History Main / ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has its original Gods ([[GenderNeutralWriting and no Goddesses!]]) merely inspired by gods from Greek and Egyptian mythology, but there's Erebos, God of the Dead who is based on an actual Greek god.

* The brothers in ''Film/SevenBridesForSevenBrothers'' are named Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, David, Ephraim, Frank, and Gideon, mostly after names in Literature/TheBible. The "OddNameOut" is Frank, short for "Frankincense", as there are no "F" names in the Old Testament, the equivalent sound being represented by the diphthong "ph". Frank, naturally, becomes [[{{Pun}} incensed]] if you call him by his full name. I'm sure he would've preferred his parents to have dipped into the ''New'' Testament and named him "Felix" or "Festus".

* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''. A lot of the werewolves have [[Literature/TheBible biblical]] names, such as Jacob, Leah, Seth, Samuel, Paul, etc.

There's nothing particularly odd about women named Diana, Phoebe, or Cynthia. However, if you see a trio with those names, pay attention - all three names come from [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek mythology]], so if you see a group like this, there's probably some ThemeNaming going on (and as all those names can be applied to the same goddess, you might be in for some ''real'' fun). Likewise, a group of men named [[Literature/TheFourGospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John]] all gathered together indicates that they will probably end up doing something important (especially if they have a friend named [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Jesse or Joshua]]). If the names fail to make good on their symbolic connotation, it's SquatsInAName.

See also [[NamesToRunAwayFrom/ReligiousNames Names To Run Away From: Religious Names]]

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': [[AdaptationalHeroism Monster X]]'s (Abraxas') scientific MeaningfulName continues the Film/MonsterVerse's tradition where the Titans are often named after mythological figures if they aren't [[AllMythsAreTrue the source of the original lore]].

** Furthermore, the kaiju who existed in movies prior to this continuity (Godzilla, Mothra, Kong, Ghidorah, and Rodan) are each given mythical motifs of their own, each being associated with the concept of [[MessianicArchetype gods/[[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]]/[[OurDemonsAreDifferent demons]]/[[SatanicArchetype devils]].

** Mr. Satan is named after the biblical Satan, while his daughter Videl's name is an anagram of "devil". And Goku and Satan's mutual granddaughter gets two references: "Pan" is a loanword from Spanish meaning "bread," as her father's name, Gohan, means "rice;" they're both carbohydrates and staple [[EdibleThemeNaming foods]], and it also refers to the satyr, Pan, who has the physical form we associate with Satan. In the Funimation dub, his first name is Hercule, obviously based off the Roman hero Hercules (the Latin name of Heracles).

* In ''TabletopGame/HaltEvilDoer'', the equivalent of Kryptonians are the Mithrans, who have an angelic theme and names to match. The ComicBook/{{Superman}} {{Expy}}, Divinos, has the real name Mikhael; his sister Angel Girl (ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}) is Gabrielle, and the General Zod counterpart is Commander [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_(Islam) Iblis]].

* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': The Devils and fiends under the control of the Devil Hunters Bureau are named after the orders of angels. Power and Angel are named after the angels they represent, so are the temporarily introduced Virtue, Seraphim, and Dominion. The two others, the Shark Fiend names Beam and the Spider Devil named Princi have their named derived from "Cherubim" and "Principality".

** It goes deeper than that. Mars's moons are named after his sons Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Terror). [[UsefulNotes/TheMoonsOfJupiter Jupiter's moons]] are named for his lovers and daughters (79 and we haven't run out!), [[UsefulNotes/TheMoonsOfSaturn Saturn's]] for Titans[[note]]and as of 2000, giants from other cultures, since we did run out of those[[/note]], and [[UsefulNotes/TheMoonsOfNeptune Neptune's]] for [[LordOfTheOcean water divinities]].

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12999230/5/With-Age-Comes-Absurdity With Age Comes---Absurdity?]]'' has Ajax, the head of the Parkinson family, and his children Castor, Jason and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Oceanids Ianthe]].

* In ''Fanfic/TheDragonAndTheButterfly'', Luisa names her Crimson Goregutter "Hercules."

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Cersei Lannister is named after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circe a witch who enjoyed turning men into pigs]].

[[folder:Anime And Manga]]

** [[spoiler:Tartaglia's real name is Ajax, the famed Trojan hero in Myth/ClassicalMythology and warrior of courage from Homer's ''Literature/TheIliad''. His little brother is also named Teucer, the half-brother of Ajax in in classical mythology.]]

