Movie Character Names
Updated Wed Dec 13 2023
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Movie character names may be the only names cooler than the names of the stars that play them. A few, such as Trinity from The Matrix, jumped right onto the popularity charts.
With the exception of Jack, which has long seemed to be the name of the male character in every other movie and TV adventure show, characters' names often veer from the unusual to the outlandish.
Along with Jack and Trinity, other movie character names in the US Top 1000 include Buddy, Clementine, Fletcher, Josie, Maximus, Remy, Rosemary, and Sullivan.
Rare and unique names from movies with strong ties to their character include Atreyu, Morpheus, Napoleon, and Sharpay.
These notable names from movies are perfect for the film buffs among us. If you’re a fan of all things cinematic, one of these names inspired by movies could be just right for your baby. Names on this list are ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.
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- Imogen
Origin:
CelticMeaning:
"maiden"Description:
Imogen has long been fashionable in England and is gaining favor in the US among stylish parents. Pronounced the British way — the initial i is short as in Kim, as is the final E as in Ken — Imogen is as pretty and classy as it is distinctive.
- Cyrus
Origin:
PersianMeaning:
"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.
- Elio
Origin:
Italian, SpanishMeaning:
"sun"Description:
Elio is a sunny and spirited Italian and Spanish name that makes a great crossover prospect, which could catch on as Enzo has. Elio is also currently popular in France, ranking in the Top 250.
- Clementine
Origin:
French feminine version of Clement, LatinMeaning:
"mild, merciful"Description:
Clementine is a Nameberry favorite that broke back into the US Top 1000 in 2014 after more than half a century off the list.
- Wren
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"small bird"Description:
Wren, a lilting songbird name, could be the next Robin. Wren entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2012 and is among the new wave of popular English names for girls.
- Cosmo
Origin:
Greek, Italian, EnglishMeaning:
"order, beauty, universe"Description:
We all heard it on Seinfeld as the long-concealed first name of Kramer, then considered a punchline. Now some pioneering parents are embracing this expansive Greek name, which makes a creative and cool choice for a baby. Influential celebrity couple Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost chose it for their son, born in 2021, which will likely drive Cosmo up in popularity. In the UK, it currently ranks within the Top 1000 boy names and is trending upwards.
- Juno
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"queen of the heavens; young"Description:
Juno is an ancient name that feels as fresh as if it had been minted, well, not yesterday, but in 2007. Since the release of the popular indie film Juno, this lively but strong Roman goddess name has held new potential as a baby name. Currently in the UK Top 500 and used in The Netherlands too, Juno is on the rise in the US - and is 15 times more popular than it was before the release of the film.
- Clover
Origin:
Flower name, from Old EnglishMeaning:
"key"Description:
Clover is a charming, perky choice if you want to move beyond hothouse blooms like Rose and Lily, and it's recently become a new celeb favorite, chosen by both Neal McDonough and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who used it to honor her mother, Natalie Wood, one of whose most iconic films was Inside Daisy Clover.
- Sage
Origin:
Herb name, LatinMeaning:
"wise and knowing"Description:
Sage is an evocatively fragrant herbal name that also connotes wisdom, giving it a double advantage. It entered the Top 1000 at about the same time for both genders in the early 1990s, but it has pulled ahead for the girls. Toni Collette named her daughter Sage Florence.
- Alistair
Origin:
English spelling of Alasdair, Scottish version of AlexanderMeaning:
"defending men"Description:
With many British names invading the Yankee name pool, the sophisticated Alistair could and should be part of the next wave. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2016. You have a triple choice with this name--the British spell it Alistair or Alastair, while the Scots prefer Alasdair--but they're all suave Gaelic versions of Alexander. Adopted by the lowland Scots by the seventeenth century, the name didn't become popular outside Scotland and Ireland until the twentieth century.
- Olive
Origin:
English, from Latin, nature nameMeaning:
"olive tree"Description:
Though greatly overshadowed by the trendy Olivia, Olive has a quiet, subtle appeal of its own -- and is now enjoying a remarkable comeback. Olive is one of only four girl names starting with O on the US Top 1000. Cool couple Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen chose it for their daughter, reviving the name to stylishness, and now Drew Barrymore has a little Olive too, as has country singer Jake Owen.
- Sybil
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"prophetess"Description:
The image of the lovely Lady Sybil, tragic youngest daughter of the Crawley family on Downton Abbey is likely to go a long way towards reviving this almost forgotten name, off the list since 1966 and most popular in the 1920s and '30s.
- Ariadne
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"most holy"Description:
This name of the Cretan goddess of fertility is most popular now as the more melodic Ariana, but Ariadne has possibilities of its own. It first entered the US Top 1000 in 2014. The renewed interest in the name falls in line with the revival of other mythological names like Apollo and Athena. The trendy nickname Ari doesn't hurt either.
- Alma
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"nurturing, soul"Description:
Alma is a somewhat solemn, soulful name that had a burst of popularity a century ago, then faded into the flowered wallpaper, and is now finding its footing once more.
- Sullivan
Origin:
Irish surnameMeaning:
"black-eyed one"Description:
Sullivan is a jaunty Celtic three-syllable name, with a real twinkle in its eye. It was immortalized in the 1930s classic film Sullivan's Travels and was chosen for one of Patrick Dempsey's twin boys. Nickname Sully is equally jaunty.
- Arwen
Origin:
Literature, Sindarin, WelshMeaning:
"noble maiden; fair, blessed"Description:
Best known as the princess of the Elves in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Arwen is a fantasy-inspired choice that feels perfectly down to earth. In 2022, it entered the UK Top 400, making it one of the fastest rising names, more than doubling in use from the previous year.
- Chase
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"to hunt"Description:
Chase, with its sleek and ultraprosperous aura, is redolent of the worlds of high finance and international banking. Chase has been well used during the last few decades, seen as a character on 24 and on several young-audience shows.
- Nola
Origin:
GaelicMeaning:
"white shoulder"Description:
Nola, a name with a sleek, enigmatic quality, was used for the much-pursued heroine of Spike Lee's 1986 breakout film, She's Gotta Have It, and again by Woody Allen in Match Point. It's a short form of the traditional Irish name Fionnuala. Nola reentered the US Top 1000 in 2008, for the first time in 50 years.
- Oberon
Origin:
Variation of AuberonMeaning:
"noble, bearlike"Description:
The Shakespearean character Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream is King of the Fairies, but the name, with its strong 'O' beginning, projects a far more virile image than that.
- Fletcher
Origin:
English occupational nameMeaning:
"arrow-maker"Description:
Fletcher is a common surname with a touch of quirkiness; it definitely fits into the So Far Out It's In category--and moving further in all the time along with other occupational names from Parker to Forester.