Meaningful Name / Webcomics

The goblin on the left is called "Complains-of-Names".

Examples of Meaningful Name in webcomics.

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• 180 Angel: Downplayed. Samael is Hebrew for "poison of God." Fitting for an angel that disobeys Heaven's Council.
• Mock, from 1/0, turns out to be an adept shape-shifter.
• Except for Thief, the surnames of the main characters of 8-Bit Theater (since their names are their classes as well): Fighter McWarrior, Black Mage Evilwizardington and (though it was only said by the author in the forum, not shown in the strip) Red Mage Statscowski.
  • "welcome to Hurt, Australia!"
• Azrael from The Adventures of Wiglaf and Mordred is also called "the Angel of Death" by other characters, and he considers it his mission to bestow "Grace" — the name of his sword — on the world.
• Apparently Every. Single. Person in Alice and the Nightmare has a meaningful name.
  • Rougina is Portmanteau of Rouge Regina, Red Queen.
  • Bianchia comes from Bianca or Blanche, two names meaning White, as in White Queen.
  • Azalea has purple as her Color Motif and is named after a purple flower.
  • Alice is the chief Alice Allusion in a story full of them.
  • Edith is a clever one - she's a Diamond, her name means "rich, wealthy", and in Italian deck, Diamonds are called Coins.
  • Crowther Kinnabre commands Cinnabar Army. May be on purpose, as Rougina apparently created the entire military with magic.
  • Even if someone's first name isn't meaningful, their last is, as people have surnames after their Suits - among others, there's a Heart called Herz, Diamonds called Diamant or Dymond or a Club called Trevols (clover).
• Angel Moxie:
  • Alex, Riley, and Tristan all have gender neutral/masculine name. They are three (girl) incarnates of three boy heroes.
  • Miya's last name "Gato", which is Spanish for "cat". She takes the form of a feline on earth to mentor the girls. Her first name too: "Miya" when spoken sounds like "meow" and "neko" is Japanese for "cat."
  • Shugari's name sounds a lot like "sugary". The name she uses while posing as a student is Candi Shugari.
  • Grant Kyokasho spends his time on Earth disguised as a teacher. His surname is Japanese for "textbook".
• Ava's Demon: Most main characters have this in some way, though Odin Arrow is less clear the others
  • Ava and Maggie's surnames are words for the wrath (Ire) and lust (Lacivi), the sins associated with them respectively
  • Marverde (Gil's surname) means "green sea" in spanish and in portuguese. Fitting both due to his friendship with Nevy (an ocean-themed demon) and his "incident" in the sea
  • Though there is no clear meaning to Arrow as of yet, Odin has to sisters named Crow and Raven. In norse mythology, Odin had two pet ravens (or crows) for spies.
  • Nevy, Pedri and Tuls are anagrams for envy, pride and lust, the sins the characters represent, and Wrathia speaks for itself.
• Assigned Male: Ciel means "sky" in French. Ciel chose it because everytime they look at the sky, it feels like home.
• In Bailin and Li Yun, when the titular Arctic merman doesn't give a name to Li Yun when he asks, he gives him the name "Bailin", Chinese for "white scales".^note Itself derived from the more literal "白色鱗片".
• Beeserker: Trigona is named after the genus Trigona, the largest genus of stingless bees.
• In Bob and George, the assistant is named Dr. Wiley.
  I never really understood why Dr. Light would knowingly associate himself with someone named "Dr. Wily". It would be like having a dentist named "Dr. Pain" or a family doctor named "Dr. Death". I mean, it could just be an unfortunate coincidence, but it seems to me that you're just asking for trouble.
• The name of the whole world in The Burned is Nameless World "for lack of a better name". Shibou, the God of Death, has a name that can translate to "death, mortality" in Japanese. Manami, the Goddess of Love, has a name that means "love, affection", and the name of the God of Nature is Shizen, which means "nature".
• Cameron and Corinna: Corinna's name is an Aboriginal Tasmanian word for the thylacine (or Tasmanian tiger), which she is.
• Carry On: Kathy's new honor guard, the SBD (Songween's Bodyguard Detail) all have these.
  • Keela, "...because she's good at killing things." Bonita, "...because she likes gnawing on bones." Dixie "She's from the South."
• The Chapel Chronicles: Rupert, the hedgehog, is named after Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• Nearlly all the named characters in Cry 'Havoc' are significantly named.
  • Fenrir is the name of the great wolf who would kill Odin during the norse Apocalypse, ragarok.
  • Skoll is name of the wolf who will eat the sun.
  • Hati is the name of the wolf who will eat the moon.
  • Karcharoth is a play on Carcharoth, the greatest wolf who ever lived from Tolkiens The Silmarillion.
  • Faustus is named for the dr. faustus who sold his soul to the devil.
  • Andrea Brynhildr is named after the Valkyrie Brynhildr.
