History Main / PunnyName

* ''Comicbook/{{Runaways}}'' presents us with Kara Prast, a cute little plant controller. Her name sounds like chloroplasts which is the organelle that allows plants to undergo photosynthesis.

* General Jack D. Ripper and Soviet premier Dmitri Kissov from ''Film/DrStrangelove''.

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime]]

* ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}''. The series had punny names aplenty. Abis Mal, his relative Abnor Mal, and his sidekick, Haroud Hazi Bin. Other examples include Amin Damoolah, Queen Hippsodeth, and Ayam Aghoul.

* Creator/AlanMoore's AmericasBestComics comic books featured a few, notably boy genius Jack B. Quick, suicidal opera singer Gerta Dammerung, and Irma Geddon from ''TopTen''

** Also: the now-deceased hero [[ ByronicHero Byronic ]].

----

* Many in ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}''. Stigmata Hari, [[{{Nu-Metal}} Gnümetal]], Plutonium Blonde, Valkyrie Eleison, Eye Eye Sir, Gooey Samaritan, Ubiquitease, Blitzcraig...

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'' is the biggest offender - practically all major characters, including the villains, have train-related names. A few examples, Cole, Ferrus (Latin word for iron, ferrum), and Anjean, Rael and Steem of the Lokomo (Locomotive) tribe.

A Subtrope is the humourous book-and-author gag sometimes referred to as BattyBooks. If a lot of characters in a given work have a PunnyName, it could be an example of Punny ThemeNaming.

** And the [[IncrediblyLamePun wonderfully groanworthy]][=/=]clever anime episode titles in the [[DubbingVsSubbing English dub]]. See [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/ Bulbapedia.]] However, with the ''Pokémon Best Wishes'' era, this trend seems to be in a steep decline with the English dubbing team, with puns being either awkward or not present at all - an example of the latter is the rather bland and to-the-point title of the 31st ''Best Wishes'' episode, "Ash and Trip's Third Battle!"
** It's so ingrained in the series that one character who DIDN'T have a PunnyName at first, Todd, was later renamed in re-airings as "Snap."[[note]]Thus, macekreing the show even further.[[/note]] He's a photographer (and the featured character of the N64 game ''VideoGame/PokemonSnap'').

* Osana Najimi in ''Manga/DoujinWork'', which sounds like ''osananajimi'', or [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend childhood friend]].

* In ''Manga/DragonBall Z'', there were three villains named [[Disney/{{Cinderella}} Bibidi, Babidi, and Buu]]. Bibidi is only briefly mentioned as part of the backstory, making the pun slightly less obvious. Slightly.

* In the ''[[ComicBook/TwoThousandAD 2000 AD]]'' comic ''Kingdom'', pretty much all the characters are genetically engineered dog-human warrior hybrids. And every single one of them has a PunnyName based on A) Hollywood and B) the fact that they're canine killing machines. The main character is Gene Hack-Man, while other characters include Val Kill-More, Will Feral, Dingo Starr, Clara Bow (she's an archer, natch), Holly the Hunter... {{Justified|Trope}} in that one of the humans who created them explained that he and his fellows thought this naming convention was really funny.

* ''GreenArrow'' villain Merlyn's real name is Arthur King. While this partially serves as a counterpoint to Green Arrows's real name of Oliver Queen, think about it for a second. Merlyn... King, Arthur...

* ''{{Chew}}'' has a ton with a food/restaurant theme. The main cast includes Tony Chu (Chew), John Colby (think cheese), Mason Savoy, and an FDA boss named Mike Applebee.

* Many of the girls in the earlier ''Film/JamesBond'' movies have names that are half PunnyName and half DoubleEntendre.

* [[GayParee "Gay" Perry]] in ''KissKissBangBang''.

** Brutha, the main character in the religion-decontructing ''Discworld/SmallGods'', has a very appropriate name for a zealous follower. Lampshaded by Inquisitor Vorbis, when he asks how funny it would be once Novice Brutha becomes "Brother Brutha", and then "Father Brutha". He settles on just making him "Deacon Brutha".

