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When robots, computers, and other machines appear in fiction, there are a few common ways for them to be named. See also A Mech by Any Other Name, Names Given to Computers, Name-Tron and Law of Alien Names. Sub Tropes include A.I.-cronym.

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A phrase describing the machine's function is shortened to an acronym, or made the name itself.

    Anime and Manga 
  • Alpha from Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou named herself after her model name, since it was still pretty rare when she was created.

    Comic Books 
  • Eradikator 6, the Exterminators and the Protectors from the Marvel Universe.

     Fan Works 

    Film 
  • Beta of The Last Starfighter
  • Both Ash and Bishop from the Alien franchise have names containing SH, possibly to indicate they are Synthetic Humanoids. Falls apart in Alien: Resurrection with Annalee Call, though.
  • WALL•E: AUTO is short for Autopilot.
  • The robots in Short Circuit belong to the SAINT (Strategic Artificially Intelligent Nuclear Transport) line, but each one is simply known by its model number. The main character is Number Five, who gains sentience from being struck by lightning. At the end of the movie, he decides to give himself a human name, choosing "Johnny" from the pop song "Who's Johnny". But he thinks it sounds cool to keep his number too, so he settles on "Johnny Five".
  • Desk Set (1957) featured the Electro-Magnetic Memory and Research Arithmetic Calculator, known as EMERAC (or possibly EMMARAC) for short.

    Live-Action TV 

    Music 
  • Hatchworth of Steam Powered Giraffe plays this straight with a name describing his function. Additionally, The Spine plays with this trope, having a name based on his skeletal structure. And Rabbit's name references robotic glitches, which she is prone to.

    Video Games 
  • GLaDOS, the Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System from Portal. Her name might also be a variant of "Gladys", as in the naming scheme below.
  • Only a handful of Robot Masters of Mega Man (Classic) aren't called "Something man", where something describes some kind of theme related to their powers or function.
    • Mega Man X is named after the numeral variable (x) because of his limitless potential to adapt and change.
    • The various Mavericks of Mega Man X use a two-word descriptive naming formula comprised of an adjective describing an ability of theirs and their species (IE, Armored Armadillo is a heavily armored robotic armadillo, Flame Stag is a fireball-tossing robotic deer, etc.). This only applies to the eight animalistic bosses per game that grant weapons, however, and not to more humanoid named enemies such as Sigma.
  • All Terrain Armored Combatants or ATACs, from the PS1 game Vanguard Bandits.
  • In TRON 2.0, a particularly knowledgeable Tower Guardian program is called I-No.
  • Persona 3 has Aigis, whose name reflects that she is both an Artificial Intellgience and an aegis (Ancient Greek for a protective garment or a protector). And in the extra chapter you meet Metis, whose name is Greek for wise or skilled.
    • Appearing in Persona 4: Arena, Labrys, named for the shape of her preferred weapon (a kind of Ancient Greek double-headed axe).
  • EDI, short for Enhanced Defense Intelligence and pronounced "ee-dee," in the two later Mass Effect games is a shackled AI with a female personality, hardwired into the Normandy SR-2. Her primary purpose is running the ship's cyberwarfare suite. Joker is forced to remove the shackles late in Mass Effect 2 to save the ship, and she remains loyal.
  • Robo, the, um robot party member from Chrono Trigger.
  • Etrian Odyssey Untold: M.I.K.E., the AI who watches over Gladsheim and becomes the last boss found there, stands for Memetic Installation Keeper Engine.
  • As a Magnus originally designed to be a toy robot, the superhero-like name of Kid Ultra from Battleborn is derived from his marketing tagline: "Kid-friendly, Ultra-dependable".
  • CID from Saints Row IV goes by this name because he's a consciousness uploaded into one of the C.I.D. (Control and Interface Device) units of the Zinyak empire.

    Webcomics 

    Web Original 
  • ROSS, short for Rudyard Oscar Shelton Software, is an AI created by the namesake scientist in Darwin's Soldiers.

    Western Animation 

    Real Life 
  • The early vacuum-tube computer ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), and its successor EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Automatic Computer).

Alternatively, a common word or name is made into a relevant backronym. If the acronym describes the function of the robot, then it's an A.I.-cronym, and should go there.

    Anime & Manga 
  • Miyu for "Multiple/Merciful Intelligential Yggdrasil Unit" (depending on whether it's the Hime or Otome universe) from the My-HiME.

    Comic Books 
  • J.A.K.E., short for "Jungle Assault Killer Experiment", from The DCU.
  • A.D.A.M., short for "Ambient-Energy Dampening Actualization Module", from the Marvel Universe.
  • Iron Man:
    • H.O.M.E.R. (Heuristically Operative Matrix Emulation Rostrum).
    • I.S.A.A.C.

