History Main / MeaningfulName

** Don K. Ristmas Parker [[spoiler: is a reference to both ''Christmas'' (the day he - the doll - was made)]] and [[spoiler:Peter Parker, AKA Franchise/SpiderMan]], whom he shares a color scheme with.

* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': Killdra names her pet octopus Lotto (like 'lottery') because they're both full of suckers.
-->'''Balloon''': [[SarcasmMode Oh-ho! How satirical!]]

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' we have Mirri the [[CatGirl cat warrior]]. "Mirri" is Finnish for "pussy", and is a popular name given to cats there.

** [[http://garfield.com/comic/2010-03-16 Jon believes every name has a meaning.]] Looking his up, he found out it meant [[ButtMonkey "he who gets beat up for his lunch money"]].

* Literature/LittleRedRidingHood, "because she always wore a red cloak"
* Literature/HopOMyThumb and Literature/{{Thumbelina}}, "because they weren't bigger than a thumb"
* Hans My Hedgehog, "because he was half man, half hedgehog"
* Literature/SnowWhite, "because her skin was white as snow"
* Literature/{{Goldilocks}}, "because Goldilocks had hair that seemed to be made out of gold"
* Literature/PussInBoots
* Literature/KingThrushbeard
* Literature/{{Donkeyskin}}
* Literature/{{Tattercoats}}
* Literature/TrueAndUntrue: A pair of brothers, one good, one evil
* Literature/{{Prunella}}, named after plums

** Joshua and Jesus are both the same name, a few thousand years apart and translated: both are derived from the Hebrew Yehoshua--later shortened to Yeshua--meaning "Yeho (i.e. YHWH) saves/is salvation". Joshua is the name of the Founder's protege, Elisha is the Prophet's student, and (if you're Christian) Jesus is the Son of God. Apparently, you can't qualify as an epic Hebrew hero without your name being "God Saves".
** And if that old name isn't quite as appropriate as you wished, then God will change it for accuracy, most prominently with Jacob whose name, after a lifetime of struggling beside and against God and epic wrestling match with the same (or one of his best angels), is switched to Israel which means "Struggles with God". But Abraham was once named Abram before God switched his name to Abraham (which means Father of Nations).
*** Jacob's original name (meaning "supplanter") was appropriate enough, considering he exchanged a bowl of soup for his brother's birthright -- which entitled him to inherit the family patriarchy and 2/3 of Father Isaac's possessions.

* Most mythology is like this--check Website/TheOtherWiki for details, but some examples include Odin meaning something like "fury, excitement, poetry"; Aphrodite, "sea foam", as in what she was born out of; Ra means probably "sun" or "creator"; Amaterasu-ōmikami is "the great august deity who shines in the heaven"; Shiva, "The Auspicious One", was originally a euphemistic nickname for Rudra, "the Roarer"; even El (and its plural Elohim), Hebrew names of God, were Semitic for "deity". Meaningful names were the only names people had for most of history--why would a person be named gibberish, after all?

** One important aversion: there are a few tenuous theories, but nobody is too sure just what Yahweh means.
* The seventh Sunday after Easter is formally called Pentecost, because the following day is the 50th ''day'' after Easter, and "pentecosa" is Greek for "fifty". Not only that, but priests traditionally wear white robes on Pentecost, leading to its informal name of "White Sunday" -- or "Whitsun" for short.
* Myth/NartSagas: Argwana, whose name in Circassian may be broken down etymologically as "to stuff the vagina", reflecting his role as Setenaya's rapist. Interestingly, his name has been linked to that of the [[Myth/GreekMythology Gorgons]], and it is hypothesized that the Greek word is ultimately of Northwest Caucasian origin.

