William Shakespeare: I could name [this play] after its main character, Timon, but it feels rather dull.
Widge: You named Hamlet after its main character.
Shakespeare: Well, this is not Hamlet. More's the pity.
Widge: You named Hamlet after its main character.
Shakespeare: Well, this is not Hamlet. More's the pity.
Naming a work after its protagonist is one of the most popular title conventions in fiction, to the point that when a title isn't eponymous to the protagonist, everybody will still assume it is.
Often an One-Word Title, although there are examples with more than one word, such as Adjective Noun Fred if Fred is the protagonist.
If the Protagonist Title is also a pun, it's an Epunymous Title. If the title also includes the protagonist's occupation, it's Role Called.
See also Character Name and the Noun Phrase, The Full Name Adventures, Mononymous Biopic Title, Multi-Character Title, Name and Name, Protagonist and Friends, Secondary Character Title. Compare to Antagonist Title, contrast with Secondary Character Title. Subtrope of Character Title. Adjective Noun Fred usually overlaps with this, having the "Fred" be the protagonist.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Akagi
- Akumetsu
- Anpanman
- Astro Boy
- Bambino! (Played with. The protagonist's actual name is Ban, but Bambino is his In-Universe Nickname)
- Beelzebub
- Black Jack
- Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo
- Boogiepop Phantom
- Bara no Hana to Joe
- Candy Candy
- Canaan
- Captain Tsubasa
- Case Closed (known as Detective Conan in Japan)
- Casshern
- A Certain Scientific Accelerator
- A Certain Scientific Railgun
- Chainsaw Man
- Chirin no Suzu (known as Ringing Bell in the west)
- Cool Shock B.T.
- Crayon Shinchan
- Cutey Honey
- Cyborg009
- Daitarn 3
- Devilman
- Fullmetal Alchemist (the protagonist's nickname, though less commonly used than his real name)
- Gokicha
- Gokudō
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Hajime no Ippo
- Hellsing plays with it: the manga is named after the Hellsing Organization, but it's led by one of the main protagonists, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing (Who's a woman, by the way).
- Hell Teacher Nube
- Himawari!!
- Inuyasha
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (though later protagonists don't use the JoJo nickname, their names still fit with the Theme Naming)
- Kaiji
- Kaiketsu Zorori
- Karin
- Keroro Gunsou (known as Sgt. Frog in the west, Keroro Gunsou is the main character's name, Keroro, and his military rank, Gunsou, or sergeant)
- Kimba the White Lion (known as Leo The Lion/Jungle Emperor Leo in Japan)
- Kirby of the Stars
- Kobato.
- Kuroko no Basuke
- Little Lulu
- Lupin III
- Madlax
- Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (partially subverted in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Striker S, where Subaru Nakajima could be seen as the main character, completely subverted in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Vi Vid and Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force where Vivio Takamachi and Tohma Avenir are the main characters, respectively)
- Gundam 00: A Wakening of the Trailblazer (The Hero is the titular Trailblazer)
- Nana
- Naruto
- Ninja Hattori-kun (The Hero's given name is Kanzo, yet is nicknamed "Hattori-kun" by the main cast)
- Ninja Slayer
- Nyanpire: The Animation
- Ojamajo Doremi
- Oddly, some Eastern European adaptations of One Piece (Which is normally a MacGuffin Title) rename both the manga and its protagonist Monkey D. Luffy as Drake.
- Ojojojo, which looks like a Word Purée Title at first, refers to Haru and her steady character development. "Ojo" means "princess", while "jojo" roughly translates to "gradually" or "little by little".
- Ōkami-san
- Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
- Paprika
- The Prince of Tennis
- Princess Tutu
- Project A-Ko
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica
- Puella Magi Kazumi Magica
- Ranma ½
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Sailor Moon
- Saint Seiya
- Sakura Wars
- Saki
- Sonic X
- Space☆Dandy
- Speed Racer (yes, that is actually his name)
- Stitch!
- Super Milk Chan
- Toriko
- Unico
- Wowser
- Yaiba
- Yotsuba&!
- Yu-Gi-Oh! (The original series at least)
- Zatch Bell!
