The Pretty Cure franchise has lots of fun with this trope.
- Futari wa Pretty Cure and MaX Heart:
- The iconic duo's human surnames are very clever.
- In Nagisa Misumi's case, "Misumi" means "beautiful ink". Ink is traditionally black, hence, she's Cure Black.
- In Honoka Yukishiro's case, the way "Yukishiro" is spelled means "snow castle". Snow is white, hence, she's Cure White.
- The sequel, Max Heart, adds a new character - Shiny Luminous. Her human name, Hikari Kujou, is also meaningful. "Hikari" means "light", referring to how she's part of the queen of the Garden of Light. "Ku" means "nine", a loose reference to the queen splitting into multiple parts. Nine is divisible by three, which is the number of parts the queen was divided into. "Jou" may refer to her role as the life of the queen - the Japanese word for "queen" is "jouou".
- The iconic duo's human surnames are very clever.
- Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash★Star:
- Pretty Cure and the Kiryuu sisters all have names relating to their Kachofugetsu-themed Cure personas. All these relations are expressed in sequence near the end of episode 48.
- Saki Hyuuga: "Saki" comes from the Japanese verb "saku", meaning "to bloom", while "Hyuuga" can be translated as "facing the sun"
- Mai Mishou: In Japanese "Mishou" is written with the characters for "beauty" and "fly". "Mai" translates to dance, but it can also refer to the fluttering of a bird's wings.
- The "Kiryuu" surname is written with the character for "fog" and another character that means "life" or "birth". Michiru means "to be full" as in a full moon, while Kaoru means "fragrance".
- Villains:
- Karehan: "Kareha" means "dead leaves".
- Moerumba: "Moeru" means burn, while rumba is self-explanatory.
- Dorodoron: "Doro" means dirt.
- Ms Shitataare: "Mizu" means "water" and "shitataru" means "dripping"
- Kintolesky: "Kin" is Japanese for gold, "kintore" is an abbreviation of "muscle training", and "suki" means "like" (As in "I like muscle training")
- Akudaikan: "Aku" means "evil", while "daikan" is an old word for "magistrate"; it's a reference to a villain archetype in Jidaigeki.
- Gooyan: "Goya" is a kind of melon. It may also be a reference to "Echigo-ya", a Japanese 17th century merchant group, which would evoke the "dishonest merchant" archetype in Jidaigeki.
- Pretty Cure and the Kiryuu sisters all have names relating to their Kachofugetsu-themed Cure personas. All these relations are expressed in sequence near the end of episode 48.
- Yes! Pretty Cure 5:
- Cure Dream: Nozomi = 'hope', 'Yume' = dream. Also doubles as a Prophetic Name.
- Sixth Ranger Mimino Kurumi has a very interesting Meaningful Name when it's spelled backwards: Mi Ru Ku No Mi Mi Miruku no mimi, Miruku = Milk. Milk's ears, which reveals her identity as one of the team's Weasel Mascots.
- Kawarino is derived from 'Kawaru', meaning 'to change'. Thus, his One-Winged Angel forms a giant, humanoid chameleon.
- Desparaiah: It looks an awful lot like 'despair', doesn't it?
- The school's Gratuitous French name, L'Ecole des Cinq Lumieres, literally translates to "The School of the Five Lights". This has no direct relationship with the five lights that protected the Palmier Kingdom, but it is where those five lights found the protagonists so they can become Pretty Cures.
- Fresh Pretty Cure!:
- The first kanji in Love's surname 桃 suits her pink color motif, and her forename Love suits her being the Precure of Love.
- Two kanji in Miki's name, 蒼 and 希, suit respectively her blue color motif and her being the Precure of Hope.
- Inori's surname Yamabuki is the Japanese word for Japanese Kerria, whose yellow color is the same as her Cure form.
- Setsuna's surname Higashi means "east" - a reference to her original name Eas. Setsuna can mean "moment" or "instant", believed to be part of a Theme Naming with the other Labyrinth agents' human identities.
- Westar's surname Nishi means "west". Hayato can mean "falcon person" and may be a reference to the word "hayai" meaning "fast" or "quick". This is part of a Theme Naming with the Labyrinth agents' civilian identities.
- HeartCatch Pretty Cure!:
- One of the main characters is named Hanasaki Tsubomi. Hanasaki means blooming flowers, Tsubomi means bud. Her grandma runs a flower shop, and oh yeah, she turns into Cure Blossom.
- Her first name, which means "flower bud", is at least justified: there was a budding tree by the window of the hospital room where she was born — also making it a more serious variant of Line-of-Sight Name.
- Yuri's surname literally means "moon shadow" and her first name is also the Japanese name for the lily flower, which is also her Heart Flower.
