How popular is the baby name Jim in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Jim.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Jim


Posts that Mention the Name Jim

Over 100 baby names for 100 years of the Walt Disney Company

The characters Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse in the animated short film "Plane Crazy" (1928)
Minnie and Mickey in “Plane Crazy“

Did you know that The Walt Disney Company has a birthday coming up?

On October 16, 2023, Disney will mark its 100th anniversary. (I learned this while working on last month’s post about Davy Crockett.)

Let’s celebrate the upcoming centennial with more than 100 Walt Disney-inspired baby names. Just to make things interesting, all of the names below refer to Disney-related people, places, things, and events from the pre-television era.

  • Walt (Walter) or Elias for animator and businessman Walter Elias “Walt” Disney, who was born in 1901. His middle name was passed down from his father, Elias C. Disney.
  • Kaycee for Kaycee Studio, Walt’s first animation studio. It was named after its location, Kansas City — “K.C” for short.
  • Newman for the Newman Laugh-o-Grams, Walt’s first animated films, which aired exclusively at the Newman Theater in Kansas City starting in early 1921.
  • Jack for the Laugh-o-Gram shorts Jack and the Beanstalk and Jack the Giant Killer, both from 1922.
  • Goldie for the Laugh-o-Gram short Goldie Locks and the Three Bears, also from 1922.
    • The name Goldie was used again (for an elf) in the future Disney short The Golden Touch (1935).
  • Alice for the Alice Comedies, a series of short films in which a live-action girl named Alice interacts with cartoon characters in an animated landscape. The first short, the unfinished Alice’s Wonderland, was created in Kansas City.
The real-life character Alice in the animated short film "Alice's Wild West Show" (1924)
Alice in “Alice’s Wild West Show“

In the summer of 1923, after Walt’s second studio (Laugh-o-Gram) went bankrupt, Walt moved to Los Angeles, California.

  • Margaret for businesswoman Margaret J. Winkler, who agreed to distribute Walt’s proposed Alice Comedies series. The contract was signed on October 16, 1923.
  • Roy for Roy O. Disney, who, with Walt, co-founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio (later The Walt Disney Company) upon the finalization of the distribution deal.
  • Virginia for child actress Virginia Davis, who originated the role of Alice. Her family relocated to California so that she could appear in 14 more films.
  • Kathleen for artist Kathleen Dollard, the studio’s first hire.
  • Julius for Julius the Cat, a recurring character in the Alice Comedies.
  • Pete for Peg Leg Pete, a villain who first appeared in Alice Solves the Puzzle (1925). He has since become Disney’s oldest recurring character.
  • Margie and Lois for child actresses Margie Gay and Lois Hardwick, who played Alice in later films.
  • Oswald for character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who was created in 1927 (by Universal Pictures) to star in a new series of animated films, the first 26 of which were animated by Walt’s company.

In 1928, the businessman who owned the rights to Oswald decided to create his own animation studio and produce the Oswald cartoons himself. He even hired away several of Walt’s animators.

It was a major setback, as Walt’s studio had already created more than two dozen successful Oswald films. But Walt refused to give up. Soon enough, he came up with an idea for a new character — a mouse!

  • Mickey and Minnie for characters Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. They technically first appeared in the short Plane Crazy (May 1928), but their first wide-release appearance was in Steamboat Willie.
  • Willie for the short Steamboat Willie (Nov. 1928). One of the first cartoons to synchronize sound and animation, it was an immediate hit.
    • The name Willie was used again in the future Disney short Willie the Operatic Whale (1946).
  • Charlotte for seamstress Charlotte Clark, who designed and sold the first Disney-approved Mickey Mouse dolls.
Charlotte Clark label on a Mickey Mouse doll (1930s)
Charlotte Clark doll label

Walt’s studio not only continued making Mickey Mouse films, but also began another series of films, Silly Symphonies, which introduced a slew of new characters.

