It’s not unusual for parents to take inspiration from their favourite films when naming their children. Many of us have movies, TV series, and music that we deeply resonate with, and these often serve as a source of inspiration when it comes to naming our offspring.
Some kids are named after characters from Shakespearean plays, while more contemporary inspirations include Game of Thrones and Harry Potter. However, one woman has revealed her Disney obsession led her to name both her children after elements related to the entertainment conglomerate.
In a TikTok video, Kara explained that she intentionally selected names that subtly referenced Disney. Despite being a superfan, she didn’t want to be too blatant by naming her son Mickey or her daughter Minnie.
Instead, she chose to name her son after a character in her favourite Disney movie, Tangled. Rapunzel’s love interest in the film is initially introduced as Flynn Ryder, which inspired Kara to name her son Ryder. Her daughter’s name, on the other hand, is far less obvious. In fact, it’s not even based on a film character.
Kara was inspired by the popular log flume ride Splash Mountain at Disney World, Florida, which closed in 2023 – a year after her daughter was born. She explained: “She was born in 2022, and during 2022 to 23, a very specific ride shut down at Disney. Or it was being talked about being shut down. That ride was Splash Mountain. I know it’s very controversial that I named her after Splash Mountain, but I didn’t give her some weird name. I didn’t name her Splash or Mountain.
“Her name is Briar. Her nickname has always been Briar Patch, that’s what we’ve always called her ever since she was born. That’s because outside of the ride Splash Mountain, there is a gift shop and it was called The Briar Patch. And that’s what I named her after.”
Splash Mountain was closed in 2023 following remarks from Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger who declared that the film which inspired the attraction, Song of the South, was “not appropriate for today’s world”. In 2024, the ride made its comeback as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, with inspiration taken from The Princess and the Frog.
In the same video clip, Kara also revealed other names she’d consider if she were to have more children. She expressed her desire for a boy to be named Flynn, appreciating how it complements Ryder and Indie, hinting at an Indiana Jones reference.
And for a girl, Kara would think about the name Aurora. In Sleeping Beauty, the princess’ real name is Aurora, and she was known as Briar Rose while living in the forest – nicely linking with her other daughter’s name.
Commenters mostly supported the mum’s unique choice of names. Yet, several highlighted that Flynn Ryder’s real name was Eugene Fitzherbert, to which Kara firmly responded that she would never “do that” to her child.