    Film 

    Live-Action TV 
  • Parodied on Friends with C.H.E.E.S.E.:
    Joey: I'm up for the part of Mac Macaveli or "Mac". I'm a detective and I solve crimes with the help of my robot partner. He's a Computerized Humanoid Electronically Enhanced Secret Enforcer or "C.H.E.E.S.E."
    Rachel: So... Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E.?
    Joey: That's the title! Yeah! You know, they really lucked out that the initials spell cheese.
    Chandler: That is lucky.
  • Mr. R.I.N.G. ("Robomatic Internalized Nerve Ganglia") from Kolchak: The Night Stalker.
  • Parodied on Mystery Science Theater 3000 when Joel reveals to Crow in a flashback that his name actually stands for "Cybernetic Remotely Operated Woman." After Crow flips out that he's really a woman, Joel reveals it as the elaborate set-up for a joke.
    Crow: Boy, I feel like Morey Amsterdam.
  • R.I.C. ("Robotic Interactive Canine") from Power Rangers S.P.D.. A two-parter also involved a Robot Girl named Sophie, for "Series One Processor/Hyper Intelligent Encryptor".
  • S.A.M. ("Super Automated Machine") from Sesame Street.
  • SELMA (Specified Encapsulated Limitless Memory Archive) from Time Trax.

    Video Games 
  • R.O.B, the Nintendo robot who has made cameos in several games. Stands for "Robotic Operating Buddy", since it helps you play games.
  • KOS-MOS, in Xenosaga. Her name is not only a backronym, it's also a recursive acronym. Kosmos Obey Strategical Multiple Operation Systems.
    • In the same series, MOMO is an acronym for Multiple Observation Mimetic Organicus.
  • In Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes, Z.E.R.O.'s name isn't actually an acronym; he's named after Ziggy's brother Zero, and as a reference to the fact that his serial number (SGNB00000000AA) contains many zeroes.
  • The GDI tactical control AI throughout the Command & Conquer: Tiberium series is the Electronic Virtual Assistant. Nod has the Computer-Assisted Biologically-Augmented Lifeform, as well as LEGION (known to be an acronym as well as another of Kane's self-indulgent Biblical references, but never expanded upon in the game).
  • In Infinite Crisis Mecha-Superman is a Kryptonian Artificial Lifeform, also known as K.A.L.
  • The titular robot from B.O.B., whose name doesn't appear to stand for anything.
  • Spindizzy stars a remote-controlled probe named GERALD (Geographical Environmental Reconnaissance And Land-mapping Device).

    Webcomics 
  • Parodied on Dragon Tails. Bluey creates the Christmas Holographic Refracting Illusion System, and names it...Barry.

    Web Original 
  • The CyborgName website bacronyms your name and sells T-shirts with the robot names on them. This wiki translates as "Transforming Versatile Technician Responsible for Observation, Peacekeeping and Efficient Sabotage".

    Western Animation 
  • H.E.R.B.I.E. ("Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics") the robot from the De Patie Freleng Enterprises version of The Fantastic Four (1978).
    • The comic also featured H.U.B.E.R.T., short for Hyper-Ultronic Brain Employing Randomized Tracings.
  • Parodied with GIR on Invader Zim:
    Zim: "GIR"? What does the "G" stand for?
    GIR: I don't know...
  • MAR-10 from Dexter's Laboratory.
  • All of the robot characters in WALL•E, including the main character ("Waste Allocation Load Lifter, Earth-class"), EVE ("Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator"), but
  • E.A.R.L., short for "Electronic Automatic Robotic Lighthouse", from The Simpsons.
    • There is also C.H.U.M., short for "Childlike-Humanoid-Urban-Muchacho."
  • I.S.R.A.E.L., short for "Intelligent Smart Robot Animation Eraser Lady", from the Drawn Together movie.
  • B.E.N., short for "Bio-Electronic Navigator", from Treasure Planet.
  • The B.A.T.s ("Battle Android Trooper") from G.I. Joe.
  • F.L.U.F.F.I. from Bionic Six.
  • JANICE, from Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, stands for "Junctioned Artificial Neuro-Integrated Cybernetic Entity".
  • In Carmen's backstory in Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?, The Chief's name is revealed to be an acronym meaning "Computerized Holographic Imaging Educational Facilitator." Back when he worked with Carmen, he was a robot.
  • N.I.G.E.L. from Godzilla: The Series stands from Next-millennium Intelligence Gathering Electronic Liaison.
  • The eponymous robot in the Transformers episode "B.O.T." is a "Biotronic Operational Telecommunicator."