• Cursed Princess Club: Princess Syrah of the Metallic Kingdom shares her name with a type of wine-producing grape, and she's The Alcoholic.
• Three of the players in Darths & Droids have names that reflect their characters: Jim (Qui-Gon Jinn), Ben (Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi) and Annie (Anakin Skywalker). Annie's name is possibly a coincidence, since Anakin started as a NPC.
• Debugging Destiny has this for half of the named characters.
  • King is represented by the chess symbol for a king and is foreshadowed to become a king someday.
  • Baleyg and Gangari are both lesser-known names for Odin, a trickster god of knowledge and death.
  • Strider is fated to walk the earth.
  • Elizabeth is the name of a famous English Queen, and is a queen.
  • Mercury has a magical song.
  • Alexander and Quinn mean "defender" and "advisor" respectively, which are also the roles they serve in their kingdom.
  • Osborne means "divine bear" representing his role as a supernatural monster.
  • Ignacia is a dragon whose name means "fire".
• DICE: The Cube That Changes Everything:
  • Dongtae means "a changing image" and both physically changed a lot and brings change to others.
  • Mio's name comes comes from a Korean proverb that even a beautiful crow is still a crow, and by author's comment also unintentionally sounds similar to The Ugly Duckling's title in Korean.
  • X's name is taken from "Deus Ex Machina" and he's a Physical God.
  • Mooyoung's name in Korean can mean "without a shadow", and he's an enigmatic figure who doesn't leave a trace.
  • Sooyoung is a swimming champion and Sooyoung means swimming.
  • Johann Sung is a cultist named after a prophet Johan from the Old Testament who've warned folks that God will punish them.
• Dominic Deegan has Karnak, though none of the readers find out why it's meaningful for quite a while, since the meaning is in old orcish. Namely, it means Morningstar.
• In The Dreamer, Ben Cato's last name is also the title of a famous play, which was a favorite among many patriots, including Nathan Hale.
• Dregs:
  • Chub is chubby, and Coney wears bunny ears. Although it seems likely that those are nicknames deriving from those traits.
  • Mags is a possible Stealth Pun case. We're never told what it's short for, but given her Gun Nut status it might as well be short for Magazines.
• Dungeons & Doodles: Tales from the Tables:
  • Angela is a paladin who strives to bring forth goodness to her world while subjecting evil to their deserved retribution.
  • Filia, the daughter of a bronze dragon, has a name that just means "daughter" in Latin.
• Earthsong: Virtually everyone has a Meaningful Name, thanks to Nanashi, who named them this way on purpose. Consider for a moment that Nanashi means 'No-Name' and you'll see why.
• El Goonish Shive:
  • Grace Sciuridae is a shape-shifter who transforms into, among other things, a squirrel (no surprise, given that she's one-quarter squirrel). This is lampshaded here.
  • Immortals tend to give themselves names. Sometimes they're self-important, sometimes they're plain. Pandora Chaos Raven chose hers deliberately to be meaningful with all three segments, and told Magus (after beating the crap out of him) to call her by one or any, she was all of them: Pandora (after Pandora's Box; she actually sees herself more as the box, but even fewer people got it when she called herself 'Box') Chaos (she hates being able to predict things based on what she knows), and Raven (her married name).
• In Erfworld all the names are meaningful and/or puns. This is eventually revealed to be a natural function of how units are named as they are "Popped"- All unit's names and appearances are determined by their Signamancy.
  • Jack Snipe, a Foolamancer,is named after a species of bird primarily known for being well camouflaged, and therefore, difficult to see.
  • Wanda Firebaugh (say it quickly.)
  • Jillian Zamussels the barbarian.
  • King Saline the Fourth (i.e. "Saline IV").
  • Prince Ansom.
  • Lord Stanley the Tool.
  • Charlie, of Charlie's Archons has evoked a large number of fictional and real life Charlies and Charleses. Very few, however, were expecting his appearance to be based on Charlie Brown.
• Explorers of Souls: "Mel" (the main character) is "Honey" in Latin. The author, whose first name is Honey, has confirmed that this is no coincidence.
• The Fancy Adventures of Jack Cannon: Max Facepuncher (The Max stands for Maximum). Jack Cannon. The whole Cannon family, actually.
• Finder's Keepers (2008): Cardinal, Lord and Aspect of the Primary Directions, second son of the Lord Navigator, great-grandson of The Seeker. He can find anything.
• Freefall: The main protagonists boyfriend, Winston Scudder, is named after Samuel Hubbard Scudder, an entomologist.
• In Girl Genius:
  • The house of Sturmvoraus, whose introduction is the beginning of the really meaty plot and who are all scheming to murder and usurp each other, take their name from the German for "Storm Ahead". There is also Albia, the briefly mentioned Queen of Great Britain.
  • Otherwise averted with Baron Wulfenbach, who has nothing lycanthropic in a world where werewolves may or may not exist, and who in fact doesn't even use Lupine symbolism for his forces: it would seem that Wulfenbach (non-standard German for "wolves stream") is simply the name of his ancestral estate.