Arts
- Abaporu
- Aphrodite of Menophantos
- The Birth of Venus (Botticelli)
- The Birth of Venus (Bouguereau)
- The Birth of Venus (Cabanel)
- Charity (Bouguereau)
- Circe Invidiosa
- Civic Virtue Triumphant over Unrighteousness
- David
- Dawn (Bouguereau)
- The Fallen Angel
- Fortezza
- Girl with a Pearl Earring
- Grande Odalisque
- Hylas and the Nymphs
- The Lady of Shalott (Holman Hunt)
- The Lady of Shalott (Waterhouse)
- Laocoön and His Sons
- Liberty Leading the People
- Marie de' Medici Cycle
- The Mona Lisa
- Nefertiti Bust
- The Nude Maja
- Nue Couchée
- Olympia
- Ophelia (Millais)
- The Planet Venus
- Portrait of Madame X
- The Rape of Proserpina (Bernini)
- The Rape of Proserpina (Rubens)
- The Return of Spring
- Sleeping Venus (Giorgione)
- The Sphinx
- The Temptation of St. Anthony (Rops)
- Thor's Fight with the Giants
- Venus de Milo
- Venus of Willendorf
- Young Hylas with the Water Nymphs
- Young Sick Bacchus
Comic Books
Comic Strips
- Alley Oop
- Andy Capp
- Arnold
- Baldo
- Beetle Bailey
- Blondie
- Buckles
- Calvin and Hobbes
- Cathy
- Crankshaft
- Dick Tracy
- Dilbert
- Doonesbury
- Drabble
- Elvie
- Flash Gordon
- Frank and Ernest
- Fred Basset
- Funky Winkerbean
- Garfield
- Hägar the Horrible
- Heathcliff
- Judge Parker
- Little Lulu
- Luann
- Marmaduke
- Mary Worth
- Mother Goose and Grimm
- Popeye
- Rex Morgan, M.D.
- Sally Forth (Howard)
- Ziggy
- Zippy the Pinhead
Fairy Tales
Fan Works
Films — Animation
- 9
- Aladdin
- Alice in Wonderland
- Anastasia
- Balto
- Bambi
- Beauty and the Beast
- Beowulf (2007)
- Bolt
- Chicken Little
- Cinderella
- Dumbo
- Fritz the Cat
- Hercules
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
- Kirikou and the Sorceress
- Lilo & Stitch
- The Lion King (1994)
- The Little Mermaid
- Luca
- Megamind
- Moana
- Mulan
- Osmosis Jones
- Pinocchio
- Pocahontas
- The Prince of Egypt: The Prince in question is Moses, who eventually rejects the title when he discovers his true heritage.
- The Princess and the Frog
- Puss in Boots
- Rango
- Robin Hood (1973)
- Shrek
- Sleeping Beauty
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Tangled is an odd case. The movie was originally going to be named after its main heroine Rapunzel, but the title was changed to Tangled. However, some countries do keep the name Rapunzel (or its equivalent in said country).
- Tarzan
- Turbo
- WALL•E
- Wreck-It Ralph
Films — Live-Action
- The 40-Year-Old Virgin
- Adam (2009)
- Alexander
- Alexander Nevsky
- Alfie
- Alice in Wonderland
- The Amazing Spider-Man Series
- Amélie (Amelie in the English release)
- An American Werewolf in London
- Ant-Man
- Arthur
- Babe
- Barry Lyndon
- Batman Film Series
- Batman: The Movie (1966)
- The Batman (Serial)
- The Batman (2022)
- Big Daddy
- Big Fish (The Hero refers to himself as such)
- Billy Madison
- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
- Bloom 2003: Surname-type One-Word Title for the husband and wife protagonists.
- Bobby
- Bronson
- Brubaker
- Captain America
- Carmen y Lola
- Carrie (1976) (and subsequent 2002 and 2013 remakes)
- Charley
- Chopper
- Cinderella (2015)
- Danny the Dog
- Daredevil
- The Dark Knight Trilogy
- Dave
- Defendor
- Demolition Man (yep, the hero is the "Demolition Man", not the mass-murdering villain in that movie)
- Dick
- Dirty Harry
- Django
- Doctor Dolittle
- Don Jon
- Donnie Darko
- Edward Scissorhands
- Ed Wood
- Elf
- Elfie Hopkins; Cannibal Hunter
- Erin Brockovich
- Forrest Gump
- Gandhi
- Gilda
- The Gingerweed Man
- Gladiator
- Godzilla
- Hancock
- Happy Gilmore
- Harry Potter
- Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
- Hesher
- Highlander
- Hugo
- Hulk
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay (Mockingjay is The Heroine's Red Baron)
- i am sam
- Inside Daisy Clover
- Ip Man Film Series
- The Incredible Hulk
- Iron Man
- Jack
- Jackie Brown
- Jack Reacher
- James Bond
- JCVD (Jean-Claude Van Damme's initials, if you're wondering)
- J. Edgar
- Jeff, Who Lives at Home
- Jerry Maguire
- John Carter
- John Wick
- Juliana
- Juno
- The Karate Kid
- The King's Speech
- Kick-Ass
- Klute
- Kung Fu Zohra
- Leon (in the French release)
- Life of Pi
- Lincoln
- Little Miss Sunshine
- Little Nicky
- Lovelace
- Machete
- Mad Max
- Magic Mike
- Maigret'
- Malcolm X
- Man of Steel
- Marie Antoinette'
- The Mask of Zorro
- Michael Clayton
- Monsieur Verdoux
- Mr. Deeds
- My Man Godfrey
- Napoleon Dynamite
- The New Guy
- Ninotchka
- Nixon
- Our Miss Brooks, in which the protagonist is Miss Connie Brooks, a schoolteacher.
