History Main / NameThatUnfoldsLikeLotusBlossom

* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'': Introducing the Gits -- "A Snivelling Little Rat-Faced Git", his wife "Dreary Fat Boring Old", and their unseen son and daughters: "Dirty Lying Little Two-Faced" (son), "Ghastly Spotty Horrible Vicious Little" (daughter -- the youngest), and "Ghastly Spotty Cross-Eyed" (daughter). It's possible that Terry Jones (A Snivelling Little Rat-Faced Git) misspoke by changing "Horrible Vicious Little" to "Cross-Eyed", thus accidentally creating a second daughter.
* ''Series/KamenRiderKiva'': the Fangires all have true names in that fashion. Even the one-episode MonsterOfTheWeek have names like ''The Sincerity and Melancholy that the Twin Impostors Dream About'', ''The Lady Portrait Torn in a Full Moon'', ''The Clown Dances with a Turkey at a Fireplace'' and so on.

* In ''Series/{{Knightmare}}'', Treguard's sidekick Majida has the full name 'Daughter of the Setting Moon Whose Eyes are like Daggers in the Hearts of Men who guard the Great Caravan of the Sultan'.

* [[Myth/AztecMythology Aztec mythology]] is full to bursting with this. "Quetzalcoatl" means "quetzal-feathered serpent", and "Tezcatlipoca" means "smoking mirror". "Huitzilopochtli" literally means "hummingbird's left" (although it's usually translated as "hummingbird ''of'' the left/south"), with the "hummingbird" part being due to the Aztecs belief that hummingbirds were the reincarnations of warriors who died in battle. "Xipe Totec" means "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast our lord the flayed one]]", most likely in reference to how maize loses its outer coating to reveal the edible part.

* Every single Sammer Guy of ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' has one, each more ridiculous than the last.

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, this is common in the [[FantasticNamingConvention naming convention]] of the [[LizardFolk Argonians]]. According to series lore, they are named (in Jel, the native language of the Argonians) for unique traits they display as hatchlings. Should they leave their homeland (either voluntarily or [[SlaveRace by force]]), they take on rough Tamriellic translations of their Argonian names. (For example Haj-Ei becomes "Hides His Eyes".) Other examples include Scouts-Many-Marshes, Stands-In-Shallows, and Watches-The-Roots. A quest in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'' involves assisting a bounty hunter in tracking down an escaped Argonian slave. [[spoiler:It turns out the Argonian guide he has hired ''[[HiredToHuntYourself is the escaped slave]]'' going by his translated name. You can turn him in for the reward, or agree to keep his secret]]. In other cases, their name in Tamriellic is based on their profession. "Quill-Weave" is a writer, "Makes-One-Soup" is a chef, and "Lights-Sparks" is a mage.
-->'''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Hauls-Ropes-Faster]]:''' They call me "Hauls-Ropes-Faster." Eh, I don't care. [[TheUnpronounceable They can't pronounce my Argonian name anyway]].
* The Friendly, Happy Roaches in ''[[VideoGame/{{Exile}} Exile 3]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Avernum}} Avernum 3]]'' all have names that describe their jobs. However since they are roaches this gives them names such as Filth Spreader.

* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'': Anytime a character is overtaken by or working with Orochi, be it a Hakkeshu or Riot of The Blood, they gain a name like this, bar Yamazaki. [[ScrewDestiny But he doesn't care anyway.]] Examples include: [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard Insane Iori with Blood of Orochi Under the Night of the Moon]], [[DrunkOnTheDarkSide Awakened Orochi Blood from the Darkness Leona]], [[BlowYouAway Goenitz of the Wildly-Blowing Wind]] and [[DarkIsEvil Ash Crazed by the Spiral of Blood]].
* In the ''Forgotten Cults'' expansion for ''VideoGame/TalesOfMajEyal,'' there's a friendly [[EldritchAbomination Horror]] named "That Which Teaches History."
* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' plays with this with the exotic fantasy-sounding names of several characters, some of which are derived from ancient languages of [[VestigialEmpire Shurima]]. [[HunterOfMonsters Kassadin]]'s name is an anglicization of the modern Shuriman "Kas sai a dyn", meaning "Whom does the desert know?" ([[MeaningfulName marking him as an overseer and protector of the Shuriman desert]]). The champion [[WorldsBestWarrior Jax]] also gives a dive into Icathian name schemes, as [[OverlyLongName his full name, Saijax Cail-Rynx Kohari Icath'un]], consists of family names and info on his heritage[[note]]Given name, Mother's name-Father's name, occupation/social standing, and clan name[[/note]], and translates to "Jax of the desert, son of Cail and Rynx, warrior of Icath'un". Several [[EldritchAbomination Void monsters]] also get their names from Shuriman languages -- [[TheAssimilator Kha'Zix]] loosely means "you face yourself", and [[MadScientist Vel'Koz]] loosely means "to understand by unmaking".
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' has main character Connor Kenway, Mohawk name Ratonhnhaké:ton which means "Life that is Scratched", a poetic symbolism to the struggles he went trough during his journey.
* ''VideoGame/{{Brawlhalla}}'' has [[KnightInShiningArmor Sir Roland]]. Or rather "Lord Sir Roland Somerset Montgomery, Duke of the Three Isles, Lord of Havershant, Slayer of the Bilious Dragon, Protector of the Illythians, Victor of the Siege of Alsburg, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Haver of a great beard]], Defender of the Danes, Conqueror of Guilardia, Prince of the Glorious Summer of '14, Knight of the Order of the Exalted Lion, Honorary Abbot of Canterbury Cathedral, Champion of the City of Bath, Marshall of the Eastlands, Knight of the Crimson Buckle, Admiral of the Northern Seas, etc."

* ''Manga/WithTheLight'': The titular character is given a name on the first page meaning "Light of the East"; his surname, Azuma, is the nanori (proper name pronunciation) of "higashi," meaning "east." Not to be outdone, his little sister Kanon's full name would be, loosely translated, "the sound of eastern flowers"; her mother decided to give her the name Kanon, written with the kanji letters for "flower" and "sound," after hearing a canon playing on the radio while giving birth.

* ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'' has many examples.
** On top of being something of a MeaningfulName, [[TheHero Kamijou Touma's]] name has many translations though the one used is "He Who Purifies God and Exorcises The Demon" due to his [[AntiMagic Imagine Breaker]].
** His younger cousin Tatsugami Otohime could be translated, if done in the Western order, as "Youngest Princess of the Dragon King/God". Although, due to the fact that she has only appeared Angel Fall arc, it's not really known if her name has any other meaning than just being something cool Kamaji chose.
** Some magicians employ a magic name during combat as a way of announcing their [[LetsGetDangerous intent to kill]], while the name is [[GratuitousLatin somewhat based on Latin]], to the point of being a PretentiousLatinMotto. Their "translations" can come off like this, such as Index's ''[=Dedicatus545=]'' "The Lamb who protects the knowledge of the Strong", Kaori Kanzaki's ''[=Salvare000=]'' "Be The Salvation of Those who Cannot be Saved", and Stiyl's ''[=Fortis931=]'' "I Prove why My Name is the Strongest".

* ''The Great Ten'' were a Chinese superhero group in the pre-new-52 DC Universe. Most of its members had names that fit this trope. The members are: Accomplished Perfect Physician, August General in Iron, Celestial Archer, Ghost Fox Killer, Immortal Man-in-Darkness, Mother of Champions, the Seven Deadly Brothers, Shaolin Robot, Socialist Red Guardsman, and Thundermind.
* Likewise with DC's Japanese superhero team, the Super Young Team. Introduced in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'', their names were meant to sound transliterated. The group included Most Excellent Superbat, Sonic Lightning Flash, Shy Crazy Lolita Canary, Shiny Happy Aquazon, and Big Atomic Lantern Boy.

