History AwesomeMcCoolname / LiveActionTV

* ''Series/{{Hunter}}'': You probably couldn't pick a better name for a CowboyCop than Rick Hunter.

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWho2023CSTheChurchOnRubyRoad The Church on Ruby Road]]" has Lulubelle, an infant who Carla Sunday and her daughter Ruby are fostering. While they think it's a [[WhoNamesTheirkidDude ridiculous]] name, the Doctor wishes aloud that ''he'' was named Lulubelle.

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS39E4FluxChapterFourVillageOfTheAngels Village of the Angels]]" introduces Professor Eustacius Jericho. The Doctor lampshades how awesome his name sounds.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' gives us Richard Creator/{{Edgar|AllanPoe}} "Rick" Castle and his daughter Alexis Castle. Castle's birth name is actually Richard Alexander Rodgers. He legally changed his name because he liked "Castle" better and was a big fan of Poe.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': [[Recap/DoctorWhoS39E4VillageOfTheAngels "Village of the Angels"]] introduces Professor Eustacius Jericho. The Doctor lampshades how awesome his name sounds.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' gives us Richard Creator/{{Edgar|AllanPoe}} "Rick" Castle and his daughter Alexis Castle, as well [[spoiler: as the new captain]] Victoria Gates (better known as "Iron Gates"). Castle's birth name is actually Richard Alexander Rodgers. He legally changed his name because he liked "Castle" better and was a big fan of Poe.

* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfBriscoCountyJr''. 'Nuff said.
* ''Series/{{Airwolf}}'' seems to enjoy this trope with Stringfellow and Saint John (pronounced Sinjin) Hawke. Also, Dominic Santini, as well as Robert Winchester and Dr. Norris.
** Let's not forget Michael Coldsmith-Briggs III who was so awesome he also had to add in a code-name, Archangel.
* ''Series/AllThat'': Randy Quench, VOLENTEEAH FIAHMAN.

* ''Series/TheATeam'' has Bosco Barracus.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': the Shadows think their name is so cool because it is one thousand syllables long and cannot be pronounced by you puny mortals. Then, the Shadows get surprised and angry that we puny mortals keep on calling them "Shadows".
* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' has an entire crew's worth of Awesome [=McCoolnames=], starting with William and Lee Adama, Kara Thrace, Karl Agathon, Galen Tyrol, Felix Gaeta, Sharon Valerii, Anastasia Dualla, Billy Keikeya, Diana Seelix (the last being made-up on the spot by Aaron Douglas for a previously nameless character), Gaius Baltar and Admiral Helena Cain. And that's not even counting the pilot callsigns, which qualify for RedBaron territory.

* Sam Axe in ''Series/BurnNotice''. Sam believes that Chuck Finley is also an example.
* Frank Cannon from ''Series/{{Cannon}}''.
* The titular character in ''Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture'' was actually named Jonathan Power. And he held the rank of Captain.
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' gives us Richard Creator/{{Edgar|AllanPoe}} "Rick" Castle and his daughter Alexis Castle, as well [[spoiler: as the new captain]] Victoria Gates (better known as "Iron Gates"). Castle's birth name is actually Richard Alexander Rodgers. He legally changed his name because he liked "Castle" better and was a big fan of Poe.
* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', as an AffectionateParody of the spy genre, is of course rife with these. Among others:
** Roan Montgomery; seduction specialist and one of the show's ''many'' spoofs on Bond.
** While Chuck Bartowski may not qualify, his CIA alter ego Charles Carmichael certainly does.
** Cole Barker
** Kieran Ryker, Sarah's ex-handler.
** Nicholas Quinn, the series's final BigBad.

** On one ''Colbert Report'' (the one with Jeff Bridges), a name on the ticker of donators was "Ace [=McAwesome=]".
* Magnetic Attitude on ''Series/{{Community}}''. A.K.A. Magnitude.

* Jeff Slade, the stupidly macho-named detective from the short-lived nice-idea-but-appallingly-executed ''Series/CrimeTraveller''. As if the character name wasn't bad enough he was also cursed with being played by an ex-soap actor with a charisma bypass -- thus making the character even harder to take seriously.