- Paulie
- Penelope (1966)
- Penelope (2006)
- Pépé le Moko
- Punch!, but only in its original Korean title, Wan-deuk.
- The Punisher (2004)
- Quigley
- Rambo
- Red Riding Hood
- Return of the Jedi (Though it's likely a Double-Meaning Title referring to both the return of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker's Redemption Equals Death via Dying as Yourself)
- RoboCop
- Rocky
- Salt
- Santa Claus (1959)
- The Scorpion King
- Serpico
- Shakespeare in Love
- Sherlock Holmes
- Silkwood
- Snow White & the Huntsman
- Solo: A Star Wars Story
- Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
- Soul Surfer
- Spider-Man Trilogy
- The Station Agent
- Steve Jobs
- Still Alice
- The Stoning of Soraya M.
- Supergirl (1984)
- Superman Returns
- Tár
- Thor
- Underdog
- Van Helsing
- Vera Drake
- Vicky Cristina Barcelona
- W.
- The War Lord
- Warrior
- The Waterboy
- The Wedding Singer
- Who Am I (2014) (which is the hero's online alias)
- Willow
- The Wolf of Wall Street
- The Wolverine
- Young Adult
- Zoolander
Literature
- Billy Budd
- Candide
- Catherine Ling
- Cinderella
- David Copperfield
- Don Quixote
- The Dresden Files
- Effi Briest
- Emma
- Friday (Robert Heinlein novel)
- Harry Potter
- The Hobbit
- Homer Price
- Horatio Hornblower: The series as a whole, although not all the individual books have Hornblower's name on them.
- Inheritance Cycle
- Eragon
- Murtagh
- Jane Eyre
- Lee Nez
- Madame Bovary
- Matilda
- Der Münchner im Himmel
- Noddy
- Oliver Twist
- Oona: The protagonist is a little mermaid girl who's named Oona.
- Provosts Dog is also known as Beka Cooper.
- Robinson Crusoe
- Sirena Selena, or at least its English title, which is a truncated version of the original Spanish title Sirena Selena vestida de penatranslation .
- The Sirantha Jax Series
- Stellaluna
- There Is No Epic Loot Here, Only Puns: The chapter, "Delta"
, the hundredth chapter, named after the story's main protagonist.
Live-Action TV
- Agent Carter
- ALF
- Ally McBeal
- Angel
- In-universe example with the television series Cordy, which Cordelia would have starred in if she hadn't bumped into Angel at a Hollywood party.
- Arrow
- Barney Miller
- Batman
- Bones (as a nickname)
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Candy (2022)
- The Carrie Diaries
- Castle
- Chuck
- Commander in Chief
- Constantine
- Cory in the House
- Daredevil (2015)
- Dexter
- Doogie Howser, M.D.
- Drake & Josh
- Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
- Ed
- Eli Stone
- Emily Owens, M.D.
- Fish
- The Flash (1990)
- The Flash (2014)
- Frasier
- Hannah Montana
- Henry Danger: This one is Zig-Zagged a little. The protagonist’s name is Henry Hart, but his superhero alias is Kid Danger, so it’s kind of a half-example.
- Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
- Highlander
- House
- Horatio Hornblower
- How I Met Your Mother (The "I" in the title is The Hero)
- Hunter
- iCarly
- Itch
- Jane the Virgin
- Joey
- Joan of Arcadia
- Jessica Jones (2015)
- Jesus of Nazareth (miniseries)
- Every Kamen Rider series
- Knight Rider
- The Last Man on Earth
- Legion
- Lizzie McGuire
- Lois & Clark
- Louie
- Luther
- MacGyver (1985)
- MacGyver (2016)
- Madam Secretary, after the form of address for a female US Cabinet secretary, in this case referring to Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord.
- Magnum, P.I.