  • Horace for character Horace Horsecollar, who first appeared in the short The Plowboy (1929).
  • Adeline for “Sweet Adeline,” the song that Mickey (and a pair of alley cats) performed for Minnie in the short The Karnival Kid (1929). Mickey Mouse spoke his first words in this cartoon.
  • Clarabelle for Horace’s love interest, Clarabelle Cow, who first appeared in the short The Shindig (1930).
  • Pluto for Mickey Mouse’s dog, Pluto the Pup, who first appeared in the short The Chain Gang (1930). His name, inspired by the recently discovered planet Pluto, was first used in The Moose Hunt (1931).
  • Vance for actor Vance “Pinto” Colvig, the original voice of both Pluto and Goofy.
  • Fifi for Pluto’s love interest, Fifi the Pekingese, who first appeared in the short Puppy Love (1933).
  • Donald for character Donald Duck, who first appeared in the short The Wise Little Hen (1934).
  • Clarence for actor Clarence Nash, the original voice of Donald Duck.
  • Morty and Ferdie for Mickey Mouse’s nephews, Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse, from the short Mickey’s Steam Roller (1934).
  • Clara for character Clara Cluck, the operatic chicken who first appeared in the short Orphan’s Benefit (1934).
  • Peter and Polly for characters Peter and Polly Penguin from the short Peculiar Penguins (1934).
    • The name Peter was used again in the future Disney short Peter and the Wolf (1946).
  • Bianca for artist Bianca Majolie, the studio’s first female employee in the Story department (as opposed to the Ink and Paint department).
  • Max and Toby for characters Max Hare and Toby Tortoise, rivals first featured in the Oscar-winning short The Tortoise and the Hare (1935).
  • Ambrose (or Butch) for the kitten named Ambrose (who aspired to be a bandit called “Butch”) in the short The Robber Kitten (1935).
  • Jenny for Donald Duck’s burro, Jenny, who first appeared in the short Mickey’s Polo Team (1936).
    • The name Jenny had also been used in the unrelated 1935 short Who Killed Cock Robin?
  • Elmer and Tillie for characters Elmer Elephant and Tillie Tiger from the short Elmer Elephant (1936).
    • The name Elmer had also been used in the unrelated 1934 short Mickey Plays Papa.
  • Mortimer for character Mortimer Mouse from the short Mickey’s Rival (1936).
    • Did you know that Walt’s original name for Mickey Mouse was “Mortimer Mouse”? His wife Lillian convinced him to use the name Mickey instead.
  • Monty and Abner for characters Monty Citymouse and Abner Countrymouse from the Oscar-winning short The Country Cousin (1936).
The characters Abner and Monty from the animated short film "The Country Cousin" (1936)
Abner and Monty from “The Country Cousin“
  • Donna for Donald Duck’s first girlfriend, Donna Duck, from the short Don Donald (1937).
  • Hortense for the insatiable ostrich Hortense in the short Donald’s Ostrich (1937).
  • Snow for Snow White, the lead character from the studio’s first feature-length film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). This was the first animated feature in history “to receive a wide, Hollywood-style release.”
  • Adriana for actress and singer Adriana Caselotti, the voice of Snow White.
  • Marge for dancer Marge Champion, the real-life model for Snow White. She was also the model for other Disney characters, including the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio.
  • Lucille for actress Lucille La Verne, the voice of the Evil Queen from Snow White.
  • Moroni for actor Moroni Olsen, the voice of the Magic Mirror from Snow White.
  • Larry and Frank for songwriters Larry Morey and Frank Churchill, who created the song “Someday My Prince Will Come” for Snow White.
  • Seven for the seven dwarfs from Snow White.
  • Huey, Dewey, and Louie for Donald Duck’s nephews, who first appeared in the short Donald’s Nephews (1938).
  • Tailor for the Mickey Mouse short Brave Little Tailor (1938).
  • Ferdinand for the pacifist bull Ferdinand from the Oscar-winning short Ferdinand the Bull (1938).
  • Wilbur for Goofy’s pet grasshopper, Wilbur, from the short Goofy and Wilbur (1939).
  • Gus for the gluttonous goose Gus in the short Donald’s Cousin Gus (1939).
    • The name Gus was used again (for a mouse) in the future Disney movie Cinderella.
  • Dickie for child actor Richard “Dickie” Jones, the voice of the lead character from the studio’s second feature-length film, Pinocchio (1940).
  • Blue for the Blue Fairy, the character who brought Geppetto’s puppet to life in Pinocchio.
  • Evelyn for actress Evelyn Venable, the voice of the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio.