* ''Series/DeadliestWarrior'' seemed to attract people like this. There's presenters Max Geiger and Geoffrey ''Thor'' Desmoulin, Rajput expert ''Gugun Deep Singh'', Apache expert ''Snake Blocker'' and Crazy Horse expert ''Moses Brings Plenty'' (both of these guys are also examples of BadassNative)... Probably the best example is the Cartel expert, ''[[Film/TheGodfather Michael Corleone]]'' Blanco.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The Doctor. [[MeaningfulRename Not their real name]], still awesome.
** Most Time Lords have cool names such as Romanadvoratrelundar, or "Romana" for short. She'd prefer Fred. The Meddling Monk and the Master also count for this trope.
*** The Doctor's real name is still a mystery, but the Twelfth Doctor says in [[Recap/DoctorWho2017CSTwiceUponATime "Twice Upon a Time"]] that their name can only be heard by children, "if their hearts are in the right place, and the stars are too." Sounds cool, but it's not hard to understand [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard why they changed it]].
** Before they chose their current name, the Doctor was nicknamed "Theta Sigma", a nickname originating from the Academy. The Master's Academy nickname was "Koschei".
** [[TheBrigadier Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.]]
** A villainous example is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E7TheLongGame the Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe!]] [[note]] Or Max for short. [[/note]]
** Captain Jack Harkness, although "Captain Jack" on its own is cool enough! (Even if it isn't his ''[[NoNameGiven real]]'' name!)
** And played with in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E8HumanNature "Human Nature"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E9TheFamilyOfBlood "The Family of Blood"]]. John Smith dreams of a man called the Doctor — Nurse Redfern says it's a personification of his desire to be a dashing hero. The twist being that the Doctor is his ''true'' self.
** The Eleventh Doctor [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E11TheLodger once aliased]] as Captain Troy Handsome of [[Series/{{Thunderbirds}} International Rescue]].
** '''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E12ClosingTime Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All]]''', the name that a baby gave himself. His parents call him "Alfie".
** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS39E4VillageOfTheAngels "Village of the Angels"]] introduces Professor Eustacius Jericho. The Doctor lampshades how awesome his name sounds.

* After Phoebe marries Mike on ''Series/{{Friends}}'', she goes to legally change her last name to his... and instead changes her name to [[HilarityEnsues Princess Consuela Bananahammock]]. She doesn't see what the problem is until Mike threatens to change his name to Crap Bag ("It's easy to remember, just think of a bag of crap.").
* In a world of fantasy, like ''Series/GameOfThrones'', it's standard. For every Ned, Robert, Jon, Sam, or Jaime there's a Daenerys, Tyrion, Theon, Salladhor Saan, or Daario. Salladhor Saan is acknowledged as such -- "Salladhor Saan is a good name for songs."
* Maxwell Smart of ''Series/GetSmart'' -- done as a parody and pun.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'': There are a few cool names (like Emma Pillsbury, Sugar Motta, Bryan Ryan, Holly Holliday) and also ironic ones like a future Broadway star whose name is Harmony. There's also Chord Overstreet (yes, that's his real name!) who plays a main character. Ironically, the character he plays has one of the most generic names possible: Sam Evans.
* The ''Clash of the Titans'' round of ''Series/GoodNewsWeek'' sees contestants use their names as buzzers. Often they choose cooler names instead. Examples include "Demon Dawg", "Adam Barrington Spencer" and "We'd like some more honey prawns at this table, please!"
* ''Series/TheGreatBritishBakeOff'': Yes, the judges' names are really Mary Berry (actually, Mary-Rosa Alleyne Berry) and Paul Hollywood.
* Kono Kalakaua from ''Series/HawaiiFive0''.
* ''Series/HorribleHistories'' has original character Peregrine Thoroughgood and a portrayal of real-life figure Jasper Maskelyne in the same [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBlPEcSuEfQ sketch]].
* British drama ''Series/TheHour'': war correspondent ''Lix Storm''. (She lives up to it.)
* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': Ted Mosby, having met a guy who calls himself TheCaptain, decides to name himself Galactic President Superstar [=McAwesomeville=]. To his credit, TheCaptain likes the name and uses it for Ted for the rest of the episode, not even missing a beat which helps make his affectations likeable.
** An earlier episode has Marshall and Lily discuss changing their last name to Awesome upon marriage. They also said plans to name their hypothetical children Totally and Freakin'.
** After conceiving their baby in Barney's bathroom during Irene, Marshall wants to name their son Hurricane Eriksen. Ted and Barney also rename Barney's niece while "bro-parenting" to Hurricane Mosby-Stinson
** The baby's name is [[spoiler:Marvin Wait-for-it Eriksen]] and all the characters find it awesome.