A string of numbers and letters, often containing at least one hyphen.

    Anime 

    Comic Books 
  • In Marvel Comics, Machine Man's official designation when he was built was X-51, but he much prefers the name his adoptive father gave him, Aaron. In fact, addressing him as "X-51" is probably the fastest way to make him angry at you.
  • RRU-9-2 from The DCU.
  • MX39147 from Alpha Flight.
  • SJ3RX, better known as Red Ronin, from the Marvel Universe.

    Film 
  • From The Matrix's expanded media, the first robot to intentionally kill a human was named BI66-ER.
  • Star Wars has R2-D2 and C-3PO among innumerable others.
    • It is interesting to note that in certain historical periods, some fans believed that this naming convention was not specific to robots, believing Kenobi's first name to be "OB-1"
      Obi-Wan: If I'm Obi-Wan, does that make you Obi-Two?
    • In the Star Wars Expanded Universe novel Vision of the Future, there's a character named Entoo Needaan E-elz, Entoo Nee for short. The characters who meet him find his name interesting, rather like a droid's designation. He smiles and tells them that people do sometimes mistake him for a droid.
  • B-4, Data's idiot older brother.
    Picard: "Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end."

    Literature 
  • Buck Rogers gives us Twiki, from the robot's alphanumeric designation: TWKE-4
  • House of Robots: Robots Go Wild!: Dr. Ignatius Ignalls builds a robot to act as his injured son's eyes and ears at the school. It's name is Substitute Student 10,000, but is shortened to SS-10K.
  • The title character in Eric Frank Russell's 1941 story "Jay Score" is revealed to be a model J.20 robot on the final page.
  • Isaac Asimov's Lucky Starr and the Big Sun of Mercury: The robot who had been sabotaging Project Light was created in the Sirius system and given the serial number RL-726.
  • Although not robots, Lois McMaster Bujold uses this in the Vorkosigan Saga for the names of several genetically engineered life forms.
    • In Ethan of Athos, Terrance's full product number includes Terran-C, and Janine's number includes J9.
    • In "Labryinth", Miles meets Nine, the last survivor of ten prototypes. She is later renamed Taura.
    • The Quaddies from Falling Free all have names derived from their serial numbers as well. The names vary from traditional (Tony) through unusual-but-not-unheard-of (Silver) to decidedly odd (Pramod).

    Live-Action TV 
  • The early Power Rangers seasons have Alpha 5 and Alpha 6.
  • On Red Dwarf, Kryten (obviously) as a more "normal" first name, but his full name is Kryten 2X4B-523P.
    • In one episode, he claims that he shortens it to Kryten since he thinks "2X4B" is a dorky middle name. But not as bad as an acquaintance of his, called 2Q4B.

    Video Games 
  • From Chrono Trigger, R-66Y AKA Robo.
  • The W-Series in Super Robot Wars, despite coming up with normal sounding names, they have their own robot names, which ranges from W00 to W17, in order of the creation sequence.
  • ν-13, the Yandere Robot Girl SNK Boss of BlazBlue.
    • And that's not a V. That's the Greek letter "nu", which happens to be the 13th letter of that alphabet. (Looks identical in many fonts.)
  • The E-Series robots from Sonic The Hedgehog all have this style of name, with E followed by a number. E-102 Gamma, and E-123 Omega are the main examples.
  • Clank has at least three names; two of them are strings of numbers (one his serial number and the other his actual name, XJ0461) and the last— well what do you think it is?
  • The English localization of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony renames the Ultimate Robot Kiibo (pronounced like kibou, the Japanese word for hope) to K1-B0, though he's still nicknamed Keebo, pronounced like in Japanese.
  • The playable robot character in Don't Starve is named WX-78. In addition to fitting the Theme Naming of all player characters starting with W, this also matches the serial numbers for Robert Wagstaff's creations.
  • CyberLife-manufactured androids in Detroit: Become Human are designated by model names consisting of two letters signifying their model line and a number in the hundreds signifying which series they are. Concerning the protagonists, Kara is an AX400, Connor is a RK800, and Markus, who is apparently an earlier revision of Connor's model, is a RK200.

    Webcomics 
  • It seems that the standardized format for designating robots in Gunnerkrigg Court is through single-letter model designations (H-Models for the horse robots, HL-Models for the heavy lifting robots, S-Models for the "Seraph" robots, etc.). Individual robots get numbers appended to their model name: the robot that Annie built is S13, and the Super Prototype of the S-Models is S1.
    • Though there are multiple exceptions: see every other subsection of this page.
  • Questionable Content has the Moray series of robots, going by names like Moray-21. Each one chooses her number.

