History Main / VerbalTicName

* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'': Boo is a slight variant. Her real name is Mary, but she's just a baby and doesn't know how to introduce herself. "Boo" isn't the first word she says to Sully, but she screams it later.

* ''Literature/TheBrotherbandChronicles:'' Hal names the dog he finds in the mountains after her distinctive bark, rendered as "KLOOF".
* ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'': Oy is a billy-bumbler, which is a talking raccoon-like creature native to Mid-World. The name comes from his attempts to say "boy".

** PlayedWith in ''Anime/HirogaruSkyPrettyCure''. Sora names Ellee after her VerbalTic, only to later find out that she was right by sheer coincidence. Of course, since Ellee was named before she could talk, it's possible she developed her name as a VerbalTic, [[InvertedTrope inverting]] this trope.

* ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngelII'': Nano-Nano Pudding ends her sentences wirh "nano da".

* ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'': The main characters meet but never learn the name of one of the Information Alliance's Elites. They nickname her "Oh Ho Ho" because every time she speaks she starts off with a NoblewomansLaugh.

* ''Music/{{Gorillaz}}'': Noodle learned to speak English later on, but at the time she was [[GirlInABox mailed to the other band members]], the only word of it she knew was "Noodle". So they decided to call her that.

* Chicchi the flower spirit in ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' is an odd example in that she's not named for her ''own'' verbal tic, but because it's the sound that rats-- her only companions until Guts shows up-- make.
* Chi from ''Manga/{{Chobits}}''. After Hideki first activates her, she turns out to have no memories and the only thing she can say is "Chi", so Hideki decides to call her that. It's revealed later on that [[spoiler:her original name was Elda]].
%%* Chomesuke from ''Manga/DGrayMan'', ''cho~!'' Also, Lero/[[SpellMyNameWIthAnS Relo]].

* It's suggested from the [[WordOfGod director's notes]] that Culumon (Calumon in the dub) from ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', not being a real Digimon at first, ''gave himself'' his name and adopted a VerbalTic from it.
* Giru in ''Anime/DragonBallGT'', as [=DB4649T2006RS=] was just too long for the main cast and the audience (the Machine Mutants still refer to him as [=DB4649T2006RS=]).
* Nyu from ''Manga/ElfenLied.'' Her speech pathology makes sense, as she took a bullet to the head (see "Tan" in real life below for what brain damage can do) but her recovering then becomes an issue.
* The main characters of ''LightNovel/HeavyObject'' meet but never learn the name of one of the Information Alliance's Elites. They nickname her "Oh Ho Ho" because every time she speaks she starts off with a NoblewomansLaugh.
%%* Chibi-Chibi from ''Franchise/SailorMoon''
* Nyorori from ''Anime/JuuniSenshiBakuretsuEtoRanger'' ends every sentence with his name, Nyorori.
* In the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' series, we have [[Anime/DokiDokiPrecure Ai-chan]], [[Anime/MahoGirlsPrecure Haa-chan]], [[Anime/HugttoPrettyCure Hugtan]], and [[Anime/StarTwinklePrettyCure Fuwa]], who are all named after the only words they can say when first introduced.
* Babu, Chihiro's cat whose death and subsequent zombification triggered the plot of ''Manga/{{Sankarea}}'', was named after the sound he makes, due to malformed vocal cords.
%%* Coo from ''Anime/SummerDaysWithCoo''.
* Yun in ''Manga/{{Toriko}}''. In the anime, Komatsu used the Wall Penguin chick's cry to call out for it when it got lost, and the name fell into place afterwards.
%%* Pyoro in ''Anime/{{Vandread}}''.
%%* The little draconic creature Raac [[spoiler:who turns out to be a magical spy for Borel/Krasus]] in ''Manga/WarcraftTheSunwellTrilogy.''
%%* Mone in ''Anime/{{Yumeria}}''.

* Todd Casil from ''Comicbook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac'' and the SpinOff ''Squee!'' makes a squeaking noise when he's scared, which is quite often. When he meets the AxCrazy Johnny and is asked his name, naturally the only noise he could muster up was "Squee!", which later became Johnny's nickname for him.

* The Howlibird from ''Franchise/TheSmurfs'', due to its screeching noise of "howli howli howli".

[[folder: Film - Animated]]
* Bubbles the yellow tang from ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'', who gets his name from the treasure chest-shaped aquarium decoration that periodically spouts bubbles, and his obsession with it.
* Boo in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' is a slight variant. Her real name is Mary, but she's just a baby and doesn't know how to introduce herself. 'Boo' wasn't the first word she said to Sully, but she screams it later.

