Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context NamesToRunAwayFrom / NotoriousKillers

Go To

1!![[center: '''Sandbox.NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast''']][[center: [-'''Single Words:''' NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Adjectives}} (NamesToRunAwayFrom/TheAdjectiveOne) | NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Nouns}} (NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Animal}} | NamesToRunAwayFrom/BodyPart | NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Colors}} | NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Weapons}}) | NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Verbs}} | NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Titles}} (NamesToRunAwayFrom/NounX | NamesToRunAwayFrom/ThePerson)-]]] [[center: [-'''Etymology:'''NamesToRunAwayFrom/AncientDeadLanguages | NamesToRunAwayFrom/ForeignLanguageNames-]]] [[center: [-'''Named After:''' NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Conquerors}} | '''Notorious Killers''' | NamesToRunAwayFrom/RedneckNames | NamesToRunAwayFrom/ReligiousNames (NamesToRunAwayFrom/BiblicalNames | NamesToRunAwayFrom/DemonsOrAngels) | NamesToRunAwayFrom/ShadyNames-]]] [[center: [-'''Sounds and Letters:''' NamesToRunAwayFrom/KNames | NamesToRunAwayFrom/{{Mor}} | NamesToRunAwayFrom/NamesEndingInTh | NamesToRunAwayFrom/RNames | NamesToRunAwayFrom/XtremeKoolLetterz | NamesToRunAwayFrom/UnpronouncableNames-]]] [[center: [-'''Various:''' NamesToRunAwayFrom/MixAndMatch]]-]
2
3A form of NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast.
4
5If a character has either the first ''or'' last name of a noted criminal, real or fictional, it's a good sign they're headed towards a life of crime themselves. If their name is followed by "the" and a violent-sounding verb (like UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper or [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist Barry the Chopper]]), then they're almost certainly a SerialKiller.
6
7GunmanWithThreeNames is a subtrope characters referred to by three names, likely a killer or dangerous sort, based on the examples of John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, James Earl Ray, and Mark David Chapman, famous assassins.
8There were also enough people named {{Cain|AndAbel}} or variants that it got [[NameOfCain its own article]] as well.
9
10See also NamedAfterSomebodyFamous, and TheButcher.
11
12----
13!!Examples:
14
15[[foldercontrol]]
16
17[[folder:Adolf Hitler]]
18"Hitler" almost never appears per se, being an already very rare variant of "Hiedler," but variants such as that, "Hiller," "Hidler," and "Hibler" are. "Adolf" (and its ''slightly'' less stigmatized variant, "Adolph") is still seen, especially in period pieces, to evoke a kind of RetroactiveRecognition.
19
20[[AC: Anime and Manga]]
21* Adolf Anime/{{K}}. Weismann, born in Germany just around the time that ''that'' one started to become prominent. He seems to be a [[WhiteHairBlackHeart huge pileup]] of [[ManOfWealthAndTaste villain tropes]], down to the name, [[spoiler: but it turns out he's really one of the nicest, sweetest people ever, just body-snatched by the villain.]] Goes by "Adi" to his sister and to most people, but [[spoiler: even after he returns to his original body, his Clansmen still call him by the name they knew him by]].
22
23[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
24* Averted: In the children's book ''Literature/{{Heidi}}'', written long before World War II, Heidi's kind, lonely grandfather is named Adolf.
25* Adolf is actually used in the novel ''Evil Genius''. One of the villains is named Adolf Hauser. To make matters worse, he's actually nicknamed "The Fuhrer" and teaches at the Axis Institute, a school for future supervillains. May be a case of RefugeInAudacity. Oddly enough, he's ''not'' the BigBad.
26
27[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
28* Distortions of Hitler's name, especially "Hiller", are featured in works ranging from ''Series/WhosTheBoss'' to Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''The Martian Way''. In these cases, these people are shown to be Hitler {{Expy}}s either in-universe or by WordOfGod.
29
30[[AC:Other]]
31* There is a clothing line called ''[[http://adolfo.com/ Adolfo]]'' that was created by Adolfo Sardina.
32
33[[AC:VideoGames]]
34* Dolph from ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'' may qualify, though.