* Most if not all characters from ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'', sometimes to the point of double meanings. Nutty is a hyperactive to the point of insanity squirrel, Handy is a skilled carpenter and mechanic who happens to [[IronicName lack hands]], The Mole both [[ADogNamedDog is]] and has a mole, the list goes on.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_determinism Nominative determinism]]'' is the hypothesis that a person's name has an influence on the type of career they will pursue in life.
* 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"). Said name went on to carry the second meaning, "he 'burned' people and 'made off' with millions of dollars".
* There's a sort of poetic justice in the U.S. Supreme Court case striking down laws prohibiting interracial marriage in the country being titled ''Loving'' v. Virginia.
* In 2003, astronomers discovered an object in the outer solar system that was larger than UsefulNotes/{{Pluto}}. This, a long with the discovery of other similar objects in that same era, kicked off a 3 year long debate among astronomers about whether ought to remain classified as a planet. This culminated in Pluto being demoted from its status as a planet, and the object in question being named {{UsefulNotes/Eris}}, the Greek goddess of discord, due to all of the arguments it caused.
** Its discoverers originally suggested naming it "[[Series/XenaWarriorPrincess Xena]]", after the character played by Creator/LucyLawless. It has a moon named Dysnomia, after the Greek spirit of lawlessness.
* One of the most notorious cocaine traffickers was Griselda Blanco Restrepo. Commonly called just Griselda Blanco. That's right, the "Cocaine Godmother" was named Griselda ''White''.
* Prohibition advocate and cult person Carry A. Nation (the A stands for Amelia) took advantage of her meaningful name in speeches where she promised she would "carry a nation" towards prohibition. Her adversaries and critics also joked about it, with the phrase "All Nations welcome except Carry" becoming a bar-room slogan. She eventually had her own name trademarked.
* "Albert" means "noble and bright". And who is [[UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein the most famous bearer of that name]] ?
* Physicist Karl Schwarzschild, whose last name means "black shield" in German, worked closely with Einstein on relativity. In the process of doing this, he discovered the nature of black holes, which can be aptly described as a black barrier -- a shield, if you will -- forever separating its contents from the rest of the universe.
* 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/{{Psycho}} Norman]]'' Slaughter.
* Considered North America's greatest racehorse of all time (with the possible exception of Film/{{Secretariat}}), Man o' War was defeated only once in his career, by a horse named Upset.
* American senator [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_McGovern George McGovern]].
* 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 (the word "dollar" is descended from it).
* Hollywood director [[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1103162/ Tim Story]].
* Usain '''Bolt''', Olympic sprinter, is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.[[note]]Traditionally, setting the record for the 100 earns you the title "world's fastest man". Bolt put an exclamation point on it by also setting the records in the 200 and 4 × 100 (the latter of course with 3 teammates).[[/note]]
* Quite a few U.S. college rivalries have this type of name, sometimes unusually specific. Examples of "unusually specific" include (but are not limited to):
** Battle of the Boulevard: UsefulNotes/{{Nashville}} rivalry, primarily in basketball, between Belmont and Lipscomb, with the schools being separated by a bit over 2 miles (4 km) of Belmont Boulevard.
** Battle of the Domes: A recently applied name to the long-standing rivalry between Idaho and Idaho State. The reference is to the fact that both schools play football in domed stadiums (and, at least through the 2020–21 season, also play men's basketball in said facilities).[[note]]Idaho will move men's and women's basketball to a new arena in 2021.[[/note]]
** Battle of 33rd Street: UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} rivalry, also primarily in basketball, between Drexel and [[UsefulNotes/IvyLeague Penn]], with campuses that share a physical border and basketball arenas separated by 3 blocks of 33rd Street.
** Causeway Classic: College football rivalry between Sacramento State and UC Davis, public schools separated by about 11 miles/18 km. The "Causeway" in question is the Yolo Causeway, which carries Interstate 80 over a flood bypass that had once been a seasonal barrier to transportation between the two cities.
** Revolutionary Rivalry: UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC-area rivalry between George Mason, in the Virginia suburbs, and George Washington, in the District proper. Both schools were named after Founding Fathers whose plantations were in Mason's (the school's) home area of modern-day Fairfax County.
* Randy Rainbow, a Youtuber known for his political parody songs, is openly gay and was indeed born with the name Rainbow (his father had it changed from "Ribner" before he was born).
* After Reggie Fils-Aime retired from Nintendo's American branch, who replaced him? Doug ''Bowser''. That's right, the [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario Brothers']] eternal arch-enemy has taken over Creator/{{Nintendo}}!
