Naming Conventions

"You won't find many Schuyler Vanderpools blowin' into a harmonica on death row; no one in need of brain surgery is breakin' down the door to see Dr. Lucky Lipshitz, and I'm sure only the most devoted aficionado would pay money to see a ballet dancer named Bruno McNulty."

— George Carlin

There are obvious basic trends in character names. Outside a Badass Bookworm, you will probably never encounter a tough-guy character in a drama with the name "Eugene" or "Adelbert".^note Except maybe Adelbert Steiner. Or Eugene "Flynn Rider" Fitzherbert. Outside a Genius Bruiser, you will probably never see a computer geek named "Rocco" or "Lefty". "Ethel" is always dowdy^note Except maybe Ethel Hallow, while "Jennifer" is either a bombshell or a fresh-faced girl next door.

Society has stereotypes that go with most names, and television writers play to those stereotypes. Comedy — especially broad or satirical comedy — can play against type with names, and sometimes talented writing can spawn a new stereotype to go with an old name. The rest of the time, though, writers go with what is known or expected, or else they risk having the characters dismissed by the viewers for reasons that they only vaguely understand themselves.

Foreign and outright alien characters have more leeway, but even with them, certain practices have become standardized.

A primary example of gleeful inversion would be Terry Pratchett's Discworld — you would expect Death's white horse to have a formidable, dark-sounding name. Instead, it's called Binky.

See also Language Tropes, and of course Fantastic Naming Convention. Compare Title Tropes.

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Tropes:

Main topic:

• Naming Conventions

See also:

