25 Baby Names for Girls Taken from Fiction That Do Not Belong in the Real World

There are plenty of acceptable names from pop culture and fiction inspired by books, comics, TV shows, and films. Now, we fully appreciate the need for individualism and creativity for new parents and we don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but there are some baby names that should honestly be avoided to save you and your child the embarrassment. For instance, parents are still naming little girls after that Dragon-flying lady in Game of Thrones with parents electing to name their girls Khaleesi and Daenerys. What!? There are more heroic women out there!

We get that writers and writers’ rooms are under pressure to stay fresh and be creative but some of the names they cook up are ridiculous. Probably most of the names from Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, or any other show that features made-up names and that land in the fantasy or science fiction genre. If we haven’t offended your tastes yet, please keep reading. We’ve got 25 baby names for girls inspired by pop culture and fiction that you should absolutely avoid at all costs. Just don’t.

25. Lolita

The name Lolita means “sorrows” and is of Spanish origin. Vladimir Nabokov’s novel of the same name is not so great! The book ruined the name for girls for a very, very long time. You might think enough time has passed but please do not!

24. Cinderella

Cinderella is a French-invented name that belonged to the fairytale character made famous by Disney’s film of the same name. Even if you don’t take into account how horrible the name sounds, it means “little ashes” which is just sad.

23. Furiosa

Imperator Furiosa is a fictional character and one of two protagonists of the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road. Furiosa seems like a combination of Fury and Rosa and they do not go well together. Please don’t even think about it.

22. Nausicaa

Nausicaa as a girl’s name is of Greek origin meaning “burner of ships.” Cool, right? The name sounds like nausea but it was good enough for Homer to use for his Odyssey. The name showed back up out of obscurity when James Joyce included it in his modernist novel Ulysses. Say “no” to Nausicaa.

21. Katniss

This should be pretty apparent to you if you’ve had to suffer through the YA-novel turned action blockbuster film. Katniss is a dumb, dumb name. It sounds like “cat p*ss” and you better believe that’s the low hanging fruit that bullies love. Sorry for fans of The Hunger Games but this was clearly a mistake and not even fit for a fictional character much less a real human.

20. Cruella

Cruella de Vil is a fictional character created by English author Dodie Smith (another great name right there) as the main antagonist of her 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians. This invented name is rather silly and would be rather cruel to give to your daughter.

19. Isthia

A character name from Anne McCafferty’s Dragonrider series, Isthia is just waiting for someone with a lisp to go to town on it. This invented name seems like it’s meant to be a combination of an Is-name like Isabella or Isadora and Thea. All we see and hear is a mess.

18. Timberly

A character on the animated TV show Hey, Arnold!, Timberly had one of the worst names in memory. It’s a combination of Timber and Kimberly and why would you even? There’s no justifying it.

17. Verruca

Roald Dahl took the name Veruca and jazzed it up for his character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And, by “jazzed” we mean messed it up. Here’s how we know we’re right. The original name Veruca has Latin origins and means “wart.” Wart! By adding an R Dahl did this name no favors.

16. Titania

Titania is a character in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Titania is a name with Greek origins that means “from the land of giants.” That’s fine, but it doesn’t change how daft this name sounds. Additionally, the name starts with “tit” so not going to be a lot of fun for your daughter come those middle school years.

15. Tookie

Tookie de la Crème is a name that Tyra Banks saw fit to give a character in her YA-novel Modelland. Tookie de la Crème, folks! Tookie is a colloquial term for buttocks so there’s that. Please say a prayer. Light a candle. We just might not make it through this with you.

14. Villanelle

As much as we love and fear the character Villanelle from Killing Eve, Villanelle is the French form of an Italian name that refers to a rustic song, peasants, or villains. Not so fun! We don’t expect too many parents to hop onboard this name-train, but we thought it was wise to warn you. Don’t!

13. Trilby

An English surname, which has subsequently become the name of a type of hat, Trilby has very little going for it. Trilby is a novel by George du Maurier. The main character is a girl called Trilby O’Ferrall. Not cute.

12. Siddalee

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood was a wild ride of a film that was released in 2002. You might recall Sandra Bullock’s character being called the nickname Sidda (okay…) throughout the film, but the character’s full first name is Siddalee. We’re fairly certain this name is complete nonsense but it could be related to Siddel an Old English name that means “from the wide valley.” Not feeling it.

11. Revanche

Marvel Comics character, associated with the X-Men, Revanche has one ugly name. Revanche is the French word for “revenge” so not a lot of mystery there. You can try to say this name in an English accent and sound like your mixing up words, ravine and ranch, or go with the hard French pronunciation REV-ensh which doesn’t really improve things.

10. Praxidike

Praxidike is a character from The Expanse, but he is a male and goes by “Prax.” Both the name and the nickname are unfortunate. Praxidike belonged to a Greek goddess long before it landed in sci-fi. Praxidike is the goddess of vengeance or judgment. Let’s pray Praxidike informs those judgments and keeps you from choosing this awful name.

9. Mopsa

A character in Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale, Mopsa is a clownish bumpkin. It’s clear why old Shake give this name to the silly character. Mopsa has origins in Latin and refers to a “country lout.” Mops, its main form, refers to pugs and other dogs. Not good stuff. Nope, none of that is fun baggage to carry around.

8. Memo

Memo is a short form of the word Memorandum (we blew your mind there, right?). You’ll find this female character name in the movie The Natural a 1984 baseball movie starring Rober Redford and Glenn Close. Kim Basinger portrayed the character of Memo. Our apologies to Ms. Basinger.

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7. Laoghaire 

Laoghaire MacKenzie is one mouthful of a name that comes from the fantasy series, Outlander. With no disrespect to the Irish, Laoghaire is an Irish name that means “calf herder.” Fun, right? If you ever figure out how to properly say it, you can be sure to avoid it.

6. Eilonwy

Eilonwy is a name created by author Lloyd Alexander for the princess character in his children’s fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain. He purposely used historic Welsh name elements. The series later became a Disney movie: The Black Cauldron. While this name has a Welsh look to it, don’t let it fool you. This is an imposter.

5. Cathica

The character in the TV series, Dr. Who, Cathica got a really, really bad name. This completely made-up name combines elements of Catherine and Jessica to poor effect. Please prove you love your daughter by not even trying out this uninspired bore.

4. Emberlei

A character name created by George RR Martin in his Song of Ice and Fire novels and Game of Thrones TV series. This name has somehow defied the odds and made its way onto the top 1000 list of baby names in the US in the form of Emberly. Emberly is minimally better, but Emberlei is unforgivable.

3. Gidget

Oh, boy. We probably shouldn’t touch this, but alas! Gidget is a name created for the main character in Frederick Kohner’s 1957 novel Gidget, The Little Girl With Big Ideas. Not cool by today’s standards and the name was probably not appreciated too much at the time. Do we even need to tell you?

2. Isabeau

Isabeau is a character in the movie Ladyhawke. This is a real name that we wish was fake. It’s a Medieval French variation of Isabel and sounds Isa-bad. This one could be tempting because it has real-life roots, but we hate it and hope you do too.

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1. Renesmee

Renesmee Carlie Cullen (excuse us while we gag) was a character created by Stephanie Meyer for The Twilight Saga. We’re not sure why Meyer decided to completely destroy two perfectly good names, Renee and Esmé, but she certainly did by slamming them together in such calamity. We missed both the books and the movies and maybe this is explained but, honestly, we do not care. This is the worst name that’s ever been conceived.

Parents, take your time. Make good choices. Do not think about choosing a name from this list! We hope you enjoyed it. Please let us know what your least favorite fictional names are. We love judging them.