The characters The Blue Fairy and Pinocchio from the movie "Pinocchio" (1940)
The Blue Fairy and Pinocchio from “Pinocchio“
  • Cleo for Geppetto’s pet goldfish, Cleo, from Pinocchio.
  • Leigh and Ned for songwriters Leigh Harline and Ned Washington, who created the song “When You Wish Upon a Star” for Pinocchio.
  • Cliff for actor and singer Clifton “Cliff” Edwards, the voice of Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio.
  • Daisy for Donald Duck’s second girlfriend, Daisy Duck, who first appeared in the short Mr. Duck Steps Out (1940).
  • Fantasia for the studio’s third feature-length film, Fantasia (1940). The movie’s title comes from the musical term fantasia, which refers to a musical composition without a traditional or fixed form.
  • Fred for animator Fred Moore, who redesigned Mickey Mouse for the character’s feature-length film debut in Fantasia.
  • Leopold for conductor Leopold Stokowski, who conducted the classical music in Fantasia.
  • Giles for character Sir Giles, the elderly knight from the studio’s fourth feature-length film, The Reluctant Dragon (1941).
  • Timothy for the character Timothy Q. Mouse from the studio’s fifth feature-length film, Dumbo (1941).
  • Bambi and Faline for characters Bambi and Faline from the studio’s sixth feature-length film, Bambi (1942).
  • Tyrus for Chinese-American animator Tyrus Wong, whose sketches inspired the impressionistic style of Bambi.
  • Retta for animator Retta Scott, the first female animator to receive screen credit on a Disney animated feature (Bambi).
  • José for character José Carioca, the dapper parrot who first appeared in the studio’s seventh feature-length film, Saludos Amigos (1943).
  • Pedro for character Pedro, the anthropomorphic mail plane from Saludos Amigos.
  • Chip and Dale for characters Chip and Dale, the mischievous chipmunks who first appeared in the short Private Pluto (1943).
  • Pablo for character Pablo, the warmth-seeking penguin from the studio’s ninth feature-length film, The Three Caballeros (1945).
  • Pauline for character Pauline from the short Duck Pimples (1945).
  • Cedric and Esmeralda for characters Cedric and Esmeralda from the short A Knight for a Day (1946).
  • Henry and Grace for characters Henry and Grace, the feuding newlyweds from the studio’s 10th feature-length film, Make Mine Music (1946).
  • Lulubelle for character Lulubelle from the studio’s 12th feature-length film, Fun and Fancy Free (1947).
  • Anita for singer Anita Gordon, the voice of the Golden Harp in Fun and Fancy Free.
  • Alfred and Elma for husband-and-wife wildlife filmmakers Alfred and Elma Milotte, who created Disney’s True-Life Adventures documentary series, starting with the Oscar-winning On Seal Island (1948).
The characters Tildy and Jeremiah from the movie "So Dear to My Heart" (1949)
Tildy and Jeremiah from “So Dear to My Heart“
  • Jeremiah for character Jeremiah Kincaid from the studio’s 14th feature-length film, So Dear to My Heart (1949).
  • Danny for Jeremiah’s pet lamb, Danny, from So Dear to My Heart (1949). The lamb was named after champion racehorse Dan Patch.
  • Bobby for child actor Robert “Bobby” Driscoll, who played Jeremiah in So Dear to My Heart. Bobby also played the part of Jim in Treasure Island.
  • Luana for child actress Luana Patten, who played Tildy in So Dear to My Heart.
  • Marceline for the town of Marceline, Missouri. Though set in Indiana, So Dear to My Heart was strongly influenced by Walt’s childhood experiences in Marceline.
  • Melody for the studio’s 13th feature-length film, Melody Time (1948).
  • Bill and Sue for characters Pecos Bill and Slue-Foot Sue from Melody Time.
  • Angus and Thaddeus for characters Angus MacBadger and J. Thaddeus Toad from the studio’s 15th feature-length film, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).
  • Brom and Katrina for characters Brom Bones and Katrina Van Tassel, also from The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
  • Cinderella for the lead character from the studio’s 16th feature-length film, Cinderella (1950).
  • Ilene for actress and singer Jacqueline Ruth “Ilene” Woods, the voice of Cinderella.
  • Verna for actress Verna Felton, the voice of the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella.
  • Treasure for the studio’s 17th feature-length film, Treasure Island (1950). This was Disney’s first entirely live-action movie.
  • Jim for character Jim Hawkins from Treasure Island.
  • Humphrey for character Humphrey the Bear, who first appeared in the short Hold That Pose (1950).

