The poor Simpson-Wentzes caught a lot of flak last week for their baby name choices–not only for first name Bronx, but for Disneyesque middle name Mowgli as well, to the point where Pete Wentz felt called upon to defend the choice on the people.com website. In a story headlined PETE WENTZ: WHY WE NAMED OUR SON MOWGLI, his explanation was “The Jungle Book was something me and Ashlee bonded over. It’s a cool name.” Well, whether or not we agree, we shouldn’t dismiss the whole genre of Disney names–there are a few treasures buried in that vault.
In the beginning, the Disney folks were big on silly, often alliterative names for their cartoon creatures–Horace Horsefeather, Clarabelle Cow, and of course Mickey and Minnie Mouse and Donald and Daisy Duck. When they moved on to feature films in the 1930s, they began to draw on already created and named characters from fairy tales and children’s books, from Snow White to Peter Pan. Curiously enough, the one early character name that caught on with parents was Bambi–a male deer in the movie that became a popular namesake for girl babies.
The real winners, though, have been the Princess names from more recent Disney films–The Little Mermaid’s Ariel reached #66 two years after its release date and Jasmine from Aladdin has been as high as #23. Other Disney heroine names like Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Violet (The Incredibles) have also been boosted by their Disney connection. Here are some other good Disneyfied options:
GIRLS
AURORA Sleeping Beauty
BIANCA The Rescuers
BRIAR ROSE Sleeping Beauty
CELIA Monsters, Inc
COLETTE Ratatouille
ESMERALDA The Hunchback of Notre Dame
FIONA Shrek
BOYS
CLAUDE The Hunchback of Notre Dame
DJANGO Ratatouille
GIDEON Pinocchio
JULIEN Madagascar
PHOEBUS The Hunchback of Notre Dame
REMY Ratatouille
REX Monsters, Inc
RICO Madagascar
ZEUS Hercules
Tags: Aladdin, Ariel, Ashlee Simpson, Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, boys' names, celebrity baby names, creative baby names, Disney, Disney movies, Donald Duck, Finding Nemo, girls' names, Jasmine, Mickey Mouse, movie names, Pinocchio, popular names, princess names, Shrek, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, unique baby names, Wall-E
This entry was posted on Friday, November 28th, 2008 at 1:47 am and is filed under Disney names, baby name popularity, baby names from movies, boys' names, girls' names, name ideas . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
November 28th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Disney is “stealing” all my good names! I have Violet, Eve, Celia, Anastasia, Thalia, Gideon, and Demetrius on my list. I knew Anastasia was a Disney name, but I hadn’t realized the connection with the others. I hope they don’t become too popular, though I know Violet is heading in that direction. (I’d attributed it mostly to Jennifer Garner’s daughter, though.)
My husband and I both loved “The Rescuers” growing up. I asked him about using Bianca for a daughter, but he didn’t seem too keen.