If you named children after characters, which names would you choose?

[Lunaloud]

Recently I met a family who had named their children after Superheroes, not things like Iron Man, Hulk smash but more Tony & Bruce. They went into great detail about how much love they had for superheroes and why each child got their names, some named after more than one character.

I know name inspiration can come from anywhere but I always felt I couldn’t name a child after a tv/move or book character. I couldn’t handle the name association.

But it got me thinking, if I was to name my children after characters what would I choose. There’s only one movie/book I can think of that I’d choose more than one name. Top of the list would be Soda Pop! But I’d also be happy with Pony Boy, Darry (Darryl), Dallas, Johnny and even Two-Bit, I’d love having a little brood of Greasers running around 😂

In the end I’m surprised how easy I’d find it finding names of characters I’d choose. My list

Boys
Soda Pop - The Outsiders
Tony - Stark, Soprano, DiNooza
Han - Star Wars
Tommy - Peaky Blinders
Brian - Taken

Girls
Missy - Young Sheldon, Dr Who and if my DD had a say Missy Booth from Ackley Bridge.
Nancy - Stranger Things and A Nightmare on Elm Street, love both characters.
Minerva - Harry Potter
Jane - Miss Marple
Lenore - I’d say it was from Edgar Allen Poes The Raven or from Taken but I just love the name but could never use it due to the fabric softener, but if I could pass it off as a character name..

What character names would you choose?

Choosing names with good meanings and strong characters, rather than names inspired by TV, movies, or books.👫

I always wanted to call a daughter Kira, mostly because I really like the sound of it, but also because Kira Nerys from Star Trek is an absolutely fantastic character (and yes I know to be pedantic Kira is actually her surname)

DP vetoed it though, so no joy.

DD's name has a lot of significance, but not character related. It was always my first choice, but DH wasn't so sure until she was born.

So in the meantime we'd planned to call her Elizabeth, which was our compromise name but one of the things I liked about it was the association with Elizabeth Bennet.

Generally, I think it's a bit weird though. Tony Soprano was an absolute monster - yes a brilliant character and I loved the show, but I wouldn't want to actually name a child after him. Same with Tommy Shelby, great character, great show - not exactly someone I'd want my child to take inspiration from.

I could go with that one too. Loved Jadzia as well.

Another one I like is Ziva from NCIS.

My Daughter was named after Molly in ghost. I don’t even particularly like the film either 🤣

Although my favourite childhood books were Heidi and Pollyanna, I couldn't use either of those names although I like them both!

Rosanna would be my current choice ~ I love the book "Rosanna of the Amish" about an Irish baby who was brought up by an Amish woman after her mother died. It's an amazing true story.

I also love some of the Welsh names from "How Green was my Valley" ~ Gwilym, Ivor, Huw, Owen

My cousin has a daughter called Kiera, I think it’s really cute, definitely suits her.

To be honest I think it’s more I like the actors, I thought both were fantastic characters as in they were played so well by great actors. I know a lot of Anthony’s/Tonys, one of my oldest friends is called Tony so I think that has a lot of weight as well.

O I might look out for that book.

I always liked Ianto as a Welsh name from Torchwood

i really like Heidi, I hadn’t heard of it for years, it always reminded me of the story but then it started to become popular, now a know a few little Heidi’s and think it’s cute.

Haha I almost went Molly as in Molly Weasley on my list, love Julie Walter’s as well as Moly’s character.

Never after a character by a living author. They might end up doing a Neil Gaiman and you've named your child after a character by a serious (alleged) sex abuser.

Or an unfinished series, like Danerys / Khaleesi in Game of Thrones who started off a heroine then went mad and had to be murdered before she burned even more people alive.

I met two baby Danaerys and a Khaleesi in the years before that last season came out. I always wondered if their parents quietly changed the names.

We did name our children after characters from very nerdy TV shows – think Jadzia from Star Trek, or Inara from Firefly, in that their names are identifiably from those shows to people who also love them, but are still less odd sounding than many of their peers' names.
They also have two very normal, traditional middle names they can go by should they want to, but as teenagers they love their nerdy names.

If we had any more children, I'd consider Katara for a girl, and maaaybe Zuko for a boy (I love Zuko, but I'm much more iffy on actually using it thanks to other pop culture associations).

Eta: Reading the OP again, Minerva is also on our shortlist for a girl, should we ever have another (which is unlikely).

Totally agree @ottersonaplane!

We almost went with Matilda, but when DD was born she just didn't feel like a Matilda!

I loved Elinor and Marianne from Sense and Sensibility too.

Beatrice from Much Ado as well.

DH loved Pollyanna, but I don't think he's ever read the book or seen the film!

Harry Potter
Casper the ghost 😂
Rupert the Bear
Prince Eric

Princess Aurora
Luna Lovegood
Lyra from Northern Lights
Clara from Nutcracker
Princess Pearl (zog)
Dorothy from Wizard of Oz

Matilda
Atticus from TKAMB
Gwendolyn much misunderstood from Malory Towers

I named my children after book characters :)

There was a thread on books specifically recently if anyone is looking for recommendations

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/baby_names/5537070-if-you-had-to-name-a-child-after-a-favourite-book-character?page=7&reply=152864933

Josephine for a girl (from Little Women) and Nathaniel for a boy (from Six Feet Under). I only had daughters though and husband hated Josephine 😂

One of my friends knows a little Arrietty . . . I think it's really sweet

I did. DC2 was named after a character in my favourite book by a famous author.

I named DD after one of my favourite characters by my favourite author. Sometimes people make the association and i always think more highly of them after that ☺️

My daughter’s name is from a Shakespeare play - the shipwreck at the beginning was allegedly set on the island where she was born.

We have a Castiel so,...

Miranda, Juno, Iris, Maria, Viola or Olivia?

My first child was named after Laura Ingalls Wilder. Although she was a real person and not a character

Miranda!