Nameberry Picks: Twelve Best Disney Names

Yay Abby!

In the original Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty, her name is Rosamond. LOVE.

I remember that I loved the name Penny growing up for two reasons: Inspector Gadget and The Rescuers. Kind of a sad movie, but I really liked the name. (Also I wanted Inspector Gadget Penny’s calculator book so badly that I used to have dreams about it!)

I actually bear a grudge against Disney for forever ruining the wonderful name of Ursula. I wouldn’t let it stop me from using it but people’s predictable reactions “Oh you mean the witch from The Little Mermaid? Ewwww!” to it are so tiresome.

Congratulations, Abby! Looking forward to Mondays!

I love Disney movie names. I love Sebastian from the little mermaid! My nieces name is Ariana and I always thought that that could be a Disney name.

Oh, Penny’s a favorite because of the Rescuers too! I like Bianca too. I also much prefer Sleeping Beauty’s original name, Rosamond, as pointed out above. Aurora gives me fits, it’s hard to say, especially for kids under 6!
And Congratulations Abby! You’ve given me a reason to look forward to Mondays! Huzzah Abby!

I couldn’t help noticing that Pocahontas is misspelled up there…
Anyway, I was so happy to see this as a blog post, as I’m a huge Disney fan. I also like Faline (or Falina).

Oh, and I just remembered – Evangeline, Charlotte, Ray(mond), and Louis are all good names from Princess and the Frog!

Thanks, Livi–it’s been corrected.

Has anyone else noticed how much Disney is loving on the name “Flynn” right now? Besides being the name of the character in “Tangled” as mentioned above, the name is also currently in use on the Disney Channel shows “Phineas and Ferb” (as part of the kid’s surname “Flynn-Fletcher”) and “Shake It Up” (Cece’s little brother is named “Flynn”). And now it also appears in the film “Tron” (surname of character, “Sam Flynn”). I really like the name, it just seems to be getting a bit repetitive with Disney, in my opinion.

Out of curiousity, does the film “Tangled” make “Rapunzel” any more accessible or useable for anyone? Or is it a name that should continue to stay in the realm of Fairy?

Thanks for a great blog!

My then 4.5 year old son wanted to name his baby sister “Sleeping Beauty Aurora {last name}” (didn’t do that)…

It’s live-action and not an original Disney flick, but their “Chronicles of Narnia” movies made me fall hard for Caspian.

Aladdin and Peter are my favorites. Peter I would (will) use as a first name. Aladdin I’m not sure about. Could it be used as a first or should it stay in the middle?

@Robyn I also have harbored a secret crush on the name Rapunzel. I doubt it will ever go mainstream but I have told my brother & sister that if they end up using Hazel I will be calling her Zel.

Bianca was actually one of my first name crushes because of the Rescuers. As a kid watching the movie, it struck me as very lyrical and exotic.

Robyn asked: “Out of curiousity, does the film “Tangled” make “Rapunzel” any more accessible or useable for anyone? Or is it a name that should continue to stay in the realm of Fairy?”

Robyn, it’s very likely that we may see some instances of the name “Rapunzel” being used as a name on account of the Disney movie. It wouldn’t be the first time that a beloved American icon (such as Disney) made “Rapunzel” a likely baby name.

For the year 1959, the U.S. Social Security Administration reported a total of nine baby girls who had been given the name of “Rapunzel.” In the 130-year span of SSA name reporting (1880 through 2009), this was the only year that the name “Rapunzel” appears in the available records a a name given to baby girls.

So, what was going on in the U.S. around that time, to influence some parents to name their baby girls “Rapunzel”? Well, on October 27th, 1958, the highly rated television series Shirley Temple’s Storybook broadcast the episode titled “Rapunzel.” Shirley Temple (like Disney, another beloved American icon) had already been a huge influence on American culture for many years. Clearly, the charm of Ms. Temple’s narration of that story, and the character of Rapunzel herself, must have struck a responsive chord in nine mothers-to-be.

Excellent analysis, as always, Nephele! Personally, I would be surprised to see a great many Rapunzels–but you never know.