35* The video game ''VideoGame/VandalHearts'' pulls a double whammy with the BigBad Dolf Crowley. In fact, ''Vandal Hearts'' is full of these--it also has an antagonistic character named Hel Spites and his son, [[NameOfCain Kain]].
36
37[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
38* Dolph, one of the bullies on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
39** Interestingly, Dolph is Jewish. He's even in Hebrew school.
40** Also, one of Mr. Burns' vicious hounds is named Hitler. Ironically, when seen, he's a ''very'' old dog, and not vicious anymore, although Mr. Burns fondly remembers when he was young and "bagged his first hippie".
41* Dolf The Crow, the sort-of BigBad from the Dutch TV-Show ''WesternAnimation/AlfredJKwak'' was a halfbreed of a crow and a blackbird, spoke in a German accent, turned evil, started a political party with a banner obviously similar to the Nazi flag. He also attempts world domination a few times, and all this while wearing a Napoleon-like attire.
42
43[[AC:RealLife]]
44* Before the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, Adolf was one of the most popular names that German parents chose for a baby boy. After the end of World War II, very few parents [[JustForFun/OneMarioLimit in Germany named their son Adolf any more.]] (And many German men suddenly started to use the nickname "Adi".)
45* Creator/DolphLundgren, too, maybe.
46[[/folder]]
47
48[[folder:Brutus]]
49The name gets negative connotations from two different directions: 1) it evokes "[[TheBrute brute]]", i.e. a coarse, bestial person prone to "brutal" violence; 2) it is the name of UsefulNotes/MarcusJuniusBrutus, one of the leading men in the assassination of UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar. The fact that Brutus also was a protegé of Caesar and enjoyed his trust has associated the name not only with murder, but also with betrayal.
50
51To the Romans, the name was neither ominous nor menacing, because 1) it is also the name of Lucius Junius Brutus who ousted Tarquin the Proud and established UsefulNotes/{{the Roman Republic}}, a Roman national hero; 2) its actual meaning is "stupid".
52
53[[AC:FanWorks]]
54* Brutus Meadows in ''Fanfic/ThePowerOfTheEquinox'' is an alcoholic {{jerkass}} as well as Scootaloo's [[AbusiveParents abusive foster father]]. [[spoiler:He kills his gambler wife Vibrant Glow when the earful she gives him for driving Scootaloo away causes him to snap, and [[HeKnowsTooMuch when Cheerilee discovers this, he attempts to kill her]] as well.]]
55
56[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
57* Brutus, the handsome but idiotic King of Bebba's Town from the sequels of ''Literature/TheSeaOfTrolls''.
58* Subverted with prison guard Brutus "Brutal" Howell in ''Literature/TheGreenMile''. A big man, but not as dangerous as his name or nickname implies. (Unless you're a recalcitrant new inmate.)
59* [[http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Brutus_Malfoy Brutus Malfoy]], referenced in ''Literature/TheTalesOfBeedleTheBard''. [[JerkAss/{{Literature}} Someone]] [[Literature/HarryPotter had to pave the way.]]
60** And Brutus [[ViolentGlaswegian Scrimgeour]], cited in ''Literature/QuidditchThroughTheAges'' as the author of ''The Beaters' Bible''.
61* General Brutus Brute Clay from ''Literature/{{COLD}}'', a high ranking member in the eponymous organization.
62
63[[AC:{{Theatre}}]]
64* Brutus Jones, the VillainProtagonist of ''Theatre/TheEmperorJones''.
65
66[[AC:VideoGames]]
67* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', [[http://www.wowpedia.org/Brutus Brutus]] the [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Golem pirate]].
68
69[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
70* Brutus/Bluto from the ''Franchise/{{Popeye}}'' cartoon.
71* Brutus, the psychotic, hulking guard rat from ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNimh''
72* Bruticus, a particularly, um, brutal CombiningMecha in ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''
73* Brutaka from ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}''.
74* In ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'', the villain has two pet alligators named Brutus and Nero. See above.
75[[/folder]]
76
77[[folder:Hawley]]
78Was the first name of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Crippen Dr. Crippen]], a murderer famous in Britain.
79
80[[AC:ComicBooks]]
81* In ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'', Creator/AlanMoore gave this name to the Invisible Man, identifying him as Hawley Griffin. Not only is this a PunnyName kind of like Jackson Ripper, but it foreshadows "dangerous to women" - Crippen murdered his wife, while Griffin is a SerialRapist.
82
83[[AC:{{Theatre}}]]
84* Hawley was the name of the villain of the musical ''Rose-Marie''.
85
86[[AC:WebOriginal]]
87* ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest's'' Hawley Faust.
88[[/folder]]
89
90[[folder:Jack the Ripper]]
91
92[[AC:Anime and Manga]]
93* Jack the Ripper from ''Manga/BlackClover'' likes to slice up strong foes, using Severing Magic to cut anything to ribbons.
94
95[[AC:{{Film}}]]
96* The villain in ''Film/RedEye'' is named Jackson Rippner. He even [[LampshadeHanging notes the connotations]], and why he never goes by the name Jack.
97* [[GeneralRipper General Jack D. Ripper]], in ''Film/DrStrangelove'' is even more directly based on Jack the Ripper.
98
99[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
100* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Ripper, who, even 30 years later and much more mellow, is still quite dangerous (technically, he killed Glory/Ben, which means he killed a Hellgod).
101
102[[AC:VideoGames]]
103* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' has a unique Ripper chainsaw named Jack.
104* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'': Raiden, whose first name is Jack, was called "Jack the Ripper" during his days as a (very effective) child soldier during the First Liberian Civil War. In ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance]]'', he succumbs to his repressed bloodlust and rage, which unlocks "[[AxCrazy Ripper]] [[SuperMode Mode]]" in-game, increasing damage dealt and causing every attack to break armor and dismember enemies.
105
106[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]
107* In ''Webcomic/MiscellaneousError'', the main character is named Jack D. Ripper. The [[http://miscerror.thecomicseries.com/comics/7 first comic that mentions his last name]] references both the serial killer and the character from ''Film/DrStrangelove''.
108
109[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
110* ''WesternAnimation/SittingDucks'' had Quack the Ripper, who is an {{expy}} of Jack the Ripper. He is the boogeyman of Swampwood due to the fact that he is a demon duck who eats alligators, and unlike regular ducks, has ''[[ToothyBird fangs]]!''
111[[/folder]]
112
113[[folder:Lucrezia]]
114Because of Lucrezia Borgia (1480-1519), imagined by posterity as a master poisoner (a probably entirely undeserved reputation).
115
116[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
117* Lucrezia Noin from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing''
118
119[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
120* Lucrezia Borgia is a character in Gregory Maguire's novel "Mirror, Mirror".
121* In ''Literature/GoingPostal'', Adora Belle Dearheart's stiletto shoes are in a style called "Pretty Lucrezia." It fits the trope despite not being the name of a person, because she uses them to attack a drunk (and in TheFilmOfTheBook, Moist ''himself'', with whom her relationship is more SlapSlapKiss than in the novel) and delivers a line about how she doesn't know if she can press them straight to the floor, but is willing to try.
122
123[[AC:{{Music}}]]
124* Lucrecia [=McEvil=] from an Music/EarthWindAndFire song. Also an example of ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
125
126[[AC:TabletopGames]]
127* Lucrezzia Belladona (belladonna is a type of poison), a mercenary poisoner (and husband killer!) from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}''.
128
129[[AC:VideoGames]]
130* The VideoGame/{{Zork}} parody of Lucrezia Borgia counterpart Lucrezia Flathead
131* A slight variation of the name: Lucrecia from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''
132
133[[AC:WebComics]]
134* Lucrezia Mongfish from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', who before she married a hero was an evil scientist. She also [[AmbiguousSituation is either]] ''in league with'' or perhaps outright ''is'' "the Other" (the elusive BigBad of the setting).
135
136[[/folder]]
137
138[[folder:Victor Frankenstein]]
139The morally ambivalent protagonist of the classic Gothic novel ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}''. However, while his creation was a murderer, Dr. Frankenstein himself was not.
140
141[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
142* Frankenstein: Franky in ''Franchise/OnePiece''
143* Manga/FrankenFran herself may never be referred to as explicitly as her name is given in the title, but...
144* Dr. Franken Stein, an obvious reference in ''Manga/SoulEater''
145
146[[AC:ComicBooks]]
147* The real name of Creator/{{Marvel}} villain Doctor Doom is Victor von [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom Doom]].
148
149[[AC:{{Film}}]]
150* Casanova Frankenstein was used as the villain of ''Film/MysteryMen'' just because of his awesome name.
151
152[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
153* Agent Franks of ''Literature/MonsterHunterInternational'' was a bad guy but eventually pulled a HeelFaceTurn and just became a major Badass.
154
155[[AC:{{Music}}]]
156* [[MyNaymeIs Viktor]] Vaughn, the sinister street criminal and star of MF DOOM's ConceptAlbum ''Vaudeville Villain''.
157
158[[AC:VideoGames]]
159* Victor: Victor von Gerdenheim in ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}''
160
161[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
162* Doctor Vicktor (Benvictor as well) in ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}''.
163* (Icky) Vicky from ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents.''
164* Victor Frankenstein from ''WesternAnimation/{{Frankenweenie}}''.
165
166[[AC:RealLife]]
167* Some hikers remark that "[[http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/FrankensteinCliff_0000.asp Frankenstein Cliff]]" was a tough trail. Seriously, people, [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace with a name like that]], you didn't see it coming?
168[[/folder]]
169
170[[folder:Leopold and Loeb]]
171Two college students who thought they were smart enough to plan and carry out a murder without getting caught. Their attorney Clarence Darrow became famous for his sentencing defense against the death penalty.
172
173[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
174* ''Series/DharmaAndGreg'': In one episode, Dharma mentions that Greg calls her breasts Leopold and Loeb because "they're a couple of killers."
175* ''Series/GilmoreGirls'': A OneShotCharacter mentioned his pet dobermans were named Leopold and Loeb.
176
177[[/folder]]
178
179[[folder:Mordred]]
180Who killed King Arthur, does a double whammy, crossing into the '''Mor names''' category.
181
182[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
183* Mordred Deschain in ''Franchise/TheDarkTower''.
184[[/folder]]
185
186[[folder:Ruthven]]
187The name of a Scottish noble family, pronounced "Rivven," whose members were involved in several conspiracies in the late 16th century. Their surname was banned for several decades after the Gowrie Conspiracy of 1600.
188
189[[AC:ComicBooks]]
190* Ruthven Sykes, a member of the cabal that imprisons Morpheus in the first part of ''[[ComicBook/TheSandman The Sandman]]''.
191
192[[AC:{{Film}}]]
193* Captain Ruthven from ''Film/{{Byzantium}}''.
194
195[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
196* Lord Ruthven, the vampire of ''Literature/TheVampyre''.
197
198[[AC:{{Theatre}}]]
199* In ''Theatre/{{Ruddigore}}'', the mild-mannered Robin Oakapple is revealed to be Sir Ruthven Murgatroyd, one of Ruddigore's line of Bad Baronets.
200[[/folder]]
201
202[[folder:Saint-Just]]
203Might not sound like a threatening name, unless you happen to have studied the French Revolution, where the original was the guy in charge of the original ReignOfTerror. You know, where they chopped off all those people's heads.
204
205[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
206* Creator/DavidWeber has a habit of throwing him into his books, including the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series, and a mention in Crusader.
207[[/folder]]
208
209[[folder:Stalin]]
210After the infamous UsefulNotes/{{Soviet|RussiaUkraineAndSoOn}} dictator UsefulNotes/JosefStalin.
211
212[[AC:{{Film}}]]
213* Fran Stalinoskovichdavidovichski in ''Film/DodgeballATrueUnderdogStory'' who can knock out and possibly kill a man with one throw of a dodgeball.
214
215[[AC:RealLife]]
216* The Katyusha multiple rocket launcher was nicknamed "Stalin's organ" by the Germans in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII partly because the missile racks resembled a church organ, but also because of the terrible howling noise and destruction they caused.
217* Giant hogweed, also known as "Stalin's revenge," grows as fast as [[AlienKudzu kudzu]], and its sap is a potent, insidious, slow-acting poison causing burns like mustard gas! It can kill kids who don't know better and tamper with it. It's also fifteen feet tall and grows in massive growths of hazardous shrubbery, like some toxic alien jungle. You have to wear a hazmat suit if you want to clear a patch of this plant monster. Fun fact: it's also related to poison hemlock, also known as "that plant they used to kill Creator/{{Socrates}}."
