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Soap Opera Baby Names

Sophie Kihm
By Sophie Kihm
Updated Tue Feb 13 2024
Soap Opera Baby Names

Baby names from soap operas, inspired by melodramatic characters, often appear on the popularity charts. If you're expecting a dramatic little one, a "soap" name may be right up your alley. Soap operas can be credited with launching names such as Fallon and Nash back into public consciousness.

Along with Fallon and Nash, other soap opera baby names in the US Top 1000 include Bianca, Chase, Evangeline, Fletcher, Holden, Paloma, Rex, and Scarlett. Names inspired by the soap opera titles include Dallas, Peyton, Colby, and Melrose.

Soap opera writers tend to choose names some may consider a bit over the top, ranging from long and romantic choices like Deveraux and Maximiliana to quirky and unique soap opera names such as Buzz and Cricket.

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TV Character Names

Romantic Names for Girls

  1. Evangeline

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "bearer of good news"

    • Description:

      Evangeline is a romantic old name enjoying a major comeback, thanks to its religious overtones, Eva's popularity, and the star of the TV megahit Lost, Evangeline Lilly. Evangelia and Evangelina — two variants of Evangeline — are sure to tag along for the ride.
  2. Jasper

    • Origin:

      Persian

    • Meaning:

      "bringer of treasure"

    • Description:

      Jasper originated as a variation of the Latin Gaspar, which ultimately derived from the Persian word ganzabara, meaning "bringer of treasure." As a given name, Jasper’s etymology is unrelated to that of the gemstone, which comes from a Semitic word meaning "speckled stone." Jasper is the usual English form for one of the Three Wise Men who brought gifts to the infant Christ according to medieval tradition and appears in the Bible as a reference to the stone itself in Revelations 4:3.
  3. Otto

    • Origin:

      German

    • Meaning:

      "wealthy"

    • Description:

      Otto is cool again. Long a quintessential Old Man Name, Otto has been promoted to trending darling of adventurous baby namers.
  4. Enzo

    • Origin:

      Italian variation of Henry, German

    • Meaning:

      "estate ruler"

    • Description:

      You may be surprised to know that Enzo is now a Top 100 boy name in the US and the UK, where it has been climbing straight uphill since the turn of this century.
  5. Cyrus

    • Origin:

      Persian

    • Meaning:

      "sun"

    • Description:

      Cyrus is one of those surprising names that have always ranked among the Top 1000 boy names in the US. On an upward trend since the mid-90s, Cyrus now sits in that comfortable place between too popular and too unusual.
  6. Lola

    • Origin:

      Spanish, diminutive of Dolores

    • Meaning:

      "lady of sorrows"

    • Description:

      A hot starbaby name – chosen by Kelly Ripa, Chris Rock, Lisa Bonet, Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen, Carnie Wilson, and Annie Lennox, and used as the nickname of Madonna's Lourdes – Lola manages to feel fun and sassy without going over the top. Be warned, though: "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets," to quote a song from the show Damn Yankees.
  7. Roman

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "citizen of Rome"

    • Description:

      Roman is an ancient name trending in a major way. A surprise hit name of recent years, Roman now ranks in the Top 100 not only in the US but throughout the English-speaking world, and is rising in other European countries as well.
  8. Orion

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "boundary, limit"

    • Description:

      Orion is a rising star, with both mythical and celestial overtones.
  9. Remy

    • Origin:

      French from Latin

    • Meaning:

      "oarsman"

    • Description:

      Remy is one of the hottest names today for both boys and girls, sometimes spelled Remi. . It entered the popularity list in 2009 and has quickly become one of the fastest-rising names on the list.
  10. Eden

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "place of pleasure, delight"

    • Description:

      Eden is an attractive, serene name with obvious intimations of Paradise, one of several place names drawn from the Bible by the Puritans in the 17th century.
  11. Cleo

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "glory"

    • Description:

      Cleo, one of the few girls' names to boast the cool-yet-lively o ending, is of course short for Cleopatra, the name of one of the most powerful women in history.
  12. River

    • Origin:

      Nature name

    • Description:

      River shares the tranquil feeling of all the water names, and seems to have pretty much escaped its past strong association with River Phoenix and his unfortunate fate. Actor Joaquin Phoenix named his son with actress Rooney Mara after his brother River.
  13. Cassius

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "hollow"

    • Description:

      Cassius, a Shakespearean name rooted in antiquity, is trending in a major way. It's one of a raft of Cas-starting names for both boys and girls, including Caspian, Cassian, and Cassia, that are enjoying a new moiment in the sun.
  14. Scarlett

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "scarlet, red"

    • Description:

      Scarlett Johansson is doing more for this sparky southern name than Scarlett O'Hara ever did. Since the turn of the 21st century, Scarlett has gone from an obscure literary name to one of the most popular girls' names starting with S, right after longtime favorites Sophia and Sofia.
  15. Beau

    • Origin:

      French

    • Meaning:

      "handsome"

    • Description:

      Beau suggests someone devilishly handsome, with a large measure of southern charm—a nice image to bestow on your boy. Often solely a nickname in the past, it's now standing firmly on its own. Beau has been on the Social Security list non-stop since 1969.
  16. Dahlia

    • Origin:

      Flower name, from Swedish surname

    • Meaning:

      "Dahl's flower"

    • Description:

      One of the flower names, used occasionally in Britain (where it's pronounced DAY-lee-a). It seems to have recovered from what was perceived as a slightly affected la-di-dah air. The flower was named in honor of the pioneering Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl, which means dale.
  17. Lincoln

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "town by the pool"

    • Description:

      Lincoln cracked the Top 50 for boys' names for the first time in 2016, more than 150 years after the death of its most famous bearer. This is especially remarkable because, as crazy as it seems now, Lincoln was deeply out of fashion as recently as the late 90s, consistently hovering near the bottom of the Top 1000.
  18. Celia

    • Origin:

      Latin

    • Meaning:

      "heavenly"

    • Description:

      Celia, splendidly sleek and feminine, is a name that was scattered throughout Shakespeare and other Elizabethan literature, but still manages to feel totally modern.
  19. Nash

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "by the ash tree"

    • Description:

      Nash is an English surname whose sound puts it right in step with currently trendy names like Cash, Dash and Ash. It first came to prominence via TV character Nash Bridges, portrayed by Don Johnson in the late nineties, and also via mathematician John Nash, played by Russell Crowe in the acclaimed film A Beautiful Mind.
  20. Shiloh

    • Origin:

      Biblical place-name, Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "tranquil"

    • Description:

      Cool meets Born Again meets Brad and Angelina, who made Shiloh an instant star when they chose it for their daughter. While Shiloh has risen from obscurity thanks to its celebrity baby use, it hasn't become a star the way brother names Maddox and Pax have. It entered the Top 1000 in 2007, one year after the birth of Ms. Jolie-Pitt.