[[folder: Film - Live Action]]
* The titular character from ''Film/TheBabadook'' is described in a book as announcing its arrival with a rumble and three knocks that sound "Ba BA-ba DOOK! DOOK! DOOK!"
%%* Film/{{Eegah}} in the film of the same name.
* ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'':
-->'''Henry Hill:''' ''[narrating]'' ...And Jimmy Two-Times, who got that nickname because he said everything twice, like:\\
'''Jimmy Two-Times:''' I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers.
%%* Yeah-Yeah from ''Film/TheSandlot''.
* In ''Film/TopsyTurvy'', Gilbert dubs a young Japanese woman "Miss Sixpence Please" after the only two words of English she seems to know.

* Errand from ''Literature/TheBelgariad''. His real name, given in the ''Mallorean'', is Eriond.
* Oy from ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'' series. He's a billy-bumbler, which is a talking raccoon-like creature native to Mid-World. The name comes from his attempts to say "boy".
* ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'':

* As a half-example, in the Legends of Ulm series, the protagonist, Gom, was named for the sound he made as a baby.
* In ''Literature/TheEdgeChronicles'', Twig is named his ''own name'' by a trog insistent on keeping him as a pet. Her mother insists that she won't have a pet that talks, and when Twig unthinkingly answers her question "What's your name?", he tries to make it sound like a verbal tic: "Twigtwigtwigtwig. Twigtwigtwig". The trog delightedly responds "I think I'll call him Twig."
%%* Eppon in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear''.
* In ''Literature/GoneWithTheWind'', Honey Wilkes gets her nickname from the fact that she calls everyone "from her father to the fieldhands" by that endearment.
* The main character from the ''Literature/JacobTwoTwo'' books got his nickname because, being the youngest of five siblings, he's used to say things twice since he's not noticed the first time.
* Freak the griffin from ''Literature/TheKaneChronicles'' is partly named because of his freakish behavior, and partly because of the screeching noise that he makes.
* In the ''Literature/LayerCake'' novel, the DiabolicalMastermind's bodyguard gained a habit from his SAS experience of calling everyone "Troop". Thus, he's identified as Mr. Troop (in the film, he doesn't have the habit, but is still given that name).
* Gollum from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', because of the noise he made in his throat, and Níniel (meaning "tear-maiden") in ''The Silmarillion'', after losing her memory.
* In one of the funnier parts of ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'', when the Talking Beasts adopt Uncle Andrew as a pet they name him Brandy [[INeedAFreakingDrink because he makes that noise so often]]. Unusual in that Uncle Andrew was perfectly capable of speech. The animals named him this because they couldn't understand much of the other stuff he was saying--partly because he was [[HeroicBSOD rendered rather incoherent]] by the previous events of the novel, and partly because he shut off his mind from communication.
* Gleep the baby dragon in the ''Literature/MythAdventures'' book series. In a story written from Gleep's POV it's shown that he's [[EloquentInMyNativeTongue quite intelligent and erudite]] -- the problem isn't his linguistic ability, it's that his vocal cords aren't yet capable of human speech.
** He does learn to talk more understandably in later books, however.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' has Hodor, the lovable simpleton stable hand whose only word is "Hodor". Later on, Old Nan reveals that his real name is Walder, which she thinks is [[PokemonSpeak what he's trying to say]], but few people even remember him having another name.

* Anyang! In ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'', Lucille Bluth adopts a Korean boy that doesn't speak English. He pretty much only says the word "Anyang," which means "hello" or "how do you do" in Korean, and the Bluths decide that it is actually his name. Whenever he's present and one of them mentions Anyang, he usually says his name back (because that is the polite response if they were speaking Korean). It turns out his real name is "Hel-loh."

** Chantho from the episode "Utopia" precedes everything she says with "chan" and follows it with "tho." Apparently, leaving them out is rude where she comes from.

* ''Series/GoGoSentaiBoukenger'': "ZUBAAN!"
* Count Blah from ''Series/GregTheBunny'' has an extensive vocabulary, but he's named after his Verbal Tic of saying "Blah" at the end of sentences. Which did not go well when in-universe ExecutiveMeddling made him change his name to Count A'ight, which he couldn't pronounce.
%%* Nuh-Uh from ''Film/TheLittleRascals''.
* On ''Series/StargateSG1'' there is an Unas named Chaka. Or rather, that's what Daniel calls him, 'cause that's what he says most often. There's a language barrier, you see. Later it seems that "chaka" is the Unas equivalent to "hello".

* Noodle of ''Music/{{Gorillaz}}'' learned to speak English later on, but at the time she was [[GirlInABox mailed to the other band members]], the only word of it she knew was "Noodle". So they decided to call her that.
* According to legend, Lemmy of Music/{{Motorhead}} earned his nickname as a schoolboy by constantly mooching from friends, such as with the phrase, "Lemmy a quid!"

