The year 2030.
Ted: Kids! I’m gonna tell you an incredible story — the story of How I Met Your Mother.
Kids: Are we being punished for something?
Ted: No
Kids: Is this gonna take a while?
Ted: Yes
Kids: (Scoff)
(‘Hey Beautiful’ by The Solids plays…)

This is how it began. The amazing story of Ted Mosby and his friends living in New York, hanging out in McLaren’s Pub every day, and juggling their careers and love life.

How I Met Your Mother is an American TV sitcom that was created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. Its filming took place at 20th Century Fox studios in Los Angeles, California. It had 9 seasons which aired from 2005-2014. The show's entire run is available on Disney Hotstar.

Here are the 10 best characters from How I Met Your Mother!

1) Ted Mosby

Played by: Josh Randor

The (one of the) main character(s) of How I Met Your Mother.

The father, the protagonist, the hopeless romantic and not to forget, one of the few Architects in New York City to have a building designed by him - Ted Mosby. He is also the narrator of How I Met Your Mother.

Ted is introduced to us when his best friend from college, Marshal, is practicing his wedding proposal to him in the iconic apartment where they lived. Ted always comes across as a believer in love who thinks that he would find ‘the One’ and get married to her and have a perfect life that he had always imagined. Ted, Marshal, and Lily were best friends from college.

Ted meets Barney in the show who also becomes his best friend. Together they go to ‘The Bar’ (McLaren’s Pub) to meet women. Ted had always been a very cautious person but Barney never let him think twice when he wanted them to do something crazy. One time they went to the airport to ‘pick someone up’ which ended up with them licking The Liberty Bell.

When Ted saw Robin across from the ‘The Bar’, he was mesmerized and said to himself, “You see that girl? I’m gonna marry her someday!”. He fell in love with her instantly. He even told her that he is in love with her on their first date. It didn’t end well but it was the beginning of the amazing friendship among the group which entertained us one episode after the other.

Ted wasn't always a mature person. One time he performed a ‘rain dance’ so that he could date Robin. And it worked!

Ted has many relationships throughout the show and they reveal the qualities he wants in his future wife. At the end of every relationship, he loses a bit of hope of ever finding ‘the One’ until he meets ‘the One’!

Ted is one of the few characters with the ability to express his emotions. After all his love life is the main plot of the show. There are not enough words that describe Ted Mosby completely. Passionate, sensitive, brave, emotional, believer, funny…

At last Ted’s children makes him realize that she still loves Robin and it’s been a long time since Tracy (the mother) died. Ted goes to Robin’s apartment with a blue french horn. He raises it to her from outside the apartment building. She smiles. The curtains are raised. The end.

2) Barney Stinson

Played by: Neil Patrick Harris

Everyone’s favorite character and the person who brings How I Met Your Mother alive!

The playboy, the creator of ‘bro code’, the president of Awesome! And the comedian in the group - was Barney Stinson. He is the character responsible for the most laughs in the show!

Barney is known for picking up women at ‘The Bar’ and other places. He is a smooth talker who knows enough lies to manipulate women. He is known for his endless catchphrases. He is Legend-wait-for-it-Dary.

Barney has so many funny jingles that he sings throughout the show.

He is very fond of the game, ‘Laser Tag’ where you have to kill your opponents in the game using laser guns. He even tells Ted in an episode that playing Laser Tag is ‘Awesome!’.

Every time Barney came up on the scene, it meant something fun is going to happen. He hates marriage and relationships and just wants to have fun. Barney tries to teach Ted the same thing. But he falls in love with Robin and that changes everything he previously believed in.

He also fell for Nora but that didn’t end well.

Near the end of the show, Barney scolds two girls for being foolish enough to be taken advantage of and tells them to go back to their homes. Seeing this, Lily says, “I have officially seen everything”.

3) Marshall Eriksen

Played by: Jason Segel

One of the most adorable characters of How I Met Your Mother!

