History Main / CleanDubName

* French-to-Italian case: ''Franchise/TheSmurfs'' ("Les Schtroumpfs") were originally translated as ''Strunfi''. This sounded a bit too close to "stronzi" ("assholes"), so it was quickly changed to "I Puffi".

* The Italian and Brazilian dubs of ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' had the protagonist change the accentuation of her name from M'''é'''rida (Meh-readah) to Mer'''í'''da (Meh-ree-da), presumably to avert something similar to "merda", ''shit''.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'' was drastically renamed in Brazilian Portuguese as "Viva: A Vida é uma Festa" (Live: Life is a Party), due to the word sounding close to "poop" - "coco" also means "coconut", but with with a diacritical sign "cocô" becomes "poop". Curiously, the rename accidentally sounds too close to the ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'' Brazilian title "Festa no Céu" (Party in the Sky), which shares a FandomRivalry with ''Coco''. The character the movie was named after, Socorro "Coco" Rivera, had her name changed do "Inês". Aditionally, Mamá Imelda became Mamá Amelia, probably due to sounding too close to "merda" (shit).
* The German version of ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound'' changed Vixey's name to Trixie because it would have sounded too similar to "wichsen" (pronounced just like the English word "vixen"), a vulgar term for masturbating. When the film got re-released on DVD the original name was accidentally left in.
* The Italian version of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' changed Frozone's name to Siberius (a pun on Siberia and maybe Sibelius), because "Frozone" is similar to the insulting term "frocione" ("big faggot").
* In the Brazilian dub of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'', the term "Hakuna Matata" was changed to "Ha'''tu'''na Matata", again, to eliminate the "ku" (ass). Seeing as it is a real Swahili phrase (and the change is not wrong, as "hatuna" ''is'' [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wa_na#Conjugation another conjugation of the Swahili version of "to have"]]), Disney's Brazilian branch always ping-ponged between reversing to the unedited sentence (the third movie used it right in the title) and using the censored one (the TV spin-off).
* The German dub of ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'' renamed main character Ariel into Arielle. There are two reasons for that change:

** Also, in Germany a very widespead brand of laundry detergent is called ''Ariel'', which considering the story takes place underwater, also would have opened the door for jokes.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'': European dubs renamed both the movie and the main character ''Vaiana'' (except Italy, where the title is ''Oceania'' instead), because of two issues: not only because "Moana" is a registered trademark in Spain, but also to avoid issues about having a Disney movie and character sharing a name with Italian porn actress Moana Pozzi. The Albanian dub was initially going to use this name change, but this was not positively received by Albanian audiences. Thus, the trope was [[AvertedTrope averted]] in order to not lose audiences.
* The Italian dub of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyANewGeneration'' renamed Pipp Petals "Ruby Petalosa", mainly because her original name sounds too much like "Pippe" (a slang word for masturbation).
* In the British version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Robots}}'', "Aunt Fanny" is changed to "Aunt Fan", since "fanny" [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage means something completely different (and more vulgar) in England than "bottom"]].
* In the Italian version of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'', Peni Parker is changed to [[InconsistentSpelling Penny]] Parker, due to the fact that "Peni" literally means "Penises" in Italian.

* In the German translation of ''Literature/TheBabysittersClub'', Stacey's name is changed to Daisy because her name sounds similar to "Stah-see" (Stasi was the common name for the East German secret police).
* A rare not-obscene example: a side character from the third and fourth ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' books is a girl named Trista. In the Italian translation, since her name sounds like "Triste" ("Sad"), she was renamed Trisha instead.
* In Spanish translation of ''Literature/GulliversTravels'', the city of Laputa is renamed to Lupata or Lapuntu since "la puta" means "the whore" in Spanish. Gulliver claimed to be fluent in Spanish, but apparently he never learned slang because he missed the connection. Instead he drew connections to words in the native language meaning "high governor" (''lap untuh'') or "crepuscular wing" (''lap outed''). However, according to Website/TheOtherWiki: "It is likely, given Swift's brand of satire, that he was aware of the Spanish meaning". The Spaniard dub of the Creator/TedDanson miniseries kept the Laputa name, presumably because it added to the bizarre, comical nature of the island and its introduction.
-->'''Gulliver:''' Where am I?
-->'''Enthusiastic speaker:''' In the Floating Island of Laputa.
* The Finnish translations of Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Literature/{{Kull}}''-stories changed the titular King's name to Kall, as the possessive form of "Kull" would refer to a slang-term of male genitalia. I.e. "I pray for your son, Kull" would read "I pray for your son's cock."
* ''Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt'': Drizzt Do'Urden became Dzirt in the Russian translation, as his English name reminds of the word "dristat'", associated with diarrhea.
* The German translation of ''Liesl and Po'' by Laurent Oliver has "Po" (Name of the ghost that the girl Liesl meets) changed to "Mo", since "Po" is a German word for "butt". This is especially important since Liesl constantly contemplates how much modesty she should exhibit with Po, who was a ghost for so long, it doesn't remember its gender anymore.