** Played with in ''Discworld/MakingMoney''. Topsy Lavish doesn't have a PunnyName ''now'', but that's because she took her husband's name when she married. Her maiden name was Topsy Turvy.

* PeterDavid might be the king of {{Punny Name}}s. Really, if you name the lead character in your fantasy novel series Sir Apropos of Nothing, you might want to check the novel for every single in-joke.

* The villain of Creator/SMStirling's {{Emberverse}} series is an expert on the Norman feudal system, where one who was entitled to a coat of arms was known as an "armiger". His name is, of course, Norman Arminger.

* In ''TheThrawnTrilogy'', the ''HandOfThrawn Hand Of Thrawn Duology'', and any other books in which TimothyZahn writes [[GentlemanThief Talon]] [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Talon_Karrde Karrde]], Karrde picks quietly punny names for the [[ThemeNaming ships in his organization]]. There's no overall theme, just names that can work as they first appear or as the phrases they sound like. The ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Wild_Karrde Wild Karrde]]'', the ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Etherway Etherway]]'', the ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Starry_Ice Starry Ice]]'', the [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lastri%27s_Ort Lastri's Ort]], the [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dawn_Beat Dawn Beat]], the [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Amanda_Fallow Amanda Fallow]], the ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Uwana_Buyer Uwana Buyer]]''. Unfortunately they may have been ''too'' quiet, because when non-Zahn authors use Karrde and give him new ships, they tend to forget the puns. Some fans explain this away by saying they must be ships inherited from other smuggling organizations that Karrde's group absorbed.

Also, Dori Duz, who does. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the book. Most of the characters in the book are either examples of this or MeaningfulName, for example, Lieutenant Scheissekopf ("shithead" in German) and Snowden, ([[NightmareFuel I'm cold....I'm cold....]])

* ''TheKingdomKeepers'' has Fairlies, which are [[HalfHumanHybrid fairly human]].

* ''TheBerenstainBears'' has the recurring professor Actual Factual character.
* Lucifer Box in the novels by MarkGatiss. The pun is clearer if you know that "lucifers" are old-fashioned British slang for matches. Lucifer has a sister called Pandora and a son called Christmas.

'''Bounder:''' [[IncrediblyLamePun Well, you'd better cut down a little then.]]\\

* ''LazyTown'' has Robbie Rotten.

* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfShirleyHolmes'' had main antagonist Molly Hardy, which is a pun on "Moriarty"-- as in Professor James Moriarty, SherlockHolmes' BigBad.

* ''WhereInTheWorldIsCarmenSandiego'', like the computer game series that started the franchise, has a few of these. Particularly notable is Patty Larseny.

* The tendency punny names of James Bond films was parodied on ''MockTheWeek'' in a segment called "Lines That You'd Never Hear In Bond Film ":

* ''DueSouth'' had a resident coroner by the first name of Mort.

* Music/TheBeatles were in equal parts a pun on BuddyHolly's Crickets, and on "beat".

* Alternative rock band CamperVanBeethoven is a punny portmanteau of the phrases "camper van" and "LudwigVanBeethoven."

* What else could the acclaimed folk supergroup which first came together at a RobertBurns themed retreat call themselves but The Burns Unit?
* [[JanesAddiction Perry Farrell]] picked his StageName as a pun on "peripheral".
* 45 Grave vocalist Dinah Cancer ("dying of cancer") - again, obviously a StageName.

* In ''CalvinAndHobbes'', the author of ''Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie'' is named Mabel Syrup. Also, Calvin's FilmNoir alter ego is named Tracer Bullet.

* Staple of radio show ''Radio/CarTalk'', which has a fictional production staff consisting almost entirely of bad puns such as their Russian meter feeder Nikolai Putin (Nickle I Put in) or resident single mother Erasmus B. Dragon (Her ass must be draggin'). The Chief Legal Counsel for the show is Hugh Louis Dewey (aka Hughie Louie Dewey) of the notorious firm of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewey,_Cheatem_&_Howe Dewey, Cheetham and Howe]]. Tom and Ray Magliozzi, the creators and hosts of ''Car Talk'', so love this PunnyName that they named their production company "Dewey, Cheetham and Howe" (the window of the DC and H corporate offices, at the corner of Brattle and JFK Streets, are a source of constant amusement to residents of Cambridge, Massachusetts).