Disney’s pre-television era ended in December of 1950, when NBC aired Walt Disney’s first TV production — a Christmas special called One Hour in Wonderland, hosted by Walt himself.

Which of the names above do you like best?

P.S. Today happens to be the 68th anniversary of Disneyland, which opened in 1955 on July 17.

Sources:

Images:

  • Screenshots from the Disney films Plane Crazy (1928), Alice’s Wild West Show (1924), The Country Cousin (1936), Pinocchio (1940), and So Dear to My Heart (1949)
  • Charlotte Clark Doll Label by Redfoxtracks under CC BY-SA 3.0

[Similar post: Over 100 baby names for 100 years of the U.S. National Park Service]

Where did the baby name Gotham come from in 2015?

Title of the TV series "Gotham" (2014-2019)
“Gotham”

The name Gotham first emerged in the U.S. baby name data in 2015:

  • 2017: 37 baby boys named Gotham
  • 2016: 50 baby boys named Gotham
  • 2015: 46 baby boys named Gotham [debut]
  • 2014: unlisted
  • 2013: unlisted

It was the most impressive boy-name debut of the year, in fact.

Where did it come from?

The Batman-based TV series Gotham (2014-2019), which was set during Bruce Wayne’s teenage years.

The main protagonist wasn’t Bruce Wayne, though — it was Gotham City police detective (and future commissioner) James Gordon. In the very first episode, Jim met 12-year-old Bruce soon after Bruce’s parents had been murdered.

So…why is Batman set in a place called Gotham City?

“Gotham City” was first identified as Batman’s place of residence in the comic book Batman #4 (Winter 1940), which was actually published in January of 1941. Here’s how Batman co-creator Bill Finger chose the name:

Originally I was going to call Gotham City, Civic City. Then I tried Capital City, then Coast City. Then, I flipped through the phone book and spotted the name Gotham Jewelers and said, ‘that’s it,’ Gotham City. We didn’t call it New York because we wanted anybody in any city to identify with it. Of course, Gotham is another name for New York.

Why is Gotham another name for New York City?

It’s a tradition that was kicked off by writer Washington Irving, who referred to the city as Gotham in an 1807 issue of Salmagundi — a short-lived satirical magazine that lampooned NYC culture and politics.

He choose that name because of the medieval folktales about the English village of Gotham, the residents of which had a reputation for idiocy. (According to the tales, though, they were simply feigning madness in order to thwart King John.)

The name of the village (which is located in Nottinghamshire) is pronounced GOAT-um, and is derived from the Old English words gat, meaning “goat,” and ham, meaning “home.”

Getting back to the TV show, though…

The character Azrael from the TV series "Gotham" (2014-2019)
Azrael from “Gotham“

Toward the end of season 2, corrupt mayor Theo Galavan — who’d been killed mid-season by Jim Gordon — was resurrected as “Azrael” by mad scientist Hugo Strange.

Azrael was only featured in two mid-2016 episodes of Gotham, but he is likely the reason why the rising usage of the baby name Azrael accelerated that particular year:

  • 2018: 150 baby boys named Azrael
  • 2017: 132 baby boys named Azrael
  • 2016: 113 baby boys named Azrael
  • 2015: 64 baby boys named Azrael
  • 2014: 56 baby boys named Azrael

Azrael, the name of the angel of death in both Islamic and Judeo-Christian tradition, is derived from the ancient Hebrew words ‘azar, meaning “to help,” and ‘el, meaning “God.”

