Briar RosefLiterature English translation of German Dornröschen. This is the name of the fairy tale character Sleeping Beauty in the Brothers Grimm version of the story.
BuffyfEnglish Diminutive of Elizabeth, from a child's pronunciation of the final syllable. It is now associated with the main character from the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003).
BuzzmEnglish From a nickname derived from the onomatopoeic word buzz meaning "buzz, hum, murmur". A notable bearer is American astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930-), one of the first people to walk on the moon. The character Buzz Lightyear from the movie Toy Story (1995) was named after Aldrin.
CharizardmPopular Culture From a blend of the English words char and lizard. This is the name of a dragon-like creature in the Pokémon series of video games starting 1996. Technically the name of the species, it is used as a given name for the creature in some contexts. It is called リザードン (Rizādon) in Japan.
DagobertmGermanic, German Means "bright day", derived from Old Frankish dag or Old High German tag meaning "day" combined with Old Frankish berht or Old High German beraht meaning "bright". This was the name of a 7th-century Merovingian king of the Franks.... [more]
DagwoodmPopular Culture Created in 1930 by cartoonist Chic Young for the character Dagwood Bumstead in the long-running comic strip Blondie.
KatnissfLiterature From the English word katniss, the name of a variety of edible aquatic flowering plants (genus Sagittaria). Katniss Everdeen is the protagonist of The Hunger Games series of novels by Suzanne Collins, released 2008 to 2010, about a young woman forced to participate in a violent televised battle.
KodamEnglish (Modern) At least in part inspired by the name of a character from the animated movie Brother Bear (2003). The moviemakers apparently took it from Lakota or Dakota koda meaning "friend, companion".
LinkmEnglish Short form of Lincoln. This is the name of the hero in the Legend of Zelda video game series (first appearing in 1986), derived from the English word link meaning "link, connection". He is called リンク (Rinku) in Japanese.
MowglimLiterature Created by Rudyard Kipling for a character in The Jungle Book (1894) and its sequel (1895), in which Mowgli is a feral boy who was raised by wolves in the jungle of central India. His name, given to him by his adopted wolf parents, is said to mean "frog" in the stories, though Kipling admitted the name was made up.
ObelixmPopular Culture The name of a character in the Asterix series of comic books. A friend of the main character Asterix, Obelix is a heavyset and immensely strong carver of menhirs. His name (Obélix in the original French) is a pun on the French word obélisque meaning "obelisk, stone monument" using the ending -ix common to the Gauls in the series.
PopeyemPopular Culture Created by Elzie Crisler Segar in 1929 for a sailor character in his comic strip Thimble Theatre, later renamed Popeye. He presumably based it on the English words pop and eye.
SchneeweißchenfLiterature Means "snow white" in High German, thus a cognate of Low German Sneewittchen (see Snow White). This is the name of a peasant girl in the German folktale Snow-White and Rose-Red, recorded by the Brothers Grimm in 1837. Her sister is Rosenrot, translated into English as Rose-Red. This story is distinct from the Grimms' earlier tale Snow White.
ShrekmPopular Culture Derived from German Schreck or Yiddish שרעק (rek) meaning "fright". This is the name of a large green ogre in the animated movie Shrek (2001) and its sequels.
SneewittchenfLiterature Older form of Schneewittchen (see Snow White). This was the Low German form originally used by the Brothers Grimm for their adaptation of the folktale Snow White.
Snow WhitefLiterature English translation of German Sneewittchen, derived from Low German Snee "snow" and witt "white" combined with the diminutive suffix -chen. This is the name of a girl who escapes her evil stepmother and takes refuge with seven dwarfs in an 1812 story recorded by the Brothers Grimm, who based it on earlier European folktales. The High German translation would be Schneeweißchen, but this was used by the Grimms for an unrelated character in another story (Snow-White and Rose-Red). The modern German form is typically the hybrid Schneewittchen. The story was adapted into a film by Walt Disney in 1937.
TarzanmLiterature Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs for the main character in his novel Tarzan of the Apes (1912). In the novel Tarzan is the ape name of the baby John Clayton, who was adopted by the animals after his parents died in the African jungle. The name is said to mean "white skin" in the fictional Mangani ape language.
ThumbelinafLiterature English translation of Danish Tommelise, a name created from Danish tommel"thumb" by Hans Christian Andersen for the title character of his 1835 fairy tale. In the story she is a miniature girl who grows out of a grain of barley.