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Meaningful Name
alt title(s): Meaningful Names
"My name is Alice, but-"
"It's a stupid name enough!" Humpty Dumpty interrupted impatiently; "What does it mean?"
"Must a name mean something?" Alice asked doubtfully.
"Of course it must," Humpty Dumpty said with a short laugh...
-Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass

A name that has a direct, barely-hidden meaning to it. The first, last, or full name says something primal about the character. Often has multiple layers. To hide the meaning a bit, use an alternate spelling or foreign equivalent. Instead of writers having to make up random words or think of real names, they can use mythological names or old words.

As an example, it is common to use for heroic characters names associated with hunting. So, apart from Hunter, which is a valid first and last name in English, you can use a translation to another language (Jager, or the phonetic Yeager), or the name of a predatory animal (Wolf, Hawk) or a translation of that (Wolfe, Lupin, Lupis, Wulf).

Self-chosen names can manifest this naturally, but may make the character look arrogant if the symbolism is too blatant.

Very common in cartoons, where the meaning is most times not hidden at all, except that the target audience may not have the vocabulary to get the joke. Also common in Anime, since Japanese names have a lot of obvious literal meaning to start with. See notes at Theme Naming.

Real-life examples of this are often referred to as "aptronyms". The magazine New Scientist refers to it as "nominative determinism" in a tongue-in-cheek manner, and encourages people to send examples in.

Of course this goes back to the Bible (and probably turns up in the books of other religions).

Compare Prophetic Names, Steven Ulysses Perhero. See also Names To Run Away From Really Fast, which is about names indicating being a Bad Ass and heavily overlaps with this trope, and Punny Name, which many of these names fall into as well. If the name is obviously supposed to be meaningful, but the meaning is wrong, see Hollywood Meaningful Name.

According to The Other Wiki, the proper name for this trope is "charactonym".

Examples

Anime and Manga
  • Suzumiya Haruhi: Whether it's accidental or not, Kyon's name may actually be a good nickname for a Deadpan Snarker. Quoting Wikipedia's entry about the Cynics: "Their name is thought to be derived either from the building in Athens called Cynosarges, the earliest home of the school, or from the Greek word for a dog, cyon (κύων,kýōn)".
    • Considering what Haruhi uses him for...He really is her dog!
    • Keeping in with the popular fan theory, dog backwards is...
    • Another possibility: Haruhi in the novels loves the Tanabata festival (the story arc wasn't animated), the myth behind which involves two lovers separated and only allowed to meet once a year. The Korean name for the man can be romanized as 'Kyonu', which is pretty darn close.
      • Also considering how Tanigawa Nagaru has referenced ancient Greece (amongst several other things) he might be fully aware of the multiple possible meanings.
    • Yuki Nagato is a somewhat subverted example. Her Image Song and vaguely autobiographical poetry in one of the later novels hint that her name should be read as "snow". The actual kanji used means "having hope".
  • Pretty much everyone in Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, in particular, the main character, Itoshiki Nozomu. When his name is compressed together, it resembles the kanji for zetsubou, or despair. Fitting, as the character is constantly in despair, sometimes over his own name.
  • In Read Or Die, superpowered bibliomaniac Yomiko Readman's name contains a double whammy. Immediately obvious to English speakers is her last name, but the kanji used for her first name mean "reading child". Unusually, her name is at least partially explained by the fact that she comes from a family of bibliomaniacs, which is also essentially the origin of her paper-related powers.
  • Simoun features a war between three countries: the Holy Land ("kyuukoku") of Simulacrum, the Argentum Archipelago ("shoukoku"), and the Plumbum Highlands ("reikoku"). Kyuukoku ("Holy Land" or "shrine nation"), written with different kanji, means "a patriot who saves her country." Shoukoku also means "one's own country" (i.e. Japan, an industrialized archipelago), and reikoku also means "cold-hearted ruthlessness." Simulacrum is the home of the series' protagonists, Argentum is an industrialized country with high technology, and Plumbum is a nation of ruthless religious fanatics. "Argentum" and "Plumbum" also mean "silver" and "lead" respectively in Latin, and "Simulacrum" means "an image, likeness or portrait", but in modern usage generally means a copy or simulation.
  • Frequently seen in Rumiko Takahashi's works. Takahashi is perhaps the master of the name with multiple levels of meaning. Very often her characters have ordinary-seeming names, but she uses kanji other than the usual ones to write them, setting up a punning conflict between what is heard and what is read.
    • For example, the annoying holy man in Urusei Yatsura has a name that is pronounced "Sakuranbou" (the Japanese word for the Cherry fruit), but is spelled the with the characters meaning "deranged priest." Just to add to the confusion, he usually goes by the nickname "Cherry" (in English). Moroboshi Ataru's name literally means "struck by a falling star," which not only describes his fate rather accurately, but is often visually punned on in the commercial bumpers (a star falls out of the show's logo and hits him in the head). Mendou's name is a fairly common surname, but here it's written with kanji that mean "annoying bastard". And "Lum" was Rumiko Takahashi's own nickname as a child (whether this means Lum is a Mary Sue is debatable); it was also the last name of Japan's first major bikini model, Agnes Lum, whose looks Lum was modeled after.
    • Characters in her most famous work, Ranma 1/2, frequently have names that are puns in three or more languages including English and Chinese. The emotionally unstable patriarch of the Tendo family, Soun, has a name that literally means "Fast Road to Heaven", but which can also be read as "weeping man" — describing him perfectly.
    • She goes all out in Maison Ikkoku, which takes place at a boarding house with numbered rooms...and everyone living there has their room's number in their name. For example, Yotsuya's name translates as "four valleys" and it's the name of a famous district in Tokyo...guess which room he lives in. Kyoko, the boarding house manager, has the character for "zero" in her name, and even the non-boarder characters have number-themed names.
  • Jubei-Chan has Bantarou, whose name comes from "Taro" (a common male name in Japanese) and "Banchou" (which means "boss" or "ringleader"), and his simian-like sidekicks Oozaru and Kozaru, whose names translate as "Big Monkey" and "Little Monkey" respectively. Jiyu's name means "Spiritual Freedom" which is exactly the effect her sword has on the undead. (In fact, it brings them back to life.)
  • Several characters on Eyeshield 21 have meaningful names. Some of these names are reflective of their abilities, which means they also count as Steven Ulysses Perhero. For example:
    • Sena Kobayakawa's last name means "small, swift river", while his first name can be read as "what shoals?"
