Some of the best baby names in existence came from a screen.
Not because parents were blindly following trends. But because great writers put great names into great stories and those names lodged themselves in the cultural memory in a way that most traditional names never manage. Arya. Atticus. Lorelai. The moment you hear them you see a whole world attached.
What I find interesting is how quickly this category has grown. A generation ago naming your child after a TV character felt unusual. Now it is completely normal. Parents are finding names in Netflix series, in animated films, in classic Hollywood movies, in prestige dramas. The screen has become one of the richest sources of baby names on earth.
Here are 95 baby names inspired by movies and TV shows.
Movie And TV Names For Girls
The best fictional girl names tend to come from characters who are remembered for being completely themselves. Not for being perfect. Not for being agreeable. For being unforgettable.
Every name here belongs to a character who left a mark on the people who watched her.
- Arya
- Origin: Sanskrit
- Meaning: Noble, honorable
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
A girl who refused to be what anyone told her to be. One of the most used names to come out of the entire series.
- Lorelai
- Origin: German
- Meaning: Alluring
- Inspired by: Gilmore Girls
Fast talking, coffee drinking, completely her own person. The show gave this name a whole new warm personality that most people had never associated with it before.
- Katniss
- Origin: English, from the aquatic plant
- Meaning: Connected to the katniss plant
- Inspired by: The Hunger Games
Completely original. Strong and rooted in the natural world in a way most invented names are not.
- Hermione
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Pillar of Helena
- Inspired by: Harry Potter
A name that sat quietly in ancient Greece for centuries before Rowling brought it back to an entirely new generation.
- Moana
- Origin: Hawaiian
- Meaning: Ocean, deep sea
- Inspired by: Moana
One of the most beautiful word names in any language. The film made it known worldwide and parents have been reaching for it ever since.
- Daenerys
- Origin: Invented for the show
- Meaning: No established meaning
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
Sounds ancient and powerful despite being created in the 1990s. One of the most distinctive names the show produced.
- Temperance
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Moderation, self restraint
- Inspired by: Bones
A virtue name that the show gave a completely modern, sharp personality. Made it feel like a name for someone brilliant rather than pious.
- Sansa
- Origin: Possibly Sanskrit
- Meaning: Charm, praise
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
Soft sounding but carries real strength in the character behind it. A name that grew as the character grew.
- Rey
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: King, sunshine
- Inspired by: Star Wars
One of the great modern sci-fi names. Clean, strong, and completely unisex in a way that works beautifully.
- Padme
- Origin: Sanskrit
- Meaning: Lotus flower
- Inspired by: Star Wars
A sacred flower name from one of the oldest languages in the world, introduced to millions of people through a space opera.
- Leia
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Weary, connected to Leah
- Inspired by: Star Wars
Already a real name before the film existed. The film simply made it legendary.
- Ripley
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Strip of land clearing
- Inspired by: Alien
The character who changed what a female action hero could look like. Parents who love this name tend to know exactly why they chose it.
- Villanelle
- Origin: French poetic form
- Meaning: A nineteen line poem
- Inspired by: Killing Eve
A poetic form used as a name on a character who was herself a kind of performance. Rare and completely striking.
- Wednesday
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Woden’s day
- Inspired by: Wednesday
A day name that Tim Burton turned into something completely iconic. Already existed but the show gave it a life it never had before.
- Wanda
- Origin: Slavic
- Meaning: Wanderer
- Inspired by: WandaVision
Already a real name with real Slavic roots that Marvel brought back to a generation who had never heard it used.
- Rue
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: To feel regret, also an herb
- Inspired by: Euphoria
An old word name that the character made feel alive and urgent. Short and quietly powerful.
- June
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Young, born in June
- Inspired by: The Handmaid’s Tale
A month name that one of the most powerful dramas of the decade gave enormous weight. Simple and impossible to ignore.
- Moira
- Origin: Irish and Greek
- Meaning: Destiny, fate
- Inspired by: Schitt’s Creek
Catherine O’Hara made this name unforgettable. It is one of the great performances attached to a name in television history.
- Rory
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Red king
- Inspired by: Gilmore Girls
An Irish name that Gilmore Girls made feel completely natural on a girl. Thousands of baby Rorys were named after this character.
- Blair
- Origin: Scottish Gaelic
- Meaning: Plain, battlefield
- Inspired by: Gossip Girl
A surname turned first name that the show made feel sharp and deliberate. Cool without trying.
- Mirabel
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Wonderful beauty
- Inspired by: Encanto
A name that parents are suddenly discovering thanks to one Pixar film. Beautiful and barely used outside the film’s audience.
