Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 11 pages
of 11
Short form of Sigmund or Sigfried, German
"victorious protection or victorious peace"
Siggy is the softer side of Ziggy, a more familiar name thanks to Ziggy Marley.
Scandinavian short form of Christina
"annointed, Christian"
The Steen, Steena, and Stina nicknames for Christina are much more common in Scandinavia than in the English-speaking world, which prefers the Chris variations.
West African and South African, meaning unknown
T'Challa is the "real" name of Marvel's Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman in the 2018 blockbuster. That year, Marvel released a comic revealing the name means "he who put the knife where it…
Greek, place name, meaning unknown
The name of an area in northern Greece, known in the era of Homer's Odyssey as Aeolia, Thessaly makes a spirited and pretty place name. Reminiscent of Tessa, Rosalie, and Thea, the name likely…
Nature name
Fox, okay. Buck, maybe. But Wolverine? You gotta be kidding us. On the plus side, your five-year-old will love you for giving him this superhero name. Your fifteen-year-old, not so much.
Invented name
As a nickname for one of the longer Z-starting choices, maybe, but not as a name unto itself.
Russian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian form of Zenaida, Greek
"life of Zeus; dedicated to Zeus"
A name is a bright, sharp sound and an air of antiquity, Zinaida is associated with genus of white-winged doves, a first-century saint and doctor, and the highest of the Greek gods. This particular…
Superfans of auteur Wes Anderson may now consider Zissou as a baby name option, ever since Kieran Culkin and Jazz Charton used it for their daughter (birth name Kinsey Sioux). It's a clear homage to…
Variation of Magdalene, or combination of Maude + Madeline
"from Magdala, from the high tower; strength in battle + high tower"
Sensitive and elegant, but with a hint of vintage clunkiness, Maudeline can be considered a form of Magdalene, or a compound name, blending Maude with Madeline (also a variant of Magdalene).…
Literary invented name
Elphaba was invented by Gregory Maguire for the protagonist of his novel Wicked , which became the long-running Broadway play and then a movie. Elphaba is the name of the Wicked Witch of the West,…
Germanic
"soft singing voice"
The original name of Glinda from Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked and the subsequent Broadway musical. She drops the 'a' from her name to honor a goat, who mispronounced her name as a Glinda. As a…
Literary name
Glinda is famous as the name of the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, invented by author L. Frank Baum. but has there ever been a real life, non-fictional Glinda? Not in the US last year. The name may…
"people's protection; dill protection"
A character in the Wicked novels and musicals, Dr. Dillamond is a Goat, mentor, and professor. It could blend the Old English element mund meaning "protection" with Dil , a Germanic diminutive…
Literary invention
A minor (female) character in the Wicked book and musical, who is gender swapped for the 2024 movie.
Literary creation
"furious"
Created by Gregory Maguire for his book, Wicked (and featured in the subsequent Broadway musical), Fiyero derives from the word "furious".
Literary invention, combination of Nessa and Rose
"butterfly + rose; gentle + rose; miracle + rose"
A smoosh name used by Gregory Maguire in his book Wicked and the subsequent musical. It blends Rose with Nessa, which can be a short form of Vanessa (or other -nessa names), an anglicized variation…
The name of a Munchkin in L Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz , who plays a much larder role in the spin off Wicked novels and musical. The meaning of the name is unknown, but it could come from Bock, a…
Pop cultural invention
Used in the novel and subsequent Disney movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century , Zenon is typically a masculine name of Greek and Polish origin, however, in the book and film, it was used for a girl…
Hindu, Sanskrit, Polynesian
"goddess of music, knowledge, wisdom and the arts; breeze, wind"
Matangi a Hindu goddess and an aspect of Parvati, the Divine Mother. She rules over speech, knowledge, music, and the arts and worshipping her is said to allow people to control their enemies and…
Hopi, Hawaiian "sparrow hawk; the sound, call, equal, cart"
"sparrow hawk; the sound, call, equal, cart"
Kele is both a Native American name, used by the Hopi people to mean "sparrow hawk", and a name of Hawaiian origin. In the latter case, it sometimes appears as part of a name, usually in a Hawaiian…