    • Mamori Anezaki's first name means "protectpr" (and she's certainly protective of Sena early in the series), while her last name means "promontory sister".
    • Yoichi Hiruma's name means "daytime night market". Also, his last name is spelled with kanji meaning "leech demon" (since he clamps tightly onto any talented player he can get for his team), and his first name is spelled with kanji meaning "bewitching one" (because he's fairly persuasive). This also means that his last name can be read as "demon in broad daylight".
    • Ryokan Kurita's first name means "powerful" and is spelled with the kanji for "good" and "broad-minded" (sure enough, he's a certified Gentle Giant), and his last name means "field of chestnuts" (referring to the shape of his head).
    • Daikichi Komusubi's first name means "great amount of good fortune", and "komusubi" is a rank in sumo wrestling.
    • Manabu Yukimitsu's first name means "study" (since that's what his mother made him do since grade school).
    • Tetsuo Ishimaru's last name means "stone circle" or "great stone", possibly a reference to his stoic yet easygoing personality.
    • Natsuhiko Taki, the Devil Bats' blonde, dimwitted, and boastful tight end, has a first name meaning "prince of summer".
    • Joe Tetsuma, the powerhouse wide receiver for the Seibu Wild Gunmen who plows through the defense like a train, has a last name that means "iron horse".
    • Shien Mushanokoji, the quarterback for the Seibu Wild Gunmen, has a last name that means "warrior's trail", but is spelled with the kanji for "child" (hence his frequently used nickname, "The Kid").
    • Ohira and Onishi Hiroshi, the linemen for the Kyoshin Poseidons, have names that mean "Pacific Ocean" and "Atlantic Ocean", respectively. The Poseidons also have Kengo Mizumachi, whose name means "strong waiting time in the water" (since he used to be on Kyoshin's swim team).
  • Yu-Gi-Oh is notorious for giving its one-off and non-friendly recurring characters names that Anviliciously reflect the type of deck they play. Its sequel, Yu-Gi-Oh GX, has all but weaned itself off of this trope, but it still pops up sometimes (most notably with the Pro Duelists that show up in the second half of Season 2).
  • Kamui's name in X1999 means 'Power of God'.
  • Rau Le Creuset of Gundam SEED, whose assumed last name is French for "The Crucible", a reference to the play of the same name about the Puritan witch hunts, which in turn refers to both prejudiced sides of the Natural/Coordinator conflict (which plan to wipe the other side out for being what they are), and to Rau's belief in his worthiness to judge all of humanity with a sentence of death.
    • in Gundam SEED Destiny Neo Roanoke is actually Mu La Flaga with Amnesia,(we would put it in spoilers but its kind of obvious) Roanoke was an island that was the first american english colony where everyone dissapeared, Neo means new.
  • Subversion: In Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, a Monster Of The Week has a name that means "felony" and is of a species whose name means "villain." Of course, as the plot was one character's attempt to prove him innocent and the true culprit guilty, the names were an Anvilicious way of making him the obvious suspect (which he was anyway.)
  • The title character from the manga Yotsuba&!, who shares a name with her distinctive four-ponytail hairstyle (yotsuba is Japanese for "four-leaf" as in "four-leaf clover").
  • All the characters in Gundam Wing - the 5 pilots Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, and Wufei names are derived from the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respectively in various languages. There is also Noin (9), Lady Une (1), Treize (13) and Zechs (6)/Milliardo (1,000,000,000). Additionally, Relena Peacecraft is a pacifist.
  • Mamoru ("to protect") from Sailor Moon. The US version managed to somewhat retain the pun by giving him the surname Shields.
    • Not to mention Tsukino Usagi whose name is pronounced the same as Rabbit of the Moon (and they then had trouble finding the moon princess.) All the sailor senshi have names that reflect their specific elements.
  • Another "Mamoru" comes from Blue Seed, although nobody really calls him by his first name (except for Valencia from the sequel OVA series); in this case, he was named by the Aragami who assigned him to protect Kaede. His last name, Kusanagi, is a reference to the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.
  • A lot of names in Yu Yu Hakusho are of this type. "Yuusuke" means "ghost helper;" "Urameshi" is what Japanese ghosts who are haunting a house wail; "Kuwabara kuwabara" is a charm against ghosts lightning (Kuwabara himself actually chants this at one point); "Kurama" and "Hiei" are Japanese mountains said to be sites of high demon activity; Ice Maiden Yukina's name means "snow flower," while the "Hi" in "Hiei" sounds like a word for fire; "Yukimura Keiko" means "snow village firefly child," and refers to a Chinese folk tale about a poor child who studied diligently by the light of fireflies reflected in the snow; all of the ferry girls have names associated with flowers and plants ("Botan"=peony; "Ayame"=iris; "Hinageshi"="poppy"). This plant naming even goes for Sensui (whose name is a kanji anagram of "suisen", "daffodil") and Itsuki ("flowering tree"), perhaps to note the severity of their Face Heel Turn.
  • The names Kyou and Asu of the sisters in Binbou Shimai Monogatari mean "today" and "tomorrow", respectively. It signifies the moments one should concentrate on in life and also gets mention in the opening theme.
  • The Keronians in Keroro Gunsou all have meaningful names:
    • Keroro comes from "kerokero", the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound a frog makes.
    • Tamama comes from "otamajakushi", which is Japanese for "tadpole". It can also be linked to "tamatama", which means "unexpected" (referring to his fierce mood swings).
    • Giroro comes from "girogiro", which means "sharp-eyed".
    • Kururu comes from "kurukuru", which means "spinning" or "wound up" (referring to his whorl mark and the spirals on his Nerd Glasses). It can also be linked to "kuru", which means "hunchback" (referring to Kururu's stooped posture).
    • Dororo comes from "doron", which is onomatopoeia for a Ninja vanishing. It can also be linked to "dorodoro", which means "syrupy" (which describes Dororo's sentimental and emotional tendencies).
  • Spike's Evil Counterpart in Cowboy Bebop is named Vicious. Can you guess what his personality and behavior is like?
    • And What about Spike himself? His name is very pointed, don't you think?
  • The Villain Protagonist of Death Note has the properly ironic name of "Light." To top it off, it's spelled with the character for "moon" and his last name "Yagami" also means "night god." His pseudonym, "Kira," is "killer" in Gratuitous English.
    • Also, Yagami backwards is "I'm a gay." Just saying.
    • How to Read 13 notes that Near's real name, "Nate River", is supposed to symbolize that his talents flow from L, therefore he is L's natural successor.
