History Main / MultipleReferencePun

* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Gohan and Videl's daughter is named Pan; the name may come from the word for "bread" in many languages, continuing Gohan's family's naming tradition, the mythological being Pan, continuing Pan's family's naming tradition, or the pan flute, continuing the naming tradition of Gohan's ParentalSubstitute Piccolo's family.

When something is given a name which has more than one meaning or could be a reference to multiple sources. This may be deliberate, making an even stronger reference, or accidental, which can lead to AnalogyBackfire if other meanings make less sense or outright contradict the original.

* One {{Deathworld}} in the TabletopGame/Warhammer40K universe is called Phyrr. On one hand, it is an obvious pun on ''fear''. On the other, the TropeNamer for Deathworlds is HarryHarrison's Deathworld trilogy, where the planet in question is called... Pyrr.

* ''Film/StarTrek'''s scene with The Music/BeastieBoys' song "Sabotage" can refer to the director going against Star Trek tradition by using a radical approach that may unsettle fans, Kirk's rebellious nature that could endanger his chance of reaching the iconic status he's known for eventually, and it's a reference to William Shatner's trouble pronouncing the word sabotage without a Canadian accent.
** That said, the director maintains that he hadn't been thinking of the infamous "sabataage" outtake when he chose that song.

** The χ-Blade is named for the Greek letter "chi". But it is also pronounced just like "Keyblade," the main weapons in the series.

*** Two Jehovah's Witnesses riding bicycles stop at the newsstand to buy a newspaper and try to give a tract to the newsvendor.

* As noted on the MeaningfulName page, in WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender, Toph's name has ''six'' meanings. Even if a couple of them are accidental, the fact that most of them are quite punny, and ''all'' of them reference some element of her character is quite impressive.

** The title of the chapter "Fearful Symmetry" is from the poem "Tyger, Tyger" by William Blake, and is a good description of Rorschach's mask, and the epigraph from the same poem, "What immortal hand or eye/Could frame thy fearful symmetry" could refer to the fact that Rorschach has just been [[spoiler:framed for the murder of Moloch]] or, in the actual meaning of the line, the fact that [[spoiler:he has been captured by the police after avoiding arrest for many years]].

* ''Film/StarTrek'''s scene with The Beastie Boys' song "Sabotage" can refer to the director going against Star Trek tradition by using a radical approach that may unsettle fans, Kirk's rebellious nature that could endanger his chance of reaching the iconic status he's known for eventually, and it's a reference to William Shatner's trouble pronouncing the word sabotage without a Canadian accent.

** In ''FlameOfRecca'' (the anime at least) there are at least two characters with a weapon/power called "Shikigami". One controls hair, the other paper.

* ''SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' has this for several characters. The best example is Chiri: her name can mean perfect, clairvoyance, to bury, or frizzy (hair).
* Eiichiro Oda, author of ''OnePiece'' is very fond of this sort of thing. A notable example exists in one of Sanji's finishing moves, the Parage Shot, a kick that can literally [[MagicPlasticSurgery beat people pretty]]. "Parage" is a French word meaning "Trimming", in keeping with Sanji's moves being named in GratuitousFrench. There's also a Japanese brand of beauty products named "Perlage" that's pronounced as Parage. Another is Nami's hometown being named Cocoyashi village, which refers to the coconut trees, but also sounds like Kokkaishi, or navigator (Nami's role in the Straw Hats).

* ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' has a character named Viral, who fits with the DNA ThemeNaming of many antagonists (Lord ''Genome'', the Four Generals named after the Nucleobases, etc.); however, his name (following the Japanese rules of pronounciation) can be also spelt "Bilal", as in French comic book artist [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enki_Bilal Enki Bilal]]. That's why Viral's mecha is named ''Enki''du and the song associated with him on the soundtrack is called "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nikopol_Trilogy Nikopol]]".
* "KidouSenkanNadesico" (literally, "Mobile Battleship Nadesico"): "Kidou Senkan" is similar sounding to "[[MobileSuitGundam Kidou Senshi]]" referencing the use of HumongousMecha in the show. "Senkan Nadesico" (or "Nadeshiko") is a double pun that references both UchuuSenkanYamato, and the Japanese concept of YamatoNadeshiko. This multi-layered, multiple reference pun is likely the reason why ADV Films released it as "Martian Successor Nadesico" in North America.
* "UruseiYatsura": "Urusei" is a misspelling/mispronounciation of "urusai", which usually means "loud", or "annoying", or "obnoxious" and is also used to tell people to "shut up". "Yatsura" is a pejorative way of referring to a group of people. Also, while most of the name is written in hiragana, the kanji for "star" is used for the "sei" in the title, referring to Lum, an alien being who is one of the main characters. Thus, the title can be translated as "Those Annoying Aliens", or "Those Obnoxious Aliens".