* ComicBook/TexWiller's Indian name Eagle of the Night was given to him because, at the time, he was doing just that to some criminals: appearing from nowhere (possibly from upside) to prey on them, and did it mostly at night. He was a bit bemused when Lilyth (his ''wife'') first sprang that on him, but as soon as she told him the reason he decided it was fitting and started using it himself.

* ''Film/DancesWithWolves'' includes Native American characters with names like "Stands with a Fist" and "Wind in His Hair"... also averted in one instance, with one character who's simply named Otter.

* ''Literature/{{Dreamspeaker}}'': One of the First Nations guys who takes Peter in is named "He Who Would Sing".
* ''Literature/TheHost2008'': [[PuppeteerParasite Souls]] choose their own names, which are often the old names of their host bodies; sometimes they change them when they get a new host, sometimes not. As such, the Souls in the book, who are inhabiting humans, can have names like "Kathy," or things like "Fords Deep Waters," "Sunlight Passing Through the Ice," and "Rides the Beast."
* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'':
** A being's true name in the language of magic is a true and comprehensive description of themselves, although how long they do or don't get isn't clear since none are explicitly described in the text.
** The ancient wild dragons didn't have formal names as such, as they were more animalistic in mentality that humans, elves or bonded dragons. Instead, the "name" of the dragon who negotiated the end of the elf-dragon war is given as a running description of his attributes, history and notable deeds.
--->''Queen Tarmunora of the elves and the dragon who had been selected to represent us, whose name--''he paused, and conveyed a series of sense impressions to Eragon: long tooth, white tooth, chipped tooth: fights won, fights lost; countless eaten Shrrg and Nagra; seven-and-twenty eggs sired and nineteen offspring grown to maturity--''cannot be expressed in any language, decided that a treaty would not suffice.''