The Lawyer, the man with a golden heart, the person who believes that ‘I can walk that far!’ and the opponent in the battle called ‘Marshal vs the Machines’ - Marshall Eriksen.

Marshall is Ted’s best friend. They were roommates in college. They lived in the same apartment after moving to New York.

Marshall dated Lily through college and after. They broke up because Lily went to Paris to pursue Art. Eventually, they got married in season 2. They had a baby boy who they named Marvin after Marshall’s dad.

Marshall wanted to be an Environmental Lawyer and succeeds to become one. He even became a Judge subsequently.

Marshall had many quirky traits which are shown throughout the series. One time became so obsessed with charts that he made them for everything he talked about.

One of the saddest parts of the show is when Marshall’s father dies. But the thing Marshall regrets is that his dad tried to call him before he passed away and he didn’t pick up the phone. He was so broken after the loss that he didn’t have the courage to check the voicemail.

When he finally gets the courage to listen to the voice call, it revealed that his dad had called him by mistake and didn’t even know it.

Marshall has great values within him. He was very polite throughout the show. He cares about his friends. He always listens to their problems.

4) Lily Aldrin

Played by: Alyson Hannigan

The sweetest and the meanest character of How I Met Your Mother!

The kindergarten teacher, the wannabe artist, and the one who can't keep any secrets (around Christmas!) - Lily Aldrin.

Lily is Marshall’s college sweetheart and wife. She wants to become a painter but works as a kindergarten teacher.

Lily is Robin’s best friend. They met at ‘the Bar’ and created an everlasting bond. Lily is usually disgusted with Barney (“That’s my Barney limit.” ) but shares moments of friendship with him too.

The fact that Lily can't keep a secret was the running joke of the show. But during the last season of the show, she managed to hide the fact that she was pregnant with her second child.

Lily has been shown as a manipulative person. She was responsible for many of Ted’s breakups.

Just like her husband Marshall, Lily also cares for her friends. She is always there for them. However, she follows the tough-love approach toward the gang. She comes across as a wise person and gives helpful advice to her friends.

5) Robin Scherbatsky

Played by: Cobie Smulders

The already famous teenage Candian popstar of How I Met Your Mother!

The TV news reporter, the career-oriented woman who is secretly very rich, and the singer of ‘Let’s go to the mall!’ - Robin Sherbatsky.

Robin was a Canadian who moved to America to become a journalist. She loves dogs and owns 5 of them.

Robin likes scotch, cigars, and guns. This was because her father treated her like a boy when she was growing up. And interest in these things helped her get her father’s attention.

Robin was a teenage pop star in Canada. Her name was Robin Sparkles. The song ‘Let's Go to the Mall’ was released in 1993 when she was 16 years old. The gang found different ways of making fun of her. Ted used the song as his ringtone for some time. Marshall performed the song at karaoke in a Canadian pub in New York. There was another song, ‘Sandcastles in the Sand’.

Robin eventually made her peace with her past and the song ‘Sandcastles in the Sand’ was played when she walked down the aisle and married Barney.

Robin has been the love interest of Ted throughout the series. When they met for the first time, she threw a drink in his face as a joke. They even date for a while but things took a different when both of them realized that they wanted different things. She wanted to focus on her career. He wanted to settle down eventually and have kids.

Robin also dated Barney. They broke up eventually. But Barney realized that had fallen in love with her. He uses the last trick from ‘the Playbook’ called ‘The Robin’ and confesses his love and asks her to marry him. She says yes and they get married. After a few years, they got divorced because Barney cheated on her.

6) Tracy McConnell

Played by: Cristin Milioti

The mother in the great story of How I Met Your Mother!

The bass player and member of ‘Superfreakonomics’ but most importantly the loving WIFE of Ted Mosby and the MOTHER of his children - Tracy McConnell.

Tracy is whom, How I Met Your Mother should’ve been all about. After all, she is the Mother. But she is barely in the story. She has appeared here and there doing cameos before the final season, where she had a major role in the story.