  • By contrast to Light, another Night God with a little black book Of Doom is the Anti Villain of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's. Okay, honestly she's not a villain at all, but her book is properly called the Tome of the Night Sky, so the name still fits.
  • Hikari and Sora of Digimon Adventure. Hikari means "light," and not only is hers the Crest of Light, her partner evolves into an angel. Sora means "sky," and she has the bird Digimon, Piyomon.
    • Actually, all Digimon have Meaningful Names before the 'mon' part.
    • Digimon Savers protagonist Daimon Masaru: An alternate reading of the kanji for his given name gives us 'dai-mon-dai,' which sounds like 'big problem.' So Yeah.
  • In Full Metal Alchemist, Riza Hawkeye is a sharpshooter. In a flashback in the manga, one military man in her area tells another not to worry because "we have a hawk's eye on us". Yeah. The name means nothing for her father, who is never seen handling firearms or practicing any sort of aiming-based activity.
    • In old French Roi/Roy meant King, Colonel Roy Mustang is a man who wants to become ruler of Amestris. This one might be accidental, as Roy is a common English name.
    • There's also Alex-Louis Armstrong, who is incredibly strong and uses alchemy to gain incredible super-strength.
    • Then there's Fuhrer/President Bradley, whose first name just happens to be "King".
  • Michel in Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch is named for the angel Michael. The alteration in the name, other than playing up his connection to Michal, is the first clue that there's something a bit off with his supposed Mission From God.
  • In Haibane Renmei, every Haibane is given a Meaningful Name based on their dreams (which may or may not represent how they died) when they first appear.
  • Katou Yue in Angel Sanctuary was given his first name Yue by his father, because his wife cheated on him and so Yue obviously wasn't his child, always reminding him of the incident. Yue is a term used for children born dead or dying shortly after birth. (Generally it means something like tragic accident, lethal occurence etc) The name didn't work as a bad omen, as Katou was able to grow into a annoying teenager, but while the manga goes on, he gets killed once and sacrifices himself three times getting always beyond the border of death... before jumping right back into action, always more killing and slashing. In the end, he uses a doomsday device too summon a meteor smashing heaven saving Setsuna a third time and ultimately leaving Yuki no time to ressurect him before the series ending
  • In Ouran High School Host Club, Tamaki is engaged to Eclair Tonnerre, a girl whose name means "lightning thunder" in French. Not only is that mind-blowingly heavy-handed, thunder and lightning are the only fears of the protagonist.
  • The protagonists of Tekkonkinkreet are known as Kuro and Shiro — "Black" and "White". "White" is innocent and untouched by the evil that surrounds him, while "Black" is malicious and violent. Because this is a Taoist fable, Black and White complement and complete each other (à la Yin and Yang).
    • Also significant in the story are Rat, an old yakuza, and Serpent, who may or may not be an alien. Kuro and Shiro call themselves "Neko", or the Cats. Needless to say, there are many cats, snakes and rats that feature prominently in the background in the manga. Not to mention the Minotaur, who knows the labyrinth.
  • Soul Eater: Maka is an anagram of kama, the Japanese name for a scythe. Three guesses what her partner Soul turns into. It also means "earth" in Native American, possibly a reflection of her down-to-earth personality.
    • On the other hand, the characters ought to have been wary of Medusa from the beginning considering where her name comes from...
  • Zoids Chaotic Century has a few Meaningful Names. Like a lot of anime, Zoids is fond of its Gratuitous German: examples include the hero, Ban Freiheit ("freedom"); his Organoid, Seig ("victory"); and Karl Schwarz ("black"), who has a fondness for black lilies. More notably, there's the Oracular Urchin Fine - Italian for "the end" - who has the power to destroy all Zoids in order to save the world. Unfortunately, the significance of these names is obscured by apparent mistranslation in the English dub: Freiheit becomes Flyheight, Seig becomes Zeke, Schwarz becomes Shubaltz, and Fine is renamed Fiona. This becomes somewhat awkward when a line is retained from the original script wherein another character remarks upon the fatalistic connotations of Fine's name, something that obviously doesn't apply to the name "Fiona" (Wikipedia: "white, pale or fair").
    • Zoids New Century Zero uses Gratuitous German in its names for the Liger Zero's three armor units, each designed for a specific purpose: Jaeger ("hunter"), for speed; Schneider ("cutter" or "tailor"), equipped with numerous blades; and Panzer ("tank"), loaded with missiles and heavy artillery. Some character names are arguably intended to be meaningful - Bit Cloud's surname may refer to his carefree, wandering nature; Vega Obscura's to the fact that little is known about him; Jamie Hemeros' surname may be derived from the Greek word for "tame" or "mild," particularly fitting in contrast with the nature of his alter-ego, Wild Eagle.
  • Most (if not all?) of the characters from Naruto are affected by this. In the Rookie 9 alone, we have...
    • Team 7:
      • Naruto Uzumaki- Naruto being a reference to his love of ramen, and Uzumaki to the Rasengan technique. There's also a place in Japan called the Naruto whirlpool (Naruto no Uzushio)
      • Sasuke Uchiha- Uchiha being a type of Japanese fan and the clan symbol, and Sasuke being a stock name for a ninja character.
      • Sakura Haruno- Sakura being a reference to her hair colour, and the phrase Haru no sakura meaning "spring's cherry blossoms ".
    • Team 8: Hinata Hyuuga (Her names forming a pun around the sun, linked to the Hyuuga clan symbol), Kiba Inuzuka (as a dog ninja, his first name means fang, also a reference to his Facial Markings, and his family name means, well, dog), and Shino Aburame (In Japan, the last name comes first, so Aburame Shino resembles "Aburamashi," the Japanese word for cockroach).
    • Team 10: Chouji Akimichi (Chouji referring both to the butterfly-form of his chakra, and his caterpillar-like eating habits), Shikamaru Nara (a reference to his clan's deer-rearing, shika meaning deer and Nara being a city known for its' free-roaming deer), Ino Yamanaka (Ino referring to her boarish personality). It's also likely that Chouji and Ino's names are meant to be ironic; The fat one is named "butterfly" and the pretty one is named "boar".
      • These characters names form Ino-Shika-Cho, a combo in a card game, in much the same way as their techniques mesh together for a combo.
  • The "Shishioh" in Shishioh Guy means "Lion King." Lions are synonymous with courage, and Guy pilots a robot nicknamed "Brave King" which also has an actual (giant robot) lion at its core. Also, the kanji used for "Gai" is used in constructs to mean "victory."