* ''Literature/MotherOfLearning'': The aranea are all telepathic, and thus their personal names are compressed bundles of images and impressions. Zorian roughly translates the matriarch's name as "Spear of Resolve Striking Straight at the Heart of the Matter".
--> '''Matriarch''': As good an approximation of my real name as any.
* ''Literature/ShiShiEtko'': The titular character's name, "Shi-Shi-Etko", means "She Loves To Play In The Water".
* ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' has a character known as "Rock" whose real name (Nuhumukumakiaki'aialunamor) is an entire poem in his native language about a rock his father found just before he was born. Apparently everybody in his culture has names like that, which leads to some confusion later when his family is introduced and he introduces his son as "Rock", as he is also named after a rock, but clarifies that it is a "different kind of Rock". He also introduces both his Wife and daughter as "Song" although again presumably different kinds of songs.
* Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium:
** ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': In Entish, all names, possibly all nouns, are comprehensive descriptions of the person or thing in question. They consider anything else to be "hasty". Treebeard only uses that name for the convenience of non-Ents. His true name is apparently his entire biography, and given that he's one of the oldest living things in Middle Earth, it's basically an epic-length novel. In other words, when you ask someone "Who are you?" they will tell you their name. When you ask an Ent his name, he will tell you who he is.
** Melkor, the BigBad of ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' (and Tolkien's entire cosmology), has his name translate as "[[TheNounWhoVerbed He Who Arises in Might]]". After his fall from grace to become the GodOfEvil he was renamed Morgoth, "Dark Enemy of the World".
** Galadriel's name translates to "Maiden Crowned With Radiant Light" in Sindarin. This though is a nickname, given to her by her husband Celeborn (awww). Her real name, however, is Artanis, which means "Noble Woman." Most elvish names end up being this trope if translated (with a few exceptions like Gil-galad "Brightstar" and Cirdan "shipwright"). For example, Aragorn's name means roughly "Noble Eagerness", a rather accurate description. [[note]] actually, all Elves have two "real names": a "mother-name" given to the baby at birth by its mother and a "father-name" given in a ceremony during childhood. Artanis is Galadriel's father-name. Her mother-name is Nerwen, meaning "man-maiden" i.e. {{Tomboy}}.[[/note]]
* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': The cats of the Tribe of Rushing Water are named after the first thing their mother sees when the cat is born, e.g. Brook Where Small Fish Swim, Night of No Stars, etc. [[LampshadeHanging One character remarks that, in his mind, this should have led to a lot of cats being named Roof of Cave, Wall of Cave, or Floor of Cave]]. Even the tribe itself is like this, seeing as it was named after the waterfall guarding its cave.
* ''Literature/KeysToTheKingdom'': In ''Lady Friday'', the Winged Servants of the Night all have names like this. For example: "The One Who Survived The Darkness".
* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': The non-human sentients known as Treecats have descriptive names giving an insightful view of them. Notable names have included "Laughs Brightly", "Swift Striker" and "Echo of Time". Humans have also been awarded names by treecats, such as "Death Fang's Bane", "Darkness Foe", and "Dances On Clouds". In fact, treecat names are critical to [[spoiler:the formation of the Grand Alliance; it's the revelation of Eloise Pritchart's and Thomas Theisman's treecat names, "Truth Seeker" and "Dreams of Peace" respectively]], that convince Honor [[spoiler:the reborn Republic truly can be trusted]].
* In [[Creator/IainBanks Iain M. Banks]]' ''Literature/TheCulture'' setting, names function as characters' addresses (although the full forms are rarely mentioned in the novels). As [[http://www.vavatch.co.uk/books/banks/cultnote.htm Banks explained]]:
-->'''Banks:''' Culture names act as an address if the person concerned stays where they were brought up. Let's take an example; Balveda, from ''Literature/ConsiderPhlebas''. Her full name is Juboal-Rabaroansa Perosteck Alseyn Balveda dam T'seif. The first part tells you she was born/brought up on Rabaroan Plate, in the Juboal stellar system [...]; Perosteck is her given name (almost invariably the choice of one's mother), Alseyn is her chosen name (people usually choose their names in their teens, and sometimes have a succession through their lives; [...]); Balveda is her family name (usually one's mother's family name) and T'seif is the house/estate she was raised within. The "sa" affix on the first part of her name would translate into "er" in English (we might all start our names with "Sun-Earther", in English, if we were to adopt the same nomenclature), and the "dam" part is similar to the German "von".
** At the end of the piece, he dubs himself "Sun-Earther Iain El-Bonko Banks of North Queensferry".
* Anyone and everyone associated with the Lands Born of Smoke and Sacrifice in ''Literature/BreakingTheWall.'' Up to and including the "Lands Born of Smoke and Sacrifice." Among actual characters we have Flying Claw, Honey Dream, and Righteous Drum.
* [[Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy Bartimaeus's]] full name ([[MilesGloriosus according to him, anyway]]) is "Bartimaeus of Uruk, Sakhr al-Jinni, N'gorso the Mighty and the Serpent of Silver Plumes".
* The [[MagicalNativeAmerican Hawkbrothers]] in the Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar series choose (or are given) two-word "use-names," which can signify personality or important attributes (Steelmind, who [[PhotographicMemory never forgets]]), recall a memorable occasion from the person's life (Starfall, who dove from a cliff at the moment a meteor flashed overhead), or simply be poetic (Wintersky). These [[MeaningfulRename can be changed]] at adulthood or after life-altering events (Darkwind was known as Songwind in happier times).
* In ''Literature/DoctrineOfLabyrinths'', Mildmay's name is short for Mild-May-Your-Torments-Be-At-The-Hands-Of-The-Wicked.
* The Hiths in the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novel ''Original Sin'' all changed their names once their society was destroyed by [[HumansAreBastards the Earth Empire]]. They now call themselves things like Powerless, Friendless, Afraid And Alone, so every time they give their ID to an Earth official they're making a political point.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
** The [[EldritchAbomination Outsider]] known as "[[TheNounWhoVerbed He Who Walks Behind]]." Its full name is [[StarfishLanguage a two-minute montage of unfathomable fear, helplessness and pain.]] Naming conventions are unknown, but he has a brother named "He Who Walks Before." Incidentally, both of these names are at least partial descriptions of literal traits: He Who Walks Behind is always behind you, no matter how quickly you turn around. He Who Walks Before is the herald of an Outsider invasion. [[spoiler: It turns out that the entity called [[GreaterScopeVillain Nemesis]], whose MO is corrupting people into serving the Outsiders, is truly named "He Who Walks Beside".]]
** In a trilogy of short stories, Dresden has dealings with [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti a Sasquatch]], more properly known as one of the Forest People, who are actually highly intelligent. The Person in particular is named Strength of a River in His Shoulders, or as Dresden usually calls him, River Shoulders. Another Forest Person who is much less friendly named [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Blood On His Soul"]] appears in the 15th book.
** While not a ''long'' name, but Uriel gets ''quite'' angry the one time Harry tries to shorten it to "Uri". This is because Uriel is a literal angel whose name means "Light of God", and the way Harry shortened it makes it sound like Uriel is claiming to be "Light" in his own right, leaving out the mention of God, which he understandably dislikes. He's okay with "Mr. Sunshine", though.
* In the ''Literature/StarCarrier'' books, [[StarfishAliens Turusch]] names are most closely translated as this. An example would be "Emphatic Blossom at Dawn", referring to an ambush hunter on their homeworld. Since the name in question belongs to a tactician, it's appropriate.
* A demon lord or perhaps some sort of quasi-deity named "The Prince Who Dreams in the Void" is mentioned in the passing in ''[[Literature/WarOfTheSpiderQueen Dissolution]]''.
* Wolves in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' communicate telepathically, so their names are not words but a jumble of sensations and images that are usually summarized in human language by a single descriptive word. For instance, "Hopper" is actually "A cub on a hilltop leaping repeatedly into the air as he tries to fly like an eagle", and Dapple is "Sunlight dappled through autumn trees onto piles of dead leaves with the smell of musk and earth". [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Wolfbrothers]] are adopted in the same manner: Perrin is known as Young Bull, that is "a brash young bull with gleaming metallic horns" which represent the axe that is his weapon, while Elyas who prefers a long knife is Long Tooth, or "a wolf with one long, metallic fang."