- Maigret (2016)
- Marie Antoinette'
- Maude
- Max Headroom
- Merlin (1998)
- Merlin (2008)
- Every Metal Heroes show
- Monk
- Mork & Mindy
- Murphy Brown
- My Name Is Earl
- New Girl
- Nikita
- Our Miss Brooks, in which the protagonist is Miss Connie Brooks, a schoolteacher.
- Perry Mason
- Rev.
- Roseanne
- Sanford and Son
- The Secret Diary Of A Call Girl
- Seinfeld
- Sherlock
- Simon & Simon
- Spartacus: Blood and Sand
- Star Trek: Picard
- Star Wars:
- Supergirl (2015)
- Ted Lasso
- Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- That's So Raven
- Trophy Wife
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Veep
- Veronica Mars
- Walker, Texas Ranger
- Wallander
- Xena: Warrior Princess
- Young Hercules
- Young Sheldon
Pinball
- Airborne Avenger
- Ali
- The Atarians
- Baby Pac-Man
- Barracora
- The various Batman games:
- Batman (Data East, 1991; based on Batman (1989))
- Batman Forever (Sega, 1995; based on Batman Forever)
- Batman (Stern Pinball, 2008; based on The Dark Knight)
- Batman '66 (Stern Pinball, 2016; a love letter to the Adam West Batman television series)
- Dr. Dude
- Hercules
- Jinni Zeala
- Judge Dredd
- Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man Pinball
- Pin*Bot
- The Machine: Bride of Pin*Bot (yes, "The Machine" is her name)
- Technically, Psycho Pinball counts, as the game is named for its mascot, Psycho the Armadillo.
- Red & Ted's Road Show
- The Shadow
- Shaq Attaq
- Sinbad
- Superman
- The Who's Tommy, often shortened to just "Tommy"
- The full title for Truck Stop is "Big Betty's Truck Stop".
- Xenon
Radio
- The Burns and Allen Show
- The Great Gildersleeve
- Our Miss Brooks, in which the protagonist is Miss Connie Brooks, a schoolteacher.
Theatre
Video Games
- Ace Attorney: While "Ace Attorney" is scarcely used in the story, the games' full names do include their protagonist's name.
- Alisia Dragoon
- Astal
- Atelier game titles consist of the word "Atelier" followed by the protagonist's name and a subtitle.
- Athena
- Banjo-Kazooie
- Bayonetta
- Blasto
- B.O.B.
- Bomberman
- Boogerman
- Bravoman
- Bubsy
- Captain Commando
- Chibi-Robo!
- Crash Bandicoot
- Diacrisis: The Player Character's full name is Matthew Diacrisis.
- Donkey Kong Country
- Duke Nukem
- Dweep
- Dynamite Duke
- Earthworm Jim
- Ecco the Dolphin
- Edd the Duck!
- Falling Fred
- Fire Emblem Engage: During the endgame, the protagonist Alear is killed. The Ring Emblems use their powers to resurrect Alear as the thirteenth Emblem, the Fire Emblem, making them this trope.
- Flicky
- Frogger
- Gabriel Knight
- HAAK: The Player Character's name is simply Haak.
- Hagane
- Hammerin' Harry
- Hans Kloss
- Harmony
- Ib
- Iji
- Ittle Dew
- Jak and Daxter
- James Pond
- Jett Rocket
- Kao the Kangaroo
- Karnov
- Kid Dracula
- Kid Niki: Radical Ninja
- Kirby
- Klonoa
- Kolibri
- Koudelka
- Little Samson
- Low G Man
- LUNA (RPG Maker): Luna is the name of the little girl that you play as.
- Mappy
- Mario Bros.
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is notable in that while it would normally be a partial case of Antagonist Title, Bowser is actually a Villain Protagonist in this game.
- Max Payne: It doubles as a Meaningful Name as he goes through intense physical and emotional pain in his adventures. Fittingly, his health pickups are bottles of painkillers.
- Mega Man
- Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
- Metal Gear Solid: Metal Gear is the Humongous Mecha that must be stopped, but Solid Snake is the protagonist.
- Metroid started off as an Antagonist Title, but became one of these after Samus became infused with Metroid DNA in Metroid Fusion. As of Metroid Dread, she now is a humanoid Metroid - the last Metroid. A retcon that "Metroid" means "Ultimate Warrior" in an in-universe conlang has been used to underscore the matter.
- Mr. Do!
- Mr. Heli
- Nancy Drew
- Nelo: The Player Character's name is Nelo.
- Neptunia: The main character is named Neptune, whom the series is named after in Japan.
- Nier Although, also an Antagonist Title as we learn the Shadow Lord is Nier's Enemy Without.