** For an added dose of irony, the hacker group Team Xecuter, who sold devices allowing pirated games to be played on Nintendo consoles (among others), was lead by a man named Gary Bowser. Video game news sites had a field day when he was caught, with headlines like [[https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/10/22927827/gary-bowser-sentenced-nintendo-switch-hacks-team-xecuter "Bowser is going to prison for selling Nintendo Switch hacks"]].
* 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.
* Chinese Olympic hurdler [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Xiang_(hurdler) Liu Xiang]], with Liu being his surname and Xiang meaning "soar".
* CountryMusic singer Music/SteveWariner has the middle name "Noel" because he was born on Christmas Day (December 25). Naturally, he lampshades this on his first Christmas album.
* Retired baseball player Cecil '''Fielder'''. And his son, Prince Fielder, also a baseball player.
* The Canadian War Museum is located on 1 Vimy Place. [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a WW1 battle that took place in France where the main combatants were Canadian forces against Germans.]]
* World heavyweight champion boxer Tyson Fury. His family line has a history of bare-knuckle boxing and his dad was a fan of Mike Tyson, so his given name was an intentional version (albeit not because his father expected him to be heavyweight champion of the world, but because he must have been a fighter to survive his ''birth'', being born weak and premature). "Fury" wasn't; it's derived from the Gaelic name Ó Fiodhabhra.
* British expert on drug abuse and child sexual exploitation, Dr Angie Heal, who helped bust child sexual abuse rings in the UK.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaurepaires Beaurepaires]], a tyre and automotive services company in Australia and New Zealand, is named for its founder, Frank Beaurepaire. "Beau" is French for "handsome", and there's a "repair" in the name.
* 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/IsorokuYamamoto, 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.
* 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; his 22.5-year prison sentence would be handed down just over a couple of months later.
* Tea merchant T.E. Stockwell. UK's biggest supermarket, Tesco, and their Stockwell & co. brand, are named after him.
* A sadder/scarier incident: In the 90s, Sega's development of ''VideoGame/SonicXTreme'' was cancelled because staff member Christina Coffin almost died from stress.
* The last steam train to be built by the British Railway was named the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BR_Standard_Class_9F_92220_Evening_Star Evening Star]].
* 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]].
* British historian [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Conquest Robert Conquest]]. Robert also means "fame" and "bright".
* Lake Speed was a NASCAR driver in the 1980s and 1990s, who is of no relation to Scott Speed, who had a brief NASCAR career in the late 2000s-early 2010s.
* [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Beloozero Beloozero]] was a [[ChildOfTwoWorlds Russo-Tatar]] principality from 1238–1486, whose name means "White Lake". Even though it's more of a mere coincidence, the name "Beloozero" does invoke the usual Russian stereotype of frigid, below-zero temperatures in the winter.
* Chinese Olympic skier [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eileen_Gu Eileen Gu]], or her Chinese name 谷爱凌, which literally means "Valley Love Ice". Even her English name (although "Eileen" technically came from Irish) means "Radiant Valley".
* Music/EarthaKitt as Catwoman in Series/Batman1966 (though her real surname was actually Keith.)
* German anthropologist Adrian Zenz, or rather, his chosen Chinese name, 鄭國恩; 鄭 is the surname and 國恩 means "nation's mercy". He is most well-known for investigating the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang by China.
* Chris Pincher, Conservative member of British Parlament, has been accused for years of groping and making unwanted sexual advancements on young men. That earned him the nickname "Arse Pincher" and ended being one of the reasons why Prime Minister Boris Johnson had to resign, as he had not only promoted Pincher knowing all that, but he even had joked about it saying "Pincher by name, pincher by nature."
* The co-founder and CTO of VideoGame/{{Duolingo}} is a computer scientist named [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severin_Hacker Severin Hacker]].
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Sesto_Elemento Lamborghini Sesto Elemento]]'s name translates to "sixth element", which is carbon according to the periodical table of elements. The car itself was made entirely out of carbon fiber, hence the "sixth element".
* The name Andrew comes from the Greek root for "manly". Oddly fitting, then, for Andrew Tate, [[HeManWomanHater a serial misogynist]] [[CardCarryingVillain by his own admission]].
* One of the most massive [[UsefulNotes/BlackHoles black holes]] currently discovered (weighing in at ''66 billion'' solar masses) is called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TON_618 Tonantzintla 618]], which is fittingly shortened to TON-618.
* Draco, an Athenian politician known for making strict laws, is the source of the word “draconian”. His name means “dragon” in Latin.
[[/folder]]