* In ''Literature/ChildrenOfTheCorn'' the children worship an unseen demon known as "He Who Walks Behind The Rows."
* [[TheVamp Ayesha]] in H. Rider Haggard's ''Literature/{{She}}'' is also known as "She-who-must-be-obeyed."
* Translating the ''Literature/PillowBookOfSeiShonagon'', written by a medieval Japanese court lady and one of the earliest diaries still in existence, Ivan Morris said he didn't feel he should transliterate the names, "for fear that they might produce a false exoticism of the 'Honorable Lady Plum Blossom' type." This is actually a dig at Creator/LafcadioHearn who used that exact name in an example of women's names and how their honorifics work in Japanese.
* In ''{{Literature/Remnants}},'' the species that humans name the "[[DescriptivelyNamedSpecies Blue Meanies]]," who call themselves "the Children" (of [[SapientShip Mother]]), all have names in the style of "[Number] [Positive Adjective] [Natural Feature]," such as "One Perfect Mountain" or "Four Divine Streams." This is to honor the artificial environments within Mother. [[spoiler:When [[ManipulativeBastard Yago]] starts a cult among the Meanies, members still follow this trope, renaming themselves things like "Yago's Catlike Grace"]].
* Mostly averted in ''Literature/TrailOfGlory''. The Cherokee characters tend to have this type of names, but drop them in favour of more anglicized versions. A good example would be Kuhnungdatlageh, which translates to "He Who Walks Along The Peak Of The Ridge", but who usually signs his name "John Ridge".
* A [[FootnoteFever long footnote]] in ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1'' explains that Ford Prefect's father was the only survivor of Betelgeuse Seven after its inhabitants were destroyed in the Great Collapsing Hrung Disaster, and during Ford's childhood on Betelgeuse Five he was nicknamed Ix, which is Old Betelgeusian for "Boy Who Is Not Able to Satisfactorily Explain What a Hrung Is, nor Why It Should Have Chosen to Collapse on Betelgeuse Seven."