  • The Heterodyne clan, as the "concentration music" Agatha makes vocally is (according to Carson) both a family trait and actual heterodyning; the principle of periodic functions upon which theremins and radio modulation rely. Possibly related to the Theme Music Power-Up. The name of the titular herione, "Agatha", also is a name derived from the greek word "Ἀγαθή" (pronounced "Agathon"), meaning "Good", "noble", etc. Fitting, seeing that she has a raging case of Chronic Hero Syndrome.
    • St. Agatha is a Catholic saint whose domains include... well, breasts (these days, she is primarly venerated by women suffering from breast cancer and bell-founders, whose products are vaguely breast-shaped). That Phil Foglio, a self-described "Gentleman Pornographer" who was raised Catholic, would not have picked up on this and named his rather chesty (even by the standards of his usual World of Buxom) heroine after the saint seems unlikely.
  • Portentius Reichenbach's Portentous Operatic Masterpiece: The Storm King.
  • Word of God has it that Theopholous DuMedd was originally "doomed" to be killed off in volume 3, but the Foglios so enjoyed him that he stuck around.
  • Most likely Sleipnir O'Hara wasn't supposed to be kept around either. Agatha needed a roommate to introduce her to the world of the Baron's flying castle, so the Foglios gave her someone to "sleep near".
  • The town of Mechanicsburg is integrated with the mechanical Castle Heterodyne.
  • Bangladesh DuPree. Bang duPrey. Or Du-praved.
  • Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer. His surname roughly means "Safe Waters" in the North Countries where he's said to be from.
  • Doctor Chouteh (pronounced shout-ay) is a Large Ham of ridiculous proportions.
  • Agatha's foster parents are called Adam and Lilith and it doesn't look like they are very god-fearing. Not to mention their surname, Clay. (Note that they almost certainly picked these names for themselves.)
• Almost everyone in Gloomverse has a name related to their power set. Seaweed, Lady Nim, Petunia, Professor Purple....
• All the Goblins, who are, in fact, named by their "fortuneteller".
  • Including one who thinks this is a really dumb way of naming people, and is thus called "Complains-of-Names".
  • And which has led to a life of paranoia for poor "Dies-Horribly".
  • "Saves-a-Fox" hated the idea that the names given to goblins set their future in stone, so when a fox got into her clan's food storage she deliberately killed it to defy her name. Dies-Horribly later informed her the fox's behavior indicated it had a terrible wasting disease. Killing the fox "saved" it from an agonizing death.
• Grrl Power: Sydney Scoville^note As in the Scoville Scale, used for measuring the amount of capsicum in food spiced with hot chili peppers is obsessed with (among other things) hot food, endlessly seeking out new forms of Blazing Inferno Hellfire Sauce to try.
  ''"Living up to your family name as always, I see."''
• Gunnerkrigg Court occasionally goes crazy with this:
  • Antimony is named for the element antimony, whose name comes from the Greek for "never alone". (Her nickname, Annie, may be a reference to another famous red-haired orphan.)
    • Antimony is also a chemical relative of bismuth (same group, one period up), which plays an important part in the history of Gunnerkrigg Court.
  • Her father, Anthony Carver, is a surgeon.
  • Her mother's maiden name was Surma Stibnite. Stibnite is the name of an ore containing antimony. Surma (more commonly known as kohl), is a compound of antimony used in the Middle East as an eye-shadow, for cosmetic purposes or for protection from the Evil Eye. Surma is also one of the finnish words meaning death and she's dead.
  • Mort is a ghost; his name is French for "dead" or "death".
  • Parley is a talkative girl. She attempts to serve as a mediator during a parley. Her name is from the French parler: "to talk".
• Homestuck:
  • The "Aimless" part of "Aimless Renegade" initially referred to his status as a desert wanderer character (compare to the other two wanderer characters: Wayward Vagabond and Peregrine Mendicant). However, it also references his graduate degree from the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy.
  • All of the Trolls, both first and last name, relate to their personality, interests, or associated astrological sign.
    • Aradia Megido: Aradia is a figure who, according to an American folklorist, was worshipped by Tuscan witches^note Whether or not any such worship ever happened is disputed at best, but the modern association is there, and Tel Megiddo, the place where, according to the Book of Revelation, the Apocalypse will happen and which is the root of the word "armageddon". Aradia is associated with the occult and is obsessed with the end of the universe. Also doubles as forshadowing: The goddess Aradia is claimed to have taught the lower classes to use magic to stir up class warfare. Aradia's ancestress, the Handmaid, is mostly reponsible for Alternia being what it is today.
    • Tavros Nitram: Tavros is the Taurus troll, and his name is Greek for "bull" (if you swap the v for a u). Nitram is Martin backwards, and Mary Martin played Peter Pan in the 1954 musical. Tavros is a huge fan of Pupa Pan, the Alternian equivalent of Peter. (Martin was also a popular fan suggestion for his name before he was officially named).
