Names have meaning. Sometimes, it has a meaning that is completely unrelated to its original etymology. How the names came to have those specific meanings vary based on history, even recent history, its association with a piece of media that depicts a character seen as iconic of the name's slang meaning, or even language trends.
These slang uses can be complimentary, derogatory, neutral, or varies based on the context of its usage. When it crops up in fiction, it is expected that the audience would understand what the slang meanings are. Sometimes, the slang name is part of a longer phrase. This makes it easier to tell that it is being used as slang as opposed to an ordinary name.
This list will contain a sample of such names that have slang meanings. It cannot hope to be a complete and exhaustive list due to Language Drift, but we can list the common ones. Please note that the phenomenon of using names as slang words is not unique to the English language.
See also Australian Slang for another page that covers real-world slang. The In-Universe equivalent is Person as Verb. When a common word or a term is claimed to be derived from a person's name as a joke, it's a Namesake Gag.
Some tropes on this very wiki owe their names to the use of slang names to describe the concept. Some slang names become so common in fiction that they become a Stock Foreign Name.
List of Slang Names
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Inspired by Historical Figures
- Benedict Arnold: Due to the real life Benedict Arnold originally fighting for the Americans before turn-coating to the British, his name has since become American slang for traitor.
- Bobby: Old-fashioned British slang for a policeman, named for Robert Peel, who created the modern concept of police officers.
- Caligula: Originally a nickname that translates as Little Boots, Caligula's infamous mad tyranny over Rome resulted in the name coming to mean insane tyrants.
- Casanova: Often used to refer to a successful womaniser. A lot of people don't even realise that Casanova is an actual name and the reason it means that now was due to Giacomo Casanova's legendary reputation for being a lover.
- Draco: We get the word "draconian" from Draco
, an Ancient Greek lawmaker who infamously made nearly every crime punishable by death.
- Einstein: The name Einstein originally meant one stone or stone worker, but because of the legendary reputation of Albert Einstein, nowadays, it is roughly synonymous with genius and to call someone an Einstein is to call them smart. If can also be used sarcastically to insult a Know-Nothing Know-It-All.
- Guy: A person, a bloke (often more known by that definition than as a given name, nowadays). From effigies of Guy Fawkes being known as "guys".
- Jezebel: Named for the historical Jezebel, the name now refers to promiscuous and controlling women.
- John: Due to Sir John Harington inventing the modern toilet, toilets are sometimes called Johns.
- Judas: Due to Judas' betrayal of Jesus, Judas has since become synonymous with treachery in Christian parts of the world.
- Mary: Due to the infamous reputation of Mary Mallon, the term Typhoid Mary was coined and used to refer to asymptomatic carriers.
- Peeler: Irish version of the British Bobby, also named for Robert Peel.
- Quisling: Due to the real-life Vidkun Quisling, Quisling has become synonymous with traitor in many parts of the world.
- Thomas: A Doubting Thomas is slang for a sceptic, having its origins with how the Apostle Thomas refused to believe Jesus had resurrected until he could see and feel his crucifixion wounds.
Inspired by Fictional Characters
- Alphonse: Because of the play Monsieur Alphonse by Alexandre Dumas, fils, Alphonse became a slang term for pimps in some languages.
- Debbie: Due to the character Debbie Downer from Saturday Night Live, Debbie Downer is now slang for people with excessively negative attitudes.
- Don Juan: Coming from the story The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest, the name has since come to mean hedonistic womanizer.
- Jeeves: Due to the novel series Jeeves and Wooster, the name has become synonymous with personal manservant, usually as a butler or valet.
- Lothario: Codified by the character of the same name from the tragic play The Fair Penitent, it has come to mean selfish love-em-and-leave-em womanizers.
- Mary Sue: Due to the fanfic A Trekkie's Tale, Mary Sue has entered the fandom lexicon. It was originally supposed to refer to an implausible perfect, usually female, character with other characters all being excessively admiring of them. However, overuse of the term by fans to use it to insult characters they simply didn't like has caused this original meaning to be lost. Male equivalents are known as Marty Stu or Gary Stu.
- Pollyanna: Due to the book Pollyanna, the name is now used to refer to anyone who remains optimistic in spite of whatever hardships they face.
- Robinson: Due to the Film of the Book The Graduate, Mrs. Robinson is now synonymous with cougar, aka an older woman who prefers younger men.
- Scrooge: Due to the character in A Christmas Carol, Scrooge has now become synonymous with miser.
- Sherlock: Coming from the fictional Sherlock Holmes, it is often used as a sarcastic remark against a Captain Obvious, but it can be used as a sincere compliment, though this use is rarer.
- Tom: Due to the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, or rather, the minstrel adaptations of it, Tom is sometimes used as an insult against blacks who are seen as selling out to whites. Bonus points if it gets prefaced with Uncle.
