TV shows can spark creativity, but they can also spark another kind of brilliant brainstorming: unique baby names. Ranging from highly creative baby names to the more usable, there’s no shortage of captivating characters with equally captivating monikers. And the programs that have debuted during the past few seasons have been no exception. We’re sharing 14 of the best, newish TV character names from scripted shows, both scheduled and streaming, heroes and villains.
1. Astra: Supergirl herself has the relatively earthbound name of Kara, but her aunt has the more inter-galactic appellation of Astra, which might be just right for your own little superchild. The name was previously borne by Princess Astra on Doctor Who.
2. Bertie: Born Bertram — but known as Bertie — on the period medical show, The Knick starring Clive Owen, Dr. Chickering is a young and eager surgeon in training. Bertie, also a nickname for Albert and Herbert, as well as a longstanding royal nickname name in England (George IV), has also featured in literature as the hapless Bertie Wooster, and lately as Lady Edith’s husband on Downton Abbey. The name is currently seeing a British revival, now at Number 328 there, but has yet to make its mark in the US, where vintage girl nicknames are ahead of the boys.
3. Clary: The protagonist of The Mortal Instruments was christened Clarissa, but goes by Clary, a name that could certainly stand on its own, as it does in Sweden. Its relation to the popular Claire could give it a leg up.
4. Coyote: The name of Lily Tomlin’s adopted son on Grace and Frankie was no doubt chosen to boost her character’s hippie image. But with all the animal names finding their way onto birth certificates, is this one to add to the zootopia?
5. Crispus: Crispus Allen is a detective on Gotham, first seen in the DC comic universe, and now on the TV series that takes place before Batman’s arrival in Gotham City. The name may well be a tribute to black hero Crispus Atticks, the runaway slave who became the first colonist to die for independence in the Boston Massacre. It’s an interesting alternative to Crispin.
6. Dutch: It’s pretty remarkable that this unlikely nickname was given to not one, but two current female TV characters. In the horror thriller The Strain, beautiful blonde Dutch Velders is a British computer hacker. In Killjoys, lead character Dutch is a beautiful brunette bounty hunter whose real name is Yalena.
7. Iseult: Amazon series The Last Kingdom takes place in the year 872, when invading Danes are threatening the kingdom that would become England. Queen Iseult is a mysterious and cool Cornish character who can look into the future. Other character names on the show include Aelfric, Beocca, Brida, Ravn, Ubba and Leofric. Iseult is a haunting medieval name, a version of Isolde, familiar from the legendary romance of Tristan and Iseult.
8. Leith: Could Leith be the next Keith? It’s a smooth, sleek Scottish surname — also that of a river and town in Scotland — and dates back to the medieval era. In the historic CW drama Reign, Leith Bayard is first seen as an ambitious kitchen servant.
9. Mercy: This delicate Puritan virtue name, which figured in the Salem witch trials, is on the rise, as evidenced by its appearances on two period shows, Salem and Wolf Hall. It also gained 143 places between 2012 and 2013.
10. Pandora: Pandora has long been out of the mythological box in England, but it’s just beginning to get some attention here. Pandora is not a very nice character on Sleepy Hollow, but an antagonist of Ichabod Crane.
11. Pippy: A cross between the zippy Pippa and Poppy, Pippy might have been an inevitable smoosh name — one we haven’t heard since Pippi Longstocking. Miami cop show Rosewood features a crime-solving pathologist, whose gay younger sister is named Pippi. She’s depicted in a strong, positive relationship.
12. Ravi: In Aziz Ansari’s breakout hit show Master of None, there are several appealing and wearable Indian names, such as Dev and Anush. Ravi would be familiar to Western ears via influential musician Ravi Shankar (born Robindro), father of Norah Jones.
13. Titus: In Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt, a Tina Fey-produced comedy, Titus Andromedon is Kimmy’s unlikely roommate, who just happens to be played by Emmy-nominated actor Tituss Burgess. The Shakespearean Titus could follow the recent success of Silas and Cyrus.
14. Turin: We’ve encountered other Anglicizations of Italian cities as names — Florence, Venice and Milan — so why not Turin? This Turin is a character in the Canadian Killjoys series, a senior officer in the group of bounty hunters known as Reclamation Agents — aka killjoys.
What’s your favorite new baby name? Tweet us @BritandCo to let us know!
(Photo via Getty)