** In the ''{{Eisenhorn}}'' trilogy, one of the [[DemonicPossession Daemonhosts]] is called Prophaniti.

* In ''VideoGame/PaperMario64'' (and PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor for that matter), many of the Toads' names end in "T.", providing a treasure trove of "-ty" puns. For example: Vanna T., Chuck Quizmo's assistant[[note]]Who may also be a reference to [[WheelOfFortune Vanna White]][[/note]]; Tayce T., the local chef of Toad Town (as well as Zess T., the local chef of Rogueport); & Fice T., the guard to the entrance of Forever Forest.

** Lots of enemies in Mother 3 also have Punny Names. Namely the Balding Eagle, Boa Transistor, Cactus Wolf (as opposed to wolf cactus), Cattlesnake, Chilly Dog, Cleocatra (a mummified cat), Einswine (a pig with an oversized brain), Muttshroom (a dog/mushroom hybrid), Navy SQUEAL (one of the Pigmasks), Pigtunia, Pseudoor, and Pyrefly. Earthbound also has the Psychic Psycho and Soul Consuming Flame.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' has several examples, mostly with the characters you help in sidequest (one recurring example is a girl named "Meala DeVour"). Many enemies in original ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' series often have punny names, often with BilingualBonus.
* Every named outlaw in ''[[VideoGame/{{Oddworld}} Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath]]'' has either a punny name, or a really bizarre nickname. They range from the fairly normal (Lootin Duke), the descriptive (Xplosives [=McGee=]), the punny (Jo' Mamma), and the unfortunate (Fatty [=McBoomboom=]). In fact, nearly every named character in the game except Sekto has a MeaningfulName, a PunnyName, or a combination of the two. (Stranger's real name is never revealed, unless his name actually ''is'' Stranger. Doc appears to be a nickname as well).
* ''EVEOnline'' - The unfortunately named Thukker Tribe.

** In [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]], there was bird-using gym leader Falkner ("falconer" or "fowl"), bug-user Bugsy, Whitney (uses normal Pokémon; normal Pokémon use the white color scheme in the TCG), ghost-user Morty (''mort'' is French for "death"), Fighting-type leader Chuck (remind you of another famous {{Chuck|Norris}}?) and there's finally ice user Pryce (rhymes with "ice").

** Full list up to Generation IV: B''rock'', ''Mist''y, Lt ''Surge'', Erika (''Erica'' is a genus of heathers), Koga (Koga-ryu is a school of ninjitsu), Sabrina (as noted above), Blaine (as noted above), ''Gio''vanni, Falkner (archaic term for falconer), ''Bug''sy, ''Whit(e)''ney, ''Mort''y, {{Chuck|Norris}}, Jas''mine'', Pr''yce'', C''lair'', Janine (reverse the syllables and you get ninja), ''Rox''anne, ''Brawl''y, ''Watt''son, ''Flanne''ry (also Gaelic for 'red eyebrow', according to bulbapedia), ''Norm''an, ''Win(d/g)''ona, Liza&Tate (levitate), Wallace (sounds vaguely like water), Juan (again, sounds vaguely like water), Roark (ore, also similar to rock), ''Garden''ia, Maylene (melee), Crasher ''Wake'', Fantina (phantom), B''yron'', Cand''ice'', and ''Vol(t)''kner. Typically, expect punny names to accompany new Gym Leaders.

* {{Infocom}} used to publish a newsletter titled ''The New VideoGame/{{Zork}} Times''.

* ''TyTheTasmanianTiger'' has Lenny the lyrebird. Guess who you ''shouldn't'' listen to in his level.

* ''RiseOfTheTriad'' has a player character named I. P. Freeley.