    • So we're not mentioning the Primevals' naming scheme? Or, for that matter, Amami Mamoru ("mamoru" as before meaning "to protect"), whose Meaningful Name was acknowledged in the show itself?
  • For God's sake, people: Speed Racer. Speed Racer!
    • Just to make it worse, we have his older brother Rex. Who is believed dead in a racing accident and then comes back as Racer X. Okay, on three, we all groan. One, two...
  • In Kure-nai, Murasaki Kuhouin is believed to have been named after Murasaki from the Tale Of Genji. Both characters are kidnapped as little girls and develop a relationship of sorts with their caretaker. Note, however, that Kure-nai sports an inverted Hikaru Genji Plan.
  • The main characters of Wolf's Rain are all named after aspects of a wolf. Kiba = fang, Hige = whisker, Tsume = claw, and Toboe = howl. (Blue also has blue eyes.) Their powers correspond with their name as well. Kiba can bend steel with his jaws; Tsume is the second-best fighter and early on tends to "use" a switchblade while fighting; Toboe often howls to get help or find someone; and Hige has the best sense of smell. Cher Degré also has a meaningful name—cher is French for "dear," although the correct feminine form is chère. Her ex-husband Hubb Lebowski constantly tries to get back together with her, to the point of abandoning his job to find her when she goes off in search of Cheza and when she dies, she is quite painfully mourned by him.
  • Grenadier actually has a little wit with regards to the main character's name: Her given name, Rushuna, is a play on a Rushana Buddha, a statue exemplifying the essence of the Buddha, while her surname, Tendou, translates to "Heavenly Path." Her espousal of the Ultimate Strategy ("ending a fight gently and without fighting"), her almost unrelentingly kind and chipper demeanor, and her honest, unironic caring for everyone she meets makes her name almost as accurate as she is.
    • It also makes sense that she finds her way to Tenshi ("angel").
  • The magical owl Ikebukuro from Cosplay Complex gets its name from a commercial district in Tokyo, which is known for "Otome Road", a street with otaku shops aimed at a female audience. The district also has a statue of an owl behind the station.
  • In Doujin Work, Najimi's full name is a play on "Osananajimi" which means "childhood friend", a character type that is a staple of hentai games. She also is another character's childhood friend in the series.
  • Lockon Stratos from Gundam 00 is said to be an expert marksman. This is Justified, by the fact that all the original Gundam Meisters names are Code Names.
  • Maria Graceburt from Mai-Otome tries to hold herself and her students up to a high standard of discipline and dignity. She herself comments that all she wanted to do after retiring from her old life as a Lady Of War was to age gracefully.
  • The titular character's codename in Golgo 13 means something, most likely, but nobody's sure what. The most popular theory is that it's a call-out to Golgotha, the hill on which Christ was crucified, and the thirteenth disciple, Judas. Given that the series has a skeleton wearing a crown of thorns as its icon, this is probably a good guess.
  • One Piece author Eiichiro Oda does this so frequently he ends up creating Meaningful Names by accident. Some obvious ones are Zoro (a swordsman) and Usopp (playing off Aesop and the Japanese "Uso" meaning "to lie"). The accidental case is Rob Lucci, one of Luffy's single-most difficult opponents. Oda had no idea that "Lucci" was also Italian for "Light", and unknowingly gave the villain's name the meaning of "Steal the Light."
  • Meow's kung-fu style in Kazemakase Tsukikage Ran incorporates a lot of techniques inspired by the movement of cats.
  • Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai has Mune-Mune. Mune means "chest" in Japanese. You get three guesses as to what her, uh, "defining" feature is.
  • Almost every character in Princess Tutu has a name that means something. Ahiru means "duck" in Japanese (and was translated in the dub), which makes sense because she is a duck. Most of the animals in the series follow suit. Mytho's name comes from the greek word "Mythos" which means "story"—a fitting name for a prince from a Story. His true name, Siegfried, is from the prince from Swan Lake. There's others, too, but those are some of the main ones.
    • A fakir is a type of mystic, so given Fakir's story-spinning powers it makes sense. Also Rue is a herb and means bitter, thought I'm not sure if that one's intentional.
  • Chrono Crusade has a few meaningful names in the series. The most obvious is Chrono, whose name comes from the greek for "time". Aion's name, in contrast, means "forever". And then there's Joshua Christopher's name—"Christopher" means "bearing Christ", and Joshua is from the same name that we get the name "Jesus" from.
  • Vinland Saga: Askeladd means 'boy born amongst ashes', kind of a male, Norse, macho version of Cinderella. Askeladd was the son of a slave, and worked a smithy as a child. Hence he was called Askeladd. Bjorn is a border-line example, it means Bear, and while he is a berserker, but it's also a rather common name, even in modern times. (The troper's cousin is named Bjorn for instance, and this troper is from Australia!)
  • Strike Witches: the characters in this alternate history based series are real world military pilots twisted into magical lolis. Their names are gender-reversed versions of the originals (Erich Hartmann -> Erica Hartmann, Pierre Clostermann -> Perrine Clostermann etc.)
    • A particularly clever touch is Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen, the gender-swapped version of the Finnish WW 2 pilot Eino Ilmari Juutilainen. Ilmatar is the name of an ancient Finnish sky goddess.
  • Planetes: Hachimaki's surname, Hoshino, means of the stars, and sure enough, he's an astronaut who aspires to own his own ship. Tanabe's given name means love, and she believes that love can solve everything.
  • Princess Mononoke has Lady Eboshi, an Anti Villain who both cares for the poor and disenfranchised and ruthlessly tears down nature (until the end). Eboshi can be read as "Icon of a mother and child" (i.e., The Madonna and Child or "image on a tombstone".
  • G Gundam gives us Schwarz Bruder, whose name is German for "black brother" and thus a dead giveaway to his true identity.
  • Dennou Coil quickly establishes the two Yuukos with very different personalities. They quickly gain nicknames from another character, both based on the alternate readings assigned to the different kanji their names are written with. The kind-hearted, more passive Okonogi Yuuko (Yasako) is read as "Gentle Girl," while the more driven, determined Amasawa Yuuko (Isako) is read as "Brave Girl."
  • In Neon Genesis Evangelion, we have Rei Ayanami, whose given name is written in katakana (as is everyone else's given names), leaving it a mystery as to what it could mean. One possible meaning is the number zero; the kanji for zero can be pronounced as "rei," and she pilots Evangelion Unit-00. However, the Japanese word for soul is also pronounced rei. Make of that what you will.