• Title Tropes

Characters

• Accidental Misnaming: Getting someone's name wrong by mistake.
• Adam and/or Eve: The names "Adam" and/or "Eve" are used symbolically.
• The Adjectival Man: A nameless character who's known only by an epithet.
• The Adjectival Superhero: The superhero's name is preceded by an adjective.
• Aerith and Bob: People with unusual names that come from another place, mixed with people with regular names.
• Adoptive Name Change: A character gets their name changed after being adopted.
• Affectionate Nickname: A nickname given out of affection.
• A.I.-cronym: Names given to AI/robots are often acronyms which cover for a much longer name pertaining to their function.
• Alice and Bob: Two hypothetical characters named Alice and Bob.
• Alice Allusion: Somebody named Alice is included in an Alice in Wonderland Shout-Out.
• An Alien Named "Bob": Alien is given a mundane name.
• Alliterative Family: Every name in a family starts with the same letter.
• Alliterative Name: Someone's first and last names start with the same letter.
• Almost Famous Name: Someone with a similar-sounding name to a celebrity.
• Alternative-Self Name-Change: An alternate version of somebody else chooses to go by a different name to easily separate the two.
• Ancestral Name: A character is named after their parent, grandparent or a more distant relative.
• Animal-Themed Superbeing: A superhero or villain based on an animal.
• Appropriated Appellation: Character uses a nickname given by someone else as an actual name.
• Artifact Alias: A character goes by their alias even after their real name is revealed.
• Artifact Name: A name that originally made sense, but no longer does.
• As Long as It Sounds Foreign: A name made up to sound foreign.
• Atrocious Alias: A rude or funny-sounding alias.
• Awesome Mc Cool Name: A name with cool words in it; in-universe examples only.
• Baby Name Trend Killer: A name suffers a dip in popularly due to being associated with something or someone controversial.
• Baby Name Trend Starter: Something in the news or in popular culture leads to an unusually popular name for babies.
• A Beast in Name and Nature: A frightening, monstrous or devilish character known as "The Beast."
• "Burly Detective" Syndrome: The narration avoids using characters' names in favor of flowery epithets.
• Calling Parents by Their Name: A child calls their parent by their name.
• Canon Identifier: Indistinguishable game protagonists are given names/titles to differentiate them.
• Canon Name: An originally nameless video game character gets canonically named.
• Captain Colorbeard: Characters named after colours and/or body parts (e.g. Blackbeard)
• Captain Superhero: A superhero with "Captain" above their name.
• Character Name Alias: A character uses an in-series fictional character's name as an alias.
• Cherry Blossom Girl: A character whose name and other characteristics makes reference to cherry blossoms and relevant symbolism.
• Code Name: Someone goes by a fake name to hide their identity.
• Color Character: A person has a colour as part of their name.
• The Danza: A character whose name is taken from their actor/actress.
• Dark Age of Supernames: A superhero's name sounds creepy.
• "Day of the Week" Name: A character is named after a day of the week.
• Dead Guy Junior: Naming someone after somebody else who's dead.
• A Dick in Name: Someone named Richard or Dick gets puns about the word "dick".
• Diseased Name: A character is named after a disease.
• Ditching the Dub Names: A certain character is referred to by a different name in another language, but starts being called by their English name in all languages after a while.
• Doctor, Doctor, Doctor: Several people of similar professional rank greet each other with their titles.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": Someone doesn't want to be called by their given name.
• Don't Call Me "Sir": Someone doesn't like to be called by a title.
• Dr. Brainpart: Genius characters named after the brain.
• Dr. Genericius: A Mad Scientist with a name ending in "us" or "ius".
• Dub Name Change: Someone is renamed in a language dub.
• Dub Pronunciation Change: The way a name is pronounced is different in a foreign dub, but the name itself is still the same.
• Dub Species Change: An animal is identified as a different species in a language dub.
• Earn Your Title: A nickname with a serious reason.
• Embarrassing First Name: Someone's first name embarrasses them.
• Embarrassing Initials: Someone's initials spell out something that embarrasses the person with the initials.
• Embarrassing Last Name: Someone's last name embarrasses them.
• Embarrassing Middle Name: Someone's middle name embarrasses them.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Someone is given a nickname which they find embarrassing.
• Euphemistic Names: A person's name sounds an awful lot like a Sexual Euphemism.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Someone is known only as their title/occupation.
• Famous-Named Foreigner: A character foreign to the writers who is named after a famous person from their country.
• First-Name Basis: Addressing others just by their first name.
• Flintstone Theming: A whole lot of characters with Punny Names.
• Friendly Address Privileges: A name or nickname that only friends are allowed to call them.
• Full-Name Basis: Someone goes by their full name.
• Full-Name Ultimatum: A character is suddenly called by their full name. That means the character is in very serious trouble.
• Gender-Blender Name: Someone with a name of the opposite gender.
• Ghetto Name: Poor people with unusual names.
