Re markn_1’s poll, these are the characters I immediately thought of:
- Andy Griffith from The Andy Griffith Show*
- Barney Rubble from The Flintstones (though I also later thought of Barney Gumble from The Simpsons and Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show*)
- Bart Simpson from The Simpsons
- Buddy Ryan from Night Court
- Buffy (not sure of the surname) from Buffy the Vampire Slayer*
- Cliff Clavin from Cheers
- Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld
- Ernie from Sesame Street
- Frasier Crane from Frasier
- Gidget (not sure of the surname) from Gidget*
- Ginger (not sure of the surname) from Gilligan’s Island*
- Gomer Pyle from The Andy Griffith Show*
- Gomez Addams from The Addams Family (and its various reincarnations and spinoffs)
- Hawkeye Pierce from MASH*
- Herman Munster from The Munsters*
- Homer Simpson from The Simpsons
- Jeannie (not sure of the surname) from I Dream of Jeannie*
- Latka Gravas from Taxi
- Leland McKenzie from L.A. Law
- Lucy (not sure of the surname) from I Love Lucy*
- Maude Findlay from Maude*
- Maxwell Smart from Get Smart
- Mindy McConnell from Mork & Mindy
- Roseanne Connor from Roseanne*
- Samantha (not sure of the surname) from Bewitched*
An asterisk marks shows that I’ve never actually seen, but have learned about through cultural osmosis.
Some of the names are generic enough that they’re probably shared by characters on TV shows I’m not familiar with. For example, Buddy Ryan was only a minor recurring character on Night Court so I’m pretty sure there must be some more famous Buddy that I’m not aware of.