[[folder: Tabletop RPG]]
* The famous ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' story of [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Noh Noh]]. A DM had a group of adventurers enter a room with a couple of treasures and a little girl. The girl wasn't a real person, but a magical construct who could only say two things "No" and "Please don't take these items". The players, unsure of what to do, tried to elicit more responses from her, but failed. Finally the bard tried playing a beautiful song, and rolled so high on his skill check that the DM had a single tear roll down the girl's cheek. The players immediately decide [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe she's too adorable to leave behind]] and adopt her, naming her "Noh". The DM eventually allowed her to be granted a soul and a personality (and the ability to truly speak), but the name stuck.
* A semi-related example; In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', it is an obscure fact about goblins that they are named after the noise their mother made when giving birth to them. Though there wouldn't be a whole lot of creativity going into their names anyway, considering that goblins are born in litters, (giving them their [[ZergRush iconic numbers]]) and are none too bright to begin with (giving them there [[ZergRush iconic tactics]]).
%%* KILLFRENZY, the Chaos-possessed starship from, guess it, ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}.''
* The wyrm-corrupted Black Spiral Dancers from ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' were given a new name upon completion of their first dance around the black spiral, after the first sound they made. Mostly these new names are incoherent noises of rage or distress, but one notably unfortunate individual was named ''Parrupt'', as the first sound she made did not come from her mouth...

* There was a kids' musical where the main character's only phrase was "No Fibbin'," so that's what the other characters called him. It was pretty odd.
* Nicely-Nicely Johnson from ''Theatre/GuysAndDolls'', who always says "nicely, nicely, thank you" when someone asks how he's doing.

* Nina in ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireDragonQuarter'' is named after the only sound her damaged vocal cords are capable of producing.
* Ruff from ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' is so named because after becoming human, he could only say "Ruff" (he later gains the ability to speak).
* Mitsuru from ''VideoGame/EnsembleStars'' tends to end his sentences with ''daze'', leading to Subaru nicknaming him "the ''daze-daze'' kid".

** Although Gau from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' can say quite a few words, his favorite seems to be "gau", a Japanese onomatopoeia for roaring.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' the player encounters an amnesiac Mammet when looking for Gentleman Inspector Hildebrand Manderville. Hildebrand opts to name the Mammet Gigi since that was the word it repeated when it woke up. As a bystander tries to point out that "gigigigi" is a general verbal tic for ''every'' Mammet, he gets ignored when Gigi admits he kinda likes the name.
* In the ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngelII'' trilogy, Nano-Nano Pudding ends her sentences wirh "nano da".

[[folder: Web Comics]]
* Tocsin in ''Webcomic/DragonTails'', though he eventually learned how to speak properly.

%%* [[ChromeChampion Klik]] from ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}''.

* In their playthrough of ''[[Videogame/AnotherWorld Out of This World]]'', the WebVideo/GameGrumps call Buddy the Alien "Mike Aruba" because the main thing the character says in-game is "Mycaruba."
* [[strike: Amy]] Blue in the ''WebVideo/SailorMoonAbridged'' Remix episode.

* Susan Strong on ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime''. Her first name came from her trying to say "sun", and her last name came from saying she was strong.
%%* Poof from ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' Comedy Show had Dino's nephew Pow Pow who would say his name at the end of his sentences.
* Goo in ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' got her name because her parents let her choose her name when she was born and the only thing she could say was "goo goo gaa gaa."
* The Tooky Tooky bird from ''WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle''.
--> "AH AH EE EE TOOKY TOOKY!"
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': One gnome is named "Schmebulock", which is all he ever says. Given the context (e.g., he'll say so after being asked his name or casually called by a nickname), it's intentionally ambiguous as to whether he says it to tell people his name, or if he's called that because it's all he says.
** There's actual canon supporting both hypotheses. At one point, another gnome (who, presumably, should know better) asks "Is that all you can say?" To which he replies with an embarrassed "Schmebulock." But a flashback in another episode shows the Author interviewing a gnome and being told his name is "Schmebulock... Senior." So it's probably both.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/LittleBear'' features a baby raccoon, named “Ik” by Little Bear due to only saying that sound.

** Tweety Bird in spirit - he doesn't actually tweet much, but, well, he's a canary.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', the characters call an alien Meap because [[StarfishLanguage that's the only word he says]] (so that's how he replies when they ask his name). He gets hold of a [[TranslatorMicrobes translator mustache]] at the end of the episode, though. Considering he never corrects the kids when he does speak English, and his enemy Mitch also calls him Meap, it might actually be his name.
%%* Timmy from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''

** The Japanese Cicada - [=TsukuTsuku=] Boshi.

** The Quagga (an extinct relative of the zebra) was said to be named after its call (or the Khoikhoi word for zebra)
*** South Africa has plenty more where that came from: tok-tokies (beetles that make that 'tok-tok' sound by thumping the ground with their abdomens), the Hadeda (an ibis that makes that call - a lot), repeating words like "now-now" for emphasis in common speech...

* The Greeks thought that the languages of everyone beyond their borders sounded like "Bar bar bar bar bar"--hence, barbarians. (Barbaros if you're talking to an ancient Athenian.)