* An OlderThanPrint example: When the medieval French translators of epic romances adapted the name of the Welsh enchanter [[Myth/{{Merlin}} Myrddin]], they created the name "Merlin" instead of the expected "Merdin" to avoid the homophony with "merde" ("shit").
* Occurs in-universe in Creator/MartinAmis's novel ''Literature/{{Money}}''. An advertising director tries to convince the American actor Spunk Davis to go by a different first name for the British release of the film, since his is British slang for semen. Eventually they settle on using his initials.
--> '''Davis:''' It means grit, pluck, courage.\\

'''Davis:''' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Sure.]] It means fight. Guts. Balls.\\

* Creator/AstridLindgren's ''Pippi Långstrump'' was ''Literature/PippiLongstocking'' in English-speaking markets, but she had to change name to Fifi Brindacier in French or Peppi Dlinnyichulok in Russian because "Pippi" sounds like words for urine in those languages. In German, however, "Pipi" means the same and she is still called Pippi.
* In the Spanish translation of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' (and the accompanying [[Series/GameOfThrones TV adaptation]]), Gilly's name is changed to Elí because Gilly looks too close to "gili", the short version of asshole.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': In the Italian dub, Mona's name is pronounced "Moona", because in the Venetian dialect, Mona is both a vulgar term for female genitals and a term meaning, roughly, "idiot".
* ''Series/FullHouse'': In the Italian dub ([[InconsistentDub only later seasons]]), Jesse's surname Katsopolis is altered to Kassopolis, because "katso" sounds exactly like "cazzo", the most well-known Italian swear word (literally a vulgar slang for "penis" but it's also commonly used as the equivalent of the English F-word).
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In the French version, the character Vash was renamed Virad, because Vash is homophonous with ''vache'', meaning "cow." Oddly, though, the character Q (whom Vash accompanies in her second episode and on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'') wasn't renamed despite the letter Q in French being a homophone of ''cul,'' which means "arse."
* Averted by the Polish dub of ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow''. The antagonist's name, "Koopa", sounds exactly like the Polish word for "poop" yet remains unchanged in the translation, which ends up sounding awkward to say the least.

* ''TabletopGame/LostRuinsOfArnak'' was renamed to ''Les Ruines Perdues de '''Narak''''' in France because "Arnak" sounds like "arnaque", which means "scam" -- not ideal when you want to encourage players to explore the place.

* In German productions of the opera ''Theatre/MadameButterfly'', the surname of Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton is altered to "Linkerton" (the alternate TropeNamer) to avoid suggesting the word "pinkeln" (to pee). Also, the reason why the same character is referred to as F. B. Pinkerton is apparently that Puccini saw the original play in London, where to avoid the British slang abbreviation of "bloody fool" the character was renamed Francis Blummy Pinkerton. The first edition of the opera uses the latter name for him, but the revised versions change his name back to "Benjamin Franklin," so Butterfly's referring to him as "F.B. Pinkerton" becomes apparent AccidentalMisnaming.
* The German version of ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' changes many of the characters' names but the translations of Boq and Shiz University fall under this trope. Boq is changed to Moq as "Bock" is German for "goat" and Shiz is changed to Glizz as German pronunciation rules would dictate "Shiz" be pronounced "shits".

* While it's a legitimate transliteration from the original Russian, part of why Vladimir Putin's surname is spelled "Poutine" in French is because the English version looks and is pronounced like ''Putain'', the French word for "whore", and is a curse word. However the French transliteration "Poutine" does sound and look exactly like a French word, "poutine", which makes him "Vladimir Gravy Fries" (though the dish is actually from French-speaking Canada, not France). This caused a few kerfuffles following his invasion of Ukraine. A poutine restaurant in Paris received threats, presumably due to the word being less familiar in France. And a restaurant chain in Quebec, which had long had a poutine dish named "Le Vladimir," renamed it "Le Volodymyr" in honour of the Ukrainian president. [[Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom Alternate History Dot Com]] parodied this coincidence with [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/photos-from-alternate-worlds.16061/page-434#post-8724263 this fake advertisement]] from an alternate universe where Putin’s family immigrated to Quebec before he was born and started (what else?) a poutine restaurant chain. Averted in Spanish, despite his last name being the diminutive form for "fag", and an endless source of comedy in that language, though it requires to play with the accent. The name is pronounced POO-teen, the insulting word is poo-TEEN.
* The reason the French word for "computer" is "ordinateur" is because otherwise it would have both CountryMatters and "whore" within the word.
* In Germany and Austria the name of Vicks medicine was changed to Wick because both of the possible pronunciations of the letter V would make it a sexual word. (Pronounced with an "F" it's the F word, with a "W" it's the German term for "to wank")
* When Kinki University near UsefulNotes/{{Osaka}} established a foreign language department in the mid-2010s, they found the name "Kinki"--referring the area between Osaka and UsefulNotes/{{Kyoto}}--too similar to "kinky," thus making the entire college MistakenForSubculture. While the Japanese name remained ''Kinki Daigaku'', the English name is changed to "Kindai University", from the portmanteau of the native name.
* The SUV originally called Mitsubishi Pajero got it's name changed to Mitsubishi Montero for Spanish-speaking markets, due to "pajero" being "wanker" in Spanish.
* The Japanese drink "Calpis" is known as "Calpico" in America, likely due to the fact "Calpis" sounds like "Cow Piss". The katakana on the bottle still says "Calpis", though.

* In French, most string instruments such as the violin and cello have similar names to their English ones with the exception of the viola, which is called the "alto" due to "viola" being a form of the French verb for rape.