Which name do you think is cooler: Gotham or Azrael?

Sources:

P.S. Ever wonder how Bruce Wayne was named? Here’s Bill Finger’s explanation: “Bruce Wayne’s first name came from Robert Bruce, the Scottish patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry. I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancock…then, I thought of Mad Anthony Wayne.”

Name quotes #101: Nick, Nylic, Montero

double quotation mark

Singer/rapper Lil Nas X talking about his birth name [vid], Montero Hill, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in early 2021:

Jimmy: So, where does Montero come from?

Nas: Ok, it’s slightly embarrassing, but not embarrassing. So my mom wanted the car, the Montero, you know? And she never got one…

Jimmy: What’s a Montero?

Nas: It’s a Mitsubishi. So, yeah, I’m named after a car.

From the 2004 book The Agassi Story, in which Andre Agassi‘s father, Emanoul, recounts renting a room on his first night in America (after emigrating from Armenia):

“Name?” asked the clerk.

Names are so important; they have so much to do with an individual’s personality, with what kind of person he or she becomes. Take the name Phil. Have you ever met a Phil who wasn’t easygoing? My oldest son is named Phil, Phillip, and that’s just what he is: Easygoing. Or consider the name Andre. It’s an aggressive name, a flamboyant name, and that’s just how my son Andre turned out to be.

So I thought a moment, and answered “Mike Agassi.” Mike was a simple name and I liked it. It sounded American. Honorable. More importantly, it was a name I could spell.

From an article about professional baseball player Nick Solak in the Dallas News:

Nick Solak is named after a sports bar.

[…]

Back in the 1980s, Nick’s Sports Page sat on the triangular plot of land where Chicago Road and Lincoln Avenue intersected in Dolton, Ill., one of those working-class suburbs on the South Side of Chicago. The exterior featured shaker shingles, chocolate-stained diagonal sheathing and baseball bats for door handles. On Feb. 5, 1985, it hosted Carlton Fisk Night, where patrons could meet the White Sox catcher, whose work ethic screamed South Sider, even if he actually grew up in New England.

Nobody recalls if South Siders Mark Solak or Roseann, née Pawlak, took home Fisk’s autograph, but they did take home each other’s phone numbers. Four years later, they were married. And when they were about to start a family in 1995, Nick — OK, officially, Nicholas — was the clear choice for a boy. They both liked the name. Plus, it had sentimental value as a nod to their South Side roots.

From the book Strange Fascination (2012) by David Buckley, the story of how singer David Bowie (born David Jones) chose his stage name:

‘Bowie’, pronounced by the man himself and all his ‘die-hard’ fans to rhyme with ‘slowie’, as opposed to ‘wowie!’ as used by most ‘casual fans’ and chat-show presenters, was chosen for its connection with the Bowie knife. Jim Bowie (pronounced to rhyme with ‘phooey’) was a Texan adventurer who died at the Alamo in 1836, and carried a single-bladed hunting knife. Bowie’s description of why he chose the name is typically highly ambiguous. In the 70s, Bowie proclaimed that the knife signalled a desire to cut through lies to reveal hidden truths (a highly ironic comment, [given] Bowie’s capacity for deceit), while in a recent Radio 1 interview he said that he liked the connotations of a blade being sharpened from both sides, a signifier for all sorts of ambiguities. In fact, the Bowie knife has only one cutting edge, and is not double-bladed. This mistaken belief was held not just by Bowie, but by William Burroughs too. The choice of stage name nevertheless indicated a sense of being able to cut both ways, perfect for the pluralistic 60s. The name also derived, despite its association with Americana (a connection the English David was obviously happy about, his whole career musically being an English take on a largely American form), from a Scottish heritage, and Bowie quite liked that regional distinctiveness, too.

