Stephen King Character Names

Just like Sam and Ben, Tom could be revived as a simple, well liked name on its own. Tom, just Tom, is one of the Top 100 Boy Names in France

Medieval name without much of a future.

Most Bills today are dads...or grandpas. The younger Williams are usually nicknamed Will, or called by their full names.

A diminutive of Daniel that's been immortalized in odes ranging from 'Danny Boy' to 'Danny's Song.'

Unlike Jake or Sam, few parents put Mike on the birth certificate.

A warm and cuddly nickname name, although he famously "kissed the girls and made them cry" in the old nursery rhyme.

Tony, as in classy. Or To-nyyy, as yelled out a tenement window.

Ralphie is one of those short forms that have been out of style for so long it just might have a chance of coming back in, if you can get past seeing it as a desperate attempt to cute-ify a stodgy old man's name.

Carrie lives on mainly on the screen, as the new/old antiheroine of Stephen King's classic Carrie, as turn-of-the-21st-century diva Carrie Bradshaw of Sex & The City, and as Claire Danes' Emmy-winning character Carrie Mathison of Homeland.

Richie was once a popular enough nickname for Richard that it made the Top 1000 all by itself, blending in with Ronnie, Reggie, Robbie, and Randy. In the US, it last appeared in the charts back in the 70s, but its still in style in the UK where a recent year saw it rank at the latter end of the charts, alongside Drew, Wilf, and Bobbie.

One of the old-school nicknames -- think Ray, Vince, Frank -- that's on the brink of coming back into style. Name him Stanislav or Constantine and he'll have a groovier long form to fall back on.

Arnie is a nerdy-tipping-into-cute nickname that may rise again, if not for this generation of babies then for their babies. Look for it in the nurseries of 2050.

Much-used midcentury diminutive, now fallen far from favor even as a middle name.

Fiery but slight middle name choice; much more apt to be a redhead's nickname.

More commonly spelled JUDD, this is a strong but sensitive short form that can easily stand on its own.

Thad is a tad too slight to stand alone as a name, though as a short form of the imposing Thaddeus it's as serviceable as Ted or Ed.

Chris is one of the longest-running and still most appealing unisex short forms, still used nearly equally for boys and girls. Though no longer fashionable, Chris still feels crisp and appropriate for both sexes.