We’ve looked at some of the trends in movie character names of Hollywood’s Golden Age – the widespread use of nickname names and boys’ names for girls and place names.  Now, here are some of the more unusual character names (and the sometimes surprising actors who portrayed them) thought up by the screenwriters—or novelists or playwrights who originally created them)  of that era , as well as some that haven’t been heard of for some time and might be worth reviving.

Get ready for a looooong list, even though we haven’t included the iconic Rhetts and Ricks:

GIRLS

AGATHA —  Joan Crawford

ALBANY —  Dorothy Lamour

ALBERTINE —  Gene Tierney

ALGERIA  —  Linda Darnell

ARIANE —  Audrey Hepburn

BIJOU —  Marlene Dietrich

CINZIA —  Sophia Loren

CLARA —  Marilyn Monroe

CORLISS —  Shirley Temple

CRICKET —  Judy Garland

DINAH —  Shirley Temple

DOMINI —  Marlene Dietrich

DRUE —  Barbara Stanwyck

ELIZA —  Audrey Hepburn

ESTHER —  Judy Garland (twice)

EUGENIA —  Barbara Stanwyck

EUGENIE —  Loretta Young

FAY —  Joan Crawford

FRANZI — Claudetter Colbert

FRIEDA —  Joan Crawford

GIGI —  Leslie Caron

GILDA —  Rita Hayworth

GINGER —  Bette Davis

HOLLY —  Audrey Hepburn

IRIS —  Marilyn Monroe

IVY —  Joan Crawford

JAMILLA —  Marlene Dietrich

JOSLYN —  Joan Crawford

LANE —  Joan Crawford

LETTY —  Joan Crawford

LLOYD —  Shirley Temple

LORELEI —  Marilyn Monroe

LOUVETTE  —  Paulette Goddard

LOXI  —  Paulette Goddard

LULU —  Shirley Temple, Barbara Stanwyck

MAGNOLIA —  Irene Dunne

MALBRO  —  Bette Davis

MANUELA —  Judy Garland

MARGO —  Bette Davis

MARSINAH  —  Loretta Young

MELSA  —  Barbara Stanwyck

MOIRA —  Ava Gardner

NANON —  Joan Crawford

ORCHID —  Gloria Swanson

PENNY —  Shirley Temple, Judy Garland

PHILADELPHIA —  Shirley Temple

POLA —  Marilyn Monroe

POLLY —  Marilyn Monroe

PRISCILLA —  Joan Crawford

QUERIDA —  Carmen Miranda

RAPHAELITA  —  Barbara Stanwyck

REGINA —  Bette Davis, Audrey Hepburn

RIMA —  Audrey Hepburn

ROSLYN —  Marilyn Monroe

SABRA —  Irene Dunne

SABRINA —  Audrey Hepburn

SADIE —  Joan Crawford

SAIRY  —  Judy Garland

SERAFINA —  Anna Magnani

SIERRA NEVADA —  Barbara Stanwyck

SIMONETTE —  Loretta Young

SINGLETON  —  Jennifer Jones

STANLEY —  Bette Davis

TACEY —  Anne Baxter

TIRA —  Mae West

VALENTINE —  Barbara Stanwyck

VANCE —  Barbara Stanwyck

VANTINE  —  Jean Harlow

VELVET —  Elizabeth Taylor

VERONICA —  Judy Garland

VIENNA —  Joan Crawford

ZAZA —  Claudette Colbert, Gloria Swanson

ZENA —  Linda Darnell

ZIA —  Gene Tierney

Then there’s a whole little group of  exotic “native” names created for sarong-wearing Dorothy Lamour in her jungle-set pics:

ALOMA

ARLA

DEA

LALAH

MARAMA

MIMA

TAMA

TURA

BOYS

ABEL — Anthony Perkins

ALVAH —  Gary Cooper

ALVARO —  Burt Lancaster

AMBROSE —  W. C. Fields, Gregory Peck

ARCHIE —  Clark Gable

ATTICUS —  Gregory Peck

AUBREY —  Spencer Tracy

AUGUSTUS —  W.C. Fields

AXEL —  Tyrone Power

BARNABY —  Cary Grant

BARNEY —  Frank Sinatra

BLAYDE  —  Gary Cooper

BOAKE  —  Charleton Heston

BOON —  Steve McQueen

BOW —  Robert Taylor

BRANT —  Gary Cooper

BRICK —  Henry Fonda

BURLEIGH —  Danny Kaye

CALVERO —  Charlie Chaplin

CASS —  Spencer Tracy

CHANCE —  John Wayne

CHICO —  James Stewart

CLARENCE —  Frank Sinatra

CLEVE —  Gregory Peck

CLOVIS —  James Stewart

CORD —  John Wayne

DEMPSEY —  Kirk Douglas

DEVEREAUX —  Clark Gable

DEXTER —  Cary Grant

DION —  Tyrone Power

DIXON —  Humphrey Bogart

DRAKE —  Ronald Reagan

DUDLEY —  Cary Grant

EZRA —  Gregory Peck

FERGUSON —  Steve McQueen

FINIAN —  Fred Astaire

FIORELLO —  Chico Marx

FLETCHER —  Errol Flynn

FLINT —  Clark Gable

FRAME  —  Ronald Reagan

GIDEON —  Gary Cooper

GLYN —  James Stewart

GUNNAR —  Errol Flynn

GUY —  Fred Astaire

HAMISH —  Clark Gable

HARLEY —  Henry Fonda

HARRISON —  Marlon Brando

HEATHCLIFFE  —  Laurence Olivier

HORATIO —  Gregory Peck

HUGO —  Groucho Marx

IVES —  Henry Fonda

JEDEDIAH —  Joseph Cotton

JEFFERSON —  James Stewart

JERVIS —  Fred Astaire

JETHRO —  Henry Fonda

JETT —  James Dean

KIRBY —  John Wayne

LAFE —  Errol Flynn

LARSON —  W. C. Fields

LEOPOLD —  Cary Grant

LEWTON  —  Gregory Peck

LINK —  Gary Cooper

LINUS —  Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart

LUCIUS —  Gary Cooper

MACAULAY –  James Stewart

MACE —  James Stewart

MARSH —  James Stewart

MAXIM —  Laurence Olivier

MULLIGAN —  Gary Cooper

NEVADA —  Gary Cooper

NEWELL —  Errol Flynn

OGDEN —  Marlon Brando

OTIS —  Groucho Marx

PRESTON —  Henry Fonda

QUENTIN —  Groucho Marx, Kirk Douglas

QUINCY —  Groucho Marx, Gary Cooper

QUIRT —  John Wayne

RANCE —Clark Gable

RANSOM —  James Stewart

REESE —  Steve McQueen

RENZO —  Errol Flynn

RIO —  Marlon Brando

RIX  —  John Payne

ROLLO —  W. C. Fields

ROMER — Cary Grant

RUFUS —  Groucho Marx

RUPERT —  James Stewart

SEBASTIAN —  Errol Flynn

SHEPHERD —  James Stewart

SKY —  Marlon Brando

SVEN — Marlon Brando

THADEUS —  Henry Fonda

TOMASSO —  Harpo Marx

TUCKER —  Kirk Douglas

ULYSSES —  Clark Gable

WOLF —  Groucho Marx