• Given Name Reveal: Someone goes by a fake name and their name is revealed.
• Giver of Lame Names: Someone gives people and things bad names.
• The Great Whodini: A makeshift magician whose nickname ends in "ini".
• Hates Being Nicknamed: A character hates being called by a nickname.
• Hayseed Name: Names associated with people from the sticks.
• Hello, [Insert Name Here]: A game lets you name its protagonists.
• Hero with a Unique Name: The protagonist stands out due to an unusual name.
• Hey, You!: Addressing someone with less respect than normal.
• Hippie Name: A hippie (or someone born to one) has an "out-there" name, usually pertaining to nature or enlightenment.
• His Name Really Is "Barkeep": Someone named after their profession.
• Hollywood Spelling: In fiction, people will always spell a name correctly even if it has more than one spelling.
• Hometown Nickname: When a character is referred to as the place they're from.
• House Pseudonym: A Pen Name that could belong to anyone.
• I Am X, Son of Y: Shouting out your name and one or both of your parents' names to boast.
• I Call Him "Mister Happy": A man names his penis.
• I Call It "Vera": A character names his favorite item.
• I Have Many Names: A character is known by several different names.
• I Know Your True Name: Someone or something's real name is important.
• Ironic Name: Someone doesn't live up to their names.
• Ironic Nickname: Someone's nickname doesn't describe them.
• In-Series Nickname: A character gets nicknamed.
• Insistent Appellation: Someone insists on calling another character something different from what they want to be called.
• Inconsistent Spelling: A name or term from a work is spelt differently in different canonical contexts.
• Insult of Endearment: An insult turns into an Affectionate Nickname.
• iProduct: The letter "I" can prefix anything in order to be cool.
• Joke Name Tag: A character's name tag displays a joke alias or obnoxious quip rather than their actual name.
• Just the First Citizen: A powerful ruler with a simple title.
• A Kind of One: Someone's species is named after them.
• Ladyella: A woman or girl whose name ends in "ella".
• Large Ham Title: Someone has a dramatic title that they want to be called by.
• Last-Minute Baby Naming: A character gets named the moment they're born with no previous consideration.
• Last-Name Basis: Someone goes by their surname.
• Law of Alien Names: Stereotypical names given to aliens.
• Lazy Alias: Someone uses a fake name that sounds lazily thought up.
• Lazily Gender-Flipped Name: Someone lazily and hastily feminizes a male name or masculinizes a female name; often seen with baby names when the parents expected a child of different sex, with pets that turned out to be the other sex or with cross-dressing characters.
• Letter Motif: Two characters are connected because they have one letter connecting their names.
• Let X Be the Unknown: Naming something "X" makes it mysterious.
• Line-of-Sight Name: Making up a name based on what you're looking at.
• Localized Name in a Non-Localized Setting: The characters names are localized, but the country of origin stays the same.
• Lord Country: The ruler of a country has the same name as the actual land.
• Luke Nounverber: A surname that implies an action (like being called Alice Skyjumper).
• Madame Fortune: A Fortune Teller will often go by the name "Madame [[Something]]".
• Magnus Means Mage: "Magnus" is associated with magic and wizards.
• Malicious Misnaming: Someone intentionally gets someone's name wrong in order to cause trouble.
• Meaningful Name: Someone's name has an important meaning.
• Meaningful Rename: Someone gets renamed as their old name doesn't fit.
  • Shed the Family Name: Someone gets rid of their surname.
• Meaningful Titles: Someone's title defines them.
  • Aristocrats Are Evil: Fancy people are always evil.
  • Evil Chancellor: The ruler's assistant is antagonistic to them.
  • The Good Captain: A heroic captain.
  • Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: A morally ambiguous or evil character is called "Doctor".
• A Mech by Any Other Name: A Humongous Mecha that's not called a mecha.
• Meet My Good Friends Lefty and Righty: Naming your arms (or hands, or fists).
• Melting-Pot Nomenclature: Everyone has diverse, unusual names for unexplained reasons.
• Middle Name Basis: Addressing others by their middle name.
• Military Rank Names: The Hero or a villain is named after a military title like "Lieutenant" or "General".
• "Miss X" Pun: A character's name can be a pun on an honorific (for example, Miss or Sir).
• Mister Descriptor: Characters with only surname, which describes them.
• Mister Strangenoun: Characters with words as their names.
• Mr. Smith: Using the surname "Smith" as an alias.
• My Nayme Is: A normal-sounding name with unusual spelling.
• Mysterious Middle Initial: We don't know what a character's middle initial stands for.
• Named After the Injury: A character is named or nicknamed after an injury they've sustained.
• Named After Somebody Famous: A character is named after a real-life celebrity.
• Named by Democracy: A character is named because people voted on it.
• Named by the Adaptation: A character with no name given acquires a name through an adaptation.
• Named in the Sequel: A (usually minor) character who had no name is given one in a later installment.
• Name From Another Species: Someone's species doesn't match their name.
• Named Like My Name: Someone has a generic name that becomes well known when someone sharing the same name does or is involved with something famous.
• Name McAdjective: Someone's moniker has a surname with "Mc" and then an adjective.