* The name of the former Prime Minister of Japan, 鳩山由紀夫 (Yukio Hatoyama), when read in Cantonese, starts with 鳩 (gau1) which is a vulgar word for "penis"[[note]]The problem came from his surname, Hatoyama, which goes in the front of the name in both Japanese and Chinese. The English transcription obviously is based on the Japanese pronunciation, which is very different from Chinese ones. "Hato", or "鳩" means "pigeon" (see: ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend''), but since Japanese kanji diverged from Chinese centuries ago, using 鳩 to mean "pigeon" has fallen out of use in Chinese, which now usually uses 鴿, and 鳩 as pigeon is usually only seen in scientific names or traditional poems. The vulgar word for "penis", on the other hand, is technically written as the very obscure character 㞗, as used by Cantonese and certain other Yue or Mandarin dialects. However, due to its obscurity, in common use people often write it as 鳩 due to it being a homophone in Cantonese (although not in Mandarin). This further displaced the previous use of 鳩 and is why someone with "pigeon" in their name now reads as "penis"[[/note]]. This lead to news in Hong Kong to pronounce it like 溝 (kau1) instead to avoid the profanity.

* In the UsefulNotes/{{SNES}} and UsefulNotes/SegaCD ports of ''VideoGame/FinalFight'', Damnd's and Sodom's names were changed to "Thrasher" and "Katana" respectively, since the name "Damnd" is just "damned" with one letter removed (which is sometimes considered a profane word), while the name "Sodom" (aside for being the name of a biblical city) is also the basis of the word "sodomy". The SNES version of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha 2'' used "Katana" for consistency, even though all the other console versions didn't have any problem using "Sodom." When ''Final Fight'' was ported to the GBA, Damnd and Sodom were allowed to use their original names again. ''VideoGame/StreetFighter6'' eventually establishes that the former's full name is Thrasher Damnd, with both names used interchangeably.

* Vodka Drunkenski from the ''Super Punch-Out'' arcade game became Soda Popinski starting with the UsefulNotes/{{NES}} version of ''VideoGame/PunchOut''.

* Though ''VideoGame/SolFeace'' kept its original title in all regions as a UsefulNotes/SegaCD launch title, the cut-down UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis[=/Mega-Drive=] cartridge release was retitled ''Sol-Deace'', probably due to "Feace" sounding similar to "feces."

* The UsefulNotes/VIC20 computer was distributed in Germany as the VC-20 so its name wouldn't be pronounced like the German F-word.

* In ''VideoGame/FZero: Maximum Velocity'' there is a track with a ''Literature/GulliversTravels''-inspired name Laputan Colony (with some Laputa-like [[FloatingContinent floating islands]] in the scenery backdrop). For the same reason as ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'', Laputan Colony was renamed in English to Empyrean Colony. In the same game, the car Dirty Joker was renamed Sly Joker, and the car Crazy Horse was renamed Wind Walker (probably to avoid the UnfortunateImplications of perceived Native American stereotyping).

* The romanized name of ''VideoGame/Persona3'' character Fuuka Yamagishi (風花 山岸) is written as "Fuka" in Japanese materials, but the localization opted for an alternate spelling that adds the extra U, presumably to lessen the resemblance to the word "fuck".

** For years, one of the Dinobots was named Slag, which has a very unfortunate meaning in British English. In 2008 a pair of new iterations of the character (the one from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' and a super deformed-style figure of the G1 character released in the ''Robot Heroes'' line) called him Snarl, which was already the name of a different Dinobot. Starting from the 2012 release of ''VideoGame/TransformersFallOfCybertron'', the character's name was changed to "[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Slug]]" and remained like that ever since.

** Although ''Atelier Viorate'' [[NoExportForYou was never released outside of Japan]] her appearances in MassiveMultiplayerCrossover games have her name changed to [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Violet or Violette]] due to Viorate sounding too much like "[[JapaneseRanguage violate]]".

* Many a high school teacher of Japanese will tell you that in the classroom there will be no intentional emphasizing of the ''-shit-'' romaji spelling combinations occasionally found in Japanese words and names. But teenagers are immature, and will do it anyway [[RuleOfFunny just for lulz]]. So naturally, Shitan from ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' was renamed [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Citan]], the Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Makunoshita became Makuhita and Ishito from ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' was renamed [[DubNameChange Norris]].

* In the Italian version of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'', Peni Parker is changed to [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Penny]] Parker, due to the fact that "Peni" literally means "Penises" in Italian.

* ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'':

* In ''VideoGame/AeroFighters'', the FunnyAnimal dolphin pilot is known as Whity in Japanese. Since thatt's about a letter away from a racially-charged insult, he was renamed to Spanky in international releases.

Subtrope of DubNameChange, BarelyChangedDubName and DubPronunciationChange and illegitimate sister trope to SpellMyNameWithAnS. See also CrossCulturalKerfluffle and BiteTheWaxTadpole.

* In the UsefulNotes/{{SNES}} and UsefulNotes/SegaCD ports of ''VideoGame/FinalFight'', Damnd's and Sodom's names were changed to "Thrasher" and "Katana" respectively, since the name "Damnd" is just "damned" with one letter removed (which is sometimes considered a profane word), while the name "Sodom" (aside for being the name of a biblical city) is also the basis of the word "sodomy". The SNES version of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha 2'' used "Katana" for consistency, even though all the other console versions didn't have any problem using "Sodom." When ''Final Fight'' was ported to the GBA, Damnd and Sodom were allowed to use their original names again.

* In the Brazilian dub and manga translation of the original ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' series, the character Kurapika was renamed Korapaika (anime) and Kurapaika (manga), since "Cu-ra-pica" can be translated to something like "Ass-penis". Or "Heals[=/=]Cures penis".
** This is later averted in the movies of the 2011 anime, where his name is pronounced "ku'''RA'''pika" in the dub like the Japanese pronunciation,[[note]]At the time the original series was dubbed in Portuguese, most anime dubs [[AccentUponTheWrongSyllable pronounced Japanese names in an order that sounded Portuguese]], and due to this probably the translators thought his name was pronounced "kura'''PI'''ka" focusing on the word that sounds like "penis"[[/note]] so it can't sound too obscene as it still respect the pronunciation.

