Anime Baby Names Straight From Studio Ghibli

Spirited Away tells the story of a young girl, Chihiro/Sen, who is moving to a new neighborhood. Through a series of quick events on the road, Chihiro and her family make a pitstop to explore what looks to be an abandoned amusement park but is actually a bath house for the spirits. This adventure quickly spirals out of control and Chihiro sets off on an incredible journey to return her and her parents to a normal life.

Howl’s Moving Castle follows the story of a young woman named Sophie who befriends a moody, vain wizard named Howl. Through befriending Howl, Sophie earns the ire of the Witch of the Waste who curses her with premature old age. This is only where the adventure begins, however, as this curse teaches fruitful lessons to everyone around Sophie.

The Secret World of Arrietty is a tale of forbidden friendship. Where Thumbelina meets Romeo and Juliet is the sweet spot for this — albeit, less tragic and less romantic — story. Arrietty comes from a world where people are only a few inches tall, but this world lives right alongside the one we would recognize today. Arrietty is discovered by a human boy and the friendship they form sparks danger of discovery for Arrietty’s people.

Ponyo is an adorable story about a goldfish princess that longs to become human and her budding friendship with a human boy. This movie takes heart from the tale of The Little Mermaid but with more serious and dangerous magical repercussions for an entire town.

This anime, Porco Rosso, takes place in 1930s Italy. Through a series of wild events, Porco himself — once a human pilot of renown in WWI — sets about to defeat the ‘sky pirates’ of the American enlistment. With a message that highlights female strength, Porco gets the help and expertise he needs from a mechanic named Fio, his bewitching friend Gina, and several other ladies of the town.

In a tale of ‘no good deed goes unpunished’, The Cat Returns is a tale — or maybe, tail — of a girl named Haru who saves a cat from being hit by a car, which in actuality was Haru saving the prince of a cat kingdom. The Cat King, in gratitude, offers his son’s hand in marriage to Haru. Her visit to the cat kingdom quickly darkens as she is prevented from leaving, but finds allies in a couple of statues given life.

An orphan by the name of Sheeta is kidnapped by a military official, but by some miracle their plane is attacked by air pirates and Sheeta survives because of a crystal she wears. She befriends orphan Pazu and in order to find the beautiful city in the sky called Laputa, the two pair up. But these orphans are not the only ones in search of the Castle in the Sky.

My Neighbor Totoro is a wholesome tale that details the life of Satsuke and Mei with their father in an old country home while their mother stays in a hospital nearby. All appears to be normal until the sisters encounter playful spirits in their new surroundings. The most adorable and cuddly of these new friends is Totoro.

Princess Mononoke details a journey of a young man named Ashitaka seeking a cure, for which he must travel across the lands to find. In his travels, he bears witness to the ugliness of humanity and the following wrath of the wolf god Moro and his human companion Princess Mononoke. He attempts to broker peace and this is where the story really begins.

Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service is a young witchling with a very personable cat named Jiji. In this world, Kiki looks to find work delivering parcels via her handy flying broomstick. She makes friends, and plenty of mistakes, but this coming of age story highlights the importance of self discovery and independence.