# Fitting characters' names in tv, literature and movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 9, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593 "2015-03-09T13:03:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/61 "2015-03-10T23:07:34Z")
My favorite is Dr. Eggman for the Sonic games. He’s both a musical and literary reference. He has a walruslike moustache and wears John Lennon style sunglasses. He’s also a carpenter and dresses like Tweedledee and Tweedledum (later more like Sergeant Pepper) “Robotnik” was also apt but ruined most of the allusion. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/62 "2015-03-11T14:58:51Z")
> [@Suburban\_Plankton](#): > > The main character of Neal Stephenson’s _Snow Crash_ is named Hiro Protagonist. I guess Neal didn’t really have the creative juices flowing that day… Drat. How come I’m never first posting this in these threads? (Yes, this has been done before.) ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/63 "2015-03-11T17:14:20Z")
From the TV show _Community_, Jeff Winger was the lawyer who never prepared for anything and always just “winged it” ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/64 "2015-03-11T17:15:39Z")
And of course the aptly named “Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film” ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/65 "2015-03-11T18:00:41Z")
Can it be that no one has yet mentioned [Phil Silvers’ Sgt. Bilko?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phil_Silvers_Show) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/66 "2015-03-11T18:02:39Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Can it be that no one has yet mentioned [Phil Silvers’ Sgt. Bilko?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phil_Silvers_Show) Or Doberman? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/67 "2015-03-11T19:45:13Z")
What about the characters in Lost? John Locke, for gosh sakes, Desmond Hume, and the Rousseaus. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/68 "2015-03-11T19:55:19Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Speed (Harvey Keitel) was really named Tony Malatesta. I just noticed that the name “Malatesta” fits the category! It’s Italian for “sick in the head,” and the character is definitely a little crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/69 "2015-03-11T20:04:08Z")
From a recent book in this forum’s Book Club (plug!), the 1859 Wilkie Collins novel _The Woman in White_, we have the smooth, slippery villain Sir Percival Glyde, the righteous and right-feeling hero Walter Hartright, and the lovely heroine Miss Fairlie. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/70 "2015-03-11T20:08:32Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Uriah Heep from David Copperfield. He is indeed a stinking heap of excrement. I’m only sorry Dickens couldn’t think of a first name to go with #2 instead of #1. Though it rolls nicely off the tongue. > > And then there is practically everyone in the Potterverse. I needn’t name names. I doubt it was intentional, but “Uriah” suggests “urine”. I suspect, though, that - as was pointed out above - Uriah the Hittite was Dickens’ source. Certainly “Uriah Heep” suggests the stereotype of “the snivelly, cringing Jew”, a la Shylock and _Ivanhoe_’s Isaac of York. > [@astorian](#): > > Well, before his fall from grace, didn’t “Lance Armstrong” sound just TOO perfect as the name of a noble, heroic sports champion? Or a gay porn star. > [@buddha\_david](#): > > From _Lord of the Rings,_ there’s Grima Wormtongue. With a name like that, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be evil. If memory serves, his name was just “Grima”; “Wormtongue” was a nickname hung on him by Gandalf, for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Tess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@Tess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/71 "2015-03-11T20:12:43Z")
Calvin and Hobbes were named after John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes, respectively. Both Calvins are interested in destiny while both Hobbeses (Hobbi?) have a pretty jaded view of mankind. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/72 "2015-03-11T20:19:20Z")
Stephen King wanted an Everyman character for “The Dead Zone,” so John Smith was it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/73 "2015-03-12T01:23:42Z")
> [@Tess](#): > > Calvin and Hobbes were named after John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes, respectively. And one of 'em is nasty, brutish, and short! How about Mary Poppins, where the banker spends so much time at the bank that someone needs to _Pop In_ and save – well, the whole _Banks_ family. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/74 "2015-03-12T02:14:47Z")
[Suzanne Collins]: Hmm, I need a name for the young female protagonist. Something that evokes the grace, beauty and agility of a cat. [Peon1]: … How about um… ‘Mr. Snuffles’? [Suzanne Collins]: You’re fired! Pack your shit up. Peon2: … Um,… Felix…ity … ? Purr…ness … uhh, waitaminit… Mr. Snuffles? [Suzanne Collins]: [pulls trapdoor lever] [Peon3]: Ahh… Kat…ness??? [Suzanne Collins]: … … Brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/75 "2015-03-12T02:53:23Z")
The Amazing Race’s oft-maligned “Family Edition” featured an African-American family named – **the Blacks.** Sadly, they were eliminated in the first episode. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/76 "2015-03-12T02:56:43Z")
Severus Snape. Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. Pomona Sprout. Alecto Carrow. Rabastan Lestrange. Xenophilius and Luna Lovegood. As someone else said, the whole Harry Potter series is a gold mine. I actually almost quit reading it when I picked up the first book because “Severus Snape” seemed like such a ludicrous caricature of a name. Glad I didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/77 "2015-03-12T03:06:44Z")
Kommandant of Stalag 13: Col. Wilhelm _ **Klink** _. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/78 "2015-03-12T03:23:09Z")
One of my high school teachers told us that Zeena Pierce in the novel _Ethan Frome_, was symbolically named because of her shrill voice that would pierce your eardrums. ZEEEEEENa Pierce. Somehow I remember this, after almost 40 yrs. Maybe storing it away for a Jeopardy! appearance. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/79 "2015-03-12T10:53:11Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > The Amazing Race’s oft-maligned “Family Edition” featured an African-American family named – **the Blacks.** > > Sadly, they were eliminated in the first episode. Brings to mind **30 Rock**. “Steven’s a good man, he’s on partner track at Dewey – and he’s a Black.” “_A_ Black? That is _offensive_!” “No, no; that’s his last name. Steven Black. Good family.” “Oh. Yeah, of course.” “Remarkable people, the Blacks: musical, very athletic – not very good swimmers. Again, l’m talking about the _family_. \ Black is African-American, though.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593/80 "2015-03-12T18:49:30Z")
The heroine of Carl Sagan’s _ **Cosmos** _ was skeptical, anti-religious astronomer Ellie Arroway. Her name is phonetically the same as that of Francois-Marie Arouet, the skeptical, ant-religious philosopher better known as Voltaire. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fitting-characters-names-in-tv-literature-and-movies/714593.md?page=5)