    • Sollux Captor: Sollux is the Gemini troll, and the Gemini were a pair of twins called Pollux and Castor. Switch one letter in each, and...
    • Karkat Vantas: Karkat is a corruption of the Hindu word for "Cancer", which fits the Cancer troll. Vantas is a cancer treatment drug. Karkat's handle, carcinoGeneticist, might have been chosen to fit his personality, but he thinks that during his ectobiology of the frog of the next/human universe, he gave it cancer.
    • Nepeta Leijon: "Nepeta" is the genus to which catnip belongs, and Leijon is the Finnish word for "lion", and as Nepeta is the cat-obsessed Leo troll...
    • Kanaya Maryam: Kanaya is the Virgo troll. Kanya is Indian for Virgo, and can also mean mother, and her last name is derived from Maryam, the Aramaic name for Mary, as in the Virgin Mary. Befitting of the matronly and fussy Kanaya.
    • Terezi Pyrope: Terezi is the Libra troll, and her first name is Azerbaijani for just that. Her last name is a gemstone that is always red in coloration, and Terezi has a borderline obsession with the color red. The stone's name also literally means "fire-eyes". The name of Terezi's ancestor's dragon lusus, Pyralspite, is the name of a category of garnets to which pyropes belong.
    • Vriska Serket: Vriska is the Scorpio troll, and her first name is a corruption of the Hindu word for Scorpio. Her last name is an Egyptian goddess personified as a scorpion, one of the arachnids that Vriska associates herself with.
    • Equius Zahhak: Equius is latin for "horse", and Equius' sign Sagittarius is symbolized by a centaur. Zahhak was a Zoroastrian villain who was also known as Bēvar Asp, meaning "he who has 10,000 horses."
    • Gamzee Makara: Gamzee is Turkish for "coquettish", or playfully sexual; a trait that shines through in Gamzee's Ho Yay with Tavros, Karkat, and Equius. This is unintentional, though, as he was named by a fan. Makara is Sanskrit for "Capricorn", Gamzee's sign.
    • Eridan Ampora: Eridanus was a river created by Aquarius, and Amphora is a jug of water Aquarius often carries. Guess what Eridan's sign is?
    • Feferi Peixes: Feferi is a corruption of the scientific name for cuttlefish, which Feferi loves and keeps as pets. Peixes is Portuguese for Pisces, which is, by process of elimination, Feferi's sign.
  • Things are pushed even further by the inclusion of the Pre-Scratch Trolls, whose names not only relate to their respective astrological signs, but are mostly collected from the suggested names for the other trolls of their respective signs.
    • Damara Megido: Damara is a breed of sheep, and Aries is the symbol of the ram.
    • Rufioh Nitram: Rufioh's name comes from the character Rufio from the movie Hook, which plays off of Tavros's love of Pupa Pan. Incidentally, Rufio was the name of Tavros's inner-manifestation of his self-esteem.
    • Mituna Captor: Mituna is a shortening of Mithuna, the Sanskrit word for Gemini.
    • Kankri Vantas: "Kankri" is the plural form of "kankro", which is Esperanto for 'crayfish'- which, like crabs, are decapod crustaceans. It may be also derived from Alpha Cancri, the star system that is home to the Cancer constellation, or the word "cancrine" which means "appearing crab-like" or "appearing cancerous".
    • Meulin Leijon: Meulin's name is a French surname, but sounds close to the word "mewling" which plays into her cat theme. It also sounds like 'Merlin', and her class was Mage.
    • Porrim Maryam: Porrim's name possibly comes from the name of the Jewish holiday Purim, which is celebrated by wearing costumes. Porrim is appropriately fashion-savvy. Porrima is one of the brightest stars in the constellation Virgo, and it was named after Porrima/Antevorta, an ancient Roman mythological figure who was a companion of the goddess of childbirth.
    • Latula Pyrope: Latula's name more than likely is a corruption of Tula, the Hindu word for Libra.
    • Aranea Serket: Aranea is the Latin word for spider or spider web, and it's also the name of a genus of spiders. Serket was also a goddess of healing, and Aranea has healing powers from being the Sylph of Light.
    • Horuss Zahhak: Horuss's name is a play on the horse theme he shares with Equius, as well as a corruption of the name Horace. Horace was a famous Roman poet, and according to Aranea, Horuss picked up poetry as a hobby. It also resembles Horus, an Egyptian god who, like most of his pantheon, had an animal head. Horuss ended up building Rufioh a new body… that was basically his head on a robot horse's body.
    • Kurloz Makara: Kurloz comes from Kurtlooz, referencing a fan who roleplayed Gamzee prior to his formal introduction. "Makara" means "miracle", tying into the characters' religious beliefs.