* "C++" is a computer language that's an improved version of the [[UsefulNotes/TheCLanguage "C"]] computer language. The Meaningful Name, as well as {{Pun}} (if you understand the computer language) kicks in when you know "++" is an affix within "C" that when attached to a variable, ''increases its value''. Thus the name "C++" means "C improved/taken up a notch" -- which it is.
** Similarly C# (pronounced C Sharp) has two interpretations. First is from the musical term, where a sharp is a "higher" pitch version of the tone, and so C# is a higher version of C. Or you can take two "++" operators and stack them, producing the # character. Or "C++ improved"

* MAGA, an acronym for Make America Great Again, [[https://www.legit.ng/1155280-american-journalist-discovers-meaning-maga-nigeria.html?fbclid=IwAR1y4pEAtSEJFMifKxqxImJqKFl3FKWx7N9wjda48x9oAMu50InbSnxZEmY is a Nigerian slang term referring to an idiot who's easily led by a conman]]. Donald Trump, who popularized the phrase and its acronym, has long been accused of being a conman by his opponents, and the journalist who discovered the Nigerian meaning of MAGA did not let it go unnoticed.
** On this note, Teflon Don's name counts too. Trump has the same origin as "triumph" a.k.a victory, also a Trump Card is defined as "an advantage that makes you more likely to succeed than other people", aptly describing his successes, despite ([[Main/ControversyProofImage or maybe even because of]]) the controversies surrounding them.

* During the January 6th attack on the Capitol building, the rioters were lured away from the Senate chambers by a black police officer, potentially saving many lives. His name? Eugene Goodman, a name that literally means "Noble Good Man".

* The most massive [[UsefulNotes/BlackHoles black hole]] currently discovered (weighing in at ''66 billion'' solar masses) is called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TON_618 Tonantzintla 618]], which is fittingly shortened to TON-618.

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

** Joshua and Jesus are both the same name, a few thousand years apart and translated: both are derived from the Hebrew Yehoshua--later shortened to Yeshua--meaning "Yeho (i.e. YHWH) saves/is salvation". Elisha is the from the similar Elishua, meaning "My God saves/is salvation". Joshua is the name of the Founder's protege, Elisha is the Prophet's student, and (if you're Christian) Jesus is the Son of God. Apparently, you can't qualify as an epic Hebrew hero without your name being "God Saves".

* ''Wiki/{{Killerbunnies}}'':

* As in most {{superhero}} fiction, this kind of thing is common in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' -- the best example is probably Accord, whose name means "agreement or harmony of things in general"[[note]]Definition drawn from [[http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=accord&oldid=20056739 Wiktionary]][[/note]], and whose most basic desire in life is [[SuperOCD the harmonious order of everything]].

** I Samuel 25 records the story of Naval, whose name means "villain".

When additions or alterations to names signify stronger versions of said beings, that's TieredByName. Compare NamedAfterSomebodyFamous, TheyCallHimSword. Contrast with NonindicativeName. Also compare/contrast with IronicName. See also NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast (which is about names indicating power and villainy and heavily overlaps with this trope), PunnyName (which many of these names fall into) and DeadGuyJunior (when the naming is intended to symbolize a deceased in-universe character's legacy in some way).

