I’ve noticed that a lot the names I like have become favorites after hearing them on shows I watch.
[name_f]Do[/name_f] any of you have the same experience?
Examples: The Originals
[name_f]Davina[/name_f]
[name_m]Marcellus[/name_m]
I’m not sure if there are any names I truly love because of a tv show, but these names I’ve started liking or love more because of an amazing character:
Friends:
[name_u]Chandler[/name_u]
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] - always loved [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f], but this show made me love it more because [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]'s so cool and fun.
Charmed:
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] - and I started loving [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] even more!
[name_f]Prudence[/name_f]
[name_u]Piper[/name_u] - I don’t love the name, but it’s sweet and I think of [name_u]Piper[/name_u] Halliwell and she was my favourite
[name_m]Leo[/name_m]
[name_u]Robin[/name_u] Hood:
[name_u]Robin[/name_u] & [name_u]Marian[/name_u] - Always loved these names, but the series did make me even crazier about them as the charcaters are wonderful. I had to stop watching when [name_m]Guy[/name_m] killed [name_u]Marian[/name_u], and I’m trying to erase that from my mind. Darn you, [name_m]Richard[/name_m] Armitage!
The Big Bang [name_m]Theory[/name_m]:
[name_f]Bernadette[/name_f] - I never liked this name, but the character’s so cute I can’t help myself.
[name_m]Merlin[/name_m]:
[name_f]Morgana[/name_f], [name_m]Merlin[/name_m], [name_m]Gawain[/name_m], [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f], Nimueh, [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_f]Isolde[/name_f], [name_m]Lancelot[/name_m], [name_m]Percival[/name_m], etc etc - loved them before but love them more after. Especially [name_f]Morgana[/name_f], [name_f]Katie[/name_f] McGrath was amazing.
Camelot:
[name_f]Morgana[/name_f] and [name_m]Merlin[/name_m] again. [name_m]Joseph[/name_m] Fiennes was brilliant and very dashing as [name_m]Merlin[/name_m] and it made me put it on my list.
I don’t remember anything else. I can tell you names I hate because of tv shows? Much easier…
American Horror [name_u]Story[/name_u] - [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f], [name_m]Thaddeus[/name_m], [name_u]Kit[/name_u], [name_u]Vivien[/name_u]
[name_f]Buffy[/name_f] the Vampire Slayer/[name_u]Angel[/name_u] - [name_m]Oz[/name_m] (as a short form of [name_m]Ozias[/name_m]), [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f], [name_m]Wesley[/name_m], [name_f]Winifred[/name_f]
[name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Who - [name_u]Rory[/name_u], [name_f]Martha[/name_f]
NCIS - [name_f]Ziva[/name_f]!!
[name_m]Merlin[/name_m] is next on my “to watch” list.
I knew I was forgetting a name. I forgot about [name_f]Ziva[/name_f]. The character on NCIS made me love the name so much I’m considering it as a middle name.
Charmed(my all time favorite)
[name_u]Piper[/name_u]-She was my favorite character and it made me love her name.
[name_f]Prue[/name_f]-[name_f]Love[/name_f] love love this but can’t find a longer name the I like.
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f]-I love [name_f]Alyssa[/name_f] [name_f]Milano[/name_f] and she made me like this name even though I’m not a fan of it.
[name_f]Paige[/name_f]-I’ve known a lot but it still makes me smile.
[name_m]Leo[/name_m]-This was actually my grandfathers name and is one of my uncles, I never thought about it too much but after seeing it here it is one of my favorites.
[name_m]Wyatt[/name_m]-another favorite due to the show.
Stargate [name_f]Atlantis[/name_f]
Ronon-lead my to [name_m]Ronan[/name_m].
Yay for the [name_m]Merlin[/name_m] love! I agree that I loved a lot of Arthurian names even more after that programme, especially [name_f]Guinevere[/name_f], [name_f]Morgana[/name_f], [name_m]Emrys[/name_m] & [name_m]Arthur[/name_m].