* In ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'', all of the Kingsmen whose names are given are named after figures from the legends of Myth/KingArthur. Harry is Galahad and his compatriots are Arthur (TheLeader), Merlin (the TechnoWizard) and Lancelot ([[spoiler:who dies early on]]). It can be presumed the rest of the organization sticks to this theme, as Roxy's sponsor is Percival.

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' has outlaw protagonist Arthur Morgan, whose full name is Welsh in origin: his first name, "Arthur", fits in with the legendary Myth/KingArthur, and his surname, "Morgan", fits in with the sorceress Morgan le Fay. Of course, his name can be more {{meaningful|Name}} depending on what you do with his honor meter. His old horse, Boadicea, is also named after a mythological British royal. She was a Queen in the first century AD who led an uprising against the Romans.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'':

** Most of the residents of Scala ad Caelum are named after characters in Norse mythology. In ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX Kingdom Hearts Dark Road]]'', Xehanort and Eraqus's fellow classmates are named Bragi, Vor, Urd, Hermod, Baldr, Vidar, Vala, Vali, Hoder, Heimdall, Helgi, and Sigrun, with their Keyblade Master being named Odin. ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'' also has a character named Sigurd.

** And there are now established rules for surface features on those bodies - for example, craters and crevasses on Jupiter's moon Europa are named after characters and locations in Myth/CelticMythology, while those on Saturn's moon Phoebe are named after items from the story of Jason and the Argonauts. These can sometimes get a bit funny--for instance, mountains on Saturn's moon Titan are named for mountains in Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium, plains on Titan are named for planets from ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'', and many features on Phobos are named for places and characters in ''Literature/GulliversTravels''. See [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nomenclature the planetary nomenclature page]] on Wiki/TheOtherWiki for details.

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'': A lupine Heartless is named Skoll, named after the wolf who is fated to swallow the sun during Ragnarok.

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts'': Most of the characters in Scala ad Caelum are named after characters in Norse mythology. In ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX Kingdom Hearts Dark Road]]'', the local Keyblade Master is named Odin, while his apprentices--except for Xehanort (an anagram of "No Heart" with an X) and Eraqus (an anagram of "Creator/{{Square|Enix}}")--are named Bragi, Vor, Urd, Hermod, Baldr, Heimdall, Vidar, Vala, Vali, Hoder, Heimdall, Helgi, and Sigrun. ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX'' also has a character named Sigurd.

* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob,'' Molly named her teddy bear Callisto, after a Greek nymph who was changed into a bear. And Molly's clone Galatea is named for Pygmalion's statue who came to life.
* In ''Webcomic/JupiterMen'', a notable and troublesome gang known as the "Titans" run around in Jupiter-City. They were led by a man named "Cronus" until he was arrested and taken into custody. This is in stark contrast to the name of Jupiter City and its hero, Jupiter-Man, who are named after the Roman counterpart of Zeus, who overthrew the Titans and Cronus in Greek mythology.

* ''Literature/TheHobbit'': With the exception of Bilbo Baggins, every member of the Company, including Gandalf, has a name taken straight from the PoeticEdda's list of dwarves.

* Several characters in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' are named after figures in Myth/ArthurianLegend.

* The BigScrewedUpFamily of bad guys in the ''Literature/ThursdayNext'' books are named Hades, and their first names are all names of the rivers of Hades - Styx, Acheron, Aornis etc.
* The Star Kingdom of Manticore in ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' is real big on naming stuff after mythical creatures. They've got the planets Manticore, Spinx, Gryphon, and Medusa (which orbits the star Basilisk). They also like Greek history and mythology for ship names. Also, their three major space stations/shipyards, Hephaestus, Vulcan, and Weyland, are named for smiths depicted in Greek, Roman, and Germanic/Norse mythology respectively.
* ''Literature/{{Domina}}'':
** A lot of the higher-level people use mythological names. Though for many, it's not clear what exactly the source is--Orcus, for example, is the name of a Roman god, but based on context he's probably named after the TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons demon prince. Some of them get pretty obscure, too. How many people know that Aramazd is the father of the gods in Armenian mythology?
** Orcus is confirmed in the [[AllThereInTheManual culture documents]] to be named after the Roman god. He originally named his culture Thanatosians, but people missed the point and just started calling them orcs.
* With the exception of Bilbo Baggins, every member of the Company in ''Literature/TheHobbit'' has a name taken straight from the PoeticEdda. Yes, even Gandalf.
* The ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' does this with some renegade Time Lords (who are generally NoNameGiven in the series). It started with the unmade Leakey script stating that the Doctor's father was named Ulysses, from Myth/ClassicalMythology. Then the Master's name was revealed as Koschei, a lich from Myth/SlavicMythology, and the Rani's was given as Ushas, a goddess in Myth/HinduMythology (appropriate, given the origins of her adopted title). Exceptions are the Monk and the War Chief, who were named Mortimus and Magnus before the pattern started, and the Doctor's name, of course, remains unrevealed.

