Do you often see the same name pop up in every new movie and wonder how many times it’s been used before? Turns out you don’t have to.Â
In 2016, Vox wrote an article that researched popular characters names in movies from 1920 to the present day. It also makes sense that many of these names would also overlap with the most girls and boys baby names of each decade. The Vox article examined the most common names based on the number of times the name appeared in each film, then further separated the list by names that are typically male, female, and gender neutral names.Â
Among this list are the 25 most used names for feminine-aligned characters. Just because the name appears more than 100 times doesn’t necessarily make the character the protagonist, villain, or even an important side character.
The name Mary has a lot of historical significance dating back to the Old Testament and the Bible. These biblical origins most likely impacted other women throughout history, such as the former queen of Scotland Mary Stuart, Mary II of England, and the author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley.
With its long history, it’s no wonder that there are many incredible female characters named Mary. Among some of the more well-known ones include the timeless Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) from the movie titled after the beloved nanny and Mary Santiago (Selena Gomez) from Another Cinderella Story. The 2016 award-winning biographical drama Hidden Figures pays homage to Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), a mathematician and engineer.
Other great movies include There’s Something About Mary and the many Marvel movies featuring Spider-Man’s love interest, Mary Jane Watson.
In the original 1984 Terminator movie, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is rescued from the the android killer, but by the end of the movie franchise, she’s a warrior. Sarah Whittle is played by Bonnie Hunt as an adult in the urban fantasy Jumanji, which is about a supernatural board game that comes to life as players continue the game. Another notable Sarah is 16-year-old Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly), who must conquer a fantastical maze to rescue her brother from the Goblin King in Labyrinth.
Lucy isn’t just a popular Beatles song or an old Christian saint; it’s the name of over dozens of characters, including Lucille “Lucy” Van Pelt in the Charlie Brown cartoons.
The name appears to be a common choice for romantic comedies like While You Were Sleeping, which is about lonely transit worker Lucy Eleanor Moderatz (Sandra Bullock), and 50 First Dates, about amnesiac art teacher Lucy Whitmore (Drew Barrymore). The name even appears in the action franchise Die Hard as NYPD Detective John McClane’s (Bruce Willis) daughter. Taylor Fry starred as the original Lucy Gennaro McClane in the first movie, but the character doesn’t become a lead until the fourth movie, Live Free or Die Hard,when she is kidnapped as a college student (and played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead).
Lewis Carroll’s classic book Alice in Wonderland,originally published in 1865,skyrocketed this name to the top of the baby and character name charts. It only makes sense that there would be many films based off this fantasy story, including Disney’s most recent retelling, Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016)with Mia Wasikowska as Alice. In 1959, Alice Aisgill (Simone Signoret) took over the screen in the British love triangle with an Oscar-winning performance in Room at the Top. Fans of vampires can also watch Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) across all five Twilight Saga films.
Whether Anna’s popularity is due to a fictional Anna or a royal Anna, the name appears in all genres of film. The 2019 thriller Anna, follows Russian assassin Anna Poliatova (Sasha Luss) in the 1990s; however, there are a ton of other characters claiming the name. Disney, for example, also seems to love the name. First, there’s Freaky Friday, where teenage Anna Coleman (Lindsay Lohan) accidentally swaps bodies with her mom. Then there’s Princess Anna of Arendelle in Frozen and Frozen 2.
There are also other titular Annas in movies like Anna Karenina, Anna and the Apocalypse, and Anna and the King.
Often shortened from Katherine, which could be spelled many ways, Kate is a go-to for many films. The comedy horror movie Gremlins is about a mysterious creature that a man accidentally sets loose on his hometown so he has to stop the monster and rescue his girlfriend Kate Beringer (Phoebe Cates). Not all Kate’s have a happy ending, though. In Kate, Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character must find out who slipped her a deadly poison before she succumbs to it, and Kate Fiztgerald (Sofia Vassilieva) in My Sister’s Keeper dies of cancer.
There have also been many C/Katherines throughout history, including three of Henry the VI’s wives and Catherine “Kate” Middleton, Princess of Wales.