The [name_u]West[/name_u] [name_m]Wing[/name_m]:
[name_f]Donna[/name_f]
[name_f]Claudia[/name_f]
[name_m]Joshua[/name_m]/[name_m]Josh[/name_m]
[name_m]Samuel[/name_m]/[name_u]Sam[/name_u]
[name_m]Josiah[/name_m]
[name_m]Tobias[/name_m]/[name_u]Toby[/name_u]
[name_m]Leo[/name_m]
[name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Who:
[name_f]Rose[/name_f] (especially as a nn)
[name_f]Amelia[/name_f] (also made me like my name a bit more )
[name_u]River[/name_u]
[name_u]Rory[/name_u]
I would add [name_f]Clara[/name_f] but I loved that previously and the character hasn’t had much effect on the name for me yet.
I think most of these are just because I love the characters so much, maybe with the exception of [name_m]Tobias[/name_m], [name_m]Leo[/name_m], [name_f]Rose[/name_f], [name_u]Rory[/name_u] , [name_f]Sybil[/name_f], [name_f]Edith[/name_f] and [name_m]Joseph[/name_m].
ETA: I could also list many more names that have been ruined for me by TV shows.
Oh gosh, so many of the names Husband and I love are somehow connected to TV shows and movies…
– [name_u]River[/name_u] comes from [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_m]Tam[/name_m] (Firefly) and [name_u]River[/name_u] Song ([name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Who).
– [name_m]Malachi[/name_m] is a nod to [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] [name_m]Reynolds[/name_m] (also Firefly).
– [name_f]Alice[/name_f] references [name_m]Tim[/name_m] [name_m]Burton[/name_m]‘s [name_f]Alice[/name_f] in Wonderland and [name_f]Alice[/name_f] Abernathy (Resident Evil movies).
– [name_f]Willow[/name_f] is [name_f]Willow[/name_f] Rosenberg from [name_f]Buffy[/name_f].
– [name_f]Pearl[/name_f] isn’t actually referencing the Vampire Diaries, per se, but I fell in love with the name after hearing it used on a real person.
– [name_f]Lucia[/name_f] is from [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] of The Chronicles of [name_f]Narnia[/name_f] (although more from the books than the movies)
– [name_m]Caspian[/name_m] is from the same, although our selected nickname [name_m]Cas[/name_m] is a Castiel reference (Supernatural).
– [name_f]Eve[/name_f] nn [name_f]Evie[/name_f] is [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] O’[name_m]Connell[/name_m] (The Mummy) as well as [name_f]Evey[/name_f] [name_m]Hammond[/name_m] (V for Vendetta).
– [name_f]Sparrow[/name_f] is of course, [name_m]Captain[/name_m] [name_m]Jack[/name_m] (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Ender is from Ender’s Game (for Husband it was the books that got him hooked on the name, but I saw the movie first).
– [name_m]Balthazar[/name_m] is a multi-layered reference, but one of those references is the sexy angel from Supernatural.
– [name_m]Eli[/name_m], which we are currently considering as our [name_m]Caspian[/name_m] middle, is from Stargate Universe.
Other names I’ve loved from shows/movies: [name_u]Echo[/name_u] (Dollhouse), [name_m]Alaric[/name_m]/[name_m]Elijah[/name_m] (TVD), Winchester (Supernatural, duh), Inara/[name_m]Shepherd[/name_m]/[name_f]Serenity[/name_f]/Firefly (Firefly), [name_f]Snow[/name_f] (Once Upon a Time), [name_f]Clary[/name_f] (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones), [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] (Charmed), [name_m]Sebastian[/name_m] ([name_m]Black[/name_m] [name_m]Butler[/name_m]), Stark (Iron [name_m]Man[/name_m]), [name_f]Clara[/name_f]/[name_f]Rose[/name_f]/[name_f]Amelia[/name_f] ([name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Who…although [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] is one I really wanted to love because of the character and because of the [name_m]Doctor[/name_m]'s comment that [name_f]Amelia[/name_f] Pond is “a fairytale name”…and I just couldn’t get past this one person I knew who ruined the name for me), Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin…my fictional hero!) . . . . . seriously, the list just goes forever! Clearly I watch too much TV >_>
Why thank you, [name_f]Maple[/name_f]! I loved [name_u]Mal[/name_u]'s character, but the name [name_m]Malcolm[/name_m] isn’t my fave…so [name_m]Malachi[/name_m] seemed like a win-win!
