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RP and Writing Discussion: Names
Topic Started: April 22, 2013, 5:18 am (409 Views)
Dreaming Sun
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Bored, and between looking through the RP and Onime's topics in here, I thought we could have a few more random discussions around here. The first thing I wanted to discuss was on the origin of names for your characters. There's no right or wrong way to do this (unless you call your character, say, over_8999 or something) so how do you do it?

(I was gonna put this in my RP blog but I decided I should probably leave that for more personal things I don't expect anyone to read)

I guess like a lot of things, sources for my names come from a variety of sources. "Emily" was a nickname I had on another site, when my username was Eminescence, so I liked it and named my character that. Her last name, Sophia Sun, was a friend's idea; Sophia meaning wisdom, Sun meaning the sun. Sophia works because she's a rather intelligent person (... Not really in TIW now, though...), and Sun... Her arrogance, and the way she thinks she'll lead the world. Anyway, the first name was picked because I liked the sound of it, the last two names because it actually has a strong meaning.

That's where the names come from for virtually all of my characters. Examples of the former include Gorlo (Gor being a common prefix in the games for Gorons, with "Gorlo" just sounding pretty nice overall), and... I could list a sequence of names but no one here will understand actually.

Normally, I prefer real names, even for a fantasy setting, though I guess that's mainly since lazy. I have had some characters with fictionalised names, though (Gorlo, an "Enebrae", and an "Inscen Revael" coming to mind first). So yeah.

... I guess again I hit a boring "I'm in the middle" stance again. But, whatdoes everyone else do? Post origins for your TIW names if you have them too if you. Can, since I'm really curious about... All of them actually.
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Onime No Ryu
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I'll be your Undertaker this evening
Using real names is only lazy if you just slap one on there without regard for what it means or how it affects the reader's view of the character. Otherwise, I think using real names, especially names that match the "region" of the RP--for instance, since Zelda is based on Westernized fantasy, characters in it should have mostly Western names with a few twists here and there, such as the spelling or pronunciation--is the best way to go. I hate when people just slap some syllables together and say IT'S A FANTASY NAME.

Years ago I made the following mistake myself, but since then I've grown to hate it with a passion: Using Japanese names for non-Japanese settings. Unless the character comes from an area based heavily on Asian themes, they don't need to be named "Fire Dragon," "Holy Sword" or other bullshit in Japanese. And if you DO have a character that comes from an area of the setting that is based on Asian cultures, you need to use an actual name. Japanese names are known for their meanings, like "snow child," "young warrior," etc, but you don't just pick some cool meaning to slap on your character's name. There are thousands of names that have already been used throughout history, and the best sounding and most natural ones are the most popular. Pick from among those to give your character a more natural feel, instead of just calling them "Bloody Phoenix."

Generally, unless you're a master linguist with knowledge of how names have formed, I don't think you should make up your own names because they usually end up sounding retarded. Hell, Tolkien was a master linguist and a damn smart guy, and even some of the names HE came up with sound retarded.
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Dreaming Sun
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That certainly all makes sense. Think everyone would have seen or had their own cringeworthy names, but... Well, some of them work really well, so I wouldn't call fantasy names a bad thing as a whole, especially if you can actualy manage to create a meaning for it and derive it from other words, I'd say. Names have to come from somewhere, and even real names can sound stupid. If something sounds good, then, I don't feel there'd be much of a problem, especially if the cannon has no real names. Say, you don't want a Darunia, a Darbus, Amoto, Coron, Ebizo, Liggs, and... a John. A "normal" name sticks out like a sore thumb, there.

I've actually... Never seen forced Asian names in my RPing history. Honestly, more like the reverse where you see a Westernised name coming from an Asian background, which, I guess, makes some sort of sense considering average internetters and the like. Either way, though... Yeah, they stick out a lot, and I guess, internal consistency becomes a really huge thing with names as well.

... May I ask, do you actually have a name for BK in mind, or?
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Green
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THE Man
I use names that reflect part of a character's backstory or culture usually. I always take my time to find something that's fitting for the character in my mind.
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Shade
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Scout
I prefer to use "real" names, and honestly, beyond that, I don't give much thought to a character's name. A name shouldn't define a character (barring circumstances where the given name was chosen by the character) in the same way our own names don't define us. Sure, there will be some initial preconceptions; especially if a character is given an excessively flowery name, but the character's personality should ultimately trump the effect of the given name. Otherwise you're just using the name as a crutch.
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Green
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THE Man
Your real names would still be fitting though, right? Like, you'd think of your character and think "yeah, that's definitely a Torvaal," or you'd look at their backstory if they had to name themselves and deduce what they'd come up with?
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