* Detective Robert T. Ironside from ''Series/{{Ironside 1967}}'' and its remake ''Series/{{Ironside 2013}}''.
* ''Series/{{iZombie}}'' has Vaughn du Clark, the inventor of the energy drink Max Rager (which also counts), which appears to be a catalyst to a ZombieApocalypse. Instead of being horrified, he [[CorruptCorporateExecutive devotes a new R&D wing to studying the phenomenon and finding a way to monetize it]].
* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': In "Déjà Vu", we learn that when Harm at age 16 traveled to Vietnam, through Thailand and Laos, to look for his father, he was aided by a former special ops soldier named Colonel Stryker.
* In ''Series/JimmyKimmelLive'''s 2010 "Handsome Men's Club" sketch [[Film/TrainingDay Ethan Hawke]] demanded his name be legally changed to ''Handsome Hawke''.
* ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger''[='s=] Red Ranger is named Captain Marvelous. It's unclear if Captain is his first name, since everyone just calls him "Marvelous". [[TheAce Which he is]].
* ''Franchise/KamenRider'' is filled to the brim with badass or awesome names! In fact, the very name itself “Kamen Rider” aka “Masked Rider” commands a high level of coolness.
** ''Series/KamenRiderKabuto'': Tendou Souji. Why is it badass? His name more or less means "He who walks the path of heaven, ruling all".
** Equally badass is his UnknownRival Kamishiro Tsurugi, which means "He who overthrows the gods with the slash of a sword".
** In ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'', Ryoji Hase dubs himself Armored Rider Kurokage[[note]]literally, "Black Shadow"[[/note]]; fans made a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuHaoL81EQ8 short video spoofing this]], in which Hase calls himself "Masked Rider Super-Awesome The Best" instead.
** The list goes on but we cannot forget the villainous examples as well: Foundation X, ZECT, the Smart Brain Corporation, and of course the franchise’s most famous villain, S.H.O.C.K.E.R.
* ''Series/TheListener'' has recurring criminal Magnus Elphrenson, described by Mr Bey as "Magnus. Just the name screams ''super criminal genius guy''".
* The second season of ''Series/LookAroundYou'' has Leonard Hatred.
* ''Series/MagnumPI'', TV show private detective and name of firearms and cartridge. Humorously, the Galician dub was unfamiliar with the acronym for Private Investigator, and mixed it up with the actual surname "Pi", calling him "Magnum π".

* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': Miranda Veracruz de la Jolla Cardenal, a newscaster who pronounces her name with such heavily accented triumph that it becomes a RunningGag.
* ''Series/TheMentalist'' also gives us a few; Teresa Lisbon, Kimball Cho, and [[spoiler: former CBI supervising agent]] Madeleine Hightower.
* Tarquin [[OverlyLongName Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F'tang-F'tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel]], of ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' fame.
** Don't forget Very Silly Party candidate [[OverlyLongName Malcolm Peter Brian Telescope Adrian Umbrella Stand Jasper Wednesday (pops mouth twice) Stoatgobbler John Raw Vegetable (whinnying) Arthur Norman Michael (blows squeaker) Featherstone Smith (whistle) Northcott Edwards Harris (fires pistol, then 'whoop') Mason (chuff-chuff-chuff-chuff) Frampton Jones Fruitbat Gilbert (sings) 'We'll keep a welcome in the' (three shots) Williams If I Could Walk That Way Jenkin (squeaker) Tiger-drawers Pratt Thompson (sings) 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head' Darcy Carter (horn) Pussycat (sings) 'Don't Sleep In The Subway' Barton Mainwaring (hoot, 'whoop') Smith]].
** How dare you forget the famous composer, [[OverlyLongName Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern- schplenden- schlitter- crasscrenbon- fried- digger- dingle- dangle- dongle- dungle- burstein- von- knacker- thrasher- apple- banger- horowitz- ticolensic- grander- knotty- spelltinkle- grandlich- grumblemeyer- spelterwasser- kurstlich- himbleeisen- bahnwagen- gutenabend- bitte- ein- nürnburger- bratwustle- gerspurten- mitz- weimache- luber- hundsfut- gumberaber- shönedanker- kalbsfleisch- mittler- aucher von Hautkopft]] of Ulm?
** "My name is spelt 'Raymond Luxury Yacht' but it's pronounced 'Throatwobbler Mangrove'."
*** Throat-WARBLER Mangrove, you snotty-faced heap of parrot droppings!
*** Alright, stop that, stop that -- it's silly.
** Can't forget about the affable Dinsdale Piranha, and his cruel, sarcastic brother Doug.
** In fact, "Creator/MontyPython".