From a 2004 article about the usage of brand names as personal names in the Baltimore Sun:

When Virginia Hinton, a professor emeritus at Kennesaw State University, was researching a book on the history of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Milledgeville, Ga., she came across a girl named Nylic who was born around 1900. Nylic’s mother was an organist at the church, and her father was the local representative for the New York Life Insurance Co. — abbreviated NYLIC.

Quotes about names from television

The character Phoebe Buffay from the TV series "Friends" (1994-2004)
Phoebe Buffay (temporarily “Princess Consuela”)

From a season 10 episode [vid] of the TV show Friends, a quote from character Phoebe Buffay, who had just legally changed her name:

Apparently you can change it to anything you want, so I thought, all right, here’s an opportunity to be creative. So, meet Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock.

From a Graham Norton Show episode [vid] that aired in October, 2014, in which comedian Stephen Fry gives actor Robert Downey, Jr., a baby name suggestion:

Could you, just as a favor, cause I know that, you know, some stars like to give unusual names, could you call him or her Uppy? Uppy Downey?

(Downey and his wife Susan welcomed a baby girl that November. But they didn’t name her “Uppy.” Her full name is Avri Roel Downey.)

Real Housewives of Potomac cast member Wendy Osefo told the story behind her name in an episode from late 2020:

For Wendy Osefo, being named after a popular fast food restaurant chain is a constant reminder of her family’s hard work and success. 

“My parents came to this country with nothing. My dad worked at a fast food restaurant and one day he found out that he was being promoted to manager,” Wendy recalled on The Real Housewives of Potomac‘s November 8 episode. “He was so happy that to thank this country for giving him the opportunity to be a manager, he named his second daughter after that restaurant: Wendy.”

She added, “I am literally the embodiment of the American dream.”

From a Good Morning America article about the ’90s sitcom Saved by the Bell:

The names of characters came from people [executive producer Peter] Engel knew growing up.

“I knew a guy named Screech Washington. He was a producer. I said I’m not going to hire him, but I’m going to steal your name,” he said. “Slater was a kid who was in my son’s kindergarten class, Zack was named after my dear, dear friend, John DeLorean. […] His son’s name was Zack. Lisa Turtle was a girl I knew and Mr. Belding, Richard Belding, had been my cranky editor when I worked at Universal.”

From a season 1 episode of The Mindy Project:

Mindy: I want kids, four kids. Madison, Jayden, Bree and the little one’s Piper.

Danny: Are you kidding me with those names? You want a bunch of girls who work at the mall?

BBC interviewee Guy Goma
Guy Goma

From a 2006 article recounting how BBC News mistook one guy named Guy for another guy named Guy:

The BBC interviewed the wrong Guy.

The network has apologized to its viewers for a studio mixup that resulted in a mystery man appearing on live television as Guy Kewney – an expert on Internet music downloads.

In fact the mystery man was Guy Goma, a Congolese man applying for a technology-related job with the British Broadcasting Corp., who followed an employee to the studio after a mistake at a reception desk, the corporation said late Monday.

From a blog post about an episode of TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress:

Duvae, a 19-year-old bride from Utah, explained to consultant JB that her namesake is “duvet” because her parents knew she’d be a comforter in their lives.

From a 2009 episode of the The Rachel Maddow Show:

[T]he single, least important but most amazing thing about covering the life and times of Buddy Cianci for me was always the name of his wife. Buddy Cianci was married to a woman named Nancy Ann. Here name is Nancy Ann Cianci. Nancy Ann Cianci — the single, most awesome name in all of the names tangentially related to American political scandal ever. Nancy Ann Cianci.

From an interview with Emilia Clarke, following the Game of Thrones finale:

Q: I would guess that [the parents who] named [their daughters] Khaleesi in the spirit of empowerment. And yet the character has taken this rather dark turn.

A: I know! It doesn’t take away from her strength, though — it doesn’t take away from her being an empowered woman.

I think that, when you see the final episode, they’ll see there is a beginning and a middle and an end to her as a character. I think that there are people that will agree with her, because she’s a human being.