* In ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod'', the Tagalog mythology of the story is fused with {{Mythopoeia}} due to the [[DeathOfTheOldGods centuries-long conquest by Spain,]] and most of the gods' epithets heavily [[InvokedTrope invoke this.]] Haik is the title's Filipino crocodile-god with a whole string of epithets: "Whale-rider," [[SeaMonster "Haik who breaks the ships in his teeth,"]] and [[BornUnderTheSail "son of voyagers."]] His cousin is "Lumawig the last-born" whose older brothers are [[AnthropomorphicPersonification the Four Winds,]] Haik's older sister is "Hina who follows the moon," and another goddess is named [[AnthropomorphicPersonification "Mayari-who-is-the-moon."]]
* In ''Literature/IslandOfTheBlueDolphins'', Karana's people keep their birth names secret, claiming [[IKnowYourTrueName said names have a magic that is lost if it becomes well-known]], and instead assign public names, which are this trope. Karana's public name is "Won-a-pei-lei" ("girl with long black hair") which she tells to the Aleut girl, Tutok, that she befriends. When Tutok leaves the island later, Karana reveals her real name to her friend.
* ''Literature/TomcatBlueEyesDiaries'': One of the tomcats from Blue Eyes' neighbourhood in the city is called "Tore-his-li'l-ear". Unsurprisingly, he has a partially torn ear. He's a bruiser and tries to pick up fights, but Blue Eyes also notes that he sings exceptionally well and with lots of feelings, so Blue Eyes doesn't really think him evil.
* The Sothōii in ''Literature/TheWarGods'' tend to favor incredibly fancy names for their warhorses. The mare that Baron Tellian gives to Kaeritha is called Dark War Cloud Rising which she shortens to Cloudy.
** Coursers tend to have shorter but similarly poetic names. For example Walsharno translates as "Battle Dawn" which, as the characters note, is extremely appropriate for a courser who is bonded to a champion of the god of war.
* In the ''Literature/XandriCorelel'' series, the Psittacans have names like Many Kills and Day Dawns Red (Many and Dawn for short).
* ''Literature/{{Dinotopia}}'':
** The T-Rexes in ''Dinotopia Lost'' give these to the protagonists. Chaz's is Slays With Words, Will is Thinks Through Fear and their Struthiomimus companion Keelk is Walks Through Stone.
** Newcomers are even referred to as "Dolphinbacks."
* ''Literature/XWingSeries'': In ''The Krytos Trap'', Rogue Squadron visits the planet Ryloth, where Wedge learns about some peculiarities in their language, such as how they run names together to get one meaning, but changing the pronunciation also alters the meaning, with some of these translations being rather long. Wedgan'tilles means "slayer of stars", while the Basic version of Wedge Antilles roughly translates as "One so foul he could induce vomiting in a Rancor".