    • Cronus Ampora: Cronus is named after the ruler of the Greek titans who overthrew Uranus. His Roman name, Saturn, is also the name of the planet that rules the Aquarius sign.
    • Meenah Pexies: Meenah is a Hindu/Sanskrit name that means "a fish or cherished stone". The name is a homonym of the name of a class in India's caste system who claim to be descended from a fish avatar of Vishnu, and Meenah's magenta blood is the highest in their caste system. Her name could also be a play on her attitude. Compared to Feferi, she's "a little meaner".
  • There are fewer obvious examples of meaningful names with the kids as compared to the trolls, but there are two examples among the Alphas: Jane Crocker has healing powers as the Maid of Life and has risen from the dead on several occasions, and Dirk Strider loves swords.
  • Speaking of the kids, both Striders are examples for being The Stoic in their respective teams, as in "take it in stride". Roxy Lalonde is The Ace of her team, thus everyone thinks she "rox". Alternatively, "Roxy" is short for "Roxanne", which means "Bright" or "Star", an inversion of her aspect, Void, which deals with the dark and nothingness. Also, "Lalonde" may be a play on Jérôme Lalande, who was known for being a writer and an astronomer, just like Rose's post-scratch self. Jake English is an In-Universe example, being named after Lord English. Lord English, in turn, is named after Jake English.
  • Jade Harley is heavily associated with the color green. "Jade" is a semi-precious green stone, tying in to her Earth and green theme. Most importantly, when she ascends to the God Tiers, her Space aspect powers materialize as neon green flames and flashes.
  • The aforementioned Jane's name is the genderflipped version of "John", seeing as she's basically the Distaff Counterpart of John Egbert.
  • Both Calliope and Caliborn have meaningful names tying in to their classpects, Muse of Space and Lord of Time respectively. Calliope was the leader of the muses of Greek mythology, and the muse of epic poetry. The Space aspect is associated with creation, and Callie is known for writing chronicles of her friends' adventures. Caliborn was the name of one of the swords of King Arthur, the Lord of the English, a person long dead, tying in to the Time aspect and also the fact that Caliborn is the younger self of Lord English.
  • On a larger scale, the planets Alternia and Beforus. Alternia is named so because it's the Scratched a.k.a. alternate version of Beforus, which is in turn the planet before Alternia. Karkat realizes this and doesn't find it funny at all.
  • "Fiduspawn", a Phonýmon game played on Alternia, is a portmanteau of "fīdus", Latin for "faithful", and "spawn". The "oogonibombs" they hatch from are named as a portmanteau of "oogonium", a type of cell important in fetal development, and "bomb".
• Housepets!:
  • King Milton/Joel Zechariah Robinson's name:
    • In a chess sense, he wears a collar with a King piece around his neck. In the Cosmic Game, he checkmates both Pete and Dragon by putting them in a state where neither can win, and both must forefeit.
    • In a rulership sense, he becomes a patriarch to his family after turning into a dog and leaving his human life behind.
    • Zechariah comes from a biblical priest, who served under King Herod and was visited by the Angel Gabriel to be told his wife would give birth to a servant of God. He doubted the Angel, and so was struck mute as punishment. If intentional, this could reflect on King's frequent doubt in the Celestial influences in his life, always assuming the worst of them after his experience with Pete.
    • And Robinson, of course, comes from Mrs. Robinson; Not so much the character in the The Graduate, but the religious elements of the song by Simon & Garfunkel. King's choices and future are beseiged constantly by the influence of Heavenly forces in his life, and Pete specifically quotes 'Heaven has a place for those who pray' to him.
  • Also Tarot, relating to her magic(k)al origins, Mysterious Past, and hobby of reading tarot cards.
• The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob!: Almost all character names are either symbolic as per this trope, or they're random puns, or both: Jean Poule, Rocko Sasquatch, Mr. O. Blivius Bystander, Princess Voluptua, Hibachi the Dragon, Robbie the Robber, Roofus the roof-repair robot, Heywood J. Lookathat, etc. And "Bob Smithson", whose name is one step removed from being the completely generic name "Bob Smith".
• There are a few in InkTank: Webmonkey is a monkey, the IT Ninjas are actual ninjas, Marc is innocent and naïve ("mark" being carny slang for such a one), Yaz is the office lecher (Yaz is the brand name for a contraceptive), and Dante (the head programmer) drinks the coffee from hell.
• James Stud in the Espionage theme of Irregular Webcomic! has multiple meanings to his name; the first thing most people will think of is that James Bond, the character he's parodying, is The Casanova, which is of course a meaning of the word "stud" — but it's ironic because Stud is actually a Casanova Wannabe. The fact the character is a Lego minifig suggests the studs on top of Lego bricks, which form a "bond" with the brick below. And finally it allows a groanworthy Pun when it's revealed that everyone mistakes him for James Shaken: He's "Stud, not Shaken".
