History Main / MusicalThemeNaming

[[caption-width-right:350:Yes, they're named after THOSE [[Music/TheCars Cars]], Music/{{ACDC}}, and Music/{{Wham}}[[note]]Text from the scanlation. The official transliterations of these names are "Kars", "Esidisi", and "Wamuu". Not pictured: [[Music/CarlosSantana Santana]]/[[DubNameChange Sanviento]].[[/note]]]]

* The loyal henchmen of Franchise/{{Batman}} villain Bane are named Bird, Trogg and Zombie, all 60s rock groups. (Unfortunately, there's no such band as "The Banes" to complete the set.)
* The villains in the three strands of the ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' / ''ComicBook/TheSimpingDetective'' / ''ComicBook/LowLife'' CrossThrough "The Cold Deck", are [[DirtyCop Dirty Judge]] Carolyn Bachman, [[ChurchOfHappyology Church of Simpology]] leader Turner and CorruptCorporateExecutive Enormo Overdrive.
* In ''That Wilkin Boy'' published by Creator/ArchieComics, Bingo Wilkin's bandmates are Teddy Tambourine and Buddy Drumhead.
* The Marvel Comics Morlock Beautiful Dreamer is named after a song by Stephen Foster.
* The Franchise/XMen member Negasonic Teenage Warhead is named after a song by Music/MonsterMagnet.

* [[Music/GunsNRoses Axl and Slash]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFight''. Simons is named after [[Music/{{KISS}} Gene Simmons]] and G. Oriber (one of the obese mooks) is named after Graham Oliver from Music/{{Saxon}}. Sexy transvestites Music/{{Poison}} and [[Music/RoxyMusic Roxy]] also count... and when they were censored and turned into generic male mooks, those mooks were renamed Sid (as in [[Music/SexPistols Sid Vicious]]) and Billy (as in Music/BillyIdol)! There are also the bosses Music/{{Sodom}} and Music/{{Abigail}}, who shares facial markings with Music/KingDiamond.

* In ''Manga/FairyTail'', main character Lucy and her family have names from songs linked to Music/TheBeatles: while she and her father take their names from "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Hey Jude" respectively, her mother shares her name with Music/EricClapton's "Layla", a song inspired by an unrequited love who happened to be Music/GeorgeHarrison's wife. Other than Lucy's own, however, the author has yet to acknowledge the reference.

* The Marvel Comics Morlock Beautiful Dreamer is named after a song by Stephen Foster.
* The Franchise/XMen member Negasonic Teenage Warhead is named after a song by Music/MonsterMagnet.

* ''Webcomic/SleeplessDomain'': The named members of the MagicalGirl team and pop band Team Forte are all named after female musicians who have shared their respective instruments. Forte Lead's name is Roni, which she shares with Venus and the Razorblades' lead guitarist and vocalist Roni Lee; Forte Drums is named Debbi, after Music/TheBangles' drummer Debbi Peterson; and Forte Bass is named Gail for bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, best known for playing alongside Music/DavidBowie.

** Its SpiritualPredecessor, ''Film/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'', also used this naming theme. There's Billy Shears (named for a character that appears in the album the movie's named after), Strawberry Fields, (Being for the Benefit of) Mr. Kite, Dr. Maxwell('s Silver Hammer) Edison, (Mean) Mr. Mustard, Lucy and the Diamonds, and the Hendersons (another reference to "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite").

* The main characters of ''Manga/KOn'' each take their family name from a member of defunct NewWave band P-Model. Yui Hirasawa is named after frontman Music/SusumuHirasawa, Ritsu Tainaka is named after drummer Sadatoshi Tainaka, Mio Akiyama is named after bassist Katsuhiko Akiyama, Tsumugi Kotobuki is named after keyboardist Hikaru Kotobuki, and Azusa Nakano is named after bassist/keyboardist Teruo Nakano (though Azusa herself actually plays second guitar).

