Stranger Things themed names

Old time nickname that's starting to sound fresh again, à la Alfie and Freddie.

Rochester was Jack Benny's famous valet and sidekick, played by early African-American comic Eddie Anderson.

How many decades will it take for Rocky to triumph over its association with Sylvester Stallone's battered but not beaten boxer? The moment may have come, now that Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. have named their son Rocky. It helps, too, that Madonna's son Rocco helped make the name child-appropriate again.

Rue has gone from Golden Girls actress to Hunger Games heroine. This botanical name is also a coincidental double word name, meaning "regret" in English and "street in" French. Despite these unfortunate secondary meanings, Rue has real potential to be one of the most popular new middle names for girls.

This more elaborate version of the name is heard occasionally, but Samira or the related Samara is simpler and just as rhythmic.

The meaning of this name isn't clear, but it may mean "limping man" (from Greek skazo "to limp, stumble") or "awkward man" (from skaios) meaning "left, awkward" plus andros "man".

As a boy's name, Shane is related more directly to the 50s movie cowboy and the Irish name Sean; for a girl, it might be a variation on Shannon, Shana, or Shawn. Parenthood star Erika Christensen named her daughter Shane. Another spin, used by Eddie Murphy, is Shayne.

This distinctive variation was chosen for their third daughter by the Eddie Murphys.

The connection to Freud is a strong one, but this German name has a strong and interesting sound and great nickname potential: Ziggy, Iggy, Sim, Sid...

Feminissima.

Like Ed, Eddie and Teddy, Ted is rarely used as an independent name – in the US, at least. In the UK, Eddie ranks just outside the Top 200, Teddy ranks just outside the Top 30, and Ted is a Top 200 pick.

With Theodore rising, Ted may have new life among parents who don't want to use the short form Theo. And TV's Ted Lasso makes it a quintessential nice guy name.

Teddy is in some ways one of those midcentury boys' nicknames -- like Jimmy or Bobby or Billy -- yet because it was never that popular, it feels timeless too. The preferred short form of Theodore these days may be Theo and of Edward may be....Edward, but Teddy can work adorably for either and grows up to Ted. And of course, let's not forget the inevitable teddy bear.

Cute boyish short forms like Teddy and Frankie and Billie are in some ways a relic of the past, of the days before unisex names, when girls were given feminized versions of their father's names, but they are starting to come into their own again.

Theo has a girls' name is used for only a handful of babies today. As a short form of Theodora, Theo is used much less frequently than Thea or even Teddy. One notable appearance was as the younger daughter in Sofia Coppola's film On the Rocks in 2020.

A surprising number of parents choose to put the nickname Tommy on their son's birth certificate rather than the more traditional Thomas. Perhaps even more surprising is thE fact that Tommy has never been off the United States popularity charts. More recently, however, the name has been trending downward.

An uncommon Latin and Italian name which would make a fitting choice for a final baby – but be aware that many would associate it with the cosmetics brand or the Ultimo brand of lingerie.

Strongly associated with the mega-popular single-named singer, who was actually the fourth Usher Raymond in his family. He could start a fad.