• The title character of Keiki is named after the Hawaiian word for "child," since the comic features Hawaiian children as main characters.
• In the webcomic version of Keit-Ai, the protagonist name is "Kei(t) Kirishima" and his love interest's name is "Ai Ayazaki".
• Mason Williams has mentioned that he did this accidentally on two separate occasions while writing Leftover Soup: The possible pedophile Mr. Greenwood, and the sexual health clinic doctor Stephen Ho.
• Luminary Children has Rex Burnstone and Rick Frostleaf. You'll never guess their special abilities.
• Magick Chicks: All three members of Faith's clique have surnames that either reflect their personalities, or their special abilities:
  • Faith's surname, "Abbot", is Aramaic meaning: "the father", or "my father". The students at Artemis admire her because of her strength and leadership ability. She'll protect them, even at risk to herself. Sandi, in particular, feels personally indebted to her for giving her guidance when she was younger.
  • With a surname like "Archer", it's hardly any surprise that Callista is the captain of the school's Archery Club. Her aim is so scarily accurate, she's been given the nickname "DeadEye" and has the trophies to prove it.
  • Sandi Mnemonic rounds out the trio, whose surname describes a learning technique by which information is converted to simpler form; thus, making it easier to remember. Her esper ability allows her to mentally project her very own i-Pad, for storing and categorising data. As a result, she's been described as "a living Google", which is why Faith keeps her as her secretary.
• Desirée "DiDi" Chastel from Ménage à 3 manages two of these. Her given name is derived from the French for 'desired' (which describes the reaction she inspires in most people attracted to women), while her nickname is a reference to her Buxom Beauty Standard figure.
• In Monsieur Charlatan, the assassin arrives under the name of Louis Faux.
• The main character's name in My Heart Is Beating is Bae Sugu, "Sugu" is Korean for Water Polo, which is what the comic is centred on. It gets lampshaded repeatedly and subverted as he can't even swim.
• Nature of Nature's Art justifies its use of the trope. In this version of the animal kingdom, most people are only known by nicknames, codes or where they're from. Having your own name is the biggest honour possible in this setting, to the point where you have to earn the right to pick the name you want. Animals with names choose their own names here, so this trope can turn up quite a bit. Polarizing, who is very unstable, is an excellent example.
• The Noordegraaf Files Has quite a few.
  • Theo's full name is Theodoric, after who was the king of the goths who sacked Rome.
  • Lars' full name is Lars Secundus Gilmore, who was also named for a barbarian king, Lars Porsenna, and his middle name means "The second" in Latin. He's the second character in the comic.
  • Octavian is named likely after Octavian Caesar, as in the roman emperor. He's the leader of the group.
  • Violet (Octavian's girlfriend) has Violet eyes. Not purple - violet. The hex code matches and everything.
  • A rather minor character who has magical powers goes by the name of Circe. She has the largest chest of any of the characters.
    • This idea of naming magical individuals after magical figures of myth is very common in the comic. Lore states that due to the fact that magically empowered people are hunted down for their powers (magic works like that) causes them to go by Aliases. This is also an idea within magical families - Most people get a normal three - part name, and after showing magical ability gain a fourth, put before their last name. For example, the Magical Girl Andromeda's full name is Andromeda Lis Astra Samson, with the "Astra" being added after she gained powers. Religious or other spiritual names are often used.
  • If We're being honest almost all of the characters have some kind of meaningful name.
• In O Human Star, Sulla is the name of a character from R.U.R., and it's a boy's name but it was given to a female robot. Al looks like AI in a lot of fonts, such as this one, although the author said on her tumblr that it was a coincidence.
• Hoo boy, does Oceanfalls have a few.
  • Nino has a lot of different origins, but the Spanish and Italian-Hebrew ones are most popular.
    • In Spanish, it simply means "boy".
    • The Italian-Hebrew meaning is "God is gracious" or "merciful", the latter of which would certainly fit him.
    • The other possible meaning is in Japanese, in which his first syllable is Ni (二), meaning "two", or Ni (仁), meaning "benevolence". The second would be No (乃), a possessive article. Ni is also used as an assisting word in many sentences.
  • Aria has several different meanings depending on the language. In Italian, it's "air" or "melody" (which is what Nights seems to go with). In Albanian, it means "treasure", "precious", or "gold.". And in Persian, it means "noble".
    • Her last name, Elwyn, is derived from the Old English Æfwine, meaning "wise and noble friend".
  • Kotori (小鳥) is Japanese for "little bird".
  • Solis has a bit of context for it. Solis is a Spanish name, and is derived from Latin Sol, or "sun". In early history, it was believed that the morning and evening star were two different celestial bodies, with the morning star being named Venus and the evening star being names Solis.
    • His last name, Ardor, means Enthusiasm or Passion, as it's derived from the Latin ardere, meaning "to burn."