** Kagome's name was changed to "Aome" in the Latin American Spanish dub as well for the same reason mentioned above, and ''also'' for sounding like "cágame" or "cagame", both meaning "shit on me". The European Spanish dub, however, kept her original name.

* European dubs of ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'' renamed both the movie and the main character ''Vaiana'' (except Italy, where the title is ''Oceania'' instead), because of two issues: not only because "Moana" is a registered trademark in Spain, but also to avoid issues about having a Disney movie and character sharing a name with Italian porn actress Moana Pozzi.
** The Albanian dub was initially going to use the same name change as mentioned above, but this was not positively received by Albanian audiences. Thus, the trope was [[AvertedTrope averted]] in order to not lose audiences.

* Inversion: ''Film/{{Troy}}'''s title was left untranslated in Italy because the translation "Troia" is more commonly used as slang for "whore".

* While it's a legitimate transliteration from the original Russian, part of why Vladimir Putin's surname is spelled "Poutine" in French is because the English version looks and is pronounced like ''Putain'', the French word for "whore", and is a curse word. However the French transliteration "Poutine" does sound and look exactly like a French word, "poutine", which makes him "Vladimir Gravy Fries" (though the dish is actually from French-speaking Canada, not France).
** This caused a few kerfuffles following his invasion of Ukraine. A poutine restaurant in Paris received threats, presumably due to the word being less familiar in France. And a restaurant chain in Quebec, which had long had a poutine dish named "Le Vladimir," renamed it "Le Volodymyr" in honour of the Ukrainian president.
** [[Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom Alternate History Dot Com]] parodied this coincidence with [[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/photos-from-alternate-worlds.16061/page-434#post-8724263 this fake advertisement]] from an alternate universe where Putin’s family immigrated to Quebec before he was born and started (what else?) a poutine restaurant chain.
** Averted in Spanish, despite his last name being the diminutive form for "fag", and an endless source of comedy in that language, though it requires to play with the accent. The name is pronounced POO-teen, the insulting word is poo-TEEN.

* Averted by the Polish dub of ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow''. The antagonist's name, "Koopa", sounds exactly like the Polish word for "poop" yet remains unchanged in the translation, which ends up sounding awkward to say the least.

* The name given to the emanations of the SealedEvilInACan of the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar'' series has been variously translated as "Dark Force" and "Dark Falz" because the original name is "Dark Phallus".

* Many a high school teacher of Japanese will tell you that in the classroom there will be no intentional emphasizing of the ''-shit-'' romaji spelling combinations occasionally found in Japanese words and names. But teenagers are immature, and will do it anyway [[RuleOfFunny just for lulz]]. So naturally, Shitan from ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' was renamed [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Citan]], the Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Makunoshita became Makuhita and Ishito from ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' was renamed [[DubNameChange Norris]].
* In ''VideoGame/FZero: Maximum Velocity'' there is a track with a ''Literature/GulliversTravels''-inspired name Laputan Colony (with some Laputa-like [[FloatingContinent floating islands]] in the scenery backdrop). For the same reason as ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'', Laputan Colony was renamed in English to Empyrean Colony. In the same game, the car Dirty Joker was renamed Sly Joker, and the car Crazy Horse was renamed Wind Walker (probably to avoid the UnfortunateImplications of perceived Native American stereotyping).
* The reason ''VideoGame/PacMan'' has this name today is because when importing the original arcade game to North America, Midway (who originally released the game) noticed that the original name, ''Puckman'', could let any kid vandalize the cabinet by turning the P into an F.
* Fokker from ''VideoGame/PowerStone'' became Falcon in the Western localized versions for rather obvious reasons.

* In Polish localizations of ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series, turtle enemies named ''Koopa Troopa'' have same spelling as English version, but is pronounced as (KOH-puh), because "kupa" means "poop" in Polish.
* In the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/RayCrisis'', the robot with the {{flaming|Sword}} flaming {{BFS}} was named Sem-Slut; for obvious reasons this was changed to Sem-Strut in the English version.
* The last world in ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' was originally called Dunny, but then the creators learned "dunny" is Australian slang for toilet. They changed it to D'ni. In spite of this they kept the pronunciation the same for most of the series, with only a few characters later on pronouncing it differently. Also, the file for the age, still visible in the CD-ROM's directory, is still named "Dunny Age".
* ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' strangely averts this with the character Poo. In fact, Pu or Puu would arguably be a less unfortunate name and would probably be a more accurate representation of the original Japanese. This was in the middle of the {{gross|OutShow}}-humor fad in [[TheNineties the 1990s]]; see also the rest of the unfortunate marketing campaign ("[[ToiletHumour This Game Stinks]]").

* In the SNES port of ''VideoGame/TheCombatribes'', the name of the penultimate boss was changed from Swastika to M. Blaster.
* Vodka Drunkenski from the ''Super Punch-Out'' arcade game became Soda Popinski starting with the UsefulNotes/{{NES}} version of ''VideoGame/PunchOut''.
* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'': The character Satan has often been referred to as Dark Prince in Sega's translations, likely to try to avoid references to Satanism in a mostly family-friendly puzzle series.
* Though ''VideoGame/SolFeace'' kept its original title in all regions as a UsefulNotes/SegaCD launch title, the cut-down UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis[=/Mega-Drive=] cartridge release was retitled ''Sol-Deace'', probably due to "Feace" sounding similar to "feces."