• Name-Meaning Change: The name of a person or thing is given a new meaning as time goes on.
• Name Order Confusion: Misunderstandings related to foreign names (e.g. whether to have the surname first or last).
• Names Given to Computers: Computers are given names.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Intimidating names.
  • The Butcher: A villain nicknamed something like "The Butcher".
  • "Darkness von Gothick" Name: A gothic-sounding name.
  • Dr. Fakenstein: A Mad Scientist whose name is a Shout-Out to Frankenstein.
  • Gunman with Three Names: Murderers get called by their full names.
  • Louis Cypher: A demon in disguise uses an alias that hints at their identity.
  • The Master: An intimidating character called "The Master".
  • My Hero, Zero: A protagonist named "Zero".
  • Name of Cain: Bad guys named "Cain" or a variation.
  • One Bad Mother: The word "mother" is used in a villain's name.
  • Red Baron: A cool character with an equally cool nickname.
  • Spell My Name with a "The": Someone goes by "The [Nickname]"
  • They Call Him "Sword": Nicknaming somebody after a weapon.
  • A Villain Named Khan: A villain named "Khan".
  • A Villain Named "Z__rg": A sci-fi villain named "Zrg" or a variation.
  • Villain Baal: Anyone named "Baal" is bound to be evil.
  • "X" Makes Anything Cool: The letter "X" in a name is cool.
• Names to Trust Immediately: Names that imply the person with the name is trustworthy.
• Name That Unfolds Like Lotus Blossom: A person's name is a description.
• Name-Tron: Machines are named "Something-tron".
• The Nameless: A character without a name.
  • No Need for Names: A nameless character doesn't think they need a name.
  • Name Amnesia: Someone forgets their name.
  • Nameless Narrative: A story in which nobody has a name.
  • Never Given a Name: A character who doesn't have a name since they were never given one.
  • No Name Given: A character whose name is not revealed.
    • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Someone's name is not revealed as everyone calls them by their job.
    • No Full Name Given: Someone's full name is not revealed.
    • Unnamed Parent: Someone's parent's name isn't revealed.
  • The Scottish Trope: Someone is afraid or not allowed to say a certain word.
  • Withholding Their Name: Someone hides their name to keep a secret.
  • You Are Number 6: Somebody's name is a number.
  • You Know the One: Something or somebody that the writers want to keep secret is referred to only by pronouns or ambiguous nouns.
• Named Weapons: A weapon with a specific name.
• Naming Your Colony World: Traditions on naming a place.
• "Near and Dear" Baby Naming: A character who is named after a living person who their parent is close to or otherwise affiliated with.
• Nom de Guerre: A soldier with a nickname.
• Nom de Mom: Someone takes their mother's maiden name.
• Nominal Importance: Characters important to the plot are given names, while others remain nameless and are more likely to die.
• Noun Verber: A title is made up of a noun and a verb (like the word "firefighter").
  • Verber Creature: Creatures named after verbs.
• The Noun Who Verbed: A title consists of the main character's name and what they do.
• Odd Name, Normal Nickname: An unusual name is shortened to something more common relative to the story's setting.
• Odd Name Out: A group of people which shares a theme in their names that one of them deviates from (e.g. Alice, Albert, Aiden and Jane).
• Ominous Mundanity: A mundane name is used to be dramatic.
• One-Letter Name: Someone's name has only one letter.
• One-Mario Limit: Names associated with celebrities and fictional characters.
• One-Steve Limit: No two characters share the same first name.
• Online Alias: A username someone uses on The Internet.
• Only Known by Initials: Someone is referred to almost exclusively by their initials.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Someone is referred to almost exclusively by their nickname.
• Only One Name: A person with no surname.
• Outdated Name: A name that was commonplace at the time the work was written or set is rare now.
• Outgrowing the Childish Name: A character no longer uses a diminutive form of their name, or a nickname, as a sign of maturity.
• Overly Long Name: Someone has a whole lot of middle names.
• Parental Title Characterization: A child's relationship with their parent being displayed in what they call them.
• Parody Names: Replacing the characters' names with something silly that sounds similar in The Parody.
• Pen Name: A writer goes by a different name than their real one.
• Person with the Clothing: A character is referred to by some iconic thing they wear.
• Porn Names: Someone goes by a nickname as a sex worker.
• Prefers Proper Names: A character prefers to call people by their full given and/or surnames.
• Preppy Name: Names that are stereotypically associated with wealthy people.
• Prestigious Player Title: Players are given a fancy title that fits in with the game's theme.
• Pretentious Pronunciation: A name is pronounced in a "posh" way.
• Professional Maiden Name: A married woman continues using her maiden name for her professional career.
• Pronouncing My Name for You: Clarifying on the pronunciation of one's name.
• Prophetic Names: Someone is destined to live up to their names.
• Psmith Psyndrome: Someone can tell if someone else is spelling something wrong even if the second character just says it.
• Punny Name: A name is a pun.
• Race-Name Basis: Someone calls someone else by their ethnos instead of their name.
• Real Joke Name: Someone's name is mistaken for a joke name.
• Real Name as an Alias: Someone messes up the order of their names (using a middle name as a first name, etc.) to make an alias.