  • Corona is a Latin word for crown. In-Universe, her surname, like all winged, was taken from the constellation she was born under. In her case, it was the constellation Andromeda, based on the Princess of Greek myth who was chained to a rock to be eaten by the sea-monster Cetus (but later saved by Perseus).
  • Meimona's name is a variation of the Arabic Maymunah, meaning "lucky", "blessed", or "prosperous". Her last name is Corvus, after the constellation. In-Universe, it seems to be a symbol of misfortune and bad luck among the winged.
  • Reed come from the Old English reade, meaning "red". Lumen comes from Latin words lux and mensura, and means "measure of light".
    • His dad's name, Zachery, is derived from Hebrew Zchariah (זכריה), and means "God remembers".
    • His mom's name, Anise, is Old French, and based on the Latin anīsum and the Greek ánison (ἄνισον), referring to the dill plant.
  • Lune in French means "moon".
  • Ruit is another name for the Rhombus, the geometric shape. Sapindale is an order of woody flowering plants that includes maple, citrus, mahogany, cashews, frankincense, and myrrh.
  • Selene is the name of the Greek titan of the moon.
    • Her middle name, Aylin, is derived from the Turkish Ay. It's meaning is debated, but one popular one is "belonging to the moon".
    • Her last name, Venus, is of course based on the Roman goddess of beauty, love, power, and the morning star.
  • Diana is a Latin name that can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European dyeu or dyius, meaning "day" or "sky", as well as "divine" or "godly". It's also the Roman name for Artemis, Greek goddess of the moon and the hunt, and protector of children and women in childbirth.
• In Once Stung the scientist in charge of the project that created the mutagenic bee that lead to Queen Bee getting her powers is Dr Apoidea. (part of the scientific name for bees) She bitterly lampshades it as the kind of name that sticks you to one very specific career path.
• The Order of the Stick:
  • The names of the three fiends of the IFCC: Lee, Nero and Cedric.
  • This comic also has Roy Greenhilt with his signature ancestral sword, Redcloak with his signature mantle, and — on the more obscure side — the chimera Trigak from Dorukan's dungeon. Guess which onomatopoeia is gasped by all three heads when Belkar administers the coup de grace?
  • Belkar Bitterleaf himself, in addition to being fairly bitter on occasion, has turned over a rather bitter leaf.
  • The reveal that the Draketooth family were descended from a Black Dragon turns out to be a critical plot point for the Blood Runs in the Family arc.
  • Elan is a word of French origin meaning to do something with great style, flash, liveliness etc. It describes the energetic bard Elan's character to a tee.
  • Strip #1044 includes a map which shows a place called "Nottinstory", where no part of the comic's narrative occurs.
  • Strip #782 shows a list of gladiator fights which includes an off-panel fight between the human Offpanelo and the kobold Notseenicus.
  • It is ambiguous if In-Universe Goddess Hel was named after the afterlife owned by Devils or vice versa (both stories are implied by separate characters), but she regardless loves the fact that her name is compatible with puns like "There will be Hel to pay!" and the afterlife she rules is certainly not much better than Hell.
• Outsider: Loroi personal names have very direct meanings in the Trade language, such as Beryl, Fireblade, Tempo or Talon. This leads them to ask what Jardin's own name means. As "Alexander" translates roughly as "defending man" from Greek and "jardin" is French for "garden", he gives his name as "Defender of the Garden". Apart from Stillstorm commenting that this is a warrior's name and Jardin does not look like a warrior, the Loroi largely adopt this name (translated into Trade as Ristan Enzin, "Garden Guardian") when referring to him afterwards.
• Princess Princess (2012): Both Sadie and Amira mean 'princess' in different languages.
• The character Marigold Farmer from Questionable Content was initially a very hard core player of the MMORPG World of Warcraft. A "Gold Farmer" is a person who plays online games with the express purpose of obtaining large amounts of in-game currency to sell to other players, and the term was made most popular by the gold farmers of World of Warcraft.
  • Much later, a character named Bartholomew Tender is introduced tending bar.
• The largest city in Realm of Owls is named Buffet because of an endless supply of rats for the owl people to eat.
• In Realmwalker Gunhild's name means "Lady of war", andSigrun is named after a valkyrie.
• In Red's Planet, Red's foster mother is named Mrs. Foster.
• In Rusty and Co. there are Prestige Perkins (practiced practitioner of practical prestidigitation) and the boss of the Illithid mafia Don Polpo (polpo being the Italian for Octopus).
• Schlock Mercenary subverts this with Lieutenant John Der Trihs. Though Der Trihs ends up with his head in a jar several times, he survives and eventually retires from mercenary life.
• One of the main characters of Shadowgirls is a Deep One hybrid named Charon. In Graeco-Roman mythology, Charon was the ferryman who carried newly deceased souls across the rivers Styx and Acheron in Hades. He also appears in Dante's Inferno. Whether or not this name has any relevance in Shadowgirls remains to be seen.