American Horror [name_u]Story[/name_u]:
[name_f]Cordelia[/name_f] (but I think my eternal love for [name_f]Sarah[/name_f] Paulson makes me slighty biased)
[name_u]Kit[/name_u]
[name_f]Lana[/name_f] (see [name_f]Cordelia[/name_f])
[name_f]Moira[/name_f]
And for a moment there I thought [name_u]Hayden[/name_u] sounded quite nice on a girl, but I’m now quite positive that it was just my love for [name_f]Kate[/name_f] [name_f]Mara[/name_f] and the character that overshadowed my usual repugnance towards names of that kind.
I love a lot of the other names ([name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_m]Charles[/name_m], [name_f]Edith[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_m]Matthew[/name_m], [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f], [name_f]Rose[/name_f]), but they’re not names I’ve come to love by watching the series, I loved them beforehand.
The X-Files:
[name_u]Dana[/name_u] ([name_m]Scully[/name_m] is probably the first television character I have ever loved. I was frighteningly young when I began to watch this series and I have always adored [name_u]Dana[/name_u] [name_m]Scully[/name_m])
I am also a dedicated watcher of Game of Thrones, but I have read the books beforehand so I knew the (brilliant) names already. Though admittedly, [name_f]Lena[/name_f] Headey has made me love Cersei even more than I did before.
That was such a horrible moment in television history. I was a very dedicated [name_u]Robin[/name_u] Hood watcher and then that happened and everything turned to shit. [name_m]Jonas[/name_m] [name_m]Armstrong[/name_m] and [name_f]Lucy[/name_f] Griffiths were so adorable together as [name_u]Robin[/name_u] and [name_u]Marian[/name_u].
I’ve never really thought about it before, but I think my love for Greek girls’ names that end with “e” is partly due to awesome female TV characters who have those sort of names.
[name_f]Zoe[/name_f] - Anybody remember a sitcom from the 90s called [name_f]Cybill[/name_f]? The main character had a teenage daughter named [name_f]Zoey[/name_f], and it was one of the first times – if not the first – I heard the name. From a more modern show, there’s also the amazing [name_f]Zoe[/name_f] [name_f]Alleyne[/name_f] Washburne from Firefly.
[name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] - Others have already mentioned them, but [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] Buffay from Friends and [name_f]Phoebe[/name_f] Halliwell from Charmed.
[name_f]Daphne[/name_f] - [name_f]Daphne[/name_f] [name_f]Moon[/name_f] from [name_m]Frasier[/name_m].
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f] - [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] [name_u]Garcia[/name_u] from Criminal Minds and [name_u]Penny[/name_u] from The Big Bang [name_m]Theory[/name_m], who I assume is formally a [name_f]Penelope[/name_f], although I don’t think it’s ever been confirmed on the show. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if she’s not, she made me fall in love with [name_u]Penny[/name_u] as a nickname for [name_f]Penelope[/name_f]. (And wasn’t the Halliwell sisters’ grandmother on Charmed a [name_f]Penelope[/name_f] as well?)
[name_f]Calliope[/name_f] - [name_f]Calliope[/name_f] “[name_f]Callie[/name_f]” Torres from [name_u]Grey[/name_u]'s Anatomy, who convinced me that [name_f]Calliope[/name_f] could totally work on a modern girl.
My favorite baby name for a girl was [name_u]Quinn[/name_u] because I first heard it on MTV’s [name_f]Daria[/name_f] in 1997. Haha. Despite it’s popularity, it’s still my favorite girl name.
[name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Who:
[name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Astrid[/name_f], [name_f]Clara[/name_f] and [name_m]Oswin[/name_m] (for a girl)
Bones:
[name_f]Temperance[/name_f] and [name_f]Christine[/name_f]
I also started to love [name_f]Luna[/name_f] and Ginerva (HP) and [name_f]Violet[/name_f] (ASOUE and the Incredibles) from movies, although [name_f]Violet[/name_f] from Coronation St just made me love the name even more.
I know. It was just horrible. I get all teary eyed just thinking about it!
I can’t believe I forgot about [name_f]Daphne[/name_f] from [name_m]Frasier[/name_m], she’s one of my all time favourite TV characters. And [name_u]Penny[/name_u] from Big Bang too, she’s adorable.
I’d never use it, but I still have a soft spot for the name [name_u]Jordan[/name_u] (always a boy’s name to me!) that I’m confident I wouldn’t have had I not been in my formative years during My So-Called Life.
I mostly hold my breath that even shows I enjoy not use names I love, lest they be tainted with pop culture associations I can’t make peace with!
)