- Watson: Also from the Sherlock Holmes stories, Watson has since been used to describe a character whose role in the story is to ask other characters questions for the benefit of the audience.
Placeholder Names
- Jack: A person of unknown identity (e.g. Jack the Ripper, Spring-Heeled Jack)
- John/Jane Doe: An unidentified person or placeholder name (such as on samples of ID forms).
- Jón Jónsson/Jóna Jónsdóttir: The Icelandic equivalents of "John/Jane Doe".
- Juan Pérez: The Spanish equivalent of "John Doe".
- Mario Rossi: The Italian equivalent of "John Doe".
- Max/Erika Mustermann: The German equivalent of "John/Jane Doe".
- Yamada Taro/Hanako: The Japanese equivalent of "John/Jane Doe".
Other/Unknown Origins
- Aisling: In Ireland, Aisling can mean stereotypical Irish woman from ‘down the country’.
- Becky: An upper-middle class white teenage girl or young woman. The term is believed to have originated from the intro to Sir Mix-A-Lot's song "Baby Got Back."
- Billy: Often used in the phrase from "Billy no-mates", which is 90's British slang for someone with no friends.
- Chad: In internet circles, to call someone, usually a guy, a Chad is to mean they did something great.
- Charlie: Used in the Vietnam War to denote North Vietnamese forces, from the phonetic alphabet spelling of VC (Victor Charlie).
- Charo: Originally a nickname for Rosario, in Spain it's used as a pejorative for middle-aged feminist women.
- Clyde: Used to call someone a stupid or boorish person.
- Dick, Willy, Johnson, and Peter: Slang terms for penis, though the use of "Peter" as a euphemism is less common nowadays.
- Fritz: A German, or something German in origin or appearance (such as the Soviet "Winter Fritz" caricature of German soldiers, or the US armed forces dubbing their Kevlar helmets the "Fritz Helmet", which is nicknamed as such because of its resemblance to the outline of a German Stahlhelm).
- Guido: Someone of Italian descent who lives in the northeastern US (between New York City and Philadelphia), has a fake tan, wears lots of jewelry, goes to the Jersey Shore for vacation, and is often characterized as being loud, obnoxious, promiscuous, and possibly violent. Guidette is the female equivalent. Popularized by the show Jersey Shore.
- In Canada, "Gino" and Gina" denote people from a similar subculture.
- Ivan: A Russian, or something of Russian origin (such as the "Crazy Ivan" submarine maneuver).
- Jack: In the past, used to mean an apprentice tradesman (as in the phrase "Jack of all trades" or the steeplejack trade).
- Janusz: In Poland, the name became a derogatory term for a Know-Nothing Know-It-All. "Janusz biznesu" in particular refers to a person embodying negative stereotypes of small-business owners - exploitative, disregarding safety regulations, and endlessly complaining about "ungrateful" employees and "high" taxes.
- Jemima/Tarquin: UK slang sometimes used to refer to over-indulged children.
- Joe: When used in the phrase "a cup of Joe", it refers to coffee.
- Joe Bloggs: In the United Kingdom, Joe Bloggs is used as a placeholder for a normal person.
- John: The customer of a prostitute.
- Jonne: In Finnish slang, it refers to a boy in his early teens who consumes energy drinks, plays video games, and drives on a moped, often used in the phrase "jonnet ei muista" ("the Jonnes don't remember", for something presumably before their time).
- Karen: The use of Karen to refer to self-entitled women became popular around the late 2010s. Occasionally used as an insult against men too.
- Kevin: In French slang, Kevin has come to mean a caricature of everything the French hate about America. In video gaming, it also took on a meaning aking to "noob".
- Kyle: Male counterparts of Karens, and are often stereotyped as addicted to Monster energy drinks and having a Hair-Trigger Temper that directs their fist to the nearest drywall.
- Lao Wang: From Mandarin 隔壁老王 gébì Lǎo Wáng or "Mr Wang from next door", which refers to a person who is hypothetically sleeping with one's wife (kind of like how in English people talk about Cheating with the Milkman).
- Rupert: In British slang, it refers to a new and clueless young military officer, possibly good-intentioned but hopelessly dim.
- Shaniqua: Derogatory name for an African-American woman.
- Tommy: Tommy Atkins, sometimes just Tommy or Tom, can refer to a British soldier.
- Tyrone: Name used for black men who are successful with women and dating.
List of Tropes whose name were based on names that took on slang meanings
- The Caligula
- The Casanova
- A Dick in Name
- The Jeeves
- Mary Sue Tropes
- Mrs. Robinson
- Obvious Judas
- The Quisling
- The Pollyanna
- The Scrooge
- Sherlock Can Read
- Sherlock Scan
- Typhoid Mary
- Uncle Tomfoolery
- The Watson