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** The electric flying squirrel Pokémon in [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Generation V]] was changed from Emonga to Emolga because containing the British swear word "mong" [[ScunthorpeProblem trigger profanity filters]].
** The all-female [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Generation V]] vulture Pokemon Mandibuzz is named "Vulgina" in Japanese. Despite being a combination of two words known to English-speakers ("vulture" and feminine names like "Regina" or "Virginia"), it sounds a lot like "vagina" in English,[[note]]for good measure, it can even be misinterpreted as a portmanteau of "vulgar"/"vulva" and "vagina"[[/note]] so didn't stick around despite its English-language origins.

* In ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'', Metal Face was originally called "Black Face," to fit in with the other [[HumongousMecha Faced Mechon]] who are also denoted by color before learning their real name.[[note]]Xord is Bronze Face, Face Nemesis ([[spoiler:Fiora's mechon]]) is Silver Face, [[spoiler:Gadolt's mechon]] is Jade Face, Yaldabaoth is Gold Face, etc. Metal Face still fits because these names also belong to metals and minerals.[[/note]] The rename was due to "Black Face" also being the English-language term for [[{{Blackface}} a makeup style]] designed to mockingly caricature Black people.
* In the German translation of the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games, the Ice Climber Popo was changed to Pèpè, as ''popo'' means buttocks in German.

* In the English version of ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth'', characters from Zheng Fa are named using the [[AlternateCharacterReading Chinese readings of the kanji of their Japanese names]]. The FanTranslation of the sequel continues this practice, but President Teikun Ō is called Di-Jun ''Huang'' instead of Di-Jun ''Wang'', likely because they thought people couldn't take a president named "Wang" seriously.
* In the Russian translation of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' DLC ''Dawnguard'', Durak's name was changed to Dorak because "durak" means "fool" in Russian.
* A duo of bosses in the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' franchise are called "Pon & Con". Con is renamed "Cot" in French because the word "con" is a vulgar way to call someone an idiot in French.
* The romanized name of ''VideoGame/Persona3'' character Fuuka Yamagishi (風花 山岸) is written as "Fuka" in Japanese materials, but the localization opted for an alternate spelling that adds the extra U, presumably to lessen the resemblance to the word "fuck".
* In the English version of ''La Pucelle: Tactics'', Mamelon (French for "nipple") was renamed Papillon (French for "butterfly").
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' series, Dark Fact is Romanized as "Dalk Fukt" in Japanese versions. Also, a recurring species of FunnyAnimal known as "loo" was changed to "roo" in English except for the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 version of ''Ys I & II'', which calls that species as a "quay". This is necessary since "loo" is a British English for a toilet.

* In ''VideoGame/Destiny2'', the name of The Fanatic, "Fikrul", has been changed to "Fokrul" in the German translations, due to the original sounding too much like "ficken", i.e. to fuck. Ironically, this change makes his name sound closer to the English "fuck" again.
* In ''VideoGame/AeroFighters'', the FunnyAnimal dolphin pilot is known as Whity in Japanese. Since thatt's about a letter away from a racially-charged insult, he was renamed to Spanky in international releases.
* ''VideoGame/NeedyStreamerOverload'' was changed from ''NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE'' due to containing a rather unsubtle drug reference.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' changed the "Killer" enemy to "Bullet Bill".

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'': Aku became Apu (or Abu, depending on the season) in the Brazilian dub because it would sound like "Ah Ass" in Portuguese.
* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': Though it wasn't a translation, the character "Snarl" was originally meant to be named "Slag" in homage to a character from ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' (hence the triceratops alternate-mode; G1 Snarl was a stegosaurus). The name was changed because Hasbro discovered that "Slag" is a word for "slut" in Britain. It also developed into Cybertronian profanity roughly analagous to "shit" around the time of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', so it was an in-universe Clean Dub Name as well.
-->'''Sari:''' You named him ''Snarl?''\\
'''Scrapper:''' Well, I was gonna call him Slag, but I think he took it as an insult.
* The ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' villain Negaduck is named Fiesoduck in the German dub. (fies = mean) It is very likely that his name was changed because ''Nega-'' sounds a lot like ''Neger'', the German N-word.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': In Russia, Scrooge's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie are called Billy, Dilly, and Willy, due to Huey's name sounding similar to "hui", an obscene Russian word meaning "dick". [[{{Irony}} Humorously]], their dub names happen to have dirty connotations in English.

* In Norway, the titular tribe of the French animated serie ''WesternAnimation/RollingWithTheRonks!'' was changed to the "Gronks", since "Ronk" is another Norwegian word for "masturbation".
* In the Italian dub of ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', Kagami was renamed Katami since her original name sounds like a very rude form of "care about me" that literally translates as "shit on me". In Brazilian Portuguese, she was renamed "Kyoko" for the same reason.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': In Brazilian Portuguese, Anais' name is spelled with an accent (Anaís), because in Portuguese, "anais" is the plural of "anal". Still, many people giggle after seeing her name written, especially when it doesn't have the accent.
* In the German dub of ''WesternAnimation/{{Doki}}'', Fico is renamed Rico because his name sounds like "ficko" ("fucko").