And Khaleesi is a beautiful name. [Laughs] It’ll all be forgotten in a minute! You know, and people will just go, “Oh, what an unusual name, how fabulous,” and the child will say, “Yes, yes. My parents just really liked the name.”

From a letter written by Mr. Rogers to a fan named Jason in 1987:

You asked me what my middle name is. When you care about people, you want to know more about them. My middle name is McFeely. I was named after my Grandfather McFeely. That’s the name we decided to use for the man who does the deliveries on our television visits.

Actress Jameela Jamil intentionally mislabeled "Kamilah Al-Jamil" by E! News
Jameela Jamil mislabeled “Kamilah Al-Jamil”

The red carpet prank pulled on actress Jameela Jamil at the Golden Globes back in January:

Jameela Jamil’s name was spelled wrong on E! News during the red carpet show before the 76th annual Golden Globes.

In place of The Good Place star’s name, the network referenced a plot point from the show — that Jamil’s character, Tahani, is always outshined by her sister, Kamilah Al-Jamil.

Jamil herself was more than a good sport about the misnaming at the Globes. “This is legit the funniest thing I have ever seen,” the actress tweeted. “Tahani would DIE!”

From a season 12 episode of The Simpsons, in which Lisa meets a boy named Thelonious:

Thelonious: My name’s Thelonious.
Lisa Simpson: As in Monk?
Thelonious: Yes. The esoteric appeal is worth the beatings.

From an article about the name Brenton being trendy in Adelaide in the 1980s:

No doubt the popularity of the name Brenton interstate and in the US is down to the paddleboat TV drama All the Rivers Run, which starred John Waters as captain Brenton Edwards and Sigrid Thornton as Philadelphia Gordon.

The miniseries first ran on Australian television in October 1983 and was later broadcast on the American channel HBO in January 1984.

(Indeed, the name Brenton saw peak usage in the U.S. in 1984, and the name Philadelphia debuted the same year.)

From comedian John Oliver‘s 2008 TV special Terrifying Times:

[A] friend of mine emailed me and he said that someone had created a Wikipedia entry about me. I didn’t realize this was true, so I looked it up. And like most Wikipedia entries, it came with some flamboyant surprises, not least amongst them my name. Because in it it said my name was John Cornelius Oliver. Now my middle name is not Cornelius because I did not die in 1752. But obviously, I want it to be. Cornelius is an incredible name. And that’s when it hit me — the way the world is now, fiction has become more attractive than fact. That is why Wikipedia is such a vital resource. It’s a way of us completely rewriting our history to give our children and our children’s children a much better history to grow up with.

From a 2020 episode [vid] of the competition show Penn & Teller: Fool Us:

You gave me this pen. And you gave me the pen with a joke — a joke about my name. You said, “Here’s a pen, Penn.”

When I was in grade school, it would be, “Hey Penn, got a pencil?” “Hey Penn, how’s pencil?” I should have an index of all those pen jokes that were told to me. I’d have over fifty, maybe more than that. It was amazing.

The characters Rob, Ritchie, and Laura from the TV series "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961-1966)
Rob explains “Rosebud” to Ritchie

From a 1962 episode [vid] of The Dick Van Dyke Show, a conversation between main character Rob Petrie and his son, Ritchie Rosebud Petrie:

Rob: …and there’s no reason to look so sad, your middle name isn’t really Rosebud.
Ritchie: Yes it is, my birth certificate says it’s Rosebud.
Rob: Yes it does, but do you know why?
Ritchie: No, but I wish it was ‘Jim.’
Rob: Ritch, we have really a wonderful family. When they all found out that Mom and I were gonna have a baby, they all wanted to name you after somebody they loved very much.

(He then lists and explains all seven suggested names.)

Rob: So you see, Ritch, actually, your middle name is Robert, Oscar, Sam, Edward, Benjamin, Ulysses, David. And, the initials to all of your middle names spells…
Ritchie: Rosebud!