* Medic Herbert East in ''VideoGame/OperationDarkness'' is an obvious reference (in function as well as name) to Creator/HPLovecraft's story ''Herbert West: Re-Animator''. Note that this is only a PunnyName in the Western release; in the Japanese version, he was named Herbert West.

* {{Konami}} in the [=NES=] era was shamelessly replete with puns when naming enemy mooks in their English instruction manuals. Among many, many others, ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfBayouBilly'' had [[GeniusBonus Tolouse L'Attack]], ''[[VideoGame/GanbareGoemon Legend of the Mystical Ninja]]'' had Tanaka U. Out, and ''[[VideoGame/{{Contra}} Super C]]'' had a giant mouth monster named Lip O' Suction.

* IMMeen.

* ''Webcomic/TheKAMics'' - Pops up from time to time. Ironically the Pun Police all have a PunnyName.

* The unseen Leon Diedde in Webcomic/MSPaintMasterpieces dies during surgery. He was literally a throw-away gag and just served to show how much of an ass [[ExactlyWhatItsSaysOnTheTin Colonel Fodder is]] when he dismisses the death despite being a "little attached" to the man.

* Apparently you can't have a sports blog network without those. For proof, see [[http://www.sbnation.com/blogs SB Nation]] (the Charlotte Bobcats one is "[[{{Mascot}} Rufus]] on Fire", the New Jersey Devils is "In [[LouisCypher Lou]] We Trust", and the Atlanta Falcons one is "The Falcoholic"), {{ESPN}}'s [[http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop True Hoop]] (Milwaukee Bucks: "Bucksketball", Detroit Pistons: "Piston Powered") and SportsIllustrated's [[http://fansided.com/network/ Fansided]] (Cleveland Indians: "Wahoo’s on First", Pittsburgh Penguins: "Pens Labyrinth").

*** ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' also gave us Bermuda Schwartz, circus owners the Bungling Brothers, and the infamous whale Maybe Dick. Also many of Boris' aliases are puns as well: D. W. Grifter, Creator/{{Alfred Hitch|cock}}hike, [[SherlockHolmes Hemlock Soames]], etc.

* ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}''. The series had Punny Names aplenty. Abis Mal, his relative Abnor Mal, and his sidekick, Haroud Hazi Bin. Other examples include Amin Damoolah, Queen Hippsodeth, and Ayam Aghoul.

** Sonny Dial, host of [[NicheNetwork the time channel]]

** [[WorldWarII Norman D Landing]] (War Memorabilia Store)

* When Zahn features Talon Karrde in his ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' novels, he has all of Karrde's organization's ships bear {{Punny Name}}s, but they're quietly punny, and no one remarks on names like "Wild Karrde", "Amanda Fallow", and "Lastri's Ort". Too quiet, perhaps, since other writers using the same character will give him ships that have more generic names.

** In the first two books, the puns were scarce, and not even noted by the characters. As the series progressed, they became more common. [[RunningTheAsylum And then he started taking reader-submitted puns]]. He quickly became so inundated with puns that he ended up with a ''waiting list'' due to there always being far too many to use in a single book. The result? Not only are the books filled with possibly the universe's largest concentration of puns, ''in-universe'' the land of Xanth came to be described as ''literally'' made of puns. That is, the ''actual physical substance'' of Xanth is puns. By this point, pretty much every minor character and many major ones have {{Punny Name}}s.

----

* Every book labeled under the "Cozy Mystery" subgenre, especially those published under the Berkley Prime Crime label, have a specific theme and title pun to correspond with the themes.

* Most of [[http://www.sbnation.com/blogs SB Nation's blogs]]. The Charlotte Bobcats one is "[[{{Mascot}} Rufus]] on Fire", the New Jersey Devils is "In [[LouisCypher Lou]] We Trust", and the Atlanta Falcons one is "The Falcoholic". {{ESPN}}'s [[http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop True Hoop]] has some similar ones, such as "Bucksketball" (Milwaukee Bucks) and "Piston Powered" (Detroit Pistons).