# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![judikium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@judikium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/judikium)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/141 "2010-07-21T22:00:20Z")
> [@heraldgwena](#): > > I knew some one who named there son Ender. I am still not sure how I feel about that. I would totally name a kid Petra, Julian, Nikolai, Alai, or maybe even Achilles (despite the character…). Unfortunately, there are some other Enderverse names that aren’t too appealing- Fly, Dumper, Bonzo… ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/142 "2010-07-22T00:57:26Z")
If all goes well I’ll name a daughter after a literary character. Half because I like the book, and half because it’s really hard finding names I like with my last name. My last name is by no means super weird or anything…just doesn’t flow well. In any case…I’d like to name my daughter Tessa, after the main heroine from Tess of the D’urbervilles. And my son’s name will be sskllks (pronounced “jeff”) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/143 "2010-07-22T04:29:45Z")
> [@j66](#): > > In that case, go with Wolfgang. I was going to recommend Otto Octavius \. Sort of half German, half Romanian. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/144 "2010-07-22T13:13:57Z")
> [@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). Wouldn’t it be a shortening of Gwendoline? ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/145 "2010-07-22T16:54:36Z")
> [@Kylede](#): > > So they named their daughter **Elanor** (as opposed to Eleanor) - if you don’ recognize the reference she is Sam’s daughter from the end of LOTR… We named our daughter Eleanor, at least partially because I thought Sam had good taste… ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/146 "2010-07-22T17:05:35Z")
“Castiel” recently experienced a huge jump in popularity due to the character on \*\*\*Supernatural. \*\*\* Which is sort of weird. But I believe the name is found in the Bible as well… [http://www.parentdish.com/2010/04/05/trend-report-the-hottest-baby-names-of-2010/4](http://www.parentdish.com/2010/04/05/trend-report-the-hottest-baby-names-of-2010/4) ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/147 "2010-07-22T22:04:14Z")
I’m pretty sure the name Castiel isn’t in the Bible, at least not the Jewish one (non-thorough Googling doesn’t turn up a NT Castiel either.) The -el ending means ‘God,’ but I’m not sure what the rest of it might mean in Hebrew, as it depends on the spelling. ‘God is my covering,’ maybe? ETA - Have we heard from the OP in a while? Any likes/dislikes/thoughts from you or your wife? ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/148 "2010-07-23T01:16:30Z")
> [@Wilbo523](#): > > Why do some people feel the need to subject their children to such foolishness. Oh, I don’t know, maybe so former classmates will be able to find them on Facebook? Maybe so they won’t be addressed by their full names their entire life because there will always be at least three other people in their class, office, or nursing home with the same first name? Maybe because the parents were cursed with completely unimaginative names and didn’t like it? There are thousands of lovely words out there; why should our children be stuck with the same old unimaginative recycled names that people have been using for centuries? I have a profoundly boring name; I’ve grown fond of it over the decades, true, but my childhood, teen years, and adulthood were not improved by a boring name. As has been noted, people can make fun of anything if they want to; a less conventional name might at least have indicated to new acquaintances what to expect from me. Of course, I do come down firmly on the side of interesting **middle** names ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/149 "2010-07-23T01:24:37Z")
> [@Skara\_Brae](#): > > “Castiel” recently experienced a huge jump in popularity due to the character on \*\*\*Supernatural. I looked through a baby name popularity search/graph once—[here it is!](http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#prefix=john&ms=false&exact=false)—and had some fun trying to corolate changes in name popularity after various movies came out. A couple of the really indisputable spikes were for the names “Madison” and “Kaylee.” Oddly enough, now that I think about it, _I’m_ actually named after a fictional character. It helps that a) it was just less common, but not completely unknown as a given name, and b) the character normally went by his nickname anyway. Anyway, another vote for “Calvin” here—you can call him Silent Cal! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/150 "2010-07-23T01:46:33Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > 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. It didn’t show up in the Social Security top 1000 until the 1930s. [Also the name Jennifer.] Whether “Wendy” showing up as a given name had anything to do with “Peter Pan” I don’t know, unless possibly the children who remembered the story were now adults having their own children. > [@Ranchoth](#): > > I had some fun trying to corolate changes in name popularity after various movies came out. A couple of the really indisputable spikes were for the names “Madison” and “Kaylee.” Also the names “Darren,” “Samantha,” “Tabitha,” and “Tiffany.” “Samanthan” and “Tabitha” both started showing up after their names were introduced on “Bewitched.” “Darren” first started showing up in the late 50s, possibly as the result of Darren McGavin’s “Mike Hammer?” Dunno, but it’s possible. He did claim to be the “first Darren.” Maybe not literally, but he was a pioneer (since it wasn’t his real name). “Tiffany” didn’t start showing up until “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” came out. I suspect people associated the name of the store with Audrey Hepburn, who was a real cutie. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/151 "2010-07-23T02:38:16Z")
> [@Skara\_Brae](#): > > “Castiel” recently experienced a huge jump in popularity due to the character on \*\*\*Supernatural. \*\*\* Which is sort of weird. But I believe the name is found in the Bible as well… > > [http://www.parentdish.com/2010/04/05/trend-report-the-hottest-baby-names-of-2010/4](http://www.parentdish.com/2010/04/05/trend-report-the-hottest-baby-names-of-2010/4) The real angelic name Castiel is based on is best transliterated (imho) as Kaftziel. I got into an argument about this with someone (arguing about useless shit on the internet, OMG!) and spent much longer than anyone should researching it. I don’t know that it’s actually Biblical; I think it’s from the Zohar. I’m in Supernatural fandom and everyone I know is amused in a sort of horrified way by this story, btw. ---
