Post by LE ADMIN! on Jul 17, 2009 22:46:28 GMT -5
What’s in a name?
[/color][/center]Names are very important things. Without names, we would be stuck calling each other “Hey!” and “Oi, you!” and, well, that could get very confusing very quickly. And it’s the same for our role-play characters - without names, our posts would be nothing but a sea of pronouns and descriptors and it would soon become very difficult to work out who’s talking to whom. In fact, when it comes to IF role-play games, names are so important that you cannot register before you have one for your character. But of course, such an important decision as a character name should not be taken lightly, so here are a few pointers on how to make sure your character’s name is known for all the right reasons.
KEEP IT UNIQUE![/color]
Now, chances are that wherever you live, there’s at least one name where you probably know at least three people with that name. Names like Sarah, Emma, Tom, James, names that are forever appearing on the top ten baby name lists, are a fact of life. However, just because you might know three Janes at school/work, doesn’t mean that this should be the case in role-play. Remember, the characters you and other people play on the site are generally only a percentage of the general population. And in terms of making life simpler for both you and the other players, it helps to avoid having too many people with the same name.
The best way to ensure against this is to look at the members list before joining. There you can see what names have been used already. Want a Sarah and don’t see one on the list? Then by all means go for it. But if there is already one (or more than one) you might want to reconsider. Of course, you could also use alternate spellings (Sara vs. Sarah, for example) as long as they’re fairly reasonable. Oh and it should go without saying that even if you do take a same first name? Don’t take a same first/middle combo. Even if it is as common as Sarah Louise.
BUT NOT TOO UNIQUE![/color]
Having said the above, there’s a difference between having an unusual name and having a name that isn’t really actually a name. Granted, there are always exceptions *meaningful glance at Bob Geldof’s kids* but be reasonable. And remember, just because a name is common now doesn’t mean it’s a good name for your character. But I’ll come back to that in a second. For now, all I’ll say is while you might think Princess Tablecloth Snarfblart is a good name for a character, if you do then you’re probably the only one. And in this I’m also including unusual spellings of common names - Jayne instead of Jane is fine. Ilyzebyth for Elizabeth, not so much. Not that I’m suggesting anyone here has actually done that, but it was the first example I thought of.
But, if you must insist on having your character have a weird and wacky name…
THINK CONSEQUENCES![/color]
Your character may not have chosen their name (that would be down to their parents, IC, and you OOC) but you can be damned sure that whether it’s Sarah or Sapphire Moonflower, they’re going to have an opinion on it. And while there’s every chance your character might have grown to love the name they have, chances are they’ve had at least one phase in their life where they’ve wanted to kill their parents for naming them. Some things to bear in mind that will have an effect on your character:
- Unusual names or unusual spellings of common names might sound fun to you, but they won’t have been fun for the kindergartner trying to learn how to spell it. Or even pronounce it, if you’ve gone for something truly obscure.
- Kids (often encouraged by their parents) learn to pick up on the unusual. Therefore, if your character has an odd name, chances are they’ve gotten some flack for it at some stage during their school life. How they’ll have dealt with this will depend on their personality but they will have to deal with it somehow.
- As they get older, chances are your character is going to get pretty damned sick of having to spell out their name to every person they meet. Or of people assuming the default spelling when theirs is a more unusual version. (Of course, alternatively they might enjoy the extra attention they get from having an unusual name. All depends on the personality).
Note that I am not saying this should stop you from giving a character an unusual name. What I am saying is that if you are going to, take a moment to consider how you would feel going through life with that name and try and apply at least some of that to your character. Oh, and if you do pick an unusual name, don’t be surprised if other characters who are of that disposition pass comment on or even tease them for their name. As long as this is done ICly, it is perfectly reasonable to expect the school bully to tease an oddly-named peer. Not very nice or fair, perhaps, but also perfectly in character for the bully to do so. (And no, that doesn’t mean you can use your character as a mouthpiece for your own distaste at someone’s name. Let’s keep that IC/OOC divide clearly marked, ‘kay?)
THINK APPROPRIATENESS![/color]
Even if you don’t care for the consequences of your name choice on your character (and I strongly recommend that you do), there are certain things you should absolutely consider when choosing a name for your character.
Appropriateness to the genre Most of the advice above pertains to real-life settings. In a fantasy setting, Sapphire Moonflower might be a perfectly acceptable name and it’s the “ordinary” names like Sarah that are inappropriate. But real-life vs. fantasy is just one of the things you have to bear in mind.
Appropriateness to the era Specifically: appropriateness to the era in which your character was born. Remember what I said before about common names now not being common ten years ago? Well, given as the average RP character falls into the teen to twenties age bracket (note I AM NOT saying that no-one plays older or younger. I’m just going with the majority) that means they will have been named in the 80s-90s. So if you want a character who was named after a trend, it pays to do a little research into what naming trends were prominent at the time. For example: Kylie and Jason were popular names during the late 80s because of Neighbours. Trying to claim that the name Maddox was popular during the same era because of Angelina Jolie’s kid doesn’t work, because Angelina wouldn’t have even starred in her award-winning role in Girl, Interrupted. Now by all means, if you want an 80s-90s kid to be called Maddox then go for it, but expect the consequences (see above) and don’t try to justify the naming choice against something that has happened in 2000 onwards.
And I haven’t even gotten to RPs that are set historically (i.e. not in present-day). Just remember to do a little research into the naming conventions of the era and then if you decide to go against convention, be prepared for your character to get some very odd looks.
Appropriateness to the character’s heritage By this I mean: just because you think Asian names are awesome, giving one to your American born-and-bred character with American born-and-bred families is likely inappropriate. Remember, although you are making the choice OOCly, ICly the decision is being made by people your parents’ age (well, maybe not exactly your parents’ age, but almost certainly by people born of older generations) who won’t think in the same way as you. They will have different influences, different preferences, so try to bear that in mind. And by that token, don’t be afraid to have your character have an “old-fashioned” middle name. Kids in a family are often named for or take their middle name from older family members, and this is a great way of getting a more unusual name in there without making other players double-take because you’ve decided to turn Table into a name.
RESOURCES[/color]
If you’re stuck for a name, you want to know what a name means or you want a name that means something specific, these are just a few sites that can help you out!
www.behindthename.com/ (first names)
www.babynames.co.uk/ (has a fun name-generator where you can put in a surname and it’ll give you a random first name and as many middle names as you specify)
www.babynames.com/
www.britishsurnames.co.uk/ (British surnames)
www.surnamedb.com/ (wider surname database)
If you’re looking for a specific type of name, you can also type “(what you want) names” into Google and you should find something to help you out.
Happy naming![/size]
CREDIT:
amazingly STRANGE @ caution 2.0