Tracy meets Lily on the train to Farhampton where Robin and Baney’s wedding took place. She offered Lily cookies which she calls ‘sumbitches’. Lily happily takes one cookie and tells her about how she is missing her son Marvin.

Tracy met Ted at the Railway Station. She tells him that she took his Econ 305 class. Feeling embarrassed he tells her that he got into that class by mistake. She smilingly told her that she knows it.

Then they talked about the yellow umbrella, they were standing under, in the rain. He said that it is his umbrella that he forgot at some girl’s apartment. It even has his initials T.M. - Ted Mosby. She says it is T.M. - Tracy McConnell. And that’s how it began. The actual story of How I Met Your Mother.

We don't know much about Tracy’s character. She had a lot of similarities with Ted. She had a difficult love life. She had even given up dating before meeting Ted. She die due to reasons not disclosed in the show. But she was a wise person. She helped Barney to go after Robin. She also stopped Robin from running away from her wedding.

7) Ranjeet

Played by: Marshall Manesh

The driver who knows the location of all the great parties in How I Met Your Mother!

If there is a character in How I Met Your Mother who is loved by everyone, it has to be Ranjeet.

Ranjeet was from Bangladesh. He was a taxi driver in New York. Now he is a professional Limo chauffeur. Funnily, he doesn't possess a driver’s license.

The gang was always excited to have Ranjeet as their driver for the party or any other journey. He is known for saying “Hello!” in a very joyful manner.

In the first episode, he drinks champagne with the gang to celebrate Lily and Marshall’s engagement, and also as he says “To one hell of a night!”.

8) Zoey Pierson

Played by: Jennifer Morrison

The most hated character of How I Met Your Mother!

Zoey is Ted’s ex-girlfriend and George Van Smoot's (The Captain’s) ex-wife. She was an activist.

She protested against the tearing down of the Arcadian, a hotel, for the building of the new headquarters of Goliath National Bank. The headquarters was designed by Ted.

Zoey and Ted dated for a while fighting each other on the demolition of the Arcadian. Eventually, Ted chose his dream of having a skyscraper made and designed by him over Zoey. They broke up.

Ted won the case and the Arcadian was demolished and Goliath National Bank Headquarters was constructed.

9) Nora

Played by: Nazanin Boniadi

The good yet unlucky character of How I Met Your Mother.

Nora was Barney’s ex-girlfriend. She worked with Robin at World Wide News

Nora was a good character who didn’t show any flaws. She dated Barney for a while. He even met her parents. Yet the relationship got sabotaged.

Barney slept with Robin. He honestly told Nora about it.

She asked him if he can assure her that it didn’t mean anything to him. He said that he can't. And they broke up.

10) Quinn Garvey

Played by: Becki Newton

The one girl that Barney almost got married to in How I Met Your Mother!

Quinn was striper at ‘Lusty Leopard’. She was Barney’s ex-fiancée.

Barney met Quinn at a club. She told him that he doesn't have a chance with her.

Barney discovers that Quinn is a stripper at Lusty Leopard. He went to the club to ask her on a date. She denies him and insisted that they hang out at the club.

Later Ted made him realize that Quinn treated him like other customers. Barney confronted her and walks away angrily, leaving her guilty.

Then they meet at a coffee house and sit down to talk.

They started dating. They even moved in together.

Eventually, Barney proposed to Quinn and they planned to get married. But due to their natures and attitudes, they didn’t trust each other to get married. They broke up and went their separate ways.

Conclusion

All the characters of How I Met Your Mother bring something of their own to the story. The main characters gradually evolved to become better. Barney went from being against commitment to being engaged twice and getting married once. Ted who was always the optimistic one lost all hope before meeting Tracy.

Robin went from telling Ted that she doesn't love to tell Lily that she regrets not being with Ted in the end. Marshall went from becoming a Judge to leaving everything for Lily and moving to Paris.

The supporting characters of How I Met Your Mother deserve praise. They added more flavor to the already good story. Ranjeet will always be the driver of How I Met Your Mother.

10 Best Characters From How I Met Your Mother