• Shortpacked! has Leslie Bean. It is unknown if she wears lipstick.
• In Sidekicks most sidekicks, superheroes and villains are given names related to their powers or appearance:
  • Lightning has the superpower to generate electricity.
  • Gale has the superpower to create cyclones.
  • Dream Girl can put people to sleep.
  • Pluton has skin that looks like pluton. You get the picture...
• Sluggy Freelance loves these.
  • Got a Hospital Hottie? Hello, Dr. Hot Chick (she insists it's spelled Haught-Sheik).
  • Got an army officer looking to militarize zombies? Meet General Mayhem.
  • Got a ruthless mercenary hired by an evil organization? Presenting Killum.
  • Got the princess of a space kingdom? It's our honor to introduce Princess-Princess.
  • And that's not even getting into the elves and Dimension of Pain demons, almost all of whom have descriptive names.
  • Inverted with a pair of shock jocks, one short and one fat, called Broadman and Midget. The short one is actually Broadman (real name Brouderman) and the fat one is Midget (Mike Midgetski).
• Unsurprisingly, a lot of the characters from Sonichu have meaningful names in context only. Amongst those:
  • Sonichu: portmanteau of Sonic and Pikachu
  • Rosechu: portmanteau of Amy Rose and Raichu
  • Punchy: He... likes to punch things.
  • Wild: Was raised in the jungles and uses grass-type attacks.
  • Magi-Chan: Apparently referring to his psychic powers.
  • Angelica: Has angel wings and was raised by a church.
  • Bubbles: Water-type user
  • Blake/Blachu/Black Sonichu: A Sonichu that's... black.
  • DJ Jamsta: He's... a DJ.
• Brad Wolfe and his daughter Rebecca from Sorcery 101. They're both werewolves. Interestingly, Brad's wife Ally, who's fully human, kept her maiden name.
• Parodied in Starslip: After the Quel storyline, a female Quel joins the crew of Paradigm. Problem is, individual members of the Quel have no names, which Vanderbeam remembered only when trying to introduce her into the roster. Mr. Jinx suggests calling her "Quel", but Vanderbeam instead suggests spending weeks trying to come up with a meaningful name derived from Classical Mythology and related to her role in the previous storyline's events. Cutter then suggests changing "Quel" to "Raquel" and she accepts, much to Vanderbeam's chagrin.
• In Strawberry Death Cake, the director of Sector 7, Sir Winston S. Moosington suffers from a werewolf-like curse. Except he's not a wolf...
• Suicide for Hire had the Shout-Out names Ty and Rosaline Montlet. Also, rather more subtly, Altair Annunaki is a lizard involved in shady dealings.
• In Thornsaddle, the Care of Magical Creatures professor is named Butch McMann because of his masculinity.
• Tower of God: Akryung means evil spirit in Japanese. The character of the same name slaughtered over a hundred people and acts like it isn't even present.
• Unsounded: William Argenti is from the Silver caste.
• Vampire Girl:
  • Levana is the Hebrew word for moon, and given that she is a vampire, night is really the only time of day she can venture outdoors without worrying about being killed by sunlight.
  • Dr. Charmin, who is noted for being a very charming doctor... so charming in fact, that he was named after a toilet paper brand.
• Van Von Hunter abandoned his original surname in favor of a more descriptive one.
• Wapsi Square has Nudge, a trickster figure who does her best to give you a gentle push in the right direction, as well as an Ambulance Chaser named Marcus P. Smooze.
• Weak Hero:
  • The boy called Wolf is, unsurprisingly, one of the most savage and animalistic characters in the cast.
  • Hwangmo Ju can be translated as "orange cap", and his most distinctive trait is his bright orange fringed-mullet-undercut-thing.
• White Dark Life has Boar who turns into, well, a boar.
  • His son Ryu turns into a dragon. Ryu means dragon in Japanese.
• Clifford of Wilde Life is a ginger werewolf. In other words, he turns into a big red dog. And he hates this joke - which of course everyone brings up.
  • A one-shot character, Lorelei, is a siren who accidentally entrances Oscar with her singing, causing him to hallucinate scenarios with water/drowning and can only calm down when he’s with her.
• The planet Dërt in Wizard & Giant is a multi-layered joke; people say Earth or Dirt to mean soil, and also, Earth is "Here" while Dërt is the German word for "There."
• Melleck Xaos (pronounced like "chaos") in The Wotch: Inverted; he's the avatar of order. Also, lampshaded with respect to Samantha Wolf. Finally there is Lord Sykos, who is, well, absolutely insane.
• From Your Throne we have Eros and Psyche (from greek/roman mythology, Amor and Psyche) as the designated couple and Medea, the former fiancee-candidate of Eros', named after the strong and knowledgeable princess Medea from mythology, who famously (and bloodily) wrecked her former husband Iason's new marriage
• Creative Retort Man from Zero Percent Discount.

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