What is it about the story of Aladdin that we love so much? This beloved tale of a wayward street urchin who falls in love with a beautiful princess has been capturing the hearts and minds of people around the world for many generations — long before the animated Disney feature came out, although that's certainly what made us fall in love with this story. In fact, the story dates back to at least the mid-1600s, which is when a French archaeologist first translated it into a European language. It may be older than that, but it also it may also have been written around then because a Syrian writer he met, who told him the story, may have actually been the story's author. Either way, the story of Aladdin has been told in countless ways over the years, from a pantomime in the 1800s all the way through a book of Japanese manga and now, a live action feature film created by Disney.
Honestly, we love taking inspiration from Disney for finding baby names. Disney movies are part of some of our favorite memories from childhood — watching The Little Mermaid for the first time with our mom, for instance, or getting to go on an absolutely magical trip to Disney World with the whole family. And so it makes sense that we'd want our kids to have similar relationships with Disney characters — and maybe even take their name from one of them! We love this story about baby girl names inspired by forgotten Disney characters, which help reclaim some of the lesser-known characters (and which make it less obvious to everyone that we're naming a kid after a Disney character)! Of course, we wouldn't be gender-biased, either: We also have a roundup of baby boy names inspired by orgotten Disney characters. And although some people just love to hate all of the amazing villains of the Disney universe, others have a true affection for them (ourselves included!) and are all about baby names inspired by Disney villains.
Hanna
Hanna Diyab, born Antun Yusuf Hanna Diyab__,__ was a Syrian Maronite storyteller and writer. Some people think he's the actual author of the story "Aladdin" because there are similarities with his life, and he was definitely a major contributor to the original One Thousand and One Nights.
Guy
Guy Ritchie is the director of the new live-action Aladdin. The former Mr. Madonna is a very cool director generally, and is responsible for films such as Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and 2009's Sherlock Holmes.
Naomi
Naomi Scott plays Jasmine in the new live-action version Aladdin, and we're thrilled. She's gorgeous and talented, and we loved her in the 2017 Power Rangers as Kimberley the Pink Ranger.
Jasmine
Jasmine is Aladdin's love interested in the film, although that's a little overly simplistic. This plucky, smart, strong heroine is one of our favorites in the Disney canon, both in the new live action version and the animated one.
Dalia
In the 2019 live action film, Dalia is Jasmine's handmaiden, confidante, and childhood friend. She's portrayed by Nasim Pedrad, an American actress of Persian descent we first fell in love with as a cool cop on New Girl.
Taliyah
Taliyah Blair is a young actress who appears in the 2019 live action Aladdin as the character Lian. This name comes from the Hebrew Talia, which means "dew from God," although it can also be derived from the Greek muse Thalia, who was the muse of comedy.
Robin
The late, great Robin Williams iconically voiced Genie in the 1992 animated feature Aladdin, and we think that this amazing soul who shared his comedy talents with us for many years would be a great namesake for a baby.
Larkin
We love the name Larkin, which is a great gender-neutral option for either a baby boy or girl. Actress Linda Larkin provided the voice of Jasmine in the 1992 animated feature film, as well as in all of the video games and straight-to-video Aladdin movies.
Jonathan
Jonathan Freeman provided the voice of Jafar for the 1992 animated feature, and while yes, he's the villain, we love his silky-smooth voice, not to mention how classic the name Jonathan is — it's really always a good call.
Carroll
Willard Caroll Smith, more popularly known as Will Smith, became an early crush of ours as The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and has been a beloved entertainer we have appreciated for years. He was a great choice to play Genie in the 2019 live action version of Aladdin.
Ruth
Born in 1886, Ruth Manning-Sanders published dozens of fairy tale anthologies, including A Choice of Magic, which featured the story "Aladdin." Her telling was one of the reasons the story became so popularized in English.
Jeremy
Gilbert Jeremy Gottfried is an American actor known for voicing Iago in the 1992 animated feature Aladdin, as well as Kraang in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His voice is so iconic as Iago, we honestly can't imagine anyone else in the role!
Ali
"Prince Ali" is a song from Aladdin, written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. It's about Prince Ali Ababwa, the alter-ego of the street urchin Aladdin before his true self is revealed. We love the song and think Ali is a wonderful name.
Mena
Mena Massoud is the Canadian actor, born in Cairo to Egyptian parents, who plays Aladdin in the 2019 live action film. He's a great young actor and pretty devastatingly handsome, and we think Mena is a great name for a baby.
Antoine
Antoine Galland, born in 1646, was a French archaeologist and is responsible for the first European translation of One Thousand and One Nights, which incorporated the short story "Aladdin."
John
John O'Keefe was one of the first people to create a dramatization of the story of Aladdin when he introduced it as a pantomime in 1788 for the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, London. It has remained a very popular play since.
Charlotte
The oldest surviving feature film is The Adventures of Prince Achmed, a retelling of the classic story of Aladdin. The film is animated and was created by Charlotte "Lotte" Reiniger, an early German film director and one of the first female directors.
Alan
Alan Menken is responsible for the iconic musical score for Disney's Aladdin, both the original animated version and the new live action. We love the name Alan, which means harmony, stone, or noble in Celtic.
Jamal
In the 2019 feature film Aladdin, Amir Boutrous portrays Jamal, a bread seller Aladdin tricks. We love the name Jamal, which is an Arabic given name meaning "beauty," and is common in Tunisia, where it may be spelled Jamel.
James
The New Aladdin was a musical comedy created and popularized in the Edwardian era, written by James T. Tanner and W. H. Risque. It was a London production that was so successful it ran for 203 performances!
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