* It doesn't take long for even the most casual viewers/readers of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' to realize that author Creator/HirohikoAraki named just about every character ''in'' the damn thing after ''something''. By far the most prominent references are to Western music, such as BigBad Dio Brando (Music/RonnieJamesDio and Creator/MarlonBrando), numerous characters throughout the entire series' run and just about every [[FightingSpirit Stand]] originating after ''Manga/StardustCrusaders''. To start with, Stands were named after [[TarotMotifs tarot cards]] combined with a color (Jotaro Kujo's ''Star Platinum'', Noriaki Kakyoin's ''Hierophant Green''), though the colors were quickly dropped and later Stands would just be named after the card. During the latter half of ''Stardust Crusaders'', villains were introduced with Stands named after members of the [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Egyptian pantheon]]. From ''Stardust Crusaders''' end onwards, Stands would join in on the Western music theme ([[Music/PinkFloyd Crazy Diamond]], Music/GooGooDolls, [[Music/CurtisMayfield Super Fly]], [[Music/QueenBand Killer Queen]]). This caused problems for international distribution in English until the anime's premiere in 2012, when DubNameChange entered full effect. More recent Stands get names that skirt the issue, such as [[Music/NatKingCole Nut King Call]] or Les Feuilles (pronounced as "Autumn Leaves"). The Pillar Men, named after [[Music/GeorgeMichael Wham!]], Music/TheCars, Music/{{ACDC}} and Music/{{Santana}} (not shown), provide the current page image.

** The characters, and sometimes even their attacks, [[ShoutOut/GuiltyGear are named after rock groups and artists]], especially Music/{{Queen}}. (Series creator Creator/DaisukeIshiwatari [[AuthorAppeal is a rock aficionado]].) Sol Badguy, for example, is named after Music/FreddieMercury's '''sol'''o album, "Mr. '''Bad Guy'''." Sol's real name also happens to be Frederick Bulsara, respectively taken from Mercury's StageName and birth surname. Not to mention Sol's favorite band, according to his profile, is Queen. He even has a copy of ''Music/SheerHeartAttack'' as his most prized possession. Go figure.
** .Similarly, the character Axl Low both resembles and is named for [[Music/GunsNRoses Axl Rose]] (at the prime of his career).

** The characters, and sometimes even their attacks, [[ShoutOut/GuiltyGear are named after rock groups and artists]], especially Music/{{Queen}}. (Series creator Creator/DaisukeIshiwatari [[AuthorAppeal is a rock aficionado]].) Sol Badguy, for example, is named after Music/FreddieMercury's '''sol'''o album, "Mr. '''Bad Guy'''." Sol's real name also happens to be Frederick Bulsara, respectively taken from Mercury's StageName and birth surname. Similarly, the character Axl Low both resembles and is named for [[Music/GunsNRoses Axl Rose]] (at the prime of his career). Not to mention Sol's favorite band, according to his profile, is Queen. (He even has a copy of ''Music/SheerHeartAttack'' as his most prized possession.) Go figure.

[[caption-width-right:350:Yes, they're named after THOSE [[Music/TheCars Cars]], Music/{{ACDC}}, and Music/{{Wham}}[[note]]Text from the scanlation. The official transliterations of these names are "Kars", "Esidisi", and "Wamuu".[[/note]]]]

** Every once in a while, the titles themselves bear some sort of musical theme. The [[CapcomSequelStagnation first update]] to ''VideoGame/GuiltyGearXX'' was ''♯Reload'' ("Sharp Reload"), while the fourth main installment (fifth if one counts ''GGXX Accent Core Plus''), ''Guilty Gear [[SequelNumberSnarl 2]]'', was subtitled ''Overture''.

* In the English version of ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', the GoldfishPoopGang are named [[Music/BlackSabbath Ozzie]], [[Music/RedHotChiliPeppers Flea]] and [[Music/GunsNRoses Slash]]. Its sequel ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' has [[Music/MotleyCrue Nikki]], who actually is a rock star. In the original Japanese, they [[EdibleThemeNaming were named after condiments]], while in the Japanese version of ''Cross'' Nikki was named... Slash. His [[OneSteveLimit name was changed]] since [[spoiler:the aforementioned three appear as a BonusBoss]].