This is a game that I’ve used for many years with Year 7 and 8 as a ‘get to know your names’ activity. I’ve often started the year with the students in the same position in the circle for the first few weeks and take a note of their names in this activity. There are so many students and so many names that that is one of the only ways I can learn their names.
In a circle ask the students to think of an activity that they both like and starts with the same letter as their first name. For example Alan might like asking questions, Betty might like breathing and Cameron might like cake eating – they would become Alan the Asker, Betty the Breather or even Cameron the Cake eater. Go around the circle, left to right, asking the students to mime out their activity. It is the person who is next responsibility to guess what the activity is. Keep going around the circle until everyone has had a go.
This is such an old game that I remember playing this one when I first went to secondary school – which was a long time ago!
BURT'S DRAMA 
I like the sound of this! I do a similar version where they need to think of an alliterative word describing themselves – so they become Angry Alan, Beautiful Betty and Calm Cameron. It then becomes a memory game: Angry Alan starts, then Betty has to say Angry Alan and Beautiful Betty, then Cameron has to remember all three… it goes on for a while, but they say each name so many times it gets easier to remember them!
Might give your version a try next year too. 🙂
Combining them both would be good too. Alan Asks Angrily, Betty Breathes Beautifully and Cameron Calmly Consumes Cakes! Might play that game the second week!
You should try name and motion. It’s fun for the student and away to introduce improv to the class.