[[folder:Anime]]
* Anime movie ''Jarinko Chie'' by Isao Takahata had the title character being renamed ''Kié la petite peste'' in the French dub because "chie" would sound like "chier" (to shit) in French.
* In the Brazilian dub and manga translation of the original ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' series, the character Kurapika was renamed Korapaika (anime) and Kurapaika (manga), since "Cu-ra-pica" can be translated to something like "Ass-penis". Or "Heals[=/=]Cures penis".
** This is later averted in the movies of the 2011 anime, where his name is pronounced "ku'''RA'''pika" in the dub like the Japanese pronunciation,[[note]]At the time the original series was dubbed in Portuguese, most anime dubs [[AccentUponTheWrongSyllable pronounced Japanese names in an order that sounded Portuguese]], and due to this probably the translators thought his name was pronounced "kura'''PI'''ka" focusing on the word that sounds like "penis"[[/note]] so it can't sound too obscene as it still respect the pronounciation.
* ''Manga/InuYasha'':
** In the Brazilian dub, Kagome's name was changed to Agome, because "Kagome" sounds like "cago-me", or "I crap on myself". The Portuguese dub also proceeded to that change. Also, both Naraku and Miroku were changed to Narak and Mirok, to eliminate the "ku" (which is similar to the Portuguese language slang meaning "ass"). Oddly, the manga kept these changes in Naraku and Miroku's name, but reverted Kagome's name back to the original.
** Kagome's name was changed to "Aome" in the Latin American Spanish dub as well for the same reason mentioned above, and ''also'' for sounding like "cágame" or "cagame", both meaning "shit on me". The European Spanish dub, however, kept her original name.
** And while the names could refer to those same things in Italian as well, none of them were changed. It does lead to a few jokes in the fandom, but it's no big deal.
* The Latin American dub of ''VideoGame/InazumaEleven'' changes the name of the main hero, Mamoru Endo, with "Satoru Endo", since "Mamoru" sounds a lot like the Spanish word "mamar", which can be translated as the verb "to suck a cock". At least, unlike ''Manga/InuYasha'', they changed his name with a valid Japanese name. This is the same reason the Latin American Spanish dub of ''Anime/SaberMarionetteJ'' changed the last name of the main character Otaru Mamiya with "Otaru Namiya".
* In Norway ''Manga/{{Rave|Master}}'', Haru Glory's DisappearedDad Gale was changed to "Gayle" to avoid confusion with being "That Crazy Glory''. Which led to a conversation about Haru's father's name meaning "a fresh breeze" a lie. For some reason many not weird names were changed too and a lot of GratuitousEnglish removed, but for some reason 'bad' added into some sentences despite the word meaning 'bathroom' in Norwegian.
* ''Anime/SailorMoon'':
** The European Spanish dub, which was known for changing almost every name for totally different Spanish names, changed "Mamoru Chiba" to "Armando Chiba".
** The Latin American dub had Chibi-Usa's friend Momoko shortened to Momo, to avoid the near-homophone moco[=/=]mocosa meaning snot[=/=]snotty or brat).
** In the North American Creator/DiC dub, Kunzite was renamed Malachite. Note that the Z in his name is pronounced "ts" (since the mineral kunzite was named after Kunz, a surname of German origin).
** Black Lady was likely changed to Wicked Lady to avoid implications of racism.
** In the Mixx[=/=]Creator/{{Tokyopop}} [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]] translation of Sailor Stars, Sailor Star Maker's attack "Star Gentle Uterus" was renamed to "Star Gentle Creator".
* The European Spanish dub of ''Anime/KikisDeliveryService'' had Kiki renamed Nicky, since Kiki sounds like "quiqui", in which is a slang word in Spanish associated with sex. Similarly, the Filipino dub changed her name since "Kiki" is slang for "pussy."

* The Latin American dub of ''Anime/MagicKnightRayearth'' changes Mokona to Nikona, as it sounds very similar to "moco" (Snot) or "mocosa" (Lit. Snotty, also means brat)
* Roy Focker from ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' became Roy Fokker in ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' since his original surname was one letter away from "fucker".
* The Italian dubbing of ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' changed the name of a BigBad from Kagato to Kayato, because the former looks and sounds like the Italian word ''cagato'', "shat" (e.g. "Ho cagato" = "I have shat").