  • Shikabane Hime has a group of villains called the Seven Stars, which is also one of the Japanese names for The Plough. Their deadliest and most important member is an Evil Albino named Hokuto, whose name is another word for the same constellation.
  • The title of Ai Yori Aoshi is taken from the proverb "Ao wa ai yori idete ai yori aoshi", meaning "Blue comes from indigo, yet it is bluer than indigo". The main character's name is Aoi, a variant of that word for blue — the sneaky part is that it's only pronounced that way. The kanji for her name actually means "hollyhock". Many other names in the series are meaningful:
    • Aoi's family name is Sakuraba, which means "cherry blossom garden" — a good match with Kaoru, which means "fragrant".
    • Miyabi, who's been training Aoi all her life in the ways of the Yamato Nadeshiko, has a name that means "refinement".
    • Taeko, the Dojikko, has a name meaning "delicate child".
    • Mayu's name means "cocoon", and she's both a sheltered rich girl and a silk heiress.
    • And of course, the Bottle Fairy's name is Tina Foster. (Reaching?)
    • There's also a pun in the title, since another word pronounced "ai" means "love" and it's a romantic show. To imitate this effect, the manga translation keeps the title Ai Yori Aoshi but adds "True Blue Love" as a subtitle.
  • Remember the flower garden that's so important to Shizuma in Strawberry Panic? Her last name, Hanazono, means exactly that.

Comic Books
  • The Sunderland corporation in early Swamp Thing. They're environmentally unfriendly—they sunder land.
  • Comic book villain T. O. Morrow.
  • X-Men has a few despite tending to avoid this trope:
    • Magneto's long-since-not-secret-anymore identity is Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, and the "Magnus" is the only part of it that we know to be part of his birth name.
    • Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men, though it's his fault instead of it being coincidental within continuity. He swears (depending on the era) that the name X-Men stands for 'extra' power or for the X-factor gene, not his name. (Somehow, it took a villain deliberately outing him after years for people to get the hint that bald, wheelchair-bound Professor Xavier and bald, wheelchair-bound Professor X were the same guy.)
    • The Vanisher's real name is Telford Porter.
      • Lampshaded in an issue of She-Hulk that revealed he has other aliases such as I.M. Ouddahere and C.U. Later.
    • En Sabah Nur (Apocalypse) is the first mutant, and his name is said to mean The First One (but it actually means something along the lines of "the seven lights.")
    • Emma Frost is an 'ice queen,' though her powers are not ice-related. (She does take over Iceman's body at one point, though...)
      • There’s also the later addition of turning herself into a diamond (frost sorta being related to ice, which doubles as a slang term for diamonds).
    • Cain Marko, as in "the Mark of Cain", Professor X's jealous stepbrother (aka the Juggernaut.)
    • In X Men Evolution, Leech's real name is Dorian Leach. (In comics, he has no "real name.") A couple other characters in this show have their names changed to resemble their codename: Avalanche/Lance Alvers (comic: Dominic Petros) and Toad/Todd Tolensky (comic: Mortimer Toynbee.) The comics themselves have Unus the Untouchable (long known as Gunther Bain, his real name has been revealed as Angelo Unuscione).
      • Dominic Petros certainly fits this trope as Avelanche dominates rock.
    • Jubilee's real name is Jubilation Lee.
  • Most of the Wolfrider elves in Elf Quest have meaningful names. Cutter is good with a sword (and also likes to cut through hypocrisy and bullshit), Skywise is a stargazer, Pike and Redlance are spearmen, Strongbow and his son Dart are archers, Treestump is short and stocky (and also stubborn and unyielding), One-Eye - well, for obvious reasons, and Bearclaw... well, I guess he just likes pastries.
    • Justified in that Wolfriders do tend to name themselves after their deeds, changing name when they perform a huge one (e.g. Redlance used to be called Redmark until he saved his chief using, yes, a lance). The other tribes tend to have non-meaningful names.
    • Female Wolfriders, on the other hand, tend to have names inspired by nature - Moonshade, Nightfall, Rainsong, Dewshine... Rainsong's name is also in honor of her father, who was named Rain.
  • There is a lot of this going on in Noble Causes. Race Noble is a speedster, Rusty had his consciousness trapped in a robotic body, Zephyr has air control powers, Celeste has stellar energy powers, etc.
  • Kimiyo Hoshi, the female Dr. Light, received her powers from a star. Again, "hoshi" is Japanese for "star".
    • The wordplay only works in English, but her name combined means 'I am a star'.
  • Steel, the armoured, hammer-wielding African American hero, whose real name is John Henry Irons.
  • Virtually every Batman villain has a theme name, some (Temple Fulgate/Clock King, Julian Day/Calendar Man) more subtle than others (Harley Quinn, Mary Dahl/Baby Doll). The ones that don't, like Harvey Dent/Two-Face and the Joker don't either because they were a non-villain character previously or because they've had several names and the canon can't agree.
  • Can't forget the Asterix comics. In the entire comic series, every name at least means something, from incompetent bard Cacofonix to Briton chieftan Zebigbos.
  • Oh yeah, and let's not forget Victor Von Doom, the main villain from the Fantastic Four. Seriously, what were his parents thinking?
  • A strange case: John Byrne brought Luke Cage and Iron Fist Back From the Dead by revealing that they were impostors. In the process he retconned that a character Tyrone King was a preestablished villain, Master Khan. "Even the name, 'Tyrone King,' means 'Master Khan'!" The original author had put the meaningful name in by pure coincidence.
  • Tintin features Mik Kanrokitoff, a journalist who covers space-related news. To be fair, it might be a pen name.
  • In Midnight Nation, the detective who will choose which way to tip the Balance Between Good And Evil has the last name of Gray. I wonder why...
  • Otto Octavius/Doctor Octopus. Lampshaded in the second movie, when J. Jonah Jameson says "Guy named Octavius winds up with eight limbs. What are the odds?"
  • Jessica Jones. Her name might seem insignificant, but the alliteration is something the majority of Marvel characters created in the Silver Age have in common.

Film
  • Hot Fuzz has a bit of this going on: The hero is named Nicholas Angel, his chubby partner is Butterman, and the townsfolk all have names associated with their jobs (the grocer is Skinner, the gardener is Tiller, etc.). Oddly enough, "Nicholas Angel" is a real name, based on the soundtrack producer.