Thanks, Linda! I agree with you — it’ll certainly be a surprise to see as many Rapunzels generated from this Disney movie as we had Ariels from The Little Mermaid. But we may get at least nine.

I happen to personally know a set of parents who named their baby daughter “Ariel,” who was born around the time that Disney movie came out– and it was because the father was totally besotted with Ariel in the movie.

If Cinderella can catch on as a name (and it’s true, I’ve heard of a few) there’s no reason why Rapunzel couldn’t.

[...] back to Finn – Nameberry mentioned Flynn in their 12 Best Disney Names list.  One of the comments mentioned that Disney has been using Flynn constantly in recent years.  [...]

I love the name Eilonwy from The Black Cauldron… I still can’t believe she isn’t considered one of the Disney Princesses!

[...] all the talk of Flynn here and elsewhere, it seems almost inevitable that it would turn up in Hollywood.  It really couldn’t be a [...]

I love Flynn Rider. If I ever had twin boys I probably would name them Flynn Rider and Maksim Alexander (or something like that). The only thing I would be afraid of is if Maks would get made fun of because it’s so close to Maximus.

I would name my daughter Rapunzel, although I have a classic name style. Ariel, Ursula, Aurora, and Bianca are big favs. I agree with Persephone about Ursula.

I’ve been a fan of Disney movies as far back as I can remember. My all-time favorite is Hercules, because I love Greek mythology. I think Megara nn Meg, the name of Hercules’ love interest, should’ve been on this list! She’s awesome! If, of course, you can forget what the real myth says. I’d name my future daughter Megara if it weren’t for the fact that my name’s Megan!
And where’s Lilo (Lilo and Stitch)?

I am 14 weeks pregnant, if we have a girl we would love to name her Rapunzel (Zel for short). I am sure we would get a lot of negative feedback, but I just don’t see how that’s fair! I went to school with two Ariels, 3 Jasmines and an Aurora, so why not a Rapunzel??

My faves from Disney movies are………….

- Aurora

-Jasmine

-Tiana

- Belle

-Willow

-Nala

- Rose (Briar Rose)

Oliver (from Oliver and Company)
Christopher (as in Christopher Robin from Winnie the Pooh)
Todd (the fox in Fox and the Hound)
Georgette (Oliver and Company)
Kala (Tarzan)
Marian (Robin Hood)

@Sadiesadie If I’m not mistaken, Ariana could easily be one of Ariel’s sisters… have to re-watch that movie now…
@Amethyst- we had a cat named Rapunzel- she was named for the Barbie version because of her paintbrush tail, and we called her Punzie. However adorable the name Rapunzel is, I think it works best as a pet name, or if you must, a middle name. I suppose you could also use Rae as a nickname.

I love Briar Rose and Belle, though Belle is pretty trendy right now with the Isabelles and Bellas. Maybe by the time I have kids it won’t be so popular. Otherwise, Belle’s a gorgeous middle name and isn’t as boring as Ann, Marie, or Lynn. I always liked that my middle name was Christine and not Rose…

I also love Briar for a boy- as in Briar Moss and Prince Briarre (from books-Tamora Pierce’s Circle of Magic and “The House on Falling Star Hill”) Jasper’s a favorite, too…

I also know an Aurora- it fits her very well, and I don’t think it’s too weird, just hard to say sometimes.

Favorites from this list:
Aurora- Family name, too trendy now
Bianca
Eudora
Flynn- He was awesome. I wouldn’t use it though because of Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr.
Thalia

Others:
Belle- My great grandmother’s middle name. Maybe one of my kids can use it when the Twilight phase is long gone.
Flora
Rosetta- One of the fairies with tinker bell.
Annette
Bruno- Awesome name for a dog
Dinah
Figaro- Would never use, but would love to name a cat this just because he was funny
Giselle
Louis
Oliver
Otto
Pearl
Phillip

I’m really surprised Belle and Jasmine didn’t make the list!

Mickey (Mouse)
Donald (Duck)
and
Daisy (Duck)
are my favorite Disney names.