Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Sophie Kihm · Updated September 2026
Across 11 pages
of 11
Surname name
The full name of one of the main characters on Netflix's Dear White People , though she usually goes by Coco. Colandrea occasionally pops up as a surname, but as a first name, it feels more like a…
Phonetic spelling of St. John
The name St. John is much more usable in its phonetic spelling — similar to the way St. Clair evolved into Sinclair. St. John has some literary cred — St. John Rivers is a cool character in Jane Eyre…
Igbo
"God exists"
A very common boys' name (and nickname) in Nigeria that some Americans will recognize as the name of one of the main characters on NBC's The Good Place .
Virtue name, English from Latin
"chastity, pure"
One of the original so-weird-it's-cruel celebrity baby names doesn't sound quite so impossible with the resurgence of virtue names. But be charitable and choose Charity instead.
Variation of Sukey, pet form of Susanna
"lily"
This spelling seems to be taking off as a result of media appearances as characters in first "Gilmore Girls" and then as Sookie Stackhouse, the Anna Paquin character in "True Blood," based on "The…
Invented name
Cerie -- which may be thought of as a variation of Siri or Cherie or Ceri but in fact is related to none of them -- is the name of Liz Lemon's assistant Cerie Xerox on 30 Rock . The gorgeous Cerie's…
Greek
"immortal"
This adorable name of the young daughter on "Big Love" might be thought of as a variation of Tansy, an obscure flower name whose star may rise on the heels of such current favorites as Lily and Daisy.
Modern invented name
It may have been made up for a futuristic television show, but this name would not be out of place among such present-day trendies as Kayla and Taylor.
Welsh
"great ruler"
Meredith has been considered primarily a girl's name since the fifties, before which it was more commonly used for boys. Comic actor Jay Mohr recently named his son Meredith, which might help it…
