We've always been inspired by fairy tales, haven't we? From the time we're little kids, fairy tales are read aloud to us, animated versions are played for us, and we dress up like fairy tale characters for Halloween. It's easy to see why those stories take such a central part of our imaginations, too: They're magical stories that explore our biggest fears and desires in ways we can relate to even as little kids. Hansel and Gretel deal with the loss of a parent and the threat of stranger danger, Cinderella overcomes adversity at home to find love elsewhere, and Ariel of The Little Mermaid defies her culture and her father to seek out what looks like happiness to her. Fairy tales have captured our imaginations for generations — some early iterations date back thousands of years — and we can absolutely see why.
So it's no wonder we might want to name our kids after our favorite fairy tales, too! For parents looking for names inspired by the Disney-specific versions of the fairy tales we have come to know and love, or some less common Disney names for girls. For boys, consider some lesser known Disney characters that we may vaguely remember from childhood but have mostly forgotten. And for parents who are more interested in the darker side of things, look to the Disney villains for ideas. Kids don't have to grow up to be literally "evil" to enjoy the fun of playing the villain, and as we all know, villains get the best lines — so there's nothing wrong with naming a kid after an exceptionally good villain we all know and love.
But for classic fairy tale inspiration, we have a list of names that might work.
ANDERSEN
Andersen is such a strong name on its own, and even cuter when it's after famous fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen. Honestly, all three of his names would make a great name for a baby boy, but we're especially fond of the last one — and think it would work for a baby of either gender.
IDA
Little Ida’s Flowers is one of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, although a lesser-known one. We think the name Ida is cutely antique, and would be a great fit for a contemporary, hip baby girl — she probably won't share the name with anyone else in class!
EMBER
Naming a kid "Cindarella" is pretty unkind when she's trying to start a career down the line but Ember is a neat play on the idea. Also, Ella would be a nice option — related but not identical.
TIANA
Tiana is the name of the brave, smart main character princess in the Disney animated movie, The Princess and The Frog. She's voiced by Anika Noni Rose, who also has three names anyone would be proud to have.
HANS
Hans is a great, traditional boys' name in German, Dutch, Norwegian, and several other languages. Originally a shortening of Johannes, it is now a name in its own right, with the diminutive Hansel, as in Hansel and Gretel.
BELLE
Belle is the name of the fiesty, bookish protagonist of Beauty and the Beast. We love this name for a lot of reasons, not least of which because she is played by the exceptional, intelligent Emma Watson in the live-action version.
KHAN
Khan is a great baby name that derives from a title meaning "king or ruler." Its origin is likely Mongolian, although the word has been used in many other languages and we're not entirely sure where it originates.
PERRAULT
Charles Perrault was a writer living in the 1600s in Paris. His collection of fairy tales became popular among aristocrats of the time. His stories may have been original literary fairy tales or they may have been commonly known stories. Either way, we think his last name would be cool for a baby boy or girl.
ARIEL
Ariel is the name of the protagonist of The Little Mermaid, and is also a Biblical Hebrew name meaning "lion of God." We love its original form, but also think the names Ariella and Ariela would be cool. In Hebrew, "Ariel" is typically a boys' name, but we love it on a girl.
JACOB
Jacob Grimm and his brother, Wilhelm, were two of the nine children of Dorothea and Philip Grimm in 18th century Germany. These two boys went on to become the Brothers Grimm, who studied law and wrote down the famous fairy tales we know and love today.
JASMINE
Jasmine is the name of the princess in Aladdin, and is also the name of one of the sweetest-smelling flowers that grows. We love the Disney animated version from the '90s, and are excited about the 2019 live-action film directed by Guy Ritchie.
AURORA
Princess Aurora is Sleeping Beauty's name in the Disney version of the story, although she's also known as Briar Rose in other, earlier iterations (and Rose is also a great name). She's the only daughter of King Stefan and Queen Leah, which are also great names!
GWYNEIRA
Gwyneira is a cool name, similar to Gwyneth in its origin, but meaning "white snow" from the Welsh gwyn meaning "white," combined with the Welsh eira, which means "snow." It's as close as we can get to naming a baby Snow White, really!
TALIA
Talia is the protagonist of the old fairy tale, The Sun, Moon, and Talia. This was a story written by Giambattista Basile, an Italian poet and fairy tale collector, in 1634. The story is considered an early variant of Sleeping Beauty.
SARAH
Sarah is a name that simply means princess in Hebrew, and given how many fairy tales revolve around stories of princesses, we think that it's fair to name a baby Sarah when we just have too many princess favorites to name. Other variations that could be cute include Sari, Sadie, and Zara.
RUSSELL
The boy's name Russell literally means "little red" in French, and while we wouldn't necessarily tell a boy he was named after Little Red Riding Hood (unless he turned out really cool), we wouldn't mind, well, actually doing it.
ERIC
Eric is the name of the handsome prince in the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, and we love how strong and classic a name it is. The name comes from the Old Norse, meaning "forever ruler," and was the name of several early kings of northern European countries.
FLYNN
In the film Tangled, Flynn is the name of Rapunzel's love interest. It's a popular Irish surname that has become a first name. It means "reddish." We think it would be an adorable choice for either a baby boy or a girl.
MAIA
In the story of Thumbelina, the tiny princess escapes with the help of a swallow she helped one winter. In her new home, she meets a tiny flower-fairy prince, and when they fall in love, he gives her a pair of wings and a new name, Maia. We think it's a beautiful name for a baby girl.
ZEPHYR
In Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale The Garden of Paradise, there is a baby boy named Zephyr who grows up into a rugged woodsman. We love this unusual name, which literally means "a soft, gentle breeze."
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