Television is a great for source of interesting names. Writers are a creative bunch and when they want a character to stand out, sometimes they use a name to help their cause — think CHANDLER from Friends. Sometimes the names are so interesting that they cross over and become popular with parents — think SAWYER from Lost.

 

Now that the Fall 2009 TV season is in full swing, it’s a good time to check out some of the character names from the new shows. There just might be some great names for parents-to-be on the hunt for something new and interesting. Here’s the list I put together of some of the memorable character names I found. And since some of the actor’s names were just as interesting, I added those to the list, too.

 

Let me know what you think. If I missed one of your favorites, add it to the list.  

 

 

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE

 

Characters

BILLIE

 

DAVIS

FRANKLIN

ROLAND

 

Cast

CAITLIN Keats

LENNON Parham

OLYMPIA Lettry

 

POOCH Hall

 

 

THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE

 

Characters

MARISSA

RAINA

SONJA

VIVIENNE

 

COLE

ISAAC

 

Cast

ELLE Macpherson

 

CORBIN Bleu

NICO Tortorella

 

 

COMMUNITY

 

Characters

ANNIE

BRITTA

 

ABED

PIERCE

 

Cast

GILLIAN Jacobs

YVETTE Nicole Brown

 

CHEVY Chase

 

 

COUGAR TOWN

 

Characters

ELLIE

JULES

 

GRAYSON

TRAVIS

 

Cast

BUSY Philipps

CHRISTA Miller

 

IAN Gomez

 

 

EASTWICK

 

Characters

BUN

IVANKA

PENNY

ROXIE

 

GUS

RJ

 

Cast

IVANA Milicevic

MIA Hays

 

CHRISTIAN Alexander

JOHANN Urb

TORSTEN Voges

 

 

FLASHFORWARD

 

Characters

JANIS

ZOEY

 

BRYCE

CHARLIE

DEMETRI

LLOYD

SIMON

STANFORD

 

Cast

GABRIELLE Union

GENEVIEVE Cortese

LENNON Wynn

PEYTON List

 

DOMINIC Monaghan

LEE Thompson Young

 

 

GLEE

 

Characters

MERCEDES

QUINN

SANTANA

 

ARTIE

FINN

NOAH

 

Cast

JESSALYN Gilsig

JAYMA Mays

 

DIJON Talton

IQBAL Theba

 

 

THE GOOD WIFE

 

Characters

ALICIA

KALINDA

 

CARY

 

Cast

JULIANNA Margulies

MAKENZIE Vega

 

ARCHIE Panjabi

GRAHAM Phillips

 

 

HANK

 

Characters

TILLY

 

GRADY

SPENCER

 

Cast

JORDAN Hinson

 

KELSEY Grammer

 

 

MELROSE PLACE

 

Characters

ELLA

RILEY

VIOLET

 

AUGGIE

CALEB

 

Cast

ASHLEE Simpson-Wentz

 

COLIN Egglesfield

SHAUN Sipos

 

 

MERCY

 

Characters

CHLOE

SONIA

VERONICA

 

ANGEL

VALENTINO

 

Cast

HELENE Taylor

MARGO Martindale

TAYLOR Schilling

 

DIEGO Klattenhoff

PATCH Darragh

 

 

THE MIDDLE

 

Characters

EDIE

FRANKIE

GINNY

 

AXL

BRICK

 

Cast

EDEN Sher

FRANCES Bay

 

ATTICUS Shaffer

 

 

SGU STARGATE UNIVERSE

 

Characters

CAMILE

TAMARA

 

DALE

ELI

EVERETT

 

Cast

ALAINA Huffman

ELYSE Levesque

MING-NA

 

JAMIL Walker Smith

 

 

THREE RIVERS

 

Characters

GOEL

MIRANDA

SOPHIA

 

KUOL

MICK

RYAN

 

Cast

JUSTINA Machado

ALFRE Woodard

PUJA Mohindra

DEVIKA Parikh

 

MAC Brandt

 

 

TRAUMA

 

Characters

MARISA

SELA

 

CAMERON

REUBEN

 

Cast

AIMEE Garcia

ANASTASIA Griffith

RUBY Lopez

 

JAMEY Sheridan

SCOTTIE Thompson

 

 

V

 

Characters

ANNA

ERICA

 

DALE

JACK

TYLER

 

Cast

LOURDES Benedicto

MORENA Baccarin

 

LOGAN Huffman

MORRIS Chestnut

SCOTT Wolf

 

 

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

 

Characters

ELENA

 

DAMON

LOGAN

STEFAN

 

Cast

KATERINA Graham

KAYLA Ewell

MARGUERITE MacIntyre

NINA Dobrev

 

 

WHITE COLLAR

 

Characters

JULIANA

JUNE

 

CURTIS

NEAL

 

Cast

DIAHANN Carroll

 

EVANS Forlidas

JABARI Gray

 

 

Do any of these names inspire you? Or do you try to stay away from names that might rise in popularity? Post a comment and let everyone know!

 

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♥  Amanda

 

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

 

 

 

For more information on baby names and their meanings check out

BABY NAMES MADE EASY: THE COMPLETE REVERSE-DICTIONARY OF BABY NAMES