    • It has a hell of a lot of this going on, as confirmed in the DVD commentary: Mr. Treacher is named after The Siege of Treacher's Farm, the novel on which Straw Dogs was based; the vicar is called Philip Shooter (P.Shooter); Eve Draper, the gossip, is a phonetic pun on "eavesdropper"; and Nicholas' name is even referenced in dialogue: "It would appear the heavens have opened" as Nicholas enters the hotel on a rainy day.
  • Hud (Head-Up Display) from Cloverfield.
  • The main character of There Will Be Blood is named Daniel Plainview.
  • The police chief from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is called Lois Einhorn ("ein" being german for "one"). If you've seen the film you can't help but notice the irony.
  • Sky High had Warren Peace which wasn't just a pun on the famous Leo Tolstoy novel, but also symbolized his inner turmoil due to his blood; he was the son of a supervillain (war) and a superhero (peace).
  • The less-than-genetically "perfect" hero of Gattaca is named Vincent Freeman; the man whose identity and "second to none" genetic code he assumes is named Jerome Eugene ("good genes") Morrow.
  • Played with mercilessly in Spaceballs. The entire ship is crewed with Assholes. Literally.
    • Lets not forget sleepy Princess— er Prince Valium (its the hair).
  • Darth Vader, whose name is Dutch for "father". Darths Sidious, Maul and Plagueis also have suspiciously apt titles.
    • Han Solo of Star Wars. He's a loner and a rogue, hence he's "solo". Unless you count the eight foot tall monkey that hangs out with him.
    • And Star Wars The Clone Wars gives us Separatist general Whorm Loathsom.
    • And the death stick dealer Obi-Wan encountered in Episode II is named Elan Sleazebaggano.
  • Done knowingly in Hot Shots! One of the characters has "Deadmeat" as his nickname. Gee, I wonder...?
  • In Big Fat Liar, perpetual liar Jason Shepherd has his English paper stolen by Hollywood executive Marty Wolf and, of course, Jason isn't believed when he explains this. Note their last names refer to Aesop's fable "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".
  • The titular "true man" of The Truman Show may actually be an in-story example, as the entire point of his adoption and upbringing was that he was the most "real" person on television. Then there's the fact that the Big Bad is named "Christof."
    • This troper believes that Truman's middle initial is N., because the would make him "The one and only Truman N. Burbank". Sound it out, remember where Burbank is, and understand how much of a Take That that would be.
  • Dr Strangelove has General Buck Turgidson and General Jack D. Ripper. There's also Colonel "Bat" Guano, President Merkin Muffley, and Premier Kissoff.
  • The James Bond franchise is legendary for its female characters' names having obvious sexual subtext. Pussy Galore, anyone?
  • The Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes franchise gives us Dr. Putrid T. Gangrene. He's a bad guy. No, really.

Literature
  • The Harry Potter books use this constantly. An exhaustive list of such examples can be found here. Some are:
    • The first name of Professor Snape, "Severus", means "grouchy" in Latin.
    • "Beauxbatons", the French wizard school, means literally "good wands" or "handsome wands".
    • Professor Remus Lupin was a werewolf — "Remus" being a mythical child raised by wolves (brother to Romulus, founder of Rome), and "Lupin" as described above. He appears aware of this as he uses "Romulus" as a pseudonym for a radio broadcast. This editor can't have been the only person who knew ahead of time that Remus Lupin would turn out to be a werewolf, especially when werewolves later get mentioned in the book.
      • This troper wants to know if Remus Lupin was born a werewolf, because if he wasn't his parents were just asking for him to get bitten.
    • Another werewolf is called Fenrir Greyback. Fenrir is a wolf in Norse Mythology who is destined to eat the sun. Greyback is obvious.
    • Sirius Black could turn into a black dog (Sirius being known as the Dog Star).
    • The (ahem) aromatic Mundungus Fletcher's first name is an obsolete word for tobacco with an unpleasant odor.
    • "James" means "he supplanted", and James Potter supplants Snape's place as Lily's best friend before becoming her love interest.
    • In fact, half the characters in the novels seem to have such names.
  • Almost every name in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the novel and both movies, but especially the first movie).
    • Lampshaded by the Genre Savvy Mr. Wonka when he comments to Veruca Salt that he always thought that a "verruca" was a type of growth on the foot, which it is.
  • In the Neal Stephenson novel Snow Crash, the hero and protagonist of the story is named Hiroaki "Hiro" Protagonist. This is a subversion, as he actually changed his name to this.
  • Patricia McKillip's Riddle-Master of Hed trilogy has a character named Deth, and a historical figure named Yrth. It eventually is revealed that 1) they're the same character; 2) he's a member of the race of Earth-Masters; and 3) the trilogy is about his plans for his death.
  • In French, the name of Edmond Dantes from The Count Of Monte Cristo sounds pretty much like "demon" and, well, "Dante" (usually associated with his Inferno and giving the French adjective "dantesque," which applies to cosmically horrible, hell-like situations). Which makes his complete name read like something along the lines of "infernal demon" or "demon from Dante's Inferno]]. Hey, you don't name your kid like that if you just expect him to me a nice and cute sailor.
    • It also seems plausible that Monte Cristo, besides being the name of an island, references Jesus' Sermon on the Mount which actually repudiated the type of "eye-for-an-eye" justice which Dantes puruses in this persona.
  • In Jim Butcher's Codex Alera, it's always fun to see how long it takes readers to realize that "Tavi" is short for Octavian, and he is the rightful heir to the throne.
  • The Wheel Of Time does this for most of the main characters
    • Rand Al'Thor is named after King Arthur, and the Norse God Thor
    • the Andor Royal family are all named after people from the legend of King Arthur (hint)
    • Several Heroes of the Horn are named after actual legends
    • The Forsaken are mostly named after Demons and monsters
    • Just way too many to mention
  • The Brothers Karamazov: kara- in Turkish means "black" and maz in Russian means "paint" or "smear". The titular brothers' father is a lecher and libertine who is openly wicked. All throughout the book, characters speak of the "Karamazovian" nature inside of the brothers despite their efforts to separate themselves from their father.
    • Not just this, but Crime And Punishment: One character's name is from then St. Petersburg slang for a brothel.
