15 Iconic Characters Who Didn’t Start Off With the Name You Know

Indiana Jones could have been Indiana Smith. Buzz Lightyear nearly went by Lunar Larry. Even Mickey Mouse almost ended up with a completely different name. Coming up with memorable characters is one thing, but naming them can apparently take a few attempts. Writers and filmmakers often try out different names before settling on something that works, and some of their early choices are pretty strange. A few were changed at the last minute, while others survived through multiple drafts before getting dropped. Luckily, plenty of those original ideas have been documented. Here are 15 famous characters whose names looked very different before they became household names.

Indiana Jones Was Almost Indiana Smith

George Lucas originally named the character Indiana Smith, but Steven Spielberg disliked the surname. They agreed on Indiana Jones before Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in 1981.

Luke Skywalker Was Luke Starkiller

Luke Skywalker was called Luke Starkiller in early drafts of Star Wars. George Lucas changed the surname before the film’s release in 1977.

Buzz Lightyear Was Lunar Larry

Pixar considered several names for Buzz Lightyear during the development of Toy Story, including Lunar Larry, before settling on the one used in the 1995 film.

Woody Was Simply Called Dummy

During early development of Toy Story, Pixar referred to the cowboy character as Dummy before eventually naming him Woody.

Mickey Mouse Could Have Been Mortimer

Walt Disney originally considered Mortimer Mouse, but his wife Lillian suggested Mickey instead. Mortimer later appeared as a separate character in the 1936 cartoon Mickey’s Rival.

SpongeBob Was Almost SpongeBoy

Stephen Hillenburg initially named his character SpongeBoy and planned to call the series SpongeBoy Ahoy!. The name was already taken, so he changed it to SpongeBob SquarePants.

Hermione Puckle? Seriously?

J.K. Rowling’s early notes for Harry Potter listed Hermione with the surname Puckle. She crossed it out and replaced it with Granger.

Sherlock Holmes Had Another First Name

Arthur Conan Doyle originally called his detective Sherrinford Holmes in his early notes. Dr. Watson had a different name too: Ormond Sacker.

Nancy Drew Was Nearly Stella Strong

Edward Stratemeyer considered several names for his teenage detective, including Stella Strong. Another option was Nan Drew, which eventually became Nancy Drew.

Tiny Tim Had Some Competition

Charles Dickens considered calling the young boy in A Christmas Carol Small Sam, Little Larry, or Puny Pete before choosing Tiny Tim.

Little Orphan Otto Almost Happened

Cartoonist Harold Gray originally planned to create a comic strip about a boy named Little Orphan Otto. His editor suggested making the character a girl instead.

Goofy Started Out as Dippy Dawg

Disney introduced the character as Dippy Dawg in 1932. He gradually became known as Goofy, with the name appearing in the 1939 cartoon Goofy and Wilbur.

Winnie-the-Pooh Was Edward Bear

Christopher Robin’s teddy bear was originally called Edward. The name Winnie came from a bear at London Zoo, while Pooh was borrowed from a swan.

Curious George Was Called Fifi

The monkey first appeared under the name Fifi in the Reys’ 1939 book Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys. He became Curious George when he got his own book.

Draco Spungen Doesn’t Sound Quite Right

J.K. Rowling’s original Hogwarts student list included Draco Spungen, later changed to Draco Spinks. Both surnames were crossed out before she chose Malfoy.