218[[/folder]]
219
220[[folder:Others]]
221
222[[AC:Anime and Manga]]
223* Grell Sutcliff of ''Anime/BlackButler'' has a slightly altered version of the surname of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sutcliffe Peter Sutcliffe]], also known as The Yorkshire Ripper. Appropriate, considering Grell is [[spoiler:one half of this universe's version of Jack The Ripper]].
224* Ted Chikatilo of ''Manga/KillerKiller'' gets a double dose by having his name reference two different serial killers: Ted Bundy and Andrei Chikatilo.
225
226[[AC: Comic Books]]
227* Creator/DCComics shapeshifting villain Everyman is named for two fictional ones: Hannibal Bates for [[Film/SilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]] and [[Film/{{Psycho}} Norman Bates.]]
228
229[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
230* Jesse St. James from ''Series/{{Glee}}'' -- named after Jesse James, obviously.
231* Retroactive aversion: Ralph Hinkley on ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero'' was renamed Ralph Hanley after a man with the name Hinkley attempted to assassinate President Reagan.
232* In ''Series/{{Hannibal}}'', like Grell Dr. Donald Sutcliffe shares his name with the aforementioned Peter Sutcliffe, and is friends with The Chesepeake Ripper [[spoiler:aka Hannibal]].
233* ''Series/RedDwarf'': Queeg is also used for the computer that [[TyrantTakesTheHelm temporarily replaces]] Holly. [[spoiler: He's actually Holly trying to teach the crew to apprectiate him more]].
234* The future humans in ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' really should have known better than to give [[spoiler: the Terminator captain of a submarine]] the name [[Literature/TheCaineMutiny Queeg]], even if they thought it was funny.
235
236[[AC:WebComics]]
237* ''Webcomic/SeventySeas'' has sister Mary Mendele, MadScientist and MadDoctor.
238
239[[AC:{{Film}}]]
240* [[Film/ChildsPlay Charles Lee Ray]] - UsefulNotes/CharlesManson, Lee Harvey Oswald, and James Earl Ray.
241* At least three comedy-westerns over the years have named a villainous gunslinger "Slade": ''Film/TheVillain'', ''Film/EvilRoySlade'' and ''Film/TheGreatBankRobbery''. This might have been inspired by the RealLife western gunslinger [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Alfred_Slade Joseph Alfred Slade]].
242* In ''Film/KillBill'', one target in the Bride's RoaringRampageOfRevenge--played by Creator/LucyLiu--is named O-Ren Ishii, the same surname as a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shir%C5%8D_Ishii scientist]] infamous for his gruesome experiments on human subjects in service of UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan.
243
244[[AC: Music]]
245* Music/MarilynManson's "gimmick" for stage names was to take the first name of an iconic female sex symbol and the last name of a notorious SerialKiller and combine the two. In his case, he combined Creator/MarilynMonroe with Charles Manson; the rest of his original band (which was called Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids until 1992) did the same. (The stage names of the original members who did this were Daisy Berkowitz, Olivia Newton Bundy, Zsa Zsa Speck, Gidget Gein, Sara Lee Lucas, Madonna Wayne Gacy, Twiggy Ramirez, and Ginger Fish. Members who joined after 1996 did not do so.
246
247[[AC:VideoGames]]
248* Fawkes, the renegade Super Mutant in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', after British terrorist Guy Fawkes.
249* A hitman in ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth 2'' has the first name Sirhan (in the FanTranslation), after the assassin who killed Robert F. Kennedy.
250
251[[AC:WebOriginal]]
252* ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' v4's Aileen Borden, who shares parts of her name with ''two'' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aileen_Wuornos female]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizzie_Borden murderers]]. Subverted in that, ironically enough, Aileen is a [[KnightInSourArmor cranky yet good intentioned]] UnwittingPawn of Aaron Hughes whose one kill is a set-up by the latter.
253
254[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
255* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' has Amon, possibly named after Nazi war criminal Amon Goeth.
256
257[[/folder]]
258

Top