• Renamed the Same: A person's new name is almost identical to their old one.
• Repetitive Name: Someone's first, middle and last names have something in common.
• Rhyming Names: Someone's name rhymes with itself.
• Ridiculously Long-lived Family Name: Members of a family retain the same surname through unbelievably many generations
• Robot Names: Robots named after what they do.
• A Saint Named Mary: A benevolent or saintly female character is named after Mary the mother of Jesus.
• Same Face, Different Name: The artist goes by a different name when writing different kinds of art.
• Same Surname Means Related: If two characters share a surname, that can't be a coincidence.
• Screen Name: A username.
• Sdrawkcab Name: A name is a word or another name spelt backwards.
  • Alucard: The name Alucard (Dracula spelt backwards).
  • Sdrawkcab Alias: An alias is the real name written backwards.
• Secret Public Identity: A superhero uses their real name.
• Self-Applied Nickname: A character refers to themself by their own nickname.
• Sesquipedalian Smith: Someone has a long given name and short surname.
• Seven Is Nana: In Japanese, the number seven is pronounced "Nana".
• She Is the King: A woman who reigns under a masculine title like "Mister" or "King".
• Significant Monogram: Someone's initials mean something.
• SI Prefix Name: Someone whose name starts with "Mega" or "Techno" or something along those lines.
• Sir Verb-a-Lot: A knight's name ends with "elot" or "a lot".
• Sobriquet Sex Switch: A character goes by a similar name to their old one when they change gender.
• Somebody Named "Nobody": A character is given the name "Nobody" (or a translation thereof) to make them seem stranger and/or more mysterious.
• Some Call Me "Tim": Someone with a complex, crazy name and a simpler nickname.
• Something Person: Superheroes named after a trait and gender.
• Superhero Sobriquets: Superheroes have a nickname.
• Speak of the Devil: If you say the villain's name, he will appear.
• Special Person, Normal Name: Someone has a relatively common name but he's not a normal person.
• Spell My Name with a Blank: Removing or blanking names to avoid lawsuit.
• Stellar Name: Someone's name is something to do with the sky.
• Steven Ulysses Perhero: A character's name hints at their abilities or role.
• Stock Foreign Name: A character has the most common or stereotypical name from their country.
• Sue Donym: An alias that's similar to the real name.
• Take Away Their Name: Magically taking someone's name away from them.
• Terms of Endangerment: Affectionate nicknaming from an enemy.
• Themed Aliases: A character has several aliases, that all have something in common.
• Theme Naming: A group of people whose names share something in common.
  • Family Theme Naming: A family whose names share something in common (apart from their surname).
  • Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: A character or group is given a relevant name from religion and mythology.
  • Shout-Out Theme Naming: A work's characters are named after another, older work's characters.
  • Theme Initials: Several characters have the same initials.
  • Theme Twin Naming: Twins with similar-sounding or themed names.
• The "The" Title Confusion: Trouble with how to alphabetise titles that start with the word "the".
• They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: A character insists on being called something in particular.
• Thing-O-Matic: A machine that's called what it does plus "o-matic" or "inator".
• This Is My Name on Foreign: A character chooses an alias by using a foreign version of their name.
• Thoroughly Mistaken Identity: Someone is insane or whatever and thinks a character is another one they know.
• Tiered by Name: A stronger version of a being has an alteration to its name.
• Tomboyish Name: A girl or woman has a boy's name to emphasize how masculine she is.
• Tom the Dark Lord: A villain with a normal name.
• Took the Wife's Name: A man takes his wife's surname rather than the other way around.
• The Trope Formerly Known as X: Someone is known as "the X formerly known as Y".
• The Trope Kid: An outlaw has "Kid" in their nickname as they earned it when they were children.
• The Trope without a Title: Something nameless is only referred to by a description.
• Try to Fit That on a Business Card: A person with a very long title.
• Tuckerization: A character is named after someone the author knows.
• Two First Names: A character has a first name as their last name.
• Unfortunate Names: A name that sounds rude or funny.
• Unusual Pop Culture Name: Someone has a very obvious pop culture reference for a name.
• The Unpronounceable: Someone's name is really hard to pronounce.
• Unpronounceable Alias: To protect their true identity, a character invents a bizarre, unutterable false name on the spot.
• Verbal Tic Name: A character is named or nicknamed for the only thing they say.
• Viewer Name Confusion: Audiences get a character's name wrong.
• The Von Trope Family: A surname that consists of "von X" to emphasize how a character is stern, powerful, militaristic, villainous, foreign, aristocratic, or otherwise carries cultural or stereotypical associations.
• Wacky Americans Have Wacky Names: An American character with a wacky name.
• Wealth's in a Name: A rich person has a name that has to do with being rich.
• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: A response to hearing an unusual name.
• Winter Royal Lady: A lady uses a winter-themed royal title.
• Word-O Name: A (code)name created by simply taking an appropriate word and slapping an O or A on the end.

Ensembles

• Egocentric Team Naming: Someone names a team after themselves.
• Identically Named Group: Everyone in a group has the same name.
• The Law Firm of Pun, Pun, and Wordplay: A law firm with a silly combination of names.
• Myspeld Rökband: A band which misspells its name.
• The Notable Numeral: A group named after a word plus the number of members.
  • One Extra Member: A group named after the number of members has one extra.
• Portmanteau Couple Name: A couple is referred to as a portmanteau of the characters' names.
• The Something Force: The word "force" at the end of a group's name, added for Rule of Cool.
• Squad Nickname: A group of soldiers nicknames their group.
• Unified Naming System: Everything important is named following a certain theme or trend.
• The Wildcats: A generic name for a sports team.

Locations

• Adjective Animal Alehouse: A bar that's called "The [Adjective] [Animal]".
• Business of Generic Importance: A location or a business that does not have a unique-sounding name.
• Camp Wackyname: Summer camps having silly names.
• Chez Restaurant: A fancy restaurant (likely French) starting with the word Chez.
• Countrystan: A country name ending with "-stan". Strongly associated with Central Asia.
• Cutesy Name Town: A town with a cute or silly name.
• Egopolis: Naming a place after yourself.
• Descriptively-Named Species: An alien whose name is based on their looks or behaviour.
• Descriptiveville: A town with a name that sums up what the town is like.
• Generican Empire: a government with a broadly encompassing, only loosely descriptive name
• I Don't Like the Sound of That Place: A place with a scary name.
• Istanbul (Not Constantinople): An alternate Earth that has names of places based on real place names.
• Namedworld and Namedland: A place with "world" or "land" on the end.
• Namesake Institution: Naming a location after someone you admire.
• Naming Your Colony World: Space colonies tend to follow a lot of different naming conventions.
• New Neo City: A place is called "New [Otherplace]".
• Numbered Homeworld: A planet named after the sun they orbit and a number.
• One-Federation Limit: There's only one federation or republic or whatever.
• A Planet Named Zok: Alien names that use rare consonants like "Z" and "X".
• Please Select New City Name: A location's name is changed.
• Premiseville: A city with a Meaningful Name.
• WPUN: A radio or TV station has a call sign with a pun.

Occasions

• Adoptive Name Change: A character adopted into a new family also gets a new name.
• Child Naming Request: The parent or expecting parent of a baby lets someone else choose a name.
• Naming Ceremony: A party to name someone.
• Significant Name Shift: A character changes what they call someone.
• You Mean "Xmas": A holiday that's basically a regular holiday with a different name.
• You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Being called by a particular thing means something serious is happening.

Things

• Advanced Tech 2000: Make a piece of technology sound exciting by giving it a big number after its name.
• Call a Human a "Meatbag": A non-human uses a derogatory word to describe humans.
• Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Alien creatures that are practically Earth creatures with a different name.
• Call a Smeerp a "Rabbit": Fantasy creatures that get called by the names of regular creatures.
• Cute as a Bouncing Betty: Calling something scary by a cute name.
• Excalibur in the Stone: The erroneous belief that Excalibur was the sword that was in the stone.
• Foo Fu: The suffix "fu" added to a thing to make it cooler.
• Humans by Any Other Name: Another species has their own name for humans.
• Legacy Vessel Naming: A vehicle is named after a destroyed vessel.
• Magic by Any Other Name: Magic is not called that.
• My Verbin' Noun: Calling body parts your [Verb] [Body part] due to what they do.
• Namesake Gag: Pretending something is someone or something's namesake or messing it up some other way.
• Operation: [Blank]: A plan called Operation: X.
• Person as Verb: Actions or behaviors named after someone known for doing them.
• Product Placement Name: Something is named after a product due to a sponsorship.
• Pun-Based Creature: Creatures with Punny Names, or based on literal interpretations of wordplay and jokes.
• Reporting Names: Names given to units whose real names are unknown.
• Sci-Fi Name Buzzwords: Word components added to words to sound more sci-fi-ish.
  • Photoprotoneutron Torpedo: A sci-fi weapon named after a subatomic particle or similar.
• Somethingitis: Fictional disease names end with -itis.
• Stock Weapon Names: The most common names for Named Weapons.
• Virus and Cure Names: A virus has a fancy name and the cure has a related name.
• We Will Use WikiWords in the Future: CamelCase happens a lot in works set in the future.
• Weapon of Peace: Weapons that have names which sound peaceful.
• What Did You Expect When You Named It ____?: Someone names an item by a name that, due to a bad example, is doomed to fail.
• Whatevermancy: Specialized magic is called something-mancy or something-kinesis.

Animals and Pets

• Animal Naming Conventions: Common ways animal characters name each other.
• Creatures by Many Other Names: The work refers to types of beings by various names.
• Deathbringer the Adorable: A cute animal with a scary name.
• A Dog Named "Cat": An animal that's named after a different species.
• A Dog Named "Dog": An animal that's named after its own species.
• A Dog Named "Perro": An animal that's named after its own species in a different language than the work's primary one.
• Fluffy the Terrible: A scary animal with a cute name.
• Formally-Named Pet: An animal with a formal name like "Mr. [Something]".
• A Lizard Named "Liz": An animal with a name that hints at its species.
• Pet's Homage Name: Naming a pet after someone famous.
• A Pig Named "Porkchop": An animal is named after the meat, food, or other animal products that could come from it.
• Pokémon Speak: An animal that can only say its name.
• Species Surname: An animal whose last name is their species.
• Stock Animal Name: Names stereotypically associated with animals.
• Verber Creature: An animal or creature is named after their primary action.
• We Named the Monkey "Jack": Naming an animal after a human.

Any

• Age of Titles: A title called "Age of X".
• All There in the Script: A name only exists in the script.
• Constantly Changing Name: Sometimes it's hard to stick to just one name.
• Debating Names: Characters try to decide what to name someone or something.
• Descriptively-Named Species: A species of alien is referred to by a descriptive nickname consisting of their physical traits and/or behavior.
• Double X: Something with two "X"s in its name to be cool.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: A name that's exactly what the thing is.
• Fantastic Naming Convention: A culture with a unique naming system.
• Franken-X: An abomination is called "Franken-something".
• Generic Name: A name that basically means "generic".
• I Know Your True Name: Someone's "true name" is significant.
• Insistent Terminology: Someone insists on something being called X, not Y.
• Heart of the Matter: Something so vital, it's likened to a living heart.
• The Magnificent: Someone is called [Name] the [Adjective].
• Moniker As Enticement: A work that wants to teach a mundane skill tries to make it sound cooler by saying that you earn a snappy label if you learn it (e.g. "You're a Street-Crossing Champion if you look before crossing the street!").
• Named After Their Planet: The name of an alien comes from the name of their planet.
• Namedar: Something named by what it does.
• Naturalized Name: Someone immigrates and changes their name to a name native to their country.
• Nonindicative Name: Something or somebody's name doesn't indicate them.
• Now I Know What to Name Him: Someone names a kid after finding out their future.
• Planet of Steves: A planet where everyone has the same name.
• Power of the God Hand: Something called the God Hand.
• Production Nickname: A Trivia for when a Fan Nickname originated with the show's production team.
• Punctuation Shaker: Alien names with l'ots of a'postr'ophes.
• Portmantitle: A name from two other titles meshed together.
• Renamed to Avoid Association: A character is renamed because of another character or real-life person sharing the same name.
• Rite-of-Passage Name Change: An entire culture or race assigns one name at birth and the child earns or chooses another name when they reach a certain milestone
• Significant Anagram: An anagram of a name is important.
• Significant Name Overlap: Two or more characters are given the same name for plot-related reasons.
• Squat's in a Name: A seemingly Meaningful Name isn't.
• Stage Names: A nickname used by an actor or an actress.
• Sudden Name Change: A character's name suddenly shifts with no explanation.
• Temporary Name Change: A name is changed, but later changed back.
• Xtreme Kool Letterz: Replacing some letters with others in order to be cool.

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