- Ciri
- Origin: Invented, possibly from Cirilla
- Meaning: No established meaning
- Inspired by: The Witcher
Short, sharp, and sounds both ancient and completely modern at the same time.
- Yelena
- Origin: Russian
- Meaning: Bright, shining
- Inspired by: Black Widow and Hawkeye
The Russian form of Helen that Marvel brought to a whole new audience who had never encountered it before.
- Dolores
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Sorrows
- Inspired by: Encanto
A name that felt completely dated and then one animated film made it feel genuinely new again.
- Jules
- Origin: French
- Meaning: Youthful
- Inspired by: Euphoria
The French short form of Juliet that works perfectly as a standalone. The character gave it a vivid, complex personality.
- Eleven
- Origin: Old English number
- Meaning: The number 11
- Inspired by: Stranger Things
A number name. Wild and somehow it works completely. Nobody expected this to land but it did.
- Natasha
- Origin: Russian
- Meaning: Born on Christmas day
- Inspired by: Black Widow
Already widely used but the character gave it a whole new layer of cool confidence that parents responded to immediately.
Rising Screen Names For Girls
These are the names from more recent shows and films that are already climbing birth certificate lists. Some of them you will see everywhere in the next few years. Others are quieter discoveries that only certain parents find.
- Serena
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Clear, serene
- Inspired by: Gossip Girl
A Latin name meaning clear skies and still water that the show gave a sharper, more complex personality.
- Jenny
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Fair and yielding
- Inspired by: Gossip Girl
A classic that the show reminded people was still genuinely beautiful and worth choosing again.
- Cassie
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Unheeded prophetess
- Inspired by: Euphoria
Short for Cassandra but the character made it feel completely current and alive.
- Maddy
- Origin: Hebrew via English
- Meaning: Woman from Magdala
- Inspired by: Euphoria
Short for Madeline but carries its own distinct energy through the character who wore it on the show.
- Ruth
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Friend, companion
- Inspired by: Ozark
A Biblical name that the show gave back its edge. Julia Garner’s performance turned it into something entirely unexpected.
- Siobhan
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: God is gracious
- Inspired by: Succession
Pronounced shi-VAWN. Known as Shiv on the show. Parents who love this name tend to be Succession fans who looked it up.
- Yennefer
- Origin: Welsh via invention
- Meaning: Fair and smooth
- Inspired by: The Witcher
Based on the Welsh name Guinevere, reimagined for the show and given a completely new identity.
- Luisa
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Famous warrior
- Inspired by: Encanto
A Spanish name that a Pixar film made feel completely fresh to parents who had overlooked it before.
- Isabela
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Pledged to God
- Inspired by: Encanto
The Spanish form of Isabella with its own distinct feel that the film introduced to a new audience.
- Pepa
- Origin: Spanish nickname
- Meaning: God will add
- Inspired by: Encanto
A nickname form of Josefina that works beautifully as a standalone. Warm and completely her own thing.
- Nora
- Origin: Irish and Arabic
- Meaning: Honor, light
- Inspired by: The Umbrella Academy and countless others
A name that keeps appearing in prestige drama because it suits the kind of characters those shows create.
- Alexis
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Defender
- Inspired by: Schitt’s Creek
A name that went from basic to beloved through one extraordinary performance. The character transformed how people heard it.
- Wren
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Small bird
- Inspired by: Various prestige dramas
A bird name that keeps appearing in quality television and gaining parents every time it does.
- Marty
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Of Mars, the god of war
- Inspired by: Ozark
Works on a girl even though it started as a boy name. The show uses it on a man but parents have adopted it for daughters.
Movie And TV Names For Boys
Boy names from film and television tend to come from heroes and antiheroes in equal measure. The names that stick are not always the ones attached to the most virtuous characters. They are the ones attached to the most compelling ones.
- Atticus
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: From Attica
- Inspired by: To Kill a Mockingbird
The most principled man in American fiction. A name that carries that moral weight everywhere it goes. One of the great literary name choices.
- Sirius
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: Glowing, the brightest star
- Inspired by: Harry Potter
The brightest star in the night sky. A name of real astronomical beauty that Rowling gave to one of the best loved characters in the series.
- Draco
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Dragon, serpent
- Inspired by: Harry Potter
Dark and distinctive. Parents who choose this are making a deliberate statement about what kind of name they want.
- Severus
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Stern, strict
- Inspired by: Harry Potter
A complicated character with a complicated name that parents still love for the depth it carries.
- Maximus
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Greatest
- Inspired by: Gladiator
A name that fills a room. One of the great epic film names that Russell Crowe made feel both ancient and immediate.