* In the Brazilian translation of the shojo manga ''Manga/MeruPuri'', the show within a show "Pika Rangers" was changed to "Poke Rangers". That's because "Pika" is similar to "pica", a really dirty (if not a bit outdated) slang for "penis". And the new name keeps the ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'' reference, anyway.
* Although not a vulgar word, the unpleasant connotations of the word "rot" is likely why ''Medarot'' had its title changed to ''Anime/{{Medabots}}'' internationally.
* An odd case in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'': Dagomon, a Digimon named after the [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Lovecraftian version of Dagon]] may have had his name changed in the dub because it was shortened to ''Dago''-mon, "dago" being a racist term. Since the dubbers didn't get the Cthulhu mythos reference, his changed name, Dragomon, is only a reference to [[Film/RockyIV a certain Russian boxer]]. The dub also changed Pipimon's name to Datirimon likely to avoid the inevitable pee pee jokes from kids in the target audience.
** The Latin American dub of ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' refers to Culumon as Calumon, since "Culu" sounds too much like "culo" ("ass" in Spanish).
** The ''Digimon'' dubs were usually fine with religious Digimon names, even references to Satan, keeping the names of Beelzemon, Lucemon, Devimon and its variants, Mephistomon, and even a plot point referencing the NumberOfTheBeast, however one curious exception was Diablomon, changed to Diaboromon in ''Anime/DigimonTheMovie''. This was likely because a theatrical release would have exposed the show to a wider audience and the parents and MoralGuardians might actually be paying attention.
** Another notable exception to ''Digimon'' dubs not changing names for religious reasons is Sephirothmon from ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'', who had his name changed to Sakkakumon. This was likely done because having a villain that is not only named after, but looks exactly like a symbol from Jewish mysticism carries antisemitic implications.
* In the Arabic version of ''Manga/CaseClosed'', Eri Kisaki got her name changed to Mary, as her original name bears some similarity with "Iri", "my ass" in some dialects.
* This was why Creator/VizMedia changed Gash's name to Zatch in ''Manga/ZatchBell'': the original name is a misogynistic British English slang term for "vagina". Even the normal definition of the word "gash", a deep slash wound, was also too gory for a kids show.
* The Brazilian dub of ''Anime/YuGiOh'' never settled for a translation of "Millennium Rod"; at first it was literally translated, but it was clear that the word "Rod" ("vara") was too easy to innuendo-ize. Thus it was changed to "varinha" (Wand) sometimes, "cetro" (Scepter) other times. Definitely not "rod", though.
* The English dub of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'', Judai's name is changed to "Jaden" due to similarities to the biblical figure Judah.
* In the English dub of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', Dick Pitt is renamed "Grady".
* Italian dub of the various ''Anime/{{Bakugan}}'' series changed Vestroia to Vestronia because "troia" is Italian for "whore".
* One minor Shinigami in ''Manga/DeathNote'' is given the name "Gook", written out in clear Romaji in the ''How To Read 13'' volume. [[UnfortunateImplications As that name is also a slur used for Asian people]], Viz's translation swaps it out for "Gukku".

* In the German dub of ''Manga/AttackNumberOne'', main protagonist Kozue Ayuhara was renamed Mila Ayuhara. The reason is obvious, as her original first name sounded very much like "Kotze", which is a vulgar German term for vomit.
* In the European Spanish translation of the ''Anime/DiGiCharat'' manga, Hikaru Usada is addressed by her first name, Hikaru, rather than [[LastNameBasis her last one]], because ''Usada'' can stand for both ''used (thing)'' and ''used woman'', normally a vulgar slang for a woman who have lost her virginity.
* ''Anime/ZoidsNewCentury'': Like the model kits, Wardick, possibly a reference to Moby Dick, was changed to Warshark, sometimes War Shark.
* The Viz Media's translation of ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' changed the name of the Golan army to The Provident (and their headquarters of Godland was renamed Providence). This was likely due to the fact that the group's name is derived from an actual place in Israel called Golan Heights and giving a Hebrew name to a Nazi-like army seeking to create a nation of superhuman warriors would've brought in some UnfortunateImplications. However, later translations stick to the original name.
* ''[[Anime/JewelpetTwinkle Jewelpet Tinkle]]'' is changed to ''Jewelpet Twinkle'' overseas, as "tinkle" is an English term for peeing.
* ''Shingeki no Kyojin'' is called ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' (should be "Attack of the Titans", but was mistranslated) to avoid being associated with the racist book "March of the Titans".

* In the Dutch translation of ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'', the minor character Acorn was translated to "Eekhoorn" ("Squirrel") which sounds the same and still can be associated with something you'd find in trees. The literal translation of Acorn would be "Eikel", which is also used as an insult in Dutch (because aside from the nut, it also refers to the name given to the top of the penis).
* French-to-Italian case: ''Franchise/TheSmurfs'' ("Les Schtroumpfs") were originally translated as ''Strunfi''. This sounded a bit too close to "stronzi" ("assholes"), so it was quickly changed to "I Puffi".

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* The Italian version of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'' changed Frozone's name to Siberius (a pun on Siberia and maybe Sibelius), because "Frozone" is similar to the insulting term "frocione" ("big faggot").
* In the Brazilian dub of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'', the term "Hakuna Matata" was changed to "Ha'''tu'''na Matata", again, to eliminate the "ku" (ass). Seeing as it is a real Swahili phrase (and the change is not wrong, as "hatuna" ''is'' [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/wa_na#Conjugation another conjugation of the Swahili version of "to have"]]), Disney's Brazilian branch always ping-ponged between reversing to the unedited sentence (the third movie used it right in the title) and using the censored one (the TV spin-off).

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'' was drastically renamed in Brazilian Portuguese as "Viva: A Vida é uma Festa" (Live: Life is a Party), due to the word sounding close to "poop" - "coco" also means "coconut", but with with a diacritical sign "cocô" becomes "poop". Curiously, the rename accidentally sounds too close to the ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'' Brazilian title "Festa no Céu" (Party in the Sky), which shares a FandomRivalry with ''Coco''. The character the movie was named after, Socorro "Coco" Rivera, had her name changed do "Inês". Aditionally, Mamá Imelda became Mamá Amelia, probably due to sounding too close to "merda" (shit).

