so it's probably true.
** Raven's subordinate Vernal, the Spring Maiden, has a name that literally means "pertaining to spring." [[spoiler:Except she was never the real Spring Maiden, just a decoy--meaning Raven mocking Cinder's ridiculously appropriate name was actually a hint that she had done something similar herself]].
** Even the name of the world ''RWBY'' is set in, Remnant. [[spoiler:Remnant was once a HighFantasy paradise world; the gods lived alongside mortals and magic was a powerful force that everybody could use. Salem, [[RageAgainstTheHeavens driven by anguish and spite]], led mankind to war against the gods, who retaliated by [[ApocalypseHow erasing mankind in an instant]] and then departing, vowing to return only when the time was right to [[HumanityOnTrial place final judgement on mankind]]. Humans eventually came back into existence (along with the Faunus), but their old civilizations were rendered into dust and they retain only a tiny fraction of the power they once had.]]
** The unique superpowers everyone has are called "Semblances." [[spoiler:Humanity once had access to true magic that anyone could use, but when humanity rebelled against the gods, the God of Darkness took his gift of magic back before he destroyed the human race. When humanity returned, they only had access to a mere semblance of that magic]].

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_determinism Nominative determinism]]'' is the hypothesis that a person's name influences the type of career they will pursue in life.

* Usain '''Bolt''', Olympic sprinter, is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.

* It's weirdly poetic and funny that the guy responsible for the biggest {{Ponzi}} scheme of all time is named Bernie ''Madoff'' (pronounced "made-off", as in "he made off with millions of dollars").

* Actor Tod Slaughter (think DastardlyWhiplash) had such a stage name, which makes sense for someone who made a habit of playing serial killers (and maintaining {{Kayfabe}}). His real name, though? ''[[Film/{{Paycho}} Norman]]'' Slaughter.

* [[AwesomeMcCoolname Lake Speed]] was a NASCAR driver in the 1980s and 1990s, who is of no relation to Scott Speed.

** Ruby's uncle Qrow is, unfortunately, deserving of the name, since the reason why he doesn't hang around his family too often is because of [[spoiler: his [[TheJinx living bad luck charm semblance, thus befitting of an actual bad luck-inducing crow.]] It works great when he's up against his enemies, be it Grimm or other humanoid foes, but not so much for other family and friends as the series demonstrates this detail a few times.]]

** Ruby's uncle Qrow is, unfortunately, deserving of the name, since the reason why he doesn't hang around his family too often is because of [[spoiler: his [[TheJinx living bad luck charm semblance.]] It works great when he's up against his enemies, be it Grimm or other humanoid foes, but not so much for other family and friends as the series demonstrates this detail a few times.]]

* After the murder of George Floyd, there was no shortage of editorials pointing out that the murderer's name, Derek Chauvin, happened to be similar to the derogatory word "chauvinist", defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as someone who displays "excessive or prejudiced support for their own cause, group, or sex". [[https://medium.com/fourth-wave/anyone-notice-chauvins-name-70c60ef999c6 This Medium article]] takes it to a whole new level by pointing out the meaning of his ''first name'' as well. Chauvin would ultimately be convicted of all charges on April 20, 2021, nearly 11 months after the murder, becoming the first high-profile case of a police officer convicted in the murder of a black man.

* Actor Tod Slaughter (think DastardlyWhiplash) had such stage name, which makes sense for someone who made a habit of playing serial killers (and maintaining {{Kayfabe}}). His real name, though - ''Norman'' Slaughter.

* Nobel Prize-winning economist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Thaler Richard Thaler]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaler thaler]] being an old European silver coin.

* Usain '''Bolt''', Olympic sprinter, is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay.

* Ever head of/drank the popular Tito's Vodka? Well the "Tito" in the name is a reference to its owner Tito ''Beveridge''. It's not spelled the same way as beverage but is pronounced the same.

* During World War II, among Britain's successful exploits in the intelligence and espionage battle with Nazi Germany was the Twenty Committee, led by John Cecil Masterman, who was able to catch and turn ''every'' German agent sent to the UK into a double-agent for MI5. The committee's name was derived from the operation's name -- "Double Cross", as in "to betray" and also what XX means in Roman numerals.
* Another major WWII figure, Japanese Admiral [[UsefulNotes/YamamotoIsoroku Isoroku Yamamoto]], had such a name. His given name of "Isoroku" was an old Japanese term for "56"—his father's age at the time of the future admiral's birth.

* A New Jersey family earned some controversy for a particularly disturbing Halloween display of hanging bloodstained baby dolls. Their [[https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/halloween-display-of-bloody-hanging-baby-dolls-sparks-controversy/160640/ name]], [[Film/NightmareOnElmStreet Krueger]].

* WordOName: A named created by taking a word appropriate to the person, and adding an O or A on the end.

* A New Jersey family earned some controversy for a particularly disturbing Halloween display of hanging bloodstained baby dolls. Their [[https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/halloween-display-of-bloody-hanging-baby-dolls-sparks-controversy/160640/ name]], [[Film/NightmareOnElmStreet Kruger]].

* When Datu from ''AudioPlay/WereAlive'' meets Samantha in the arena she is very stoic about their fate. She eventually tells him that she "lost Hope." When Datu tries to reassure her, she tells him that she meant her daughter, whose name is Hope. She left her behind when their building got overrun by zombies. Later, [[spoiler: after Samnatha's death,]] Datu becomes extremely [[CynicismCatalyst bleak and fatalistic.]] He's doesn't really pull out of it until Michael, Pegs and Kelly return from the Colony, having found Hope.

* A sadder/scarier incident: In the 90s, Segas development of Sonic Xtreme was cancelled because staff member Christina Coffin almost died from stress.

* ADickInName: A guy named Dick is probably going to be a JerkAss due to [[HaveAGayOldTime the new slang meanings of "dick"]].

[[folder: Others]]
* ''Franchise/{{Sanrio}}'':