- The fairies are named after things associated with perfumes. Chypre is a floral perfume family, Coffret comes from the French word for a jewelry box or casket, but can also refer to a coffret parfum, a box of smaller perfumes. Potpourri and Cologne are self-explanatory.
- The 'Kaoru' in Kaoruko Hanasaki means "scent" or "fragrance".
- The 'kumo' in Kumojaki means 'spider'.
- Cobraja is a portmanteau of 'cobra' and the Japanese word for snake
- The 'sasori' in Sasorina means 'scorpion'.
- The "Suna" in "Snackey" means "sand", which they seem to be filled with (in addition to serving a desert-themed evil organization). The "cky" part of "Sunacky" could come from "lackey(s)", and it could also reference how "ki" is the only sound they can make.
- One of the main characters is named Hanasaki Tsubomi. Hanasaki means blooming flowers, Tsubomi means bud. Her grandma runs a flower shop, and oh yeah, she turns into Cure Blossom.
- Suite Pretty Cure ♪:
- The first character in Hibiki and Kanade's surnames are the characters for North and South respectively, while Waon and Seika's have the characters for, respectively, West and East, which led to many fans guessing that they would become Cures later on.
- Hibiki and Kanade's first names are also significant and fit with the musical theme of the series. The term "hibiki" means a sound, a ring, or an echo. Used as a verb, it can mean to resound/resonate. The term "kanade" means to play or perform, such as with a musical instrument.
- Ellen and Ako are named after Electric and Acoustic (as in, string instruments) respectively.
- Masamune Ouji's name fits his Princely Young Man personality.
- Smile PreCure!:
- For the first time in a Pretty Cure series, the meanings behind the Cures' names are explained and discussed.
- Akaoni means... "red oni".
- Majorina/Brooha: "Majo" is Japanese for "witch". "Brooha" appears to be a corruption of "Bruja", the Spanish for "witch".
- Nico: To quote Miyuki, "Like her name, Nico is a girl that's always smiling." "Nico" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for smiling.
- Glitter Force: Wolfrun's name is changed to Ulric, which means "wolf ruler".
- Doki Doki! PreCure:
- Cure Heart's first name means "love". The "Ai" in Aida name can also mean "love" or "togetherness". Cure Heart, besides the obvious theme, is a reference to the suit of cards.
- Cure Diamond's name "Rikka" means snowflake. The "Hishi" is her surname means "a diamond shape". Cure Diamond refers to the suit of cards.
- Cure Rosetta's name Alice could bring to mind Alice in Wonderland, which is known for its association with the card deck. Her last name, Yotsuba, means "Clover", the plant shaped similar to the suit of Clubs. Cure Rosetta's name is Italian for "Rose", possibly referring to the plant known as the rose clover. note
- The ken kanji in Cure Sword's surname means "sword", which is also the suit in playing cards that was the precursor to spades. She isn't, however, the first Kenzaki to be a warrior represented by spades.
- Charle's name is a corruption of "Charles", the card corresponding to the King of Hearts in old Parisian playing-card decks.
- Rachel is named after the card corresponding to the Queen of Diamonds in old Parisian playing-card decks.
- Lance's name is short for Lancelot, the card corresponding to the Knight of Clubs in old Parisian playing-card decks.
- Davi's name is a corruption of "David", the card corresponding to the King of Spades in old Parisian playing-card decks.
- Glitter Force Doki Doki: Alice is renamed Clara, a name that means "bright", fitting her association with light and the sun.
- HappinessCharge Pretty Cure!:
- Cure Lovely's real name is Megumi Aino, Ai being the Japanese word for love. Not just that; "Megumi" is one possible (albeit uncommon) reading for the kanji "Ai" when it's used as a first name, as did in her voice actress Megumi Nakajima.
- Likewise, Cure Princess is named Himelda and called "Hime" for short. Hime is the Japanese word for princess. Her full name, Shirayuki Hime, is the Japanese name for Snow White. When Iona asks, she reveals that she named herself after the fairy tale on purpose.
- Ribbon! The hair decoration on her head.
- Glasan -> Glasses. The "hair decoration" on her head.
- Villains:
- Namakelder roughly translates to "Lazing around".
- Hosshiiwa's name means "desires", due to her It's All About Me nature.
- Oresky more or less translates to 'I like myself'.
- Choiarks roughly translate to "kinda bad" due to them being small versions of the Saikars.
- Saiark translate to "Terrible" or "Worst", as they are bigger version of the Choiarks.
- Go! Princess Pretty Cure:
- The Cures' full names relate to their element in some manner.
- Haruka's name can mean "spring flower" while her last name translates to "Spring field".
- Minami's name means "beautiful wave" and her last name means "Ocean Wisteria".
- Kirara's name contains "kira", the onomatopoeia for sparkling/twinkling, and her last name happens to be the Japanese name for the Milky Way Galaxy, showing her connection with stars.
- Towa's family name means "red castle". Red is the color associated with her, and castles are obviously part of the whole princess theme (especially since Towa is the only main character who's an actual princess by birth).
- Speaking of Miss Shamour:
- Think "siamese cat."
- It also sounds like "Chamois" leather, fitting with the mascots' fashion naming theme.
- The three musketeer's names, Close, Shut, and Lock, all follow the theme of locking something away. They also appear to have additional meanings.
- Close transforms into a giant crow. Close's name in Japanese is spelled as Kuroozu (クローズ), while the Japanese spelling for crow is Kuroo (クロウ).
- Lock transforms into a frog-dragon type creature. Lock's name in Japanese is spelled as Rokku (ロック), while the Japanese spelling for frog is Furoggu (フロッグ).
- Shut transforms into a giant cat. Shut's name in Japanese is spelled as Shatto (シャット), while the Japanese spelling for cat is Kyatto (キャット).
- The Cures' full names relate to their element in some manner.
- KiraKira★Pretty Cure à la Mode:
- Aoi Tategami: "Ao" means "blue", hence her blue hair and eyes.
- Yukari Kotozume: "Yukari" means "violet". Yukari has violet hair and eyes.
- HuGtto! Pretty Cure:
- Cure Yell: "Hana" can mean "flower", relating to the light flower-theme in her Cure form, while "Nono" means "field of wilderness", which reflects her Cure name and Genki Girl personality.
- Cure Ange: Her last name contains "yakushi" (薬師), which is an archaic form of the word "doctor", relating to her status as the healing Cure. Her first name being in hiragana means it can have multiple interpretations, but one possible one is "wise coloring" (慧彩).
- Cure Etoile: The kanji for her last name translates to "sparkling tree", and is also a pun on "Kagayaki", the Japanese word for "sparkle/radiance", which fits her star motif.
- Cure Macherie: Her last name contains the kanji for "ai", or "love." Cure Ma'Cherie is the Precure of Love. Several common readings of "Emiru" include the kanji for "love" as well.
- Cure Amour: Her name is pronounced in a way that is reminiscent of "rule". At first, she follows the rules of the company without question before her Heel–Face Turn. It is also (accidentally) reminiscent of the play R.U.R, which introduced the word 'robot' into the world and was the baseline for every 'robot overthrows humanity' plot. Also, her adopted last name is Amour, which is French for "love." Cure Amour is the Precure of love.
- Ristol: Named after the Japanese slang word "risutora" (short for "restructuration", which is synonymous in Japan with "layoffs").
- Daigan: His name is a play on "Dankai" or the Japanese Baby Boomer Generation. Fittingly, much like the Baby Boomers in Japan are at retirement age, he's sent into 'retirement' within minutes of preparing to battle the Cures for the first time.
- Pappuru: Named after the Showa "bubble" period. Her mannerisms are full of references to that period, using vocabulary and words that were in fashion back then, but not as much now.
- Jeros: Named after Japan's "Lost Generation" period (Rosuto Jenereshon), which came after the "Bubble" period, similar to how she was introduced in episode 19, the episode following Pappuru's failure to capture Ruru.
- Charalit: The "chara" in his name evokes the party-goer and lazy bum/slacker/unfaithful stereotype of a charai otoko ("shallow guy"). Naturally, that's just the kind of person he is.
- Hugtan's real name, Hagumi, is pronounced similarly to the English phrase "Hug me!".
- Star☆Twinkle Pretty Cure: To fit this season's space motif, we have a new set of meaningful names:
- Hikaru Hoshina's name can be read out to mean "star light".
- Lala's family name "Hagoromo" roughly means "feathered robe"; in Japanese Buddhist folklore, these robes are worn by Tennin
. - Elena Amamiya's surname Amamiya (天宮) means "heaven palace" and her forename means "bright one"
- Madoka Kaguya's surname Kaguya alludes to the protagonist of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. The third kanji in her surname 矢 also alludes to her archery powers. Her forename if written in kanji 円 means either "circle" (alluding to the moon being round) or "yen" (alluding to her family's wealthy status)
- Fuwa's name comes from the fluffy onomatopoeia.
- City of Adventure Mihoshi (観星) means "see the stars"
- Ryoutaro Sorami's surname (空見) means "sky sight" and the first kanji in her forename 遼 means "distant" or "far", alluding to how distant space is.
- The first kanji in Hikaru's grandmother Youko's forename and in Hikaru's father Youichi's forename is the second kanji in the Japanese word for sun (太陽).