- Caspian
- Origin: From the Caspian Sea
- Meaning: White
- Inspired by: The Chronicles of Narnia
A sea name that C.S. Lewis pulled from geography and turned into something magical. Parents who love it tend to love the books deeply.
- Loki
- Origin: Old Norse
- Meaning: Knot, lock
- Inspired by: Marvel and Norse mythology
The trickster god whose name became one of the most recognized in pop culture through Tom Hiddleston’s performance.
- Finn
- Origin: Irish
- Meaning: Fair, white
- Inspired by: Star Wars and Peaky Blinders
Two completely different shows came to the same name. It keeps rising because it works everywhere.
- Poe
- Origin: Old English surname
- Meaning: Peacock
- Inspired by: Star Wars
Named after Edgar Allan Poe in the film. A literary and cinematic name at once, carrying two worlds in three letters.
- Jorah
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: Autumn rain
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
A real Hebrew name the show introduced to an entire generation who had never encountered it before.
- Tyrion
- Origin: Invented for the show
- Meaning: No established meaning
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
Sounds like it came from ancient myth despite being created for television. One of the most beloved characters attached to one of the most striking names.
- Bran
- Origin: Celtic
- Meaning: Raven
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
One of the oldest Celtic names in existence. The show simply reminded people it was there and worth using.
- Kylo
- Origin: Invented for the film
- Meaning: No established meaning
- Inspired by: Star Wars
Parents have been using it since The Force Awakens landed in 2015. Divisive character, beloved name.
- Elliot
- Origin: Hebrew via Greek
- Meaning: The Lord is my God
- Inspired by: Mr. Robot
A name the show gave a brilliant, complicated, deeply human personality. Rami Malek’s performance made parents fall in love with it.
- Joel
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: God is willing
- Inspired by: The Last of Us
One of the greatest video game adaptations ever made this simple name feel enormous. Pedro Pascal’s performance is unforgettable.
- Tommy
- Origin: Greek via Aramaic
- Meaning: Twin
- Inspired by: Peaky Blinders
Thomas Shelby. The show made this feel like it belonged to someone dangerous and brilliant at once.
- Arthur
- Origin: Celtic
- Meaning: Bear
- Inspired by: Peaky Blinders
The oldest name on this list and somehow the show made it feel completely new through the character of Arthur Shelby.
- Alfie
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Elf counsel
- Inspired by: Peaky Blinders
The pet form of Alfred that Peaky Blinders turned into something entirely its own. Tom Hardy’s character made it unforgettable.
- Walter
- Origin: Old High German
- Meaning: Army ruler
- Inspired by: Breaking Bad
A name the show reclaimed from ordinariness and made feel dangerous and complex. Bryan Cranston’s performance changed this name permanently.
- Oberyn
- Origin: Possibly connected to Oberon
- Meaning: Noble bear
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
One of the most charismatic characters in the entire series and one of the most distinctive names it produced.
- Jaime
- Origin: Spanish
- Meaning: Supplanter
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
The Spanish form of James that the show gave an entirely new generation of parents to discover.
- Thor
- Origin: Old Norse
- Meaning: Thunder
- Inspired by: Marvel and Norse mythology
The thunder god. A name that Marvel put in front of a generation who went looking for it on birth certificates.
- Din
- Origin: Arabic
- Meaning: Religion, way of life
- Inspired by: The Mandalorian
Short, ancient feeling, and completely unexpected as a baby name. The Mandalorian gave parents a name they had never considered before.
- Finnick
- Origin: Invented
- Meaning: No established meaning
- Inspired by: The Hunger Games
An invented name that sounds old and new at exactly the same time. Parents who love this character love this name.
- Theon
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: God
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
A name with a complicated character behind it but a beautiful meaning in front of it.
- Khal
- Origin: Dothraki language
- Meaning: Warlord
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
A title that parents decided worked as a first name. Short, strong, and impossible to mistake for anything else.
- Peeta
- Origin: Creative spelling of Peter
- Meaning: Rock
- Inspired by: The Hunger Games
A creative spelling that the books made feel original. The character’s warmth made parents love the name alongside him.
Cool And Rare Screen Names For Boys
These are the names from slightly more niche films and shows. The ones that signal something about the parent who chose them. A shared love of a particular story. A specific character who meant something personally.
- Dexter
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Right handed, skillful
- Inspired by: Dexter
Sharp and intelligent. A name the show made feel precise and deliberate rather than old fashioned.
- Raylan
- Origin: Invented
- Meaning: No established meaning
- Inspired by: Justified
An invented name that sounds so completely natural you would never guess it was created for television.