* The "Flame-Haired Blazing-Eyed Hunter", eventually renamed [[Literature/ShakuganNoShana Shana]]. That one is a bit zigzagged, because that's not actually a ''name'', it's [[RedBaron a title]]. One that has had several bearers in the past. The character herself was raised with NoNeedForNames and considered the title sufficient identification in of itself.
* This causes a bit of a DubInducedPlotHole in ''Literature/{{Durarara}}''. One of the main characters is named Mikado Ryugamine, which means "Emperor of the Dragon's Peak". It's pretty much ''exactly'' as strange as if someone walked up to you and said "Hi, my name is Emperor of the Dragon's Peak." Unfortunately, we don't translate Japanese names, so English readers are left confused as to why everyone is making such a big deal out of his name.
* ''Literature/PrincessesOfThePizzaParlor'': The [[OurKoboldsAreDifferent kobolds]], who appear in ''Princesses in the Darkest Depths'', have names like Tukhara-ara-bada-bunki-mali-tali-Jaka-hila-laki, which, for that instance, is implied to mean something like "Clan Tukhara's Jaka of the fast feet", with the last words being a descriptor, such that Tukhara-ara-badi-bunki-mali-tali-Kuarl, is just "Clan Tukhara's Curls", with bada / badi, as "male / female" indicators.
* Creator/AlanDeanFoster's [[Literature/HumanxCommonwealth Flinx and Pip]] novel ''The End of the Matter'' features a strange alien named Abalamahalamatandra--universally referred to simply as Ab--who eventually turns out to be [[spoiler:an activation mechanism for an extraordinarily powerful weapon built by an alien race that has been extinct for hundreds of thousands of years]]. Ab speaks in apparent gibberish--sing-song and rhyming--which in reality is often (or even always) meaningful, but "garbled through maybe a dozen languages at a time". As one character finally observes:
-->"I put our Ab vocabulary to work on something we ought to have worked on first--his name. Abalamahalamatandra. A composite from four different languages, two being derivatives from other languages, one derived from yet a third. Together they form a couplet in a language three hundred and fifty thousand years dead, which the computer then compressed according to the rhyme scheme Ab used when announcing his name. I got one word I'm pretty positive of out of the whole business." He paused, then said anticlimatically: "[[spoiler:Key]]."
* ''Literature/TheBookOfTheDunCow'': The rooster who created Cockatrice was named "Senex With His Back To The Mountains".
* ''Literature/JuniperSawfeather'': In ''Whisper of the Woods'', June learns that her father, a Chinook Indian, was born Peter Clark. When he was twelve, he and his siblings were joking about how Indians in movies always have poetic names while they were stuck with a boring one. They decided to give each other new names that were a combination of a noun with either a verb or an adjective. They became Peter Sawfeather (he saw an eagle feather and pointed it out to the others), Amelia Climbing Vine (she used a rope to climb a tree), and Nathan Trips in Brook (self-explanatory). Peter liked his new name enough that he legally changed it when he grew up.

** Actual Indian names tend to be a lot less poetic than the fictional version. For example one old Comanche woman was known as 'Carrying Her Sunshade', and one Crow is recorded as being named 'Crazy Sister-in-Law'.

** Galadriel's name translates to "Maiden Crowned With Radiant Light" in Sindarin. This though is a nickname, given to her by her husband Celeborn (awww). Her real name, however, is Artanis, which means "Noble Woman." Most elvish names end up being this trope if translated (with a few exceptions like Gil-galad "Brightstar" and Cirdan "shipwright"). For example, Aragorn's name means roughly "Noble Eagerness", a rather accurate description. [[note]] actually, all Elves have two "real names": a "mother-name" given to the baby at birth by it's mother and a "father-name" given in a ceremony during childhood. Artanis is Galadriel's mother-name. Her father-name is Nerwen, meaning "man-maiden" i.e. {{Tomboy}}.[[/note]]

* ComicBook/TexWiller's Indian name Eagle of the Night was given to him because, at the time, he was doing just that to some criminals: appearing from nowhere (possibly from upside) to prey on them, and did it mostly at night. He was a bit bemused when Lilyth (his ''wife'') first sprung that on him, but as soon as she told him the reason he decided it was fitting and started using it himself.

See also OverlyLongName, PurpleProse, AwesomeMcCoolname, and TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard. Compare TheNounWhoVerbed, PreppyName, TranslationYes, and TheTropeWithoutATitle. BurlyDetectiveSyndrome is when this habitually applied to many characters who also have a real name.