- Nobody Saves the World
- Opa-Opa
- Opoona
- Osman (in English)
- Pac-Man
- Perfect Dark, though it's just a code name for agent Joanna Dark.
- Power Pete
- Prince of Persia (as the hero never gets a proper name.)
- Professor Fizzwizzle
- Professor Layton
- Q*bert
- Rastan
- Ratchet & Clank
- Rayman
- Ristar
- Scathe - albeit an Anti-Hero example
- Shantae
- Skweek
- Solatorobo, the western versions adds Red the Hunter to the title, as opposed to the original Japanese version which doesn't have any character's name in it (And Then, To CODA).
- Somari, at least according to the end-of-level messages.
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Sonny
- SonSon (an early Capcom arcade game)
- Snow Bros
- Spyro the Dragon
- Strider Hiryu (in Japan)
- Syd of Valis, whose localization renamed the main character in a clumsy attempt to force this trope.
- Technocop
- Tempo
- Tex Murphy
- The Legend Of Zelda is a partial case; the actual protagonist is Link, but the titular young princess has a major role in nearly every game in the series.
- Thunder Hoop
- Tin Star
- ToeJam & Earl
- Tomba!
- The Treasure Hunter Man series plays on it:
- Treasure Hunter Man 1: The "1" is only for our differentiation.
- Treasure Hunter Man 2: The protagonist is a woman.
- TwinBee, sort of: the first player always controls TwinBee, which is the name of a ship, not that of its pilot.
- Vectorman
- Vexx
- Victor Vran
- Wadanohara
- Wario Land, and its Spiritual Sequel Wario World. Also WarioWare.
- Whizz
- Wolverine
Web Animation
Webcomics
- Alice Grove
- D.W.: Yes, that one. Elwood (2015) originally went by this title until it expanded to focus just as much on other characters.
- Dasien
- Digger
- Gene Catlow, though it focuses on secondary characters much more often... Gene probably has plurality of screen time, at least.
- Hardcore Leveling Warrior, named after the Lucid Adventure character of the webcomic's protagonist, Ethan.
- Huckleberry
- The Legend of Genji
- Joseph & Yusra
- Mindmistress
- Ozzie the Vampire
- Pilot
- Philler Space
- Rain
- Rip Haywire
- Sonichu
Western Animation
- The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius
- The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin
- Allen Gregory
- American Dad!
- American Dragon: Jake Long
- Archibald the Koala
- Arthur
- Atomic Betty
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: The main character's actual name is Aang, but it still counts as the Avatar is his status.
- Beavis And Butthead
- Big Tim
- Bluey
- Bonkers
- BraveStarr
- CatDog
- Courage the Cowardly Dog
- Danger Mouse
- Danny Phantom: While his name is Danny, “Phantom” is an alias. His actual last name is Fenton.
- Daria
- Denver the Last Dinosaur
- Dink, the Little Dinosaur
- Dora the Explorer
- Doug
- DuckTales (1987): "Sir Gyro de Gearloose"
- Dudley Do-Right
- Eek! The Cat
- Family Guy
- Fanboy and Chum Chum
- Franklin
- Freakazoid!
- The Ghost and Molly McGee: The Ghost’s name is Scratch.
- Gumby
- Hong Kong Phooey
- Horrid Henry
- I Am Weasel
- Jana of the Jungle
- Jabberjaw
- Jem
- Johnny Bravo
- Johnny Test
- Jonny Quest
- Kick Buttowski
- Kim Possible
- The Legend of Korra; doubly so in the UK, where the series' name is Avatar: The Legend of Korra, thus having the heroine's name and status in the title.
- Magilla Gorilla
- Martin Morning
- Martin Mystery
- Mighty Mightor
- Mighty Mouse
- Mr. Bogus
- Munro
- Napoleon Dynamite
- Pelswick
- Peppa Pig
- Pepper Ann
- Phineas and Ferb
- Pingu
- The Pink Panther
- Pinky and the Brain
- Pocoyo
- Quick Draw McGrawnote
- Randy Cunningham: Ninth Grade Ninja
- The Ren & Stimpy Show
- Rick and Morty
- Rocky and Bullwinkle
- Roger Ramjet
- Sanjay and Craig
- Scooby-Doo
- Scaredy Squirrel
- Secret Squirrel
- The Simpsons
- Space Ghost
- Spongebob Squarepants
- Star vs. the Forces of Evil
- Steven Universe
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Stripperella
- Tom and Jerry
- 2 Stupid Dogs
- Underdog
- Velma
- Wallace & Gromit
- Wally Gator
- Winnie the Pooh
- Yogi Bear
- Yin Yang Yo!