* As the quotes page shows, the cast of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' had a ball giving such names to the beefy protagonist of ''Film/SpaceMutiny'', Dave Ryder. The show's Wiki [[https://mst3k.fandom.com/wiki/Dave_Ryder has a complete list]].
** Subverted when one of the names is "Bob Johnson".

* Co Host of the ''Series/MythBusters'', Adam Savage.
* ''Series/NorthernExposure:'' Marilyn Whirlwind.

* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
** ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'': [[Franchise/{{Rocky}} Rocky]] [=DeSantos=] the second MMPR Red Ranger. His [[IdenticalGrandson similar looking ancestor]] was named Rocko. There is also Titanus the Carrierzord, Zordon the BigGood for the first six seasons of the series and the Rangers' robotic ally Alpha 5.
** ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'': The names of the Rangers' main Zords; Red Lightning, Desert Thunder, Mountain Blaster, Dune Star and Wind Chaser.
** ''Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue'': The Omega Megazord.
** ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'': The Thundersaurus, Triceramax and Valkasaurus Megazords.
* From ''Series/{{Psych}}'': It is a RunningGag with Shawn introducing Gus with an overly cool nickname to other people.
-->'''Gus:''' My name is Gus, but you can call me... John Slade.

* ''Series/RemingtonSteele'': The title character choose her own name because it sounded cool.
** The title character (named in part for a typewriter) was made up by his "chief subordinate", Laura Holt, who actually ran the business. The identity of the fictional boss Holt invented was then taken over by somebody else, who posed as Steele.
* Most of the robots in ''Series/RobotWars'', but one of the creators of the contestant [[AwesomeButImpractical Razer]] was named ''Vincent Blood''. May have been a vampire.

* ''Series/SledgeHammer''. Also his father, Jack.
* In addition to established DC Characters like Victor Stone and Zatanna Zatara, ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' had names like Desirée Atkins, Cassandra Carver, Tempest Grace, Jeremiah Holdsclaw, Sebastian Kane, Sean Kelvin, Curtis Knox, Tommy Lee, Richtor Maddox, and Kyla Willowbrook.
* In the Disney series ''Series/SonnyWithAChance'', the snooty star of teen drama "Mackenzie Falls" is Chad Dylan Cooper. He is played by Sterling Knight, which sounds a bit snootier and lot more Badass.
* In ''Series/StargateSG1'', one of Earth's early allies was Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard. Somewhat subverted since Thor is about three or four feet tall and frail. Still an awesome name and it still fits him since his fleet could crush just about anyone.
** Show-within-a-show ''Wormhole X-Treme'' is named combining this trope and XtremeKoolLetterz.
* Subverted to the point of parody in ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' with the AlwaysChaoticEvil Wraith ([[NinjaPirateZombieRobot alien goth insect vampires]]) never giving their true names, therefore prompting the human characters to name them generic Earth names in retaliation. Hence Steve, Bob, Michael, Kenny, and, lest we forget, Todd. Most of which are, at some point or other, the series BigBad.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': James Tiberius Kirk.
** And his nemesis, [[BewareTheSuperman Khan Noonien Singh]].
** In addition, a lot of the {{Cool Starship}}s featured throughout the franchise have pretty badass names -- ''Excalibur'', ''Excelsior'', ''Defiant'', ''Valiant'', etc. Not to mention the legendary status of the ''Enterprise'' herself. Of course, this is based in reality with the vast amounts of astonishingly badass names the Royal Navy has given her ships over the centuries.
* The cyberneticist Bruce Maddox from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. The character is a jerkass, though.
* Badass corporate lawyer Harvey Specter on ''Series/{{Suits}}''. Also, his rival [[AlliterativeName Travis Tanner]].

* Dr. "Tiger" Ninestein in ''{{Series/Terrahawks}}''.
* When Jeremy Clarkson was given the task of designing ''Series/TopGear'''s home-built electric car, he named it the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust. However, he also named the prototype: "Geoff".