- The first kanji in Hikaru's mother Terumi's forename, 輝, means shine.
- The first kanji in Madoka's mother Mitsuka's forename, 満, is the first kanji in the Japanese word for full moon (満月).
- Yumika Nasu's name has the word for bow (弓/yumi, written in hiragana) and is very similar to that of Nasu no Yoichi, a Heian-era samurai well-known for his archery skills, both in line with her archery career.
- Healin' Good♡Pretty Cure
- One possible meaning of Nodoka's name is "tranquil", which fits with her calm and helpful nature relative to a majority of her more excitable pink predecessors. Her family name Hanadera translates as "flower temple", which is fitting with her connection to flowers as Cure Grace.
- Chiyu's name is homophonic with the Japanese word for "full recovery"JP . Her family name Sawaizumi is made up of the kanji for "mountain stream" and "fountain". The "fountain" kanji ties into her Cure name, Fontaine, which also means "fountain" in French.
- Hinata's name means "a sunny spot". Quite apt for a girl with light powers and such a sunny personality. The second kanji in her family name, Hiramitsu, can be translated as "sparkle", "light", or "glow".
- Asumi/Cure Earth's given name sounds like "Earth", and fuurin are wind chimes used in the summer.
- Teatine's name is a play on the Japanese word teate, meaning "medical treatment"JP .
- The Byogen name is a play on the Japanese word byougen, meaning "source of the disease"JP .
- The Hiramitsu family's given names Hinata, Teruhiko, Youta, and Mei can also be written as 日向, 輝彦, 陽太. and 明, which all contain kanji related to light.
- Several of the names in Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure include something related to water or the ocean, fitting with the season's tropical/ocean motif.
- Manatsu Natsuumi/Cure Summer: The 'mi' (海) in her surname means ocean, and the 'natsu' in both names means summer.
- Sango Suzumura/Cure Coral: Her given name 'Sango' means coral, and the 'suzu' (涼) in her surname means cool air/breeze.
- Minori Ichinose/Cure Papaya: Her given name 'Minori' is Japanese for crop/harvest (which is related to her Cure name being a fruit), and the 'se' (瀬) in her surname means currents/rapids.
- Asuka Takizawa/Cure Flamingo: Her given name "Asuka' is also written as '飛鳥', the kanji for flying bird (which a flamingo is), and her surname combines the kanji for waterfall (滝) and swamp (沢).
- Laura’s final name "La Mer" is French for "the sea"
- Manatsu's parents have sea-related given names: her father Taiyō's given name (大洋) is Japanese for ocean, and her mother Aoi's given name (碧) is one of many kanji meaning blue (the color of the ocean).
- The City of Adventure Aozora City's hiragana name is Japanese for blue sky (青空).
- The Aozora Aquarium's boss Mafune Hirabayashi's hiragana given name contains the Japanese word for ship 'fune' (船/ふね).
- Sango’s mom Miyuki’s given name みゆき can be written in kanji as 美雪, meaning "beautiful snow" (snow is water vapor frozen into small ice crystals).
- Classmate Kiriko Shiraishi’s hiragana given name きりこ can be written in kanji as 霧子, meaning "child of mist" (mist is water suspended in air).
- Student Council President Yuriko Shiratori’s surname (白鳥) is Japanese for swan, an aquatic bird species.
- Delicious Party♡Pretty Cure:
- Yui's surname, Nagomi, means "Japanese crops", hence her association with rice.
- The "Ka" in Amane's surname, Kasai, refers to sweets, since she is associated with desserts.
- Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure:
- Sora Harewataru's full name means "clear, cloudless sky", with little alterations; hence, she is Cure Sky.
- The niji in Mashiro's surname Nijigaoka means "rainbow" while her first name means "pure white", which fits Cure Prism's rainbow color scheme.
- Ageha's name is Japanese for "swallowtail butterfly", while her last name Hijiri roughly means "holy" and also commonly used to refers to Saints, perfectly fitting for her role as Cure Butterfly and the series' aerial theme.
- Wonderful Pretty Cure!:
- Komugi and Iroha's surname, Inukai, contains the word "Inu", which means "dog", as they are a dog and her owner/sister, respectively.
- Mayu's surname, Nekoyashiki, contains the term "Neko", which means "cat". She owns a cat, Yuki.
- Satoru Toyama's name contains two instances of "To", which means "rabbit". He owns a rabbit, Daifuku.
- Pretty Cure All Stars:
- In New Stage 3, Enyen reveals that Ayumi is the "Phantom Pretty Cure" as she was "Born from Darkness." She first transformed into Cure Echo when trapped inside Fusion.
