As shown below, gym leaders' names have been delving deeper and deeper into obscurity with each successive generation. Giving them boring names like "Melissa" would solve that problem, but kill a significant amount of wit. If puntastic names like these are so awful, why shouldn't Nintendo give all Pokemon completely random, nonsensical titles? Besides, Candice's name is a stroke of genius.
Brock: Pun on "rock", common first name
Misty: Pun on "mist" (suspended condensed water), uncommon first name
Lt. Surge: Reference to electrical surges, nonexistent last name
Erika: Reference to the Erica genus of flowers, common name
Koga: Reference to "Kōga-ryū" (a school of ninjutsu), mock-Japanese name acknowledging his ninja background
Sabrina: Unconfirmed reference/pun, common name
Blaine: Pun on "blaze", common last name, uncommon first name
Giovanni: Pun on "geo" (Greek for "earth"), common Italian name, possibly used to draw further parallels between Mafia-type criminal groups and Team Rocket
Falkner: Pun on "falconer" (falcon trainer), common last name, obscure first name
Bugsy: Pun on "bug", uncommon nickname
Whitney: Pun on "white" (often associated with normality/plainness), common first name
Morty: From Latin "mort-" (meaning "death"), nickname for Mortimer or Mordecai
Chuck: Slang "to throw", common nickname for Charles
Jasmine: Possibly a pun on "mineral", uncommon first name
Pryce: Rhymes with "ice", common last name, obscure first name
Clair: Bulbapedia says it's meant to rhyme with "lair" (as in a dragon's lair, but that's stupid), common first name
Roxanne: Pun on "rock", common first name
Brawly: Pun on "brawl" (to fight), obscure nickname
Wattson: Pun on electrical watts, alternate spelling of the common last name "Watson"
Flannery: Pun on "flame", uncommon first name
Norman: Pun on "normal", common first name
Winona: Possible reference to "wind" or "wing", uncommon first name
Tate & Liza: Possible reference to "levitate" when names are combined, relatively uncommon first names
Wallace: Vague pun on "water", common last name, obscure first name
Roark: Pun on "rock", obscure first or last name
Gardenia: Pun on "garden" (also reference to the flower gardenia), nonexistent name
Maylene: Pun on "melee", uncommon first name
Crasher Wake: Pun on "crashing wave" or reference to a vessel's wake, made-up stage name
Fantina: Pun on "phantom" or reference to Les Misérables' character Fantine, obscure first name
Byron: Pun on "iron", uncommon first and last name
Candice: Straight from Bulbapedia: "From the Latin "candita", meaning "clarity; whiteness". Contains ice", uncommon first name
Volkner: Pun on "volt", name often given to retarded kids whose retarded parents can't think of actual names