    Western Animation 
  • K-10, KIT-9, and COCKA-3 from the "Go God Go XVII" episode of South Park. They are supposed to be close to things you'd read as an actual word; if K-10 and KIT-9 switched numbers, they would be read like "canine" and "kitten," in reference to the species they are designed after. Similarly, if COCKA-3's number was one less, it'd be "cockatoo."
  • XJ-9 in My Life as a Teenage Robot. She doesn't like the name much and prefers to be called Jenny. Her 8 sisters also follow the convention with XJ-1, XJ-2, XJ-3, etc.
  • Robot X-1 from Futurama.
  • Elita-1 from Transformers.

A similar string of numbers or letters which resembles a word or name, either as written, or when read aloud.

    Anime & Manga 

    Comic Books 

    Fanfic 
  • Done as an Actor Allusion in the Transformers: Animated fanfic Return to Cybertron, where Sari is told by Perceptor that her original protoform designation was T4R4-5RT0N6.
  • Nobody Dies has the Reego, who have taken names from their Roman Numeral designations — Ⅰ is Una, Ⅱ is Due, Ⅲ is Tres, and Ⅳ is, well, Ivy. The Ree, though a clone/bioroid line instead of robots, probably also count, as they are also named after numbers (from Rei=0 on up), and three of the Evangelions (or their AIs) have nicknames based on their unit numbers: Ichi, Zwei, and Go-kun.
  • The writers of a number of A.I.: Artificial Intelligence fanfics have decided to go with this theme when it comes to Mechas, for example Joe is usually given a serial number that starts with JO and the mass produced Davids and Darlenes are referred to as DA models. Mecha Original Characters include Danny (DY), Drew (DR), Ralphie (RP) and Kurt (KR).

    Film 

    Literature 

    Live-Action TV 

    Video Games 

    Webcomics 
  • Princess Voluptua's valet, W-2: 9000 from The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob! is a reference to the W2 tax form.
  • In Bob and George, the original robot characters named N4-T3 and C1-14D-L1N6, which just happen to look like Nate and Chadling, respectively.
  • Schlock Mercenary has some fun with this one. For those not sufficiently familiar with Roman numerals, the other names mentioned are, in order: "Gavin", "Xavier", "Algernon", "Macey", "Victor", "Allen", "Michael", "David" and "Michelle".
  • Genetically engineered life forms, actually, but Sequential Art gives us 5C4RL37, V10L37, 4M83R, and J4D3.
  • In a Questionable Content guest strip, Erika Moen's robotified Self-Insert is called Er1-KA Muon.

    Web Original 

    Western Animation 
  • Not actually a robot, but worth mentioning: XLR8 of Ben 10 fame. However his species does have wheels on their feet, so they may qualify as cyborgs. Later series give the same style of name to other members of his species, such as ML-E and K8-E.
  • NOS-4A2 From Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. It's an energy vampire, and its model name when spoken aloud sounds like Nosferatu.
  • GICU2 the short-lived transforming security robot from DuckTales (1987).
  • The Mighty Orbots, Tor, Bort, Bo, Boo, Krunch and Ono had names that reflected their personalities.
    • Tor was the strongman.
    • Bort was the shapeshifter with an identity crisis, and his name is a partial anagram of the word robot.
      • Actually, except from Ono and Krunch, all of the Orbots' names are partial anagrams of "robot."
    • Bo and Boo were mischievous twins.
    • Ono was the babysitter figure, who tended to preface every scolding of the others [including their human leader] with "Oh, no!"
  • SPRX-77 from Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! is mostly pronounced as simply Sparx.
  • C1-10P, aka "Chopper", from Star Wars Rebels.
  • In Phantom 2040, Enforcer Sagan Cruz has a cyborg police dog named DVL, reflecting the previous Phantom's wolf, Devil.

Slightly mutated terms related to math, machinery or electronics.

    Comic Books 

    Film 

    Literature 

    Live-Action TV 

    Music 

    Video Games 
  • Clanky from Backyard Sports
  • And, on that note, Clank.
  • Curly Brace and protagonist Quote, the robots from Cave Story, are named after punctuation marks.

    Webcomics 

    Western Animation 
  • Calculon and URL from Futurama. Partial example with mafia thug Joey Mousepad.
  • Also Dot Matrix from ReBoot.
  • Cynthia, the synthoid from Batman Beyond.
  • Arcee, the first female character from Transformers. Her name is RC (Remote Controlled) phonetically.