* The Silent Brothers from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'' give up their birth names upon joining, instead taking on the name of a man from Literature/TheBible.
* In the ''Literature/JacobsLadderTrilogy'', the [=AIs=] on ''Jacob's Ladder'' are named after Angels; some examples include Israfil, Samael, and Asrafil.
* Robert [=McCloskey=]'s ''Literature/HomerPrice'' and ''Centerburg Tales'' have Homer's Uncle Telemachus, Uncle Ulysses, who runs the town lunchroom and Grampa Hercules, the resident TallTale teller.
* In ''Creator/DeanKoontz's Frankenstein'', the monster has taken to calling himself Deucalion, after the mythical son of Prometheus. If you know the full title of Mary Shelley's book this is appropriate, but he also suggests there may be a prophetic meaning- Deucalion was the Greek equivalent of Noah, who supposedly helped rebuild the human race after a catastrophe. [[spoiler: Later on, he considers changing his name to Christopher, after the Catholic Saint known for being a GentleGiant]].
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' (and [[Series/GameOfThrones the TV adaptation]]) both feature Cersei Lannister, named after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circe a witch who enjoyed turning men into pigs]].
* ''Literature/AlienInASmallTown'' has a lot of it. [[Literature/TheBible Paul,]] [[Myth/CelticMythology Nuada,]] [[Myth/NorseMythology Heimdall,]] [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology Ishtar,]] [[Myth/NorseMythology Thrym]] [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Scyllaschild,]] [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Persephone,]] and [[Myth/NorseMythology Valhalla.]] Notable that Valhalla Crater on [[UsefulNotes/{{Jupiter}} Callisto]] exists in RealLife.
* ''Literature/HiveMind2016'' has a group of terrorists named Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Venus. Jupiter is the leader. [[spoiler:The theme naming is actually a plot point - since Roman mythology appears to be forgotten and the existence of non-Earth planets is highly classified information, very few people would have known enough to make the reference.]]
* Giovanna from the ''Literature/VitaNuova'' is named so because, like how John (Giovanni) the Baptist came before [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Christ]], she appears just before Beatrice when [[Creator/DanteAlighieri Dante]] first sees her in adulthood.
* The alien planet in ''Literature/SentouYouseiYukikaze'' is named "Faery", and the Faery Air Force's bases and aircrafts are all named after fantastic/mythological creatures (FFR-31 Sylph/Sylphid, Banshee Flying Aircraft Carrier, F/A-2 Fand, Kraken Sq., Ghoul Sq., etc).
* In ''Literature/TheLockedTomb'' series, there's a divide between the Houses on this for given names. Houses affiliated with the Empire's military, such as the Second and Fourth, have given names from the Bible, while most of the remaining houses have names that derive from Greek and Roman mythology, though there are also a few exceptions, such as [[TheDulcineaEffect Dulcinea]] and [[OddNameOut Colum]]. Averted for the Ninth, as they don't match either theme, with most of the names in the Ninth being [[CanisLatinicus Latin-sounding]] but original. [[spoiler:The unknown "Gideon" at Canaan House who may have been Gideon Nav's namesake was seemingly from the Second, making her name fitting the biblical theming a subtle hint into her MysteriousPast.]]
* ''Literature/SimonArk'': In "The Unicorn's Daughter", the members of a commune all adopted the names of mythical creatures: Griffon, Phoenix, Chimera, etc. After the commune disbands, some of the members go back to their original names, while others legally change their surnames to the name of their mythical beast.
* Subverted in Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series: the town paramedics are brothers named Matthew, Mark, Luke,--and Pete.