The above scene is referenced in an article about the 2019 Mad About You reboot:

On the original show, Theresa was portrayed by Burnett as a bit overbearing. But, she always brought extra love…and helped them name their daughter Mabel. When Jamie and Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) couldn’t decide on a name for their baby, Theresa proclaimed that “Mothers Always Bring Extra Love,” an homage to The Dick Van Dyke Show where Rob and Laura explain Ritchie’s middle name. The Buchman’s decide to call their daughter Mabel.

From a season 3 episode of the TV show Friends, a quote from character Chandler Bing:

You know, I can handle it. Handle’s my middle name. Actually it’s the, uh…the middle part of my first name.

From an early 2016 episode [vid] of The Graham Norton Show in which comedian Kevin Hart talks about baby names following a discussion between Graham and Ice Cube about Cube’s birth name (O’Shea Jackson):

Lemme educate you on something. Black people are notorious for picking things that they saw one day and saying, “That’s my baby name.” That’s all that was. That’s all that was, Graham. It was nothing — there was no amazing story behind it. We’d love to tell you, yes, it actually came from a Irish forefather that did this…that’s not the case. His mother was reading the paper, and she was eating some cereal, and somebody in back said, “O’Shea!” She said, “That’d be a good name for the baby.” That’s it. That’s how it happened.

(Name quotes #41 includes a quote from O’Shea himself.)

From an interview with Chrishell Stause of the reality show Selling Sunset at Vulture.com:

I was not born in a Shell station. I hate to disappoint people that think I was. My mom was getting car work done, and an attendant at the station was helping her and keeping her calm. Obviously she couldn’t drive to the hospital then, so the ambulance came. I made it to the hospital, but she wanted to name me after him. He worked at the Shell station, so she just thought “Chris, shell” — let’s stick them together. And you know, Chrishell was born, quite literally.

The characters Larry, Darryl, and Darryl from the TV series "Newhart" (1982-1990)
Larry, Darryl, and Darryl (right to left)

From multiple episodes of the ’80s sitcom Newhart:

“I’m Larry, this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl.”

From a mid-2013 episode [vid] of the TV show This Morning, in which British reality TV star Katie Hopkins argued in favor of judging children by their names:

  • “A name for me is a shortcut, it’s an efficient way of working out what class that child comes from. Do I want my children to play with them?”
  • “I tend to think children that have intelligent names tend to have fairly intelligent parents and they make much better play dates, therefore, for my children.”
  • “I don’t judge people on their surnames but certainly I do make a very quick decision based on their first names and there’s a whole bunch of first names that I don’t like. I don’t like footballers’ names, I don’t like names after seasons of the year, I don’t like geographical location names, celebrity names, things like Apple.”

(Ironically, one of Katie’s three children is named India.)

From comedian Ali Wong’s 2016 stand-up special Ali Wong: Baby Cobra [vid]:

I’m just waiting for the right moment to, like, become a housewife, financially, you know? I want my husband to get us to, like, a certain point financially. I wanna get to the point as a couple where I can comfortably afford sliced mango. Know what I’m talking about? I’m talking about that Whole Foods mango. That $10-a-box Whole Foods mango that was sliced by white people. That’s the kind of income bracket I’m striving for. That’s when you know you’ve made it, when you’re eating mango that was sliced by a dude named Noah. I want Noah mango, Rebecca kiwi, Danielle pineapple.

From a season 3 episode [vid] of the sitcom Black-ish:

Bow: You’re not serious about naming our kid DeVante, are you?
Dre: Yes!
Bow: No.
Dre: What exactly is your problem with that name?
Bow: It’s unconventional, Dre. I grew up as Rainbow, ok? Rainbow. That was not easy.
Dre: Yeah that’s because Rainbow is the name that white people give cocker spaniels. DeVante is a great name, it has cultural significance.
Bow: DeVante is the name of the least important member of Jodeci.
Dre: No, the least important member of Jodeci was Mr. Dalvin and you know that.

From a 2012 episode of The X-Factor USA:

Simon Powell: Why were you called Panda?

Panda Ross: My mom, well, she was kinda, you know, in jail when she had me, and her cellmate was a white lady, she was black, and so, they just kinda came up with the name.

Images: Screenshots of Friends, BBC News, E! News, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Newhart