God Bless Us, Everyone
From It’s a Wonderful Life’s George to Christmas with the Kranks’ Blair.
You don’t have to have a Christmas baby to appreciate a good Christmas-inspired baby name. Especially a Christmas movie-inspired baby name. You may only enjoy your favorite Christmas movies for a small portion of the year, but your favorites live forever inside your heart. We all have a favorite Christmas movie that makes us feel cozy and loved, and this list of Christmas movie baby names will give you those same happy vibes.
Don’t worry, there’s no Santa or Kris or Cornelius on here. (Although that last one is pretty great.) These are pretty “normal” baby names that just have a fun connection to your favorite Christmas movies. From It’s a Wonderful Life to How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and Christmas with the Kranks, every type of Christmas baby name is covered and worth considering. The best part is that some of them are such a subtle nod, people won’t even get the connection unless you tell them.
So get all those streaming services ready and pick your favorite Christmas movie to gather some baby name inspiration. You don’t have to be due anywhere near the holiday to appreciate these Christmas movie-inspired baby names. But you will get lots of inside jokes and quotes in your back pocket.
6
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Lane, played by Barbara Stanwyck in 1945’s Christmas in Connecticut, is one of my favorite Christmas movie characters. She’s real and she’s messy and she’s just the best. Elizabeth is clearly a popular girl name, but you can shorten it with Eliza, Lizzy, Betty, or even Izzy if you want something different.
7
Judy
Judy is one of the elves at Santa’s workshop in The Santa Clause, and she’s best known for working on a hot cocoa recipe that took her 1200 years to get exactly right. “Shaken, not stirred.” Name your baby Judy after this Christmas movie legend, I’m begging you.
8
Calvin
Another nod to The Santa Clause is to name your baby after the big guy himself — Scott Calvin. Scott’s an obvious choice, but I like the subtle connection with Calvin. Calvin is such a fun, spunky name for your little one, although I regret to inform you that it means “the bald one.”
9
Charlie
Sweet little Charlie from The Santa Clause is an icon. He never gives up on believing his dad has become Santa Clause, and he manages to change up his entire family dynamic for the good of everyone — especially the world’s kids at Christmas.
10
Ralphie
Oh come on. You knew this one had to be on the list. Ralphie is an excellent old man baby name, and is also an absolute must if you want to name your little guy after a Christmas movie. Ralphie is the cutest with those blue eyes and stocking cap, and his deep belief in Santa and love for his mom makes me cry every time.
11
Harper
The Happiest Season, a Hulu Christmas movie from 2020, is one of my absolute favorites and one of the main characters, Harper, is a delight. The movie will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you hug your family tight. Harper is a super popular baby girl name over the past decade, but it’s just darling.
12
Ted
I’m sorry, but Jingle All the Way’s Ted, played by the late and great Phil Hartman, is way better than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character. And I think, despite his little move at the end that gets him covered in eggnog, he deserves some love. Name your baby Ted after the guy who loves Christmas and his kid so much, he brings a reindeer home as a present.
13
Clark
Clark W. Griswold, Christmas fanatic. The little lights may not be twinkling, but his personality definitely does in Christmas Vacation. Name your little one after Clark and you know it’ll be real nice.
14
Belle
A sweet name for a sweet girl — Belle is directly inspired from all the versions of A Christmas Carol out there. Ebenezer Scrooge breaks her heart, and she is one of those sad flashbacks to Christmas Past that makes you want to shake the old bah humbug guy. Belle is of French origin and means “fair,” “beautiful,” and “lovely one.”
15
Audrey
“She’ll see it later, honey. Her eyes are frozen.” Clark Griswold’s eldest child, Audrey, has to put up with a lot of nonsense from her family and we love her for it. Audrey means “noble” and “strength” and I feel like Audrey Griswold has tons of both.
16
John
Don’t argue with me, you know Die Hard is a Christmas movie, and if anyone deserves the honor of a baby named after them, it’s John McClane. John is a super traditional boy name — it’s been in the top 30 baby names for boys since 1900. That’s over a century of the name John (and you know it was huge before then, too). But think about the last time you met a little guy named John? And if you have met one recently, do you think he was named after a bad*ss NYPD cop who just wants to celebrate Christmas with his estranged wife?
17
Duncan
OK, this is a deep cut: try the baby name Duncan as an homage to Mr. Duncan of Duncan’s Toy Chest in Home Alone 2. He clearly was moved by Kevin being a generous little kid, and gives Kevin the turtledoves ornament as he leaves. Duncan is an absolutely adorable little boy name, and it means “dark-skinned warrior” with a Scottish origin.
18
Cindy
Little Cindy Lou Who, who was no more than 2! This is an absolutely iconic Christmas movie character, and the baby name Cindy deserves a comeback. It hasn’t been in the top 1000 baby girl names for nearly a decade, but it was there from 1938 to 2014. Cindy also means “light” which is super sweet and kind of a quiet nod to Christmas all on its own.
19
Grace
The long-suffering assistant of Bill Murray’s Frank in Scrooged, Grace is an absolute hero. She’s a loving mother, a voice of reason to Frank, and deserves the whole world. Honor all of her patience and comedic timing with the name Grace for your own baby girl.
20
Russ
“Russ!” You can only name your baby Russ if you promise to yell it like Clark Griswold always does. Russ is an old school name that you don’t hear a lot of anymore, but I think it’s pretty spunky and fun for your little guy.
21
Ellen
Oh Ellen Griswold, the patience you have. Name your baby after the matriarch of the Griswold clan with the baby name Ellen, which means “sunray” or “shining light.”
22
Clarice
For the sweetest little reindeer inspiration, consider Clarice. I know, maybe you hear Anthony Hopkins saying it all creepy-like, but I really want you to focus on the adorable reindeer, OK? Clarice is a super sweet Christmas baby name and means “bright” or “clear.”
23
Jovie
Zooey Deschanel’s character of Jovie in Elf may not be fully invested in Christmas at first, but she definitely gets there. I love this sweet name of Jovie so much, and it actually means “joyful” so it’s pretty perfect for your babe.
24
Kate
Four Christmases is one of my absolute favorite movies, and Reese Witherspoon’s portrayal of Kate is hilarious, vulnerable, and real. Kate is a classic name, and you don’t have to make it short for Katherine or anything — just go for Kate, which means “pure.”
25
Brad
And if you’re going to go for Kate, you could also go for Brad from Four Christmases. I don’t recommend Brad’s given birth name of Orlando, but Brad is cute, and it means “broad, wide.”
26
Blair
Christmas with the Kranks is full of grumpy people, but not Blair Krank. The daughter of Luther and Nora, she’s the entire reason they give up their cruise trip and throw Christmas back on the agenda with no time to spare. A girl like that is worth naming your own baby after, right? Blair is a gorgeous baby name and means “battlefield.”
27
Margo
One more for Christmas Vacation: the baby name Margo. But you have to shout, “I don’t know, Margo” every time they ask you something.
Remember: you don’t have to have a Christmas baby or even be due anywhere near the holiday to appreciate these Christmas movie baby names. Christmas is a feeling, and these names definitely have it, too.