* The agency ComicBook/MortadeloYFilemon work for is called T.I.A., which is an obvious reference to the CIA. Since "tía" in Spanish means "aunt", the name also works as a pun on ''TheManFromUNCLE'', fitting since it's a Spanish series about comedic espionage.

* DSS Angleton of ''TheLaundrySeries'' by Creator/CharlesStross is a [[spoiler: [[CosmicHorror Many-Angled One]] reinvented as an Englishman.]]

* ''TopGear'', during the Alfa Romeo challenge James May and Richard Hammond have ([[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder as is customary]]) betrayed Jeremy Clarkson's genius idea to avoid being overtaken. Both suffered breakdowns shortly after leading to this comment from Jeremy.

* John Sheridan's nickname in BabylonFive, ''Starkiller''. This is both a, in-universe reference to him destroying a ship named the ''Black Star'', but it could also foreshadow him later destroying [[spoiler: another ship called the ''White Star'']], and a writer's reference to StarWars.

* {{Blink-182}}'s song "Wrecked Him" is aptly named as far as the lyrics go. But [[ToiletHumour it's Blink-182]], so the title is a pun on the word "rectum."

* SoundHorizon's ''Märchen'' album gets a lot of mileage out of "ido", which can refer to, among other things, a well or the Freudian concept of id. There's a point in one song where the word is used four times in a single sentence - and it means something entirely different each time.
* Music/AHawkAndAHacksaw's name is a reference to Smollet's translation of ''Literature/DonQuixote'': "...therefore, let every man lay his hand upon his heart and not pretend to mistake an hawk for a hand-saw..."[[note]]other versions of ''Quixote'' contrast black and white, rather than a hawk and a handsaw[[/note]]; this was itself a reference to ''{{Hamlet}}'': "I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw." They replaced "handsaw" with "hacksaw" as a reference to a meter from Balkan and Turkish music, called Aksak.

* One {{Deathworld}} in the Warhammer40K universe is called Phyrr. On one hand, it is an obvious pun on ''fear''. On the other, the TropeNamer for Deathworlds is HarryHarrison's Deathworld trilogy, where the planet in question is called... Pyrr.

* Sunny Day of ''BackyardSports'' has a name that is both a reference to "sunny day," reflecting her personality, and to the co-founder of Humongous Entertainment, Shelley Day.

* [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 Xion]] and [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Vanitas]] from the ''KingdomHearts'' series. Let's see...

* In ''EverydayHeroes'', Mr. Mighty has been known to exclaim "Great Siegel's Ghost!" This is based on the phrase "Great Caesar's Ghost", commonly used by ''Daily Planet'' editor Perry White in ''[[Radio/TheAdventuresOfSuperman The Adventures]]'' ''[[Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperman of Superman]]''... which starred a character created by Jerry Siegel.

* Oscar Pistorius, [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19126033 the first ever double amputee to compete in the Olympics]], has the nickname "Bladerunner". Referencing both his prosphetic legs (which are blade shapped springs which he runs on) and the movie ''Film/BladeRunner''.

* The title of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Bend Her" is both a reference to the episode's plot of Bender getting a sex change to compete as a woman in the Olympics and a reference to the movie ''Film/BenHur'', not to mention the pun on Bender's own name.
** ''Bender'' itself is a double meaning, referring both to his function as a bending unit and the fact that he's constantly drinking alcohol (which he needs as fuel).