  • Repeatedly, explicitly and joyfully played with by Iain M Banks in his Culture novels, in which the ultra-intelligent AI "Minds" of the Culture choose their own names when emplaced in a ship. A warship may have a name like Attitude Adjuster, Lasting Damage or Killing Time, the "slightly weird" General Contact Units rejoice in names like Only Slightly Bent and I Thought He Was With You, whereas more "normal" Culture vessels can have names from the obvious relevant (Quietly Confident, Grey Area), through the arbitrary (Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The, Yawning Angel) to the absolutely surreal(Absolutely No You-Know-What, Pure Big Mad Boat Man). All of these, apparently, are Meaningful Names, and reflect the ship's personality in some way. A complete list can be found here.
  • Ben Elton's novel Dead Famous centres around the contestants on a reality TV show called House Arrest (an obvious parody of Big Brother). As a result, many of the characters have names which echo the real life figures they are based on: Dervla Nolan (Anna Nolan, a contestant on the first series of Big Brother), Woggle (Paul Ferguson, known as "Bubble" on the show), Geraldine Hennessy (Lorraine Heggessey, the then controller of BBC 1) and others.
  • Terry Pratchett indulges in this quite gleefully in his Discworld novels, with the names for, of all things, camels. Apparently the author has a bit of a phobia of camels, as they all sport names like 'Evil Minded Son of a Bitch' ("That's an odd name for a camel..." "S'a good name for THIS camel!"), 'You Bastard', and 'Evil Smelling Bugger'. Having had some experience with camels, this troper is inclined to agree with Pratchett's assessment of them.
    • Some human characters also have names like this—the Serial Killer villain of Night Watch is named Carcer (as in incarcerate) Dun (as in whodunit).
    • Lampshade Hanging in Wee Free Men when Miss Tick points out that this is "a good name for a witch" because it sounds like "mystic". Less obvious is her first name, Perspicacia, which comes from "perspicacious", meaning "observant".
    • In Thief of Time, the Auditor who first assumes human shape calls herself Myria LeJean - 'myriad' and 'legion', referring to the Auditors' lack of individuality. After she pulls a Heel Face Turn, Susan convinces her to adopt the name 'Unity' instead.
    • Death's apprentice, Mort.
      • What a coincidence.
    • And Goodmountain the printer, whose name is a literal translation of the German "Gutenberg".
  • Ayn Rand often gave weak names to characters she wanted to seem unsympathetic. The pinnacle was probably Wesley Mouch, a lobbyist in Atlas Shrugged, whose name contains hints of weasel, slouch, louse, and mooch without actually coming out and giving him any of those names.
  • In Flannery O'Connor's short "Good Country People", guess what traveling bible salesman Manley Pointer's ulterior motive is?
  • Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea—"Nemo" is Latin for "no one". This might be because of a tendency in Victorian literature to reassure the reader that "this isn't real". (And yes, that means that movie was actually titled "Finding No One".)
    • Averted in that Nemo is NOT his real name, but a name he chose to himself after building the Nautilus and exiling hinself in the sea.
    • It's taken from the Odyssey. It's usually translated as "nobody" or "no man" there (the story of the Cyclops).
    • Only sort-of. The Odyssey is Greek, so the name Odysseus gives to mean "no one" is "Outis". It's only "Nemo" in translations into Latin.
    • As I recall, the good captain gets smacked with this trope twice. The name he gives in 'Mysterious Island', Dakarr, is apparantly a Hindu word for Prince. He proceeds to tell the main characters that he was an Indian prince before exiling himself to the sea.
  • In David Prill's novel Second Coming Attractions (a novel lampooning the inspirational Christian film industry, an generally unknown entity that's apparently still in need of a good skewering), there are characters named Ricky Bible, Rance Jericho, Grant Godlee, Buck Verilee, and Paul Pedphill (!). The first two are actors' stage names; the rest, though, are apparently people's legal names. And humor this broad is the least of the novel's problems...
  • American Gods positively delights in this: Low Key Lyesmith, Mr. Wednesday, Mr. Nancy, Jacquel & Ibis...
    • Not to mention Shadow himself, who is frequently seen to unconsciously imitate the people with whom he hangs out.
    • Mr. Nancy isn't given a first name in either book, but I like to think it's Compton...
  • The narrator of What Was She Thinking? (filmed as Notes on a Scandal) is named Barbara Covett. Um, yeah.
  • In the Role Playing Game Werewolf The Apocalypse, it is common for characters to take a meaningful name for themselves after their goals or deeds, such as Evan Heals-The-Past and Celeste Walks-The-Spiral-Backwards.
  • This troper admits to doing this in short stories...guess which character "Evangeline Harpe" was a Gender Flip of? (Oh, and her Dead Little Sister is "Caroline".)
  • In House Of Leaves, you have Holloway ("Hollow way") Roberts.
    • Can also be read as "hallway"
    • Also, Johnny Truant
  • Naming a colony "Roanoke" shoulda been a hint in The Last Colony. Lampshade Hanging ensues when, after he figures out what's happening, the main character chews himself out for having missed the reference.
  • The Star Wars Expanded Universe isn't too subtle with this either. I can think of two examples off the top of my head, both Biblical, and there's probably more; Mara Jade ("Mara" meaning "bitter", and jaded people tend to be just that) and Luke Skywalker himself (meaning "luminous", and it fits with his pacifist personality). Oddly enough, the first example is actually both a straight example and a subversion; Timothy Zahn originally intended for the two of them to be Happily Married eventually, and he won out (and lo, did the shippers cheer).
  • Tad Williams's Otherland series includes a character who goes by the name of John Dread. His mother gave him the name "Johnny Wulgaru" because, according to the book, a "Wulgaru" is a type of demon in the mythology of the Australian aborigines, and she wanted him to grow up to be a monster who would take her revenge on the white man for destroying her people's way of life. Later, when the Big Bad hires him to be The Dragon, he starts to go by the alias "Johnny More Dread", because the Big Bad thinks of himself as being like King Arthur and "More Dread" sounds like Mordred. And, yes, he follows Mordred's example.
  • HP Lovecraft had an especially blatant case: Asenath Waite, whose name means "she belongs to her father". She has been possessed by her father's spirit, who moves from host body to host body.
  • The titular creatures of The Legend Of Rah And The Muggles are supposed to set great store by the significance of names. This mostly manifests itself in an implausible degree of nominative determism such that it's clearly so common for a pair of best friends or Sickeningly Sweethearts to have names that differ by a single letter that it never gets remarked upon.