Robo-something

    Anime and Manga 
  • The Big O: As a Shout-Out to Isaac Asimov, robots preface their names with the initial R (for robot). The one most often encountered was R. Dorothy Wayneright.

    Comic Books 

    Film 

    Literature 
  • Isaac Asimov:
    • The Caves of Steel: The robot novels have Spacer robots who are all given the first initial R. (for robot) in front of what appeared to be near-human first name/last name name builds.
    • "Mirror Image": The tradition established in The Caves of Steel continues; the robotic personal assistants are named R. Preston and R. Idda, with the "R" standing for "Robot".

    Live-Action TV 

    Video Games 
  • Again from Chrono Trigger, Robo aka R-66Y, which means he fits two different subtypes of this trope.
  • Robo-Ky from Guilty Gear XX is a robot designed to resemble Ky Kiske.
  • Robo Drilldigger from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. Not to be confused with the real world 'Drilldigger' machine, which just breaks rocks.

    Webcomics 
  • When Annie builds a robot in Gunnerkrigg Court, she simply names it Robot, and he answers to this from then on. It's later revealed that his original name was S13.
    • Also, Robox. Who is basically a box on legs.

    Web Original 

    Western Animation 

Something-tron or Something-bot

    Animation 
  • All the Power Spheras in BoBoiBoy (and its prequel, Mechamato, note ) have "[name]Bot", with the name often relating to the power or a certain feature they possess.

    Comic Books 

    Film 
  • The Orgasmatron in Barbarella, invented by Duran Duran

    Live-Action TV 

    Video Games 

    Webcomics 

    Western Animation 
  • Futurama's Hedonism-bot, Preacher-bot, Kwanzaa-bot, Don-bot, and dozens more!
  • Bunnie Rabbot of Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) is another cyborg example of this naming convention.
  • Megatron (who later becomes Galvatron) of Transformers
    • Lots of Transformers characters or places have the "-tron" or "-bot" naming convention: Autobot, Transbot, Cybertron, Banzai-tron, Velocitron...
    • Additionally, up until 2007, the Japanese names for Autobots and Decepticons were 'Cybertrons' and 'Destrons' respectively.note 
  • Subverted with Team Umizoomi's Bot. His name is simply Robot for short.

References to other pop culture, or actual human names.

    Anime and Manga 
  • Chachamaru Karakuri in Negima! Magister Negi Magi: her name is written with the Kanji for "tea", while "Karakuri" are a spring-powered, tea-serving doll mainly used in Japan's Meiji period. Meaningful Name indeed.
  • Most robots from Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou choose their own, usually human-sounding, name. Kokone is one such example.

    Comic Books 
  • Skeets from Booster Gold, he's a small yellow flying security bot with a laser, you figure out why he's called Skeets.
    • Which is to say the flying targets at shooting ranges, which resemble him. Not the hip-hop slang kind of skeet. (Also a kind of target shooting, but not the kind you're thinking of.)

     Film  

    Literature 
  • Zane Gort from The Silver Eggheads by Fritz Leiber, a robot author (creator of the popular Dr. Tungsten series), whose name is an homage to Zane Gray and to Gort, the alien robot of The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Also, his lady-love, the government-built censor-robix, Miss Phyllis Blushes. (She's plated in pink anodized aluminum. Zane, on the other hand, is blued steel.) (And "robix" is that setting's term for a female robot. Robot sexuality is one of the amusing features of the setting.)
  • Marvin, the Paranoid Android, from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

    Live-Action TV 

    Music 

    Video Games 
  • Chrono Trigger hat trick: Prometheus AKA R-66Y AKA Robo.
  • Legion in Mass Effect 2, named after the bible passage for it's Mind Hive nature.
    • Eva Core, Cerberus's successor to/replacement for EDI in Mass Effect 3, is named for an actual human in the game's background who was once affiliated with Cerberus. As the robot Eva was designed as an infiltrator, basing it on a real person (albeit one who had been dead for some time) may have helped with fabricating identification and so forth.
  • As a Magnus originally designed to serve the rich as a butler and reflect high society values, Marquis d'Caliber from Battleborn has a noble sounding name.

    Webcomics 
  • Lincoln from Coga Suro. Later robot names follow a Greek mythology theme [Styx, Persephone, Hades].
    • Speaking of Styx, there's also Mr. Roboto.
  • The robot cows from Gunnerkrigg Court are all named Elsie with a number (for example, Elsie 113). This was apparently chosen because "Elsie" sounds just like "L.C.", which stands for Laser Cow. Also a reference to the Borden Company's cartoon mascot, Elsie the Cow.
  • Winslow and Momo from Questionable Content

    Western Animation 

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