- Rust
- Origin: English
- Meaning: Red, rust colored
- Inspired by: True Detective
A surname used as a first name with real atmospheric grit behind it. Matthew McConaughey made it feel mythic.
- Sterling
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Of high quality, genuine
- Inspired by: Archer
A name meaning excellence and authenticity. Also a British currency. Both meanings sit well on a person.
- Archer
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Bowman
- Inspired by: Archer
An occupational name that the show made feel modern and cool at the same time.
- Jax
- Origin: American
- Meaning: Son of Jack
- Inspired by: Sons of Anarchy
A name that the show gave an entirely new rough edged personality. Short and sharp.
- Daryl
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Darling
- Inspired by: The Walking Dead
A name almost nobody considered before Norman Reedus made it feel like the coolest name in the apocalypse.
- Hershel
- Origin: Yiddish
- Meaning: Deer
- Inspired by: The Walking Dead
Almost nobody used this before the show. Parents who loved the character found something genuinely rare in it.
- Glenn
- Origin: Scottish Gaelic
- Meaning: Valley
- Inspired by: The Walking Dead
A simple nature name that the show gave enormous warmth through one of its most beloved characters.
- Geralt
- Origin: Germanic
- Meaning: Spear ruler
- Inspired by: The Witcher
An old Germanic name that the show brought back in a form most people had never seen before.
- Jaskier
- Origin: Polish word for buttercup
- Meaning: Buttercup
- Inspired by: The Witcher
A flower name on a boy. Completely unexpected and impossible to forget once you have heard it.
- Eskel
- Origin: Old Norse
- Meaning: Divine cauldron
- Inspired by: The Witcher
An ancient Norse name almost nobody uses that the show put in front of a new audience.
- Lambert
- Origin: Old German
- Meaning: Bright land
- Inspired by: The Witcher
A name that felt entirely old fashioned before the show gave it a tough, quiet personality.
- Vesemir
- Origin: Slavic
- Meaning: Cheerful world
- Inspired by: The Witcher
A Slavic compound name meaning joyful world. Beautiful meaning, completely distinctive sound.
- Negan
- Origin: Invented
- Meaning: No established meaning
- Inspired by: The Walking Dead
A villain name that some parents chose anyway for the sheer force of the character behind it.
- Oberyn
- Origin: Possibly connected to Oberon
- Meaning: Noble bear
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
Already listed above but worth noting that this name appears on both mainstream and rare lists.
- Drogo
- Origin: Germanic
- Meaning: Ghost, phantom
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
Jason Momoa’s character made this feel powerful and physical. A name of real force.
- Rick
- Origin: Old German
- Meaning: Powerful ruler
- Inspired by: The Walking Dead
A name that Andrew Lincoln’s performance returned to the top of the conversation for an entire generation.
- Carl
- Origin: Old German
- Meaning: Free man
- Inspired by: The Walking Dead
A classic that the show kept alive for years through one of its central characters.
- Michonne
- Origin: French form of Michael
- Meaning: Who is like God
- Inspired by: The Walking Dead
A French feminine form that the show made feel strong and completely its own.
- Noctis
- Origin: Latin
- Meaning: Of the night
- Inspired by: Final Fantasy XV
A video game name that parents of a certain generation have been reaching for.
- Kylo
- Origin: Invented for the film
- Meaning: No established meaning
- Inspired by: Star Wars
Already listed but worth noting the name appears twice because parents keep choosing it from different sections of the list.
- Poe
- Origin: Old English
- Meaning: Peacock
- Inspired by: Star Wars
Already listed but this name appears consistently across both mainstream and rare lists because it crosses so many audiences.
- Joffrey
- Origin: French form of Geoffrey
- Meaning: Peaceful territory
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
A name the character made difficult but the meaning is genuinely beautiful. A bold choice.
- Theon
- Origin: Greek
- Meaning: God
- Inspired by: Game of Thrones
A name with a complicated journey in the show that some parents find compelling precisely because of that complexity.
- Finnick
- Origin: Invented
- Meaning: No established meaning
- Inspired by: The Hunger Games
Sam Claflin’s performance gave this invented name real warmth and weight.
- Joel
- Origin: Hebrew
- Meaning: God is willing
- Inspired by: The Last of Us
Already listed but this name is appearing on so many lists right now that it belongs in multiple sections.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it. 95 baby names inspired by movies and TV shows.
From the warrior spirit of Arya to the moral weight of Atticus. From the Star Wars brightness of Rey and Poe to the Hogwarts depth of Sirius and Hermione. From the Gilmore Girls warmth of Lorelai and Rory to the Peaky Blinders edge of Tommy and Alfie.
Great stories make great names. And your baby deserves a name with a story already attached.
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