  • Most of the Everafters (People and creatures from fairy tales) in The Sisters Grimm have obviously meaningful public names. Most of them are only enough to make it obvious who's who if you already know that Everafters exist — such as Ms. White and Mrs. Heart — but a few are so extreme that you'd expect them to be remarked upon even by people who have no reason to suspect their possessors are anything but ordinary people — Charming and Canis aren't exactly common surnames, nor is Robin Goodfellow a full name you'd normally expect a schoolboy to have. Some are legitimately obscure.
  • Played with twice in Robert Zubrin's The Holy Land. The American terrorists have names (David Crockett Christianson, George Washington Jones, Mickey Mantle Ostrowski, and Thomas Jefferson Clark) unabashedly evocative of Americana, and the aliens looking for a country to punish for their vile deeds know this. The Americans point out that the terrorists all legally changed their names (to David Crockett Christianson de Peru, George Washington Jones de Peru, Mickey Mantle Ostrowski de Peru, and Thomas Jefferson Clark de Peru). Peru gets PWNED.
    • Douglas Mac Arthur; originally Herman Witherspoon, but he felt he deserved a "more glorious appellation" when he prepared to assert military control over about half of Kennewick, Washington. He renamed his top officers to Patton, Pershing, Lee, Stuart, and Jackson so that he would have command over more famous generals than anyone else in American history. Lee, Stuart, and Jackson turn traitor and declare their sovereignty over the southern blocks of the city.
  • In Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, a geologist is named Ann Clayborne. Her husband is called Simon (meaning "a rock"), and her arch-rival is named Saxifrage (after a variety of flower also known as "rock-breaker".)
  • Sepulch[re g]rave, Seventy-Sixth Earl of Groan. Guess what his personality is like.
    • It's rare for a character in the series not to have a meaningful name. Swelter the chef, Prunesquallor the doctor, Muzzlehatch the zookeeper, etc.
  • In Battlefield Earth, the race of evil aliens that has all but wiped out humanity are called the Psychlos. They are in fact secretly being controlled by a sinister cabal of "Catrists" through brain surgery. Guess which profession Scientologists in general and L. Ron Hubbard in particular hates with a passion?
  • In The Dresden Files, the titular character, who has a habit of using fire spells and melting or exploding things (sometimes even without intending to), has as a surname the name of a city bombed in World War II--a bombing noted for explosions and incendiary attacks.
  • In John C Wright's The Golden Age, a Neptunian trying to persuade Phaethon that he is suffering from Laser Guided Amnesia by pointing to the name he chose for himself.
  • In John C Wright's Chronicles of Chaos, the main character rejoice in such names as "Victor Triumph" and "Vanity Fair". Then, they chose them themselves, when they were teenagers.
Live Action TV
  • Doctor Who, "Image of the Fendahl" features a character named Dr. Fendelman, who has no idea that it is his hidden genetic destiny to aid an ancient and malevolent life force known as the Fendahl. As the Completely Useless Encyclopedia points out, it's a shame other aliens weren't so transparent, as the heroes could just go through their phone book and round up every Joe Dalekagent and Mary Autonduplicate.
    • However, this example is a little different from the others; the name is an in-story indication that the Fendahl have been meddling with humanity for a long time, and the unusual name is noticed and commented on by characters in the story.
    • A Doctor Who example that has no such in-story explanation is Tremas in The Keeper of Traken; his body is taken over by the Master, whose title is an anagram of "Tremas".
    • There's also Mr. You Are Not Alone.
    • The Master as portrayed by John Simm went by the alias "Harold Saxon". Not only is "Mister Saxon" an anagram of "Master No. Six" (Simm was the sixth actor to appear in the role) but King Harold was the last of the Saxon rulers, in the same way that the Master's death left the Doctor as the last Time Lord - that we know of. The show's producers have claimed the "Master No. Six" anagram was not intentional.
    • And the Doctor himself? In The Sound of Drums, The Master believes the Doctor chose his name so as to associate himself with "the man who makes people better". The Master's choice of name is naturally a massive hint towards his egotism ("a psychiatrist's field day", from the same episode). And of course, "Master" was chosen for the Doctor's arch-nemesis due to the academic connection.
    • Many of the alien races encountered in the New Series are given a Meaningful Name. In Fear Her, we meet an alien spore called the Isolus whose motivating demon is loneliness (isolation); the Carrionites in The Shakespeare Code were specifically designed to be like carrion creatures; the Adipose in Partners in Crime are made of living fat cells; the Pyrovile in The Fire of Pompeii thrive on the atmosphere of an erupting volcano; the Vespiform in The Unicorn and the Wasp takes the form of a giant wasp occasionally disguised as a human; I could go on ...
  • Jeannie in I Dream Of Jeannie, who of course is a genie.
  • Power Rangers has taken to doing this in recent years.
    • Wild Force had an Anti Villain named Zen-Aku (good-evil) who would Kick The Dog one minute and Pet The Dog the next for his own reasons.
    • SPD's aliens are frequently named after the animal they resemble, such as doglike Anubis "Doggie" Kruger of Sirius, catlike Kat Manx and Dr. Felix, apelike Sgt. Silverback, and birdlike Fowler Birdy. With humans it's not quite as gimmicky: Blue Ranger Sky has a flying Zord, Jack was once a thief, etc.
    • Mystic Force is somewhat sneakier: Water-powered Madison shares a name with the mermaid in Splash (as well as sharing Tomoyo's name in the less-than-wonderful Cardcaptor Sakura dub. Both Madisons have a penchant for capturing the other characters on film.) and her tomboyish, hyperactive sister is named Vida (Life.) A moon-powered apprentice magician is named Clare (clair de lune is French for moonlight.) The Rangers' friend Leelee's last name, Pimvare, is an anagram of 'vampire.' It turns out she's The Mole, and daughter of the vampiric villainess Necrolai. Oddly, some denizens of the mystical dimension are named after weapons (Leanbow, Bowen, Daggeron) but are never shown to use their namesakes in battle.
    • In Overdrive, Mackenzie "Mack" Hartford's Humongous Mecha is based on a dump truck, and the Pink Ranger's name is Rose. Mack's name may also be a play on the computer company, since he is ultimately revealed to be a robot.
  • The only two of LazyTown's 9 recurring characters this doesn't apply to in some form are Stephanie and Ziggy. They are not total exceptions though, as in the Icelandic language versions that pre-dated LazyTown, Stephanie was named Solla Stirða (Solla Stiff), while Ziggy was Siggi Sæti (Siggi Sweet).
    • Sportacus is a corny, but appropriate, name for a athletic but not super-powered hero.
    • Trixie, the mischievous to