Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 11 pages
of 11
Movie name
Though Drew Barrymore played Bjergen Kjergen in "Wayne's World," any theoretical real-life use would be for a boy.
Word name
Wildly optimistic -- and unrealistic -- choice.
Hebrew
"life"
We all know that Chaka really means disco.
French
"beloved"
For years there was only one Cher, and then along came the charming heroine of the movie "Clueless." The world now officially has enough Chers in it.
Spicy but insubstantial nickname name.
English
"cookie"
Cookie is most often used as a dog name, and it should stay that way.
Irish surname
"descendant of the dark haired one"
An Irish surname — the Anglicized form of O’Duibhgeannáin — that would make a one-of-a-kind first name, unless you count the character in Wes Anderson's first film, Bottle Rocket . For fans of the…
Latin
"lord, master"
Swaggering, cutting-edge choice equally appropriate for both genders. It's also very rare, given in the US in 2015 to only seven baby girls....and no recorded baby boys. Do you want to be the first?
Italian from German
"protector"
Elmo, like fellow Sesame Street characters Kermit and Grover, has a hard time being taken seriously. (It isn't easy being red either.) But Elmo also calls to mind the image of St. Elmo's fire--the…
Variation of Ethel, English
"noble maiden"
Ethel is one of those vintage names that will always will be out...or will it? A generation ago we might have said the same for now-fashionable names like Florence and Ida. Even if Ethel rises,…
Variation of Eithne, Irish
"kernel"
Ethne is one of the many Irish Gaelic names whose spelling and pronunciation -- it's en-ya -- will prove endlessly confusing to English speakers.
"fair-haired child"
Only if it's a family name, and even then, better in the middle.
Diminutive of Fletcher, English
"arrow maker"
This snappy nickname may remind some of the 1985 Chevy Chase movie of the same name. Writer and actress Jill Kargman has a son called Fletch.
Color name
Middle name possibility for a nature-loving family -- Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke used it for their son's middle name.
Gru is an unusual masculine name that gained recognition primarily through the main character in the animated film series 'Despicable Me.' Before this cultural reference, the name had very limited…
African
"born on Monday"
Juba, a strong and resonant unisex name, belonged to an ancient African king, is a city and river name, and is traditionally given to Ashanti (of Ghana) girls born on Monday.
Japanese
"sunken ground"
The lead character of the Oscar-nominated 2016 film "Kubo and the Two Strings" lives in Edo-period Japan, but his name is more often heard as a surname in Japan. Still, fans of the animated movie may…
Modern invented name
Kirsten Dunst played a young woman named Lidda, a synthetic name you may consider as a variation of Biblical place-name Lydda or as a short form of Phyllida.
"tall one"
Longfellow is the first name of the eponymous hero of the classic 1936 film Mr. Deeds Goes to Town , later remade with Adam Sandler. But it's hard to imagine a modern parent using it except as a…
English word name
"causing harm"
Disney turned Maleficent into a name in 1959, when it was used for the "Mistress of All Evil" in the film Sleeping Beauty . Prior to that, maleficent was a word meaning "causing harm," the antonym of…
