# Punny character names **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2017, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982 "2017-10-04T20:30:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/61 "2017-10-05T17:20:01Z")
> [@jerez](#): > > “Waylon” may be a reference to Waylon Jennings, who was a notoriusly tough guy, in juxtaposition to just about everything Smithers says and does. According to some googling (Okay, from looking at his Wikipedia page) he was named Waylon after [Wayland Flowers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayland_Flowers). ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/62 "2017-10-05T18:26:14Z")
The greatest of them all: Beaver Cleaver. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/63 "2017-10-05T18:38:24Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I started watching R&B when I was four. I didn’t get **Boris Badenov** or **Natasha Fatale** until many years later. From the same era, it wasn’t until years later that I learned the true meaning of the name of a major villain on **Underdog** , “Simon Bar Sinister”. In heraldry (and no doubt someone will come along and point out how wrong I am about everything), a “bend” is the diagonal line that divided the shield, like a sash. A “bend dexter” would run from the upper left to the lower right, as viewed from the front. A “bend sinister” would run from the upper right to the lower left. A horizontal line is referred to as a “bar”, but Sir Walter Scott apparently started the trend of calling the bend a “bar sinister”. The bar sinister signifies that the bearer is illegitimate. Which is a roundabout way to get to the meaning of his name: Simon the Bastard. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/64 "2017-10-05T18:39:16Z")
The kids show Lego Nexo Knights has knights named Clay, Axel, Lance and the token girl, Macy. One guess to match which one uses a mace, lance, axe, and claymore. There’s also Aaron, who uses a bow, but spends most of his time flying. [Five year olds, at least, are amused when they figure this out] ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/65 "2017-10-05T18:49:23Z")
cartoons are a rich source of pun names. Jay ward gave us (in addition to those listed) Dr. Chicago – Super Chircken villain Robin Hoodlum – Crusader Rabbit villain Zero (a parody of “Zorro”) – Rocky and Bullwinkle Terrytoons: Crabby Appleton (“rotten to the core”) – villain on Tom Terrific Trans-Lux “Felix the Cat” series: The Master Cylinder – Villain – an Evil Robot in the form of a cylinder ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/66 "2017-10-05T18:56:21Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > The greatest of them all: Beaver Cleaver. At San Diego’s infamous Over The Line tournament (70’s, Fiesta Island), one of the teams named themselves “The Beaver Cleavers.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/67 "2017-10-05T19:13:23Z")
From _The Tick_, American Maid, Batmanuel, and Apocalypse Cow ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/68 "2017-10-05T19:17:44Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > From _The Tick_, American Maid, Batmanuel, and Apocalypse Cow And, my favorite, Bi-Polar Bear. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/69 "2017-10-05T19:40:15Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Robin Hoodlum – Crusader Rabbit villain Also his pal, Ragland T. Tiger (aka “Rags” the Tiger, a play on the song _The Tiger Rag_), villains Dudley Nightshade (=Deadly Nightshade) and Bilious Green, and the two-headed fire-breathing dragon Arson and Sterno. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/70 "2017-10-05T20:37:05Z")
I’m sure the OP is looking for characters from normal fiction instead of parody, but pretty much every character in _Bored of the Rings_ has a punny name: Goodgulf Greyteeth, Arrowroot son of Arrowshirt, Frito, Spam, Moxie, Pepsi, Legolam, Gimlet son of Groin, Tim Benzedrine, Sorhed, Goddam, Schlob, Birdseye of the Vee-Ates, etc. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/71 "2017-10-05T22:56:11Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > From _The Tick_, American Maid, Batmanuel, and Apocalypse Cow Die Fledermaus was much funnier. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/72 "2017-10-06T01:08:01Z")
Anna Livia, who embodied Dublin’s River Liffey (with a more Irish pronunciation) in Joyce’s _Ulysses_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/73 "2017-10-06T02:03:05Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > I’m sure the OP is looking for characters from normal fiction instead of parody… Indeed. That’s why I excluded _Harry Potter_ and _James Bond_. I thought it would be evident that cartoons are often/usually specifically designed for such things. I was hoping for things more… subtle. But the toothpaste is out of the tube. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/74 "2017-10-06T05:12:22Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > To nitpick, it’s Col. “Bat” Guano. There’s also President Merkin Muffley, Gen. Buck Turgidson, and Maj. “King” Kong (played by Louis Burton Lindley Jr., better known as Slim Pickens). In the novelization, the Russian ambassador is named De Sadeski (not mentioned in the movie as far as I remember, though maybe in the credits) and the Russian Premier’s name is Kissof. The first Peter Sellers character is named Mandrake, and the James Earl Jones character is named Lothar (Zogg). For you youngin’s out there, Lothar was the partner of Mandrake the Magician. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/75 "2017-10-06T07:57:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Indeed. That’s why I excluded _Harry Potter_ and _James Bond_. I thought it would be evident that cartoons are often/usually specifically designed for such things. I was hoping for things more… subtle. > > But the toothpaste is out of the tube. OK, to make up for the unsubtle Bored of the Ring names here is one from literature: In “Decline and Fall” by Evelyn Waugh the main character is Paul Pennyfeather, described as “a man of very little weight.” Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2017, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/76 "2017-10-08T08:52:34Z")
In the film Goodfellas that’s a character named Frankie Carbone who gets killed by being put in the back of a refrigerated meat truck and is hung up on a meat hook in-between the rest of the meat. “Carbon” in Spanish means Charcoal and has very strong connotations with meat like “Tacos Al Carbon”. Thus Frankie Carbone corpse fits in perfectly with all the meat. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2017, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/77 "2017-10-08T13:40:27Z")
Or in Italian even… [https://www.goodfoodstories.com/carbonara-redux/](https://www.goodfoodstories.com/carbonara-redux/) ---
**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:** [October 9, 2017, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/78 "2017-10-09T20:51:41Z")
A short running show from the late 90s called [Action](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_(TV_series)) had the lead character named Peter Dragon, which I always assumed was a play on the size of his, um, peter. ---
**Author:** ![Dancer\_Flight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dancer_flight/32/7601_2.png) [@Dancer\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancer_Flight)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/79 "2017-10-09T22:36:04Z")
John Ringo does some clever renaming in his zombie apocalypse series Black Tide Rising. Anna Holmes (vs Emma Watson), Harrison Ford is in there (with his last name being a different car company). Other celebs and notables are also thinly veiled if you read close enough. -DF ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982/80 "2017-10-09T22:45:03Z")
There’s a bunch of this in GI Joe. The mountaineer trooper Alpine’s real name is Albert Pine, the hovercraft pilots name is Skip A. Stone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punny-character-names/797982.md?page=5)