* On ''Series/TheTonightShow'', Jay Leno once said Creator/AntonioBanderas was an example of this.
* Alluded to in ''Series/TrueBlood''. While Sookie Stackhouse has an unusual name herself, she is surprised to learn that the first vampire she ever meets has the thoroughly mundane name of "Bill".
* ''Series/TrueJacksonVP'': ''Ryan Laserbeam''. No, seriously.
* Series/VeronicaMars.
* In the [[Creator/JossWhedon Whedonverse]], many characters go by interesting or unusual names, such as Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles (though cool in the USA, is normal in the UK), Oz, Fred ([[TomboyishName a girl]]), Gunn, Pike, Jayne, River, Inara, Book, Wash, Jubal Early, Merrick, Kennedy, Spike, Angel, Drusilla, and so forth. This is somewhat justified in that most of these are diminutive versions of rather normal first and last names.
** Also in that many of them are from the far-future setting of ''Firefly'' or names of immortal vampires so 'normal' may not apply. :)
** In ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'', "Arcane". Also known as Clyde. Not to mention the actives with their cool "callsigns" -- Echo, November, Alpha, Tango, Sierra, Whiskey and... er... Mike. We don't see much of Mike. These nicknames all come from the ICAO/NATO/ITU phonetic alphabet (used mainly by pilots and Western militaries). Each word corresponds with the letter it starts with. So think of all the cool names that were had by Dolls that were not seen or had not been created yet: Delta, India, Lima, Papa, Yankee and Zulu. Not so [=McCool=] names: Charlie, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel (yeesh), Juliet, Oscar, Quebec, Romeo, Uniform (ouch) and X-ray (debatable depending on your level of nerdiness).
* The heroes in ''Series/VRTroopers'' are Ryan Steele, Kaitlin Starr, and J.B. Reese.
* The Leatherskins in ''Series/WhatWeDoInTheShadows2019'' are entirely this trope:
---> '''Simon the Devious''': Of course that's Big Vlad behind you, Abbadon, Empussa, we've got the Freak Sisters over there, they're two sisters, they're not related, that's Little Vlad, the guy's a fucking maniac, we've got Mr 50s, we've got S, because her name is Sarah, Evil Steve, Freakfest Tony, Black Vlad the Exsanguinator, of course the Silent One, we keep goin' over there we've got Asian Mike, Chunt, Jane the Soulless, El Grad the Fifth, Hovak the Pit Master, Gunthrapple and his brother Krillsack, it's Wesley Sykes, Desdemona the Shrieker, yes, there's Len, my accountant, and of course Count Rapula.

* Radio rock DJ "Doctor" Johnny Fever from ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati'' (real name Johnny Caravella, and played by Howard Hesseman). Night DJ Venus Flytrap may also qualify.
** One episode had Jennifer dating a (seemingly) perfect guy named Steel. He says "I think a man's name says a lot about him...What did you say your name was?" to Les...
* Invoked in the ''Series/WorldPeace'' "Peanut Arbuckle" sketch, alongside [[IHaveManyNames I Have Many Names]]. Examples include: Peanut Arbuckle, Silver Bullet, Argon, Darkchild, Nightmaster, Peabody, Squeezy, Go-Go Nuts, and Pineapple Man.
* [[WordOfGod According to Rob Tapert]], his original plan was to spell name [[Series/XenaWarriorPrincess Xena's]] name with a 'Z' (i.e 'Zena'), however [[ExecutiveMeddling the network didn't think it was cool enough]], opting instead to spell it with the "[[XMakesAnythingCool much cooler]]" X.

* Mike of ''Series/TheYoungOnes'' constantly refers to himself as "Mike the Cool Person"... and then it's revealed that he actually changed his legal name to Mike Thecoolperson[[note]]albeit in a tie-in book whose canonicity is debated, insofar as it is possible to actually debate the canon of a madcap comedy with frequent kill-em-all endings[[/note]].

* ''Series/HorribleHistories'' has original AwesomeMcCoolname Peregrine Thoroughgood and a portrayal of real-life AwesomeMcCoolname Jasper Maskelyne in the same [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBlPEcSuEfQ sketch]].

* From ''Series/{{Psych}}'': It is a RunningGag with Shawn introducing Gus with an AwesomeMcCoolName to other people.

* The Leatherskins in ''Series/WhatWeDoInTheShadows'' are entirely this trope: