Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 10 pages
of 10
Nature name
Like Sky and Sunshine, this fluffy name from the hippie 1970s has floated back onto the naming radar. It's similarity of Clyde and Claude help to ground it.
Roman
"grove or light"
Lucina, deriving from Latin lucus "grove" and also associated with lux "light", is an epithet given in Roman mythology to the goddess Juno (and sometimes also Diana) in her role as goddess of…
Norse
"church settlement"
Attractive British place-name with a sense of humor. Fun fact: John Wayne played five characters with the first or second name of Kirby.
Video game name
Kitana is the name of a character in Mortal Kombat II -- she's a princess who looks young but is actually 10,000 years old. It may be related to the male Persian name Katana, which means honorable,…
Arabic
"growth and progress"
A Quranic name — sometimes spelled Zidane — that's also familiar as a surname, especially of French soccer star Zinedine Zidane.
Latin
"red-head"
Rufus is a rumpled, redheaded (it was the nickname for red-haired King William) ancient Roman name popular with saints and singers (e.g. Rufus Wainwright); now, Rufus is on the cutting edge of cool.…
Diminutive of Katherine, English from Greek
"pure"
Uncommon nickname for Katherine.
Jak is a compact masculine name with multiple origins. It can be a short form of Jacob or Jack, names with Hebrew origins meaning 'supplanter'. In Polish and Czech contexts, Jak functions as an…
Color name
"rich deep red"
Crimson could be a possible competitor for Scarlett's success, though it's lacking that Johansson charm. Crimson tends to be disproportionately popular in Alabama — the University of Alabama's…
Japanese
Looks like jury but rhymes with Julie.
"stern"
The association with the infamous Nero, the fiddling Roman emperor, would be unavoidable. But there was also the detective Nero Wolfe, hero of many mystery stories. Nero was born Lucius Domitius…
Kage is a masculine name with multiple possible origins. In Japanese, it means "shadow" and is pronounced "kah-geh," though in English it's often pronounced to rhyme with "sage." The name could also…
Rinoa is a feminine name that gained recognition primarily through the character Rinoa Heartilly in the popular 1999 video game Final Fantasy VIII. The name appears to be a creative invention by the…
Heard most frequently in 18th century Japan, Hanzo is a rarity in modern culture. Hattori Hanzo was a legendary samurai of the Sengoku Era. A modern day namesake might be Hanzo Shimada, from the…
Popular culture
"Dracula backwards"
While Alucard has the sound of names like Alaric, Arnoud, and Ealdwine, it is in fact literally Dracula spelled backwards. Used in various bits of media over the years, it is perhaps best associated…
"lucky"
A lacy, lucky name very popular in the Hispanic community a decade ago, less so now.
Sheva is a feminine name with multicultural origins and meanings. In Hebrew, Sheva (שבע) means 'seven,' a number with profound spiritual significance representing completion and divine perfection.…
Greek
"great hunter"
In Greek mythology, Zagreus was a god of the underworld and the son of Persephone and either Hades or Zeus. The word zagreus refers to a hunter who catches (and dismembers) live animals — the…
This medieval sounding name is a modern invention, used in the video game Final Fantasy.
"iris"
Sweet and gentle botanical choice.