* The English dub of ''WesternAnimation/ElArca'' changed the Panty's name to Pant'''h'''y.
* The Italian dub of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyANewGeneration'' renamed Pipp Petals "Ruby Petalosa", mainly because her original name sounds too much like "Pippe" (a slang word for masturbation).
* The German dub of ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'' renamed main character Ariel into Arielle. There are two reasons for that change:
** First, Ariel in German is a ''male'' name, which would have caused no end of jokes.
** Also, in Germany a very widespead brand of laundry detergent is called ''Ariel'', which considering the story takes place underwater, also would have opened the door for jokes.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Film/{{Chappie}}'' was retitled ''Humandroid'' in Italy most likely because the name is written almost like the word "chiappe", meaning "buttcheeks" (though Chappie retains its name in the film itself). Also "Chappie" is pronounced exactly like the old brand of dog food "Ciappi".
* The Hungarian dub of ''Film/{{Eternals}}'' changed Phastos to Phaistos, after an actual ancient Greek city, as his original name sounded like a combination of "fasz" (dick) and "tosz" (fuck).
* ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' was titled ''Les Dents de la mer'' ("The Teeth of the Sea") in France, and ''Film/Jaws2'' was originally going to be titled ''Les Dents de la mer 2''. However, the French distributor realized that when spoken out loud this would sound an awful lot like ''Les Dents de la merde'' ("The Teeth of the Shit"). The title was thus tweaked to ''Les Dents de la mer, 2e partie'', which cleverly avoided the problem.

* An OlderThanPrint example: When the medieval French translators of epic romances adapted the name of the Welsh enchanter [[Myth/{{Merlin}} Myrddin]], they created the name "Merlin" instead of the expected "Merdin" to avoid the homophony with "merde" ("shit").
* ''Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt'': Drizzt Do'Urden became Dzirt in the Russian translation, as his English name reminds of the word "dristat'", associated with diarrhea.

* The fourth book of Literature/TheSwordOfTruth series has a character named Manda Perlin. In Russian, she became Mendy, due to the obscene meaning of the original word in Russian (it's a slightly less scandalous synonym of CountryMatters).
* The Finnish translations of Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Literature/{{Kull}}''-stories changed the titular King's name to Kall, as the possessive form of "Kull" would refer to a slang-term of male genitalia. I.e. "I pray for your son, Kull" would read "I pray for your son's cock."
* In the German translation of ''Literature/TheBabysittersClub'', Stacey's name is changed to Daisy because her name sounds similar to "Stah-see" (Stasi was the common name for the East German secret police).
* A rare not-obscene example: a side character from the third and fourth ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'' books is a girl named Trista. In the Italian translation, since her name sounds like "Triste" ("Sad"), she was renamed Trisha instead.
* The German translation of ''Liesl and Po'' by Laurent Oliver has "Po" (Name of the ghost that the girl Liesl meets) changed to "Mo", since "Po" is a German word for "butt". This is especially important since Liesl constantly contemplates how much modesty she should exhibit with Po, who was a ghost for so long, it doesn't remember its gender anymore.

** The [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Swanchika]] was renamed into [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Helswath]] probably to avoid connection with the infamous [[ThoseWackyNazis swastika]].

** The titular Dragon Balls are called the "Esferas del Dragón" (the Dragon's Spheres) in Latin America, since "bolas" (the more literal translation of "balls") is slang for testicles. Oddly, the European Spanish translates it right as "Bolas de Dragón". Over time, the manga is published both as [[https://www.amazon.es/Dragon-Ball-nº-Manga-Shonen/dp/8468470341/ Dragon Ball]] and [[https://www.amazon.es/PS-Bola-Drac-Promo-Manga/dp/8416401918/ Bola de Drac]], due to its popularity has it also spawned a parody series, ''[[https://www.amazon.es/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?__mk_es_ES=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dragon+fall+&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Adragon+fall+ Dragon]] [[https://www.amazon.es/Dragon-fall-0-Shonen-Manga/dp/8493481343/ Fall]]'', filled withSpanish humor.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': In Russia, Scrooge's nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie are called Billy, Dilly, and Willy, due to Huey's name sounding similar to "hui", an obscene Russian word meaning "dick".

** The all-female [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Generation V]] vulture Pokemon Mandibuzz is named "Vulgina" in Japanese. Despite being a combination of two words known to English-speakers ("vulture" and feminine names like "Regina" or "Virginia"), it sounds a lot like "vagina" in English,[[note]]for good measure, it can even be misinterpreted as a portmanteau of "vulgar" and "vagina"[[/note]] so didn't stick around despite its English-language origins.

* ''TabletopGame/LostRuinsOfArnak'' was renamed to ''Les Ruines Perdues de '''Narak''''' in France because "Arnak" sounds like "arnaque", which means "scam" -- not great when you want to encourage players to explore the place.

When the name of a character from a show is slightly tweaked when the show is dubbed or otherwise translated into a foreign language because the original name [[InMyLanguageThatSoundsLike would sound obscene]].

* The English dub of ''Animation/ElArca'' changed the Panty's name to Pant'''h'''y.

** ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'': Because of the above, the eponymous God Gundam is renamed Burning Gundam (along with its FinishingMove God Finger), while the Devil Gundam is changed to Dark Gundam.

* The Italian version of ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' changed Frozone's name to Siberius (a pun on Siberia and maybe Sibelius), because "Frozone" is similar to the insulting term "frocione" ("big faggot").

** Although the ''Digimon'' dubs are generally fine with Digimon whose names come from religion, the English dub of ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' had Sephirothmon changed to Sakkakumon, as having a villain that is not only named after but looks exactly like a symbol from Jewish mysticism carries antisemitic implications.
** As stated, the ''Digimon'' dubs were usually fine with religious Digimon names, even references to Satan, keeping the names of Beelzemon, Lucemon, Devimon and its variants, Mephistomon, and even a plot point referencing the NumberOfTheBeast, however one curious exception was Diablomon, changed to Diaboromon in ''Anime/DigimonTheMovie''. This was likely because a theatrical release would have exposed the show to a wider audience and the parents and MoralGuardians might actually be paying attention.