History MeaningfulName / Theatre

* Know Latin? ''Theatre/AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum'' has everyone's role in their name if you know Latin. The clever slave, the braggert, the old man, the hero, the love interest, dominating mother? Pseudolus, MilesGloriosus, Senex, Hero, Philia, Domina.

* A character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''Theatre/PhantomOfTheOpera'' is surnamed 'Piangi' (tears).

* In CommediaDellArte, characters are usually named after a specific {{stock character}} they are portraying, which is why so many characters from the different plays of this genre [[NamesTheSame carry the same name.]]

* Creator/WilliamShakespeare had gems like "[[Theatre/TheWintersTale Perdita]]" ("lost", for a DoorstopBaby), "[[Theatre/{{Cymbeline}} Iachimo]]" ("little Iago". Iago was the villain in ''Othello''; Iachimo was... well, a slightly less evil version of the same character.), "Bianca" ("white" -- used twice, once [[Theatre/TheTamingOfTheShrew played straight]], [[Theatre/{{Othello}} once]] for a [red lady, "[[Theatre/{{Cymbeline}} Posthumous]]" ("Dude, your father just died!")...
** You could write essays on this. In fact, people have! Other names include [[Theatre/TheTempest Miranda]], which Shakespeare coined, and which is supposed to have a connotation with wondering or admiring - and Miranda wonders at everything around her, and provokes wonder wherever she goes. Ariel is airy, Caliban connotes "Cannibal," it goes on. Juliet is so named because she was born in July (the Nurse mentions it), and it also suggests a precocious nature; Falstaff is not to be relied on, etc....
** In ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' two of the characters names reflect their personalities. Benvolio is a kind and benevolent character, while Mercutio had a mercurial and fiery nature. The two title characters might also be examples: "Romeo" means "pilgrim to Rome" and he describes himself as a pilgrim worshiping the "saint" and "angel" that is Juliet, while Juliet, as mentioned above, was born in July and accordingly has a passionate, "summery" nature.
** And along similar lines, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast MALvolio]] in ''Theatre/TwelfthNight''.
** Tybalt shares the name of the prince of cats in the ''Literature/ReynardTheFox'' stories, and Mercutio mocks him for this throughout the story. Like most cats, Tybalt is rather pissy and aggressive, and like this specific other Tybalt he's also argumentative but easily outwitted.
** Iago is a derivative of Jacob which means 'supplanter', which makes sense given his entire mission is to usurp Othello.
* Lucy The Slut in ''Theatre/AvenueQ'' (a video screen at one point shows that her name is actually Slut, Lucy The).
** Rod. In a comic sense, he plays the straight man in the scenes with his roommate Nicky, and in the technical sense his puppet is constructed with a single control rod. Also subverted, however, in that [[spoiler: despite all the "straight" connotations to his name, he is in fact secretly gay]].
* Know latin? ''Theatre/AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum'' has everyone's role in their name if you know latin. The clever slave, the braggert, the old man, the hero, the love interest, dominating mother? Pseudolus, MilesGloriosus, Senex, Hero, Philia, Domina.

* In the 1923 Broadway musical ''The Stepping Stones'', the principal female character was named Rougette Hood; naturally, everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood ("Rougette" being the diminutive of the French word for "red"). The villain was named [[TheBigBadWolf Otto De Wolfe]], and his associates were named Remus and Lupina.
* ''Theatre/{{Urinetown}}'' doesn't get really specific, but TheHero's name is Bobby '''Strong''' and the female ingenue's is '''[[WideEyedIdealist Hope]]''' Cladwell.
** Not to mention her father, rich businessman Caldwell B. Cladwell ("Caldwell is well-dressed"), whose wealth and style contrast with the miserable poor he keeps in virtual financial slavery, and the money-grubbing-by-necessity Penelope "Penny" Pennywise.
* The principal in ''Theatre/ZombieProm'' is named Miss Strict.
* Willy Loman of ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman'' is very much the "low man" on the totem pole of life.
* A character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''Theatre/PhantomOfTheOpera'' is surnamed 'Piangi' (tears).
* ''Theatre/WaitingForGodot'': Not sure about Vladimir and Pozzo, but Estragon is French for "parsley"--as in a garnish without substance that makes things look nice. Lucky, on the other hand, is decidedly not lucky.

* A short play titled "The Play Called Noah's Flood" centers around a tiny medieval village trying to put on a morality play as part of a competition with neighboring towns. Many of the characters' names are appropriate for the [[ShowWithinAShow characters they play,]] particularly those representing the SevenDeadlySins: Hester Mountamous plays Gluttony, Laggard Slog is Sloth, Lascivia Sly represents Lust, Yerna Covetine is Envy, and so on.
* A very stealthy example in ''Theatre/TheAddamsFamily'': Wednesday's allegedly normal fiance, who causes her to feel unwelcome emotions like happiness and love, is named Lucas- which derives from the Latin word for "light." Less pointed examples are his parents' names: Mal ("bad," the strict, conservative, workaholic father) and Alice ("noble," the put-upon but accepting and supporting mother).
* In ''Theatre/TheDuchessOfMalfi'', the husband of the Cardinal's mistress is an old lord named Castuccio, Italian for castrated, or impotent.
* In Creator/DorothyLSayers' ''Theatre/TheEmperorConstantine'', Flavius tells Helena that he named his youngest daughter Anastasia, after the Christian belief that in the resurrection there would be no marriages -- and therefore no political divorces.

