| 100% | REM | 3 | Band that took its name from a stage of sleep Michael Stipe found in the dictionary |
| 43% | TBONE | 5 | Type of steak that takes its name from a letter of the alphabet: Hyph. |
| 42% | LEFIGARO | 8 | Leading newspaper that took its name from a stage comedy |
| 39% | AGNUSDEI | 8 | Liturgy that takes its name from a term for Jesus used by John the Baptist |
| 38% | KILLERS | 7 | The ___, "Mr. Brightside" band that derived its name from a fictitious band seen in New Order's "Crystal" music video |
| 36% | TEAL | 4 | Color that takes its name from a bird |
| 36% | TEAL | 4 | Color that takes its name from a duck |
| 36% | OHIO | 4 | Columbus' state that takes its name from a river |
| 36% | DRAB | 4 | Word that took its lackluster name from a fabric made of undyed, homespun wool |
| 35% | RHESUS | 6 | Animal that shares its name with a king of Thrace in the "Iliad" |
| 35% | ERIE | 4 | Great Lake that takes its name from a Native American tribe |
| 35% | BEAT | 4 | "___ It," a hit single from Michael Jackson's album in 16a that won a Grammy for "Record of the Year" |
| 35% | THEDOORS | 8 | 1960s-'70s band that took its name from an Aldous Huxley title |
| 34% | LONDON | 6 | "___ Calling," song by British punk rock band the Clash which has the name of a city in its title that is known for the clock tower"Big Ben" |
| 33% | SCISSORSDANCE | 13 | Quechuan custom that takes its name from the bladelike rods wielded by performers |
| 33% | SELFIE | 6 | Picture type that Oxford Dictionaries named its "Word of the Year" in 2013 |
| 33% | EDINBURGH | 9 | A town in Indiana that shares its name with the capital of Scotland |
| 33% | LEU | 3 | Coin found in Tirasol that has the horn of an aurochs and a female figure of the moon on it |
| 32% | PAPARAZZI | 9 | Term that comes from the name of a news photographer in Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” |
| 32% | RAMSBOTTOM | 10 | Town in Greater Manchester that shares its name with a snake companion of the puppet Sooty |
| 31% | AMBER | 5 | Shade of yellow that takes its name from eponymous tree resin |
| 31% | OOPS | 4 | "___!... I Did It Again," title track from Britney Spears' album of the same name that celebrates 25 years in 2025 |
| 31% | ODB | 3 | Founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan who took his stage name from a 1980 Chinese martial-arts movie, to fans |
| 31% | SONY | 4 | Tech giant that originally got its name from a combination of the Latin word for sound and a slang term for a young boy |
| 31% | KEWPIEDOLL | 10 | Toy that gets its name from the Roman god of love |
| 31% | IRIS | 4 | Flower that shares its name with a part of the eye |
| 31% | ASIAGO | 6 | European cheese with a hard texture that derives its name from the high plateau in the Italian Alps |
| 30% | REO | 3 | Classic car company in the name of a classic rock band |
| 30% | CRIMESCENE | 10 | "CSI: ___," with 31-Across, the name of a TV show Liev Schreiber - whose birthday it is today - guest starred in as Michael Keppler: 2 wds. |
| 30% | SPINALTAP | 9 | Fictional band that uses an umlaut on the "n" in its name |