* Genya Arikado from ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}''. "Arikado" means "to have horns", implying some relation to demons. More importantly, his name is one vowel sound away from the Japanese pronunciation of Alucard.

* ''{{Okami}}'' takes advantage of how the long-o prefix denotes something big or great, making the term "great god", as well as the word normally being Japanese for "wolf". As noted in the Anime section, ''kami'' can also mean "paper" or "hair," which suits someone who manifests her powers by painting things with a brush.

** Adrian Veidt's codename Ozymandias is the name Greek sources give to the pharaoh Ramesses II, fitting to his obsession with both ancient Greek and Egyptian culture. It's also a reference to a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, the main theme of with is [[spoiler:futility]], implying that [[spoiler:Veidt's grand plan will not ensure world peace after all]].

* Most of the {{Double Meaning Title}}s endemic in ''TheDresdenFiles''. For instance, ''Grave Peril'' features Harry in... well, grave peril, mostly due to [[TheUndead vampires and ghosts]][[note]]DontExplainTheJoke Grave, get it?[[/note]]. ''Summer Knight'' begins with the murder of the Summer Knight, happens on summer nights, and [[AMidsummerNightsDream is about fairies]].
** The only exceptions are ''Changes'', which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, and ''Death Masks'', where the title doesn't have much to do with the story (it was originally going to be called ''Holy Sheet'', which does follow the pattern).

To put it simply, this is when something is given a name which has more than one meaning or could be a reference to multiple sources. This may be deliberate, making an even stronger reference, or accidental, which can lead to AnalogyBackfire if other meanings make less sense or outright contradict the original.

** The Japanese language in general lends itself well to this kind of wordplay thanks to its multiple writing systems.

* "UruseiYatsura": "Urusei" is a misspelling/mispronounciation of "urusai", which usually means "loud", or "annoying", or "obnoxious"[[note]]And is also used to tell people to "shut up"[[/note]]. "Yatsura" is a pejorative way of referring to a group of people. Also, while most of the name is written in hiragana, the kanji for "star" is used for the "sei" in the title, referring to Lum, an alien being who is one of the main characters. Thus, the title can be translated as "Those Annoying Aliens", or "Those Obnoxious Aliens".

* Blink-182's song "Wrecked Him" is aptly named as far as the lyrics go. But [[ToiletHumour it's Blink-182]], so the title is a pun on the word "rectum."

* Oscar Pistorius, [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19126033 the first ever double amputee to compete in the Olympics]], has the nickname "Bladerunner". Referencing both his prosphetic legs (which are blade shapped springs which he runs on) and the movie ''Film/{{Bladerunner}}''.

* In ''KamenRiderOOO'', "OOO" is pronounced like "oh's", with "oh" being the Japanese word for "king" (early publicity material made reference to a "Multi-King"); it also sounds like "owes", referencing how he steals coin-like Medals from the villains to power his abilities, and pays part of them to the BigGood; "OOO" visually resembles the set of three Medals that he uses to transform; and it also resembles the infinity symbol with an extra loop, which is claimed within the series to mean [[UpToEleven a step beyond infinity]].

* ''NorthByNorthwest''. As well as the ''{{Hamlet}}'' reference, it's also about how the protagonist has to go north on Northwest Airlines.

* The agency MortadeloYFilemon work for is called T.I.A., which is an obvious reference to the CIA. Since "tia" in Spanish means "aunt", the name also works as a pun on ''TheManFromUNCLE'', fitting since it's a Spanish series about comedic espionage.

* DSS Angleton of ''TheLaundrySeries'' by CharlesStross is a [[spoiler: [[CosmicHorror Many-Angled One]] reinvented as an Englishman.]]

* In the fan translation of VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}, Fassad's name is the arabic word for "greed", it also sounds like the word "facade", both of these are apt summations of the character who uses an overly nice face to hide all his KickTheDog moments done to further his and his master's desires.

* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57Ef6egT4kE The opening]] for the anime ''{{Mouse}}'' is called "Mouse Chuu Mouse". This is a multiple pun: it is pronounced like "Mouth to Mouth", but ''chuu'' is the Japanese onomatopoeia for both mouse squeaks and kisses... which are, incidentally, an activity that is done "mouth to mouth".