**Author:** ![causticsubstance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@causticsubstance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/causticsubstance)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/152 "2010-07-23T04:16:23Z")
I think it’s a cool idea to name a child after a literary character, given that it’s a viable name that won’t get the kid made fun of too bad. My names are Gregor for a boy, after Gregor Samsa in _The Metamorphosis_, and Carmen, after the opera. Sexy, strong name, but I have mixed feelings about naming a kid after a flaky temptress. Good opera, though. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/153 "2010-07-23T06:13:11Z")
> [@j66](#): > > There are thousands of lovely words out there; why should our children be stuck with the same old unimaginative recycled names that people have been using for centuries? There are thousands of lovely, rarely-used names out there that have a history, a meaning, and a greater likelihood to be found on personalized pencils, notebooks, and bicycle license plates. Felice is a lovely name. Sophie. Anastasia. Mathilda. Evangeline. For boys, Gerald. William. Arthur – a thousand times Arthur. Alexander – not rare, but wonderful. I’m cheesy, but I love Peregrine for a boy’s name. He can be Perry if he hates it. Peregrine Fool Of A Took Ninja. I have enjoyed being a Samantha. It has, for me, the perfect rarity: everyone knows how to spell it (though they do leave out the N on occasion), it’s pleasant-sounding and seems to have pleasant connotations, it’s slightly unusual and memorable, and while it’s not incredibly rare it’s unusual enough that I rarely have to say “No, I’m the younger/fatter/louder Samantha.” The worst name-teasing I got was being called Toucan Sam. One or two people tried Sammy, but their bodies were never found. ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/154 "2010-07-23T09:28:40Z")
> [@j66](#): > > Maybe because the parents were cursed with completely unimaginative names and didn’t like it? This. My first name is the name of both my grandfathers and the middle name of both my eldest uncles. It was also the most common male name in America for much of the 20th century. My middle name is the name of my great grandfather, and the middle name of my dad, and again one of the top twenty most common male names in America for most of the last century. Every first born male in my family has one or the other of these names as a middle name. I got both. At least my uncles and cousins got their own name and then a traditional family name as a middle name. I got double retreads. Based on my family history my name is literally _the single most obvious and predictable option_ of all the thousands of names out there. I always swore I wouldn’t do that to my kid. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/155 "2010-07-23T12:32:31Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > The real angelic name Castiel is based on is best transliterated (imho) as Kaftziel. I got into an argument about this with someone (arguing about useless shit on the internet, OMG!) and spent much longer than anyone should researching it. I don’t know that it’s actually Biblical; I think it’s from the Zohar. > > I’m in Supernatural fandom and everyone I know is amused in a sort of horrified way by this story, btw. I should have known better than to post an unresearched assumption on the Dope! 😃 That news amused/horrified me as well, because I couldn’t help wondering if all those parents thought their babies would turn out looking like [Misha Collins](http://cdn.buzznet.com/media-cdn/jj1/headlines/2008/10/misha-collins-interview.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/156 "2010-07-23T13:49:30Z")
Nobody has mentioned Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s daughter Scout, named after the lead character in To Kill a Mockingbird. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/157 "2010-07-23T14:02:14Z")
I have a friend who wanted to name his twins Bruce and Clark. I thought that was great–not too obvious, and the people who got it would get a kick out of it. His wife nixed the idea, pointing out that both Batman and Superman’s parents met a bad and untimely end. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/158 "2010-07-23T14:05:28Z")
> [@burundi](#): > > I have a friend who wanted to name his twins Bruce and Clark. I thought that was great–not too obvious, and the people who got it would get a kick out of it. His wife nixed the idea, pointing out that both Batman and Superman’s parents met a bad and untimely end. Wayne and Kent would be neat too. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/159 "2010-07-23T14:08:14Z")
> [@causticsubstance](#): > > I think it’s a cool idea to name a child after a literary character, given that it’s a viable name that won’t get the kid made fun of too bad. My names are Gregor for a boy, after Gregor Samsa in _The Metamorphosis_, and Carmen, after the opera. Sexy, strong name, but I have mixed feelings about naming a kid after a flaky temptress. Good opera, though. Jim Hogg, who became the first Texas Governor to have been born in the state, named his daughter after a character in an epic poem written by [his brother](http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/HH/fho19.html). [Ima Hogg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ima_Hogg#Philanthropist_and_community_leader) grew up to be a great patroness of the arts & sciences. She helped found the Houston Symphony Orchestra & enriched our fine arts museum. Then it left it her[lovely home](http://www.mfah.org/bayoubend/home.asp?par1=1&par2=1&par3=1&par4=1&par5=1&par6=1&par7=¤tPage=)–with its collection of American antiques, begun when other Americans of wealth were looting Europe to decorate their mansions. And she devoted a good bit of her family fortune to studying mental health–again, ahead of her time. She was active up to the end of her 93 years & never married. As a child, I heard she had two sisters–Ura & Hesa. _That_ was not true… ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049/160 "2010-07-23T17:16:31Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Wayne and Kent would be neat too. Sounds like a couple of state universities to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naming-your-kid-after-a-fictional-character/547049.md?page=9)