In my recent article commemorating the sad death of Patrick Muldoon, I briefly digressed into the world of movie character names. Muldoon’s character in Ice Spiders is called Dash Dashiell, which is hilariously memorable and satisfyingly onomatopoeic.
It got me wondering about movie character names in general. What makes a great character name?
I mentioned in the same article that the word ‘John’ certainly helps. Here are some of my favourite Johns:
John Matrix (Commando), Johnny Utah (Point Break), John McClane (Die Hard), Johnny Rico (Starship Troopers), John Rambo (First Blood) and Johnny Ringo (Tombstone). The last one was actually a real guy.
Why does John/Johnny work? Is it the brevity? Does the ‘J’ sound project no-nonsense strength? Or is it all an illusion, and the only reason the name is cool is because the character is cool? If John McClane was called Julian, would I still regard it as a cool name?
Indiana Smith
That goes for the ladies too. Is Sarah Connor an iconic name, or just an iconic character?
When it comes to female character names, I think Katniss Everdeen is trying too hard, but I love the simplicity of Lara Croft and Vesper Lynd.
Of course, characters named after US cities or states are automatically cool. It just works somehow. However, Indiana Jones’ original name was Indiana Smith, and that’s just not as good.
In conclusion I would say that context matters, but I still believe a name can be objectively great.
So let us know your favourite character names of all time, and why. They could be cool, funny, weird, interesting, short, long or completely made up.
Yes, I realise that all names are made up, but I’m talking about really made up, like Paodok’Draba’Takat Sap’De’Rekti Nik’Linke’Ti’ Ki’Vef’Nik’NeSevef’Li’Kek. He was in Rogue One.
Personally, I think the best collection of names, or at least surnames, in a single movie are the Ghostbusters. Their names are emblazoned on their uniforms for all to see, so it matters. You can tell they put some thought into them: Stantz, Venkman, Spengler and Zeddemore. They stand out. They pop.
But what are your favourites?