* ''Fanfic/NjalGetsBurned'': Some characters in the genealogies. One notable example is Hraerek Who Dropped His Keys Over The Side Of The Boat That One Time, And Everybody Laughed.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* The webcomic ''Webcomic/KeychainOfCreation'', being set in the world of ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'', has many examples of this trope. Elegant Nova of Progression, for instance, is an [[ArtificialHuman Alchemical]] MadScientist. Resident Abyssal "Secret" has an OverlyLongName[[note]]The Most Secret and Sorrowful of the Bearers of the Endless Destiny of All Creation which Wander Amidst Forgotten Sights and Fallen Tears along the Tread of Ancient Ashen Footsteps Through the Shadow of That Which Comes and into that Riotous Cacophony which Births All Fools and Steals All Beauty, who Heralds through her Silence the Stillness and Chill of Those Who Were Not Born and who will Not Fade 'Till All Things Fall and in that Most Grim Harvest Form the Final Restful Tomb of All Awakened Life and All the Sleepless Dead--''and it goes on''[[/note]], spoofing the standard Abyssal naming practice; she uses "Secret" as the short form. She ''has'' to; due to [[PaintingTheFourthWall having a]] [[DumpStat Stamina of 2]], as seen in the [[http://keychain.patternspider.net/archive/koc0001.html first comic]], she ''passed out'' when she tried to say the entire name.
* Almost every goblin in ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' is an example of this trope, being given their name by their tribe's shaman to reflect their destiny. The actual quality of the name can vary -- one the one hand, there's Chief Kills-A-Werebear. On the other, there's [[UnfortunateNames Dies Horribly]]. Not every goblin tribe follow this tradition, though, and not all goblins are happy about it -- just ask Complains-of-Names.

* In ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'', the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]] have particularly grandiose names with a number tacked on to signify how many times they’ve [[ResurrectiveImmortality reincarnated]], such as 82 White Chain Born in Emptiness Returns to Subdue Evil, or 6 Juggernaut Star Scours the Universe. Humans get in on the act, too, such as [[spoiler:Allison]], whose real name is [[TitleDrop Kill Six Billion Demons]], and the monk Mathangi Ten Meti, AKA [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Murder the Gods and Topple Their Thrones.]]
* Thundering Engine Woman from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' was a famous and powerful American [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder spark]] who befriended and traveled with the Heterodyne Boys sometime before they disappeared and the Americas became inaccessible.
* In ''Webcomic/DraconiaChronicles'', we have the dragon Princess Luminia, who was given the name "Chuki" by her [[RaisedByOrcs adoptive tiger mother]] Kilani. "Chuki" is a word in Tigerspeak that means "A gift from an enemy," in the sense of a sincere gift, eg, a peace offering, rather than a "white elephant." Luminia's Governess was mortally wounded during a raid, and was discovered by Kilani in her final moments. [[ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacguffin She gave the princess' egg to Khilani and died.]]
* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod's'' protagonist, usually referred to as Bam, is actually fully named "Twenty-fifth Bam" or "The Twenty-Fifth Night". This is made more obvious in the Japanese translation, where his name is transliterated.
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': [[https://www.schlockmercenary.com/2018-11-27 When Ufuimaele reclaims his ship]]
--> [[AC:'''Ufu''': this ship had a name long before you called it "breath weapon". "hear and hearken to the war-cries which now descend from the furious throat of the sky, for they are a precipitation of blades".]]

[[folder:Web Original]]

* In ''Fanfic/NjalGetsBurned,'' some nicknames of background characters can get quite extreme. One man is known as Hraerek Who Dropped His Keys Over The Side Of The Boat That One Time, And Everybody Laughed.

* ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'': ""[[Recap/MollyOfDenaliS1E3CabbagezillaNameGame Name Game]]" reveals some of the characters' native names, several of which translate to whole sentences, like Layla's native name Dak Niighit ("she is rising up in the air").

** "Apocalypse Cow": One of the Spucklers' kids is called Stabbed-In-Jail.

** In one of the segments of "The Wettest Stories Ever Told", Homer in the Mayflower trip meets a woman he gets smitten with.
--->'''Homer''': What do you say, Miss...?
--->'''Marge''': Constance Prudence Chastity Goodfaith.
--->'''Homer''': D'OH!
--->'''Marge''': My friends call me Marge.
--->'''Homer''': Oh?
--->'''Marge''': Marge Obedience Temperance Sexwon't.
--->'''Homer''': D'OH!

* Names of Germanic origin are often this, if translated. And, while not NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast, there are many that are names to back away from slowly with your hands up--you wouldn't want to mess with a woman who is called Spear-in-Battle for example.