The Name Game

When someone names their child in real life, what’s their motivation for choosing a name? As far as I can tell, we choose names for our pets and children based on how they sound. Sometimes parents may research meanings behind names – my folks had known that Avalon means “island in mists” before they named me as if they knew I could become a contented loner. But not everyone is as careful as my parents were; if you name your kid Rovino, you’re calling him a mistake (as in Italian that means “I ruin”).

Now jump into the world of fiction. Suddenly everyone’s name has meaning regardless of whether their parents or guardians knew it would be significant to their child somehow or not (and, more often than not, they didn't). Such names could highlight the physical or emotional. They could be ironic. And like any statement, some names are subtle while others are less so.

Perhaps the greatest offender of the physically-classified names I’ve seen is the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Every feral cat in her main cast has some kind of identifying name. Graystripe is a gray tabby. Longtail has a long tail. One-eye actually has two eyes – but don’t worry, one of them is blind so he can keep his name. For these woodland cats, I see no fault in this naming system until you encounter the more odd names. With all these visuals, what comes to mind when you hear “Mossears” and “Berrynose?” I personally see one cat with ear fungus and another with a nose that looks like it was stung by a bee.

There are also several series that extensively use the obvious personality-based name. The first that jumps to mind is Care Bears. While I didn’t grow up with them, I’m pretty sure I can infer a lot about their personalities (little there may be) just from their names. Friend Bear is friendly, Secret Bear keeps secrets, and their lion friend, Braveheart, is brave.

You hear that? Even the lion from Care Bears is braver than you.
(Photo taken by Brian Negan)

In terms of subtlety, some series names certain characters more obviously while others you find a connection with only after getting to know the character first. The newest addition to the My Little Pony franchise, Friendship is Magic, is an example. Twilight Sparkle is a night owl (hence the “twilight”) and studies magic (hence the “sparkle”), but this isn’t innately obvious when you encounter her name for the first time. But then there are also names like Fluttershy, who’s a shy pegasus. Some of these characters are exactly as they sound; others you need to dig a bit deeper to learn about.

Some series play with having subtle and obvious names on the same character. In the anime Axis Powers Hetalia, all major characters are personified countries. They’re usually referred to by their country title (Russia, Japan, etc.), but every character also has a “real name.” Not only does each name match the ethnicity of the country in question, but they all carry a significance relating to their personalities or histories. For example, North Italy’s name is Feliciano, which means “happy” or “lucky” (which references his personality). Germany’s name is Ludwig, which means “famous war” (which references WWII – the era in which Hetalia mainly takes place). I could go on and discuss the significance of any of their names, really, but that would take forever because the cast is so large.

Before I stop babbling about some of the naming techniques of my favorite series (Care Bears doesn’t count), there’s one more naming convention that people enjoy playing with: the ironic name. An iconic example is naming a ginormous elephant, dog, or monster “Tiny” for comedic value (or a dog like this "Jumbo"). While this type of irony is often used for humor (as in pun-based names), ironic names can also carry a serious tone. The main character of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller has a dream so high, it’s unachievable. His last name is “Loman” – a grave foreshadowing for the fate of his dream that he has worked so desperately for.

When it comes to naming techniques in your own stories, it always helps to think about the kind of story you’re telling and the audience of your work. For example, works written for young to preteen children often have characters with more obvious physically- or emotionally-based names while adult works tend to keep things subtle. Stories for teenagers can go either way depending on the effect you wish to convey. Subtle or obvious irony can work in anything, but be careful how often you use it so that you don’t dilute its effects. Finding the perfect naming system can be a tough decision, but when done right, it can go a long way to adding meaning and significance to what you write.

The one who forgot to mention punny names,

Dreamnorn