The Name "Beetlejuice."

Keatons's character was named the same as the star Betelgeuse, but spelled Beetlejuice so people who were planning on seeing the movie could actually pronounce the name . In fact, Adam screws up the name when reading the advertisement.

I thought the subtitles were wrong because they are not shown as the title of the movie.

It's from a scene in the movie:

According to the "poltergeist rules" he's forced to follow, Betelgeuse can be summoned by anyone who speaks his name three times. BUT, he's not allowed to say his name himself. In the scene where he convinces Lydia to summon him, he has to tell her his name phonetically by playing a game of charades.

First word- sounds like: He makes an actual beetle appear in the room.

Lydia says "Beetle."

Second word- sounds like: He conjures a carton of orange juice in mid air and it pours into a floating glass.

Lydia says "Beetle... breakfast? Beetle orange? Beetle liquid? Beetle juice?"

Yeah, I think the name of the character is even spelled "Betelgeuse", and Adam and Barbara try to pronounce it at one point.

I suspect that Tim Burton just couldn't get over the fact that "Betelgeuse" is pronounced "Beetlejuice", and had been waiting for years for the chance to stick his little obsession into a movie.

Beetlejuice or Betelgeuse is a constellation in the night's sky.