Very common in [[WesternAnimation cartoons]], where the meaning is most times not hidden at all, except that the target audience may not have the vocabulary to get [[PunnyName the joke.]] Also common in {{Anime}}, since Japanese names have a lot of obvious literal meaning to start with [[note]]Technically, most Western names do, too, but since a lot of them -- especially those of English speakers -- are meaningful in some ''other'' language such as Hebrew, Latin, or Gaelic, the meanings tend to be missed unless specifically mentioned.[[/note]]. See notes at ThemeNaming.

* The Lamborghini Sesto Elemento's name translates to "sixth element", which is carbon according to the periodical table of elements. The car itself was made entirely out of carbon fiber, hence the "sixth element".

* Dr. Tease, a character in WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick's show, is a HotScientist. What a shock.

Very common in [[WesternAnimation cartoons]], where the meaning is most times not hidden at all, except that the target audience may not have the vocabulary to get [[PunnyName the joke.]] Also common in {{Anime}}, since Japanese names have a lot of obvious literal meaning to start with [[note]]Technically, most Western names do, too, but since a lot of them - especially those of English speakers - are meaningful in some ''other'' language such as Hebrew, Latin, or Gaelic, the meanings tend to be missed unless specifically mentioned.[[/note]]. See notes at ThemeNaming.

* 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 Samantha'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.

*** Jacob's original name (meaning "supplanter") was appropriate enough, considering he exchanged a bowl of soup for his brother's birthright - which entitled him to inherit the family patriarchy and 2/3 of Father Isaac's possessions.

* Myth/ClassicalMythology: Deianeira means "Husband Destroyer". She indirectly caused her husband Heracles' death.

* That said, that heel with all the pizazz was really named [[Wrestling/RicFlair Ric (Richard) Fliehr]] upon his adoption as an infant[[labelnote:*]]He doesn't know his actual birth name; he was adopted through an agency that, unknown to its clients, obtained children by means ranging from shady to outright illegal.[[/labelnote]], and the egotistical [[Wrestling/RickRude Ravishing Rick Rude]] was actually named Richard Rood. (Wrestling/BobbyRoode - no relation, but similar gimmick - also uses his real name.)

* Spoofed in ''Radio/{{Nebulous}}'', with an evil race of flame beings called Infernons. Rory is puzzled by this and asks if they infer things - 'or infer nothing?'. Later lampshaded when they start setting fire to things and he announces, "Oh, like 'inferno'."

* ''Literature/TalesOfMU'' has half-demon protagonist Mackenzie Blaise, whose first name can be read to mean "fire-born" and [[spoiler: her unknown brother, Aidan, whose name means "fiery".]] Other characters have significance in their names, to the point where some readers look up the name of every new character who appears. Indeed, there can be frustration and complaint if a juicy new name appears and linguistic analysis doesn't quickly follow in the comments section.

** In terms of real names, rather than just codenames, both of the Cauldron boogeymen have this - Contessa's first name is Fortuna, as in lucky, and Number Man's surname is Wynn, like 'win'. Very appropriate for two capes with some of the most absurdly broken powers in the series.

* ''{{WebVideo/Gameboys}}'' - Discussed in-universe
** Cairo - Aside from the FamilyThemeNaming, it also means "one who is victorious" Fitting for a live-stream gamer with a competitive streak in various aspects of life.

* "C++" is a computer language that's an improved version of the [[UsefulNotes/TheCLanguage "C"]] computer language. The Meaningful Name, as well as {{Pun}} (if you understand the computer language) kicks in when you know "++" is an affix within "C" that when attached to a variable, ''increases its value''. Thus the name "C++" means "C improved/taken up a notch" - which it is.

* 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/IsorokuYamamoto, 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.

** About the article linked above: it should be noted that the origin of the name Derek comes from a Germanic word meaning 'People's leader', its connection to the word 'derrick' is purely phoenetical.