Los Angeles: The Anger Management star said he was listening to psychedelic band The Doors with the actress - who's birth surname is Horowitz - when he was inspired to give her a new moniker.
He told US TV show Centerstage: "We were listening to the Doors, to Riders on the Storm.
"And I said, 'You know, I'm thinking Winona Ryder sounds cool,' and she was like, 'Yeah!'"
However, despite coining the name, Charlie claims she never thanked him.
He added: "She never, never gave me credit to this day."
Charlie, 46, also talked about his firing from TV show Two and a Half Men last year following his erratic behaviour and drug abuse, saying he thinks both he and the show's makers were to blame.
He said: "A lot of it was my fault, a lot of it was their fault. They went into my personal space, you know? And then my personal space might have been not the most private place in the world.
"It got in the way of the work. I like to think that I didn't get fired, I got traded for a player to be named later. When you take away the anchor, you tend to go adrift. So I felt bad for them for a nanosecond."
Charlie also praised Ashton Kutcher, who took over as the star of the show, saying he thought his introduction was "one of the great TV moments ever."
He told US TV show Centerstage: "We were listening to the Doors, to Riders on the Storm.
"And I said, 'You know, I'm thinking Winona Ryder sounds cool,' and she was like, 'Yeah!'"
He added: "She never, never gave me credit to this day."
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He said: "A lot of it was my fault, a lot of it was their fault. They went into my personal space, you know? And then my personal space might have been not the most private place in the world.
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Charlie also praised Ashton Kutcher, who took over as the star of the show, saying he thought his introduction was "one of the great TV moments ever."
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