# Naming your kid after a fictional character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049 "2010-07-17T18:21:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/101 "2010-07-19T21:00:01Z")
I don’t know that we named our kids _after_ them, but my oldest’s name was inspired by an Elvis Costello song (tho misspelled as I didn’t bother to check the album), my son has the name of a very popular cartoon character, and my daughter shares a name with a character from Gone with the Wind (no, not Mammy)! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/102 "2010-07-20T16:55:30Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I don’t know that we named our kids _after_ them, but my oldest’s name was inspired by an Elvis Costello song (tho misspelled as I didn’t bother to check the album), my son has the name of a very popular cartoon character Chelsea and SpongeBob? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/103 "2010-07-20T17:12:05Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > I know of a young Neo. Every time I heard about him I just snicker silently. _Dude_. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/104 "2010-07-20T17:24:03Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I don’t know that we named our kids _after_ them, but my oldest’s name was inspired by an Elvis Costello song (tho misspelled as I didn’t bother to check the album), Oh my god, please tell me you didn’t name your daughter Alison. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/105 "2010-07-20T17:38:06Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#): > > ON a tangent, my little girl Kayleigh is named after the similarly named Kaylee from Firefly. Didn’t like the spelling so changed it. FYI the character’s full name was Kaywinnit Lee Frye Brian ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/106 "2010-07-20T18:23:21Z")
> [@Liddle\_Lamsy\_Divey](#): > > I think I’d just use Remy, though. Rat Chef! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/107 "2010-07-20T18:28:59Z")
I knew a kid named “Rhett Butler” in college, and he behaved like any kid named “Rhett Butler” would behave - like he’s been teased his entire life. If it’s a popular/well-known fictional character, my recommendation is _don’t do it_. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/108 "2010-07-20T18:30:48Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > Yes, and how rediculously cliche is that? > > “Madison” is a last name, not a first name anyway. See President #4. It also means “Son of Soldier”, which doesn’t really fit with the gender it’s currently being applied to. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/109 "2010-07-20T20:19:20Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Oh my god, please tell me you didn’t name your daughter Alison. As did apparently every third set of parents that year. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/110 "2010-07-20T20:31:49Z")
> [@BlackKnight](#): > > I know _two_ couples who named a child “Jace”, after [this guy](http://magiccards.info/query?q=jace+the+mind+sculptor&v=card&s=cname). Seriously? well, I suppose it could be worse. Could’ve been after this one: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/A1c1G24GWDg/hqdefault.jpg "Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1c1G24GWDg) Alternate, Deleted joke: Jace, stop milling your brother! 2nd Alternate, Deleted joke: Good thing they didn’t have twins. Naming them Urza and Mishra is just asking for trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/111 "2010-07-20T20:54:21Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Seven Oh! _Nein!_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/112 "2010-07-20T22:28:06Z")
My sweetie’s two boys are named Aramis and Logan. No, I don’t think it’s a coincidence. \<3 Musketeers, X-Men\> ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/113 "2010-07-20T22:59:05Z")
I have a daughter named after a fictional character. The book isn’t altogether uncommon or unknown but not super popular and it’s over 100 years old. Very few people recognize the name at all. In fact it gets mispronounced sometimes because it has a double l and we live in an area with a large Mexican immigrant population. They want to pronounce it with a “Y” instead of the L sound. I have not had any reason to regret the name. I like it. She likes it. She doesn’t get teased and if anyone gives me grief about naming her after a fictional character I can also say she was named after my grandmother, because my grandmother’s middle name was the same. It works for us. The best advice I can give is that if you do choose to name a child after anyone, be it fictional character or real person, make sure you like the individual. Most children really don’t need to hear “well the guy’s a horrible person but we liked the name.” Kids don’t want to be associated with that kind of negativity for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/114 "2010-07-20T23:48:58Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I don’t know that we named our kids _after_ them, but my oldest’s name was inspired by an Elvis Costello song (tho misspelled as I didn’t bother to check the album), my son has the name of a very popular cartoon character, and my daughter shares a name with a character from Gone with the Wind (no, not Mammy)! I’m going with Chelsea, Daffy, and Prissy ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/115 "2010-07-21T00:06:45Z")
“Seven” isn’t all that outlandish. My seventh child, a girl, is named “daughter seven”. (In Hebrew. Batsheva.) ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/116 "2010-07-21T00:11:59Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > I don’t understand naming your kid after mythylogical figures like Cassandra (prophet of doom) or Pandora (opened the box that unleashed all the evils of the world)! > > Has anyone been dumb enough to name their kid Medusa? Excuse me. but Medusa kicks ass. Cassandra? Actually a lovely name, but tells a daughter no one will ever take her seriously. Pandora? Don’t forget to give her the middle name Eve to underscore that all the ills of the world are due to women. Medusa? ‘Medusa’ says “Step back. Now. And I don’t even need an exclamation point.” But definitely middle name material. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/117 "2010-07-21T01:14:04Z")
> [@gonzoron](#): > > Seriously? Yup. For the one, it was either going to be Jace or [Sorin](http://magiccards.info/query?q=sorin+markov&v=card&s=cname). (I voted for [Omnath](http://magiccards.info/query?q=omnath&v=card&s=cname) [Novablast](http://magiccards.info/query?q=novablast&v=card&s=cname) Lastname, but I’m only the kid’s uncle and was overruled. :D) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/118 "2010-07-21T03:19:50Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > You could name her Wendy and nobody would even realize you named her after a fictional character (Wendy from **Peter Pan** , the name didn’t exist before that). Wendy is recorded as a given name in the United States in the early 19th century, and probably existed as a natural contraction of Gwendolyn for some time before that. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/119 "2010-07-21T03:27:34Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > As did apparently every third set of parents that year. :rolleyes: I hope she never finds out about this. Or alternatively, that she never actually listens to the lyrics of the song. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/120 "2010-07-21T11:50:12Z")
Howabout Thor or Dracula ? Or perhaps Rain Man ? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049.md?page=7)