* In "The Somonyng of Everyman" ("The summoning of Everyman"), every character has a Meaningful Name - Death, Everyman, and Good Deeds, to name a few.
** This also makes this Trope OlderThanSteam, though it likely dates back even further.

* Magda from ''Theatre/TanzDerVampire'' is the maid at the inn, and her full name is Magdalein. "Mägdelein" is the German word for "servant".
* Rosa delle Rose in ''Theatre/TheRoseTattoo''. The Italian meaning of her name is "rose of roses"; Estelle Hohengarten, after looking over her, tells her, "You're a twig off the old rose-bush."

* In ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' two of the characters names reflected their personalities. Benvolio was a kind and benevolent character while Mercutio had a mercurial and fiery nature.

* In Creator/JohannWolfgangVonGoethe's ''{{Faust}} II'', there are three strongmen (sent by Mephistopheles, so probably demons) named Raufebold ("ruffian"; he's a young BloodKnight), Habebald ("will have soon"; medium-aged, he wants to make booty in the war more than fight) and Haltefest ("hold tight"; he's old and prefers to keep what he has). And the sutler woman Eilebeute ("hurry for the booty"). Then again, [[AllThereInTheManual their names aren't used in the dialogue]].

* Literature/WaitingForGodot: Not sure about Vladimir and Pozzo, but Estragon is French for "parsley"--as in a garnish without substance that makes things look nice. Lucky, on the other hand, is decidedly not lucky.

* In Creator/JohannWolfgangVonGoethe's ''{{Faust}} II'', there are three strongmen (sent by Mephistopheles, so probably demons) named Raufebold ("ruffian"; he's a young BloodKnight), Habebald ("will have soon"; medium-aged, he wants to make booty in the war more than fight) and Haltefest ("hold tight"; he's old and prefers to keep what he has). And the sutler woman Eilebeute ("hurry for the booty"). Then again, [[AllInTheManual their names aren't used in the dialogue]].

* Rosa delle Rose ''Theatre/TheRoseTattoo''. The Italian meaning of her name is "rose of roses"; Estelle Hohengarten, after looking over her, tells her, "You're a twig off the old rose-bush."

* In DorothyLSayers's ''Theatre/TheEmperorConstantine'', Flavius tells Helena that he named his youngest daughter Anastasia, after the Christian belief that in the resurrection there would be no marriages -- and therefore no political divorces.

* In ''RomeoAndJuliet'' two of the characters names reflected their personalities. Benvolio was a kind and benevolent character while Mercutio had a mercurial and fiery nature.

** Tybalt shares the name of the prince of cats in the ReynardTheFox stories, and Mercutio mocks him for this throughout the story. Like most cats, Tybalt is rather pissy and aggressive, and like this specific other Tybalt he's also argumentative but easily outwitted.

* Know latin? ''AFunnyThingHappenedOnTheWayToTheForum'' has everyone's role in their name if you know latin. The clever slave, the braggert, the old man, the hero, the love interest, dominating mother? Pseudolus, MilesGloriosus, Senex, Hero, Philia, Domina.
* Prior Walter, the main character of ''AngelsInAmerica'':

* The principal in ''ZombieProm'' is named Miss Strict.
* Willy Loman of ''DeathOfASalesman'' is very much the "low man" on the totem pole of life.
* A character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''Phantom of the Opera'' is surnamed 'Piangi' (tears).
* WaitingForGodot: Not sure about Vladimir and Pozzo, but Estragon is French for "parsley"--as in a garnish without substance that makes things look nice. Lucky, on the other hand, is decidedly not lucky.

* In JohannWolfgangVonGoethe's ''{{Faust}} II'', there are three strongmen (sent by Mephistopheles, so probably demons) named Raufebold ("ruffian"; he's a young BloodKnight), Habebald ("will have soon"; medium-aged, he wants to make booty in the war more than fight) and Haltefest ("hold tight"; he's old and prefers to keep what he has). And the sutler woman Eilebeute ("hurry for the booty"). Then again, [[AllInTheManual their names aren't used in the dialogue]].

** This also makes this Trope OlderThanSteam, though it likely dates back even further

* In the 1923 Broadway musical ''The Stepping Stones'', the principal female character was Rougette Hood, whom everyone called Little Red Riding Hood (naturally). [[TheBigBadWolf The villain]] was named Otto De Wolfe, and his associates were named Remus and Lupina.