Contentious doll names - gods and so on.

i haven't read through every thread here, but i've read a lot of them. here's my 2 cents:

i think anyone has a right to name their doll any name they choose, and i think it would be well, and right to do so.

i personally wouldn't want my doll connected with any bad connotations. and although there are a few names that might give me pause, i would never judge the person who did the naming. i would realize that it was my issue.

in my opinion, if someone is offended by anything you do, it is their issue not yours. i don't believe it is about disrespect. do what you believe is right, and you're in the clear. and if you offend or hurt someone by it, say sorry if you are. and if you're not, it is their problem to deal with.

 

I asked a buddist once, who was looking at my doll, if he would be offended at seeing a doll named after Buddah. Or even looking like Buddah. He stated that both would be EXTREMELY offensive, because it's making a play-thing out of his diety. I can completely understand. I could NEVER and would NEVER do that.

 

Good point. As a teenager I wanted to name my future daughter after Afrodite - no, I don't have any children But I do know a boy who is named after Akhilleus - his parents are historians.

I find no names insulting, but I would be 'shocked' if I saw a doll named after Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Stalin etc. I've read enough about how these guys treated their subjects and I just couldn't name a doll after any of them.

I can't name my boys until they arrive - for the last month I've been considering names, but I just can't make up my mind. It seems that naming dolls is as difficult as naming real children.

 

I think naming a character after a god or mythical figure is a very different thing to naming them after someone like Hitler or Stalin.

While I'm not someone who's easily offended I do find the idea of naming a doll after a very real person who committed very real atrocities to be in extremely poor taste considering the relatively recent historical context.*

As for mythological names, Greek, Roman and Norse gods for example, I find the mythology fascinating so it's so easy to understand why someone may with to use the names or base a character/doll on a certain deity. Perhaps it's because I'm not religious and have very little time or patience for pandering to people who are easily offended by every little thing though but I refuse to avoid using names from mythology/'dead' religions just on the off chance some small group has decided they want to worship deity X, Y or Z.

I can understand why the use of names held sacred in what I suppose would be (for lack of a better word) the 'main' religions may be contentious but I think if done with respect to that religions values it can be pulled off in a non-offensive way.

*Having said all that though, I don't think people should avoid controversial subjects on the off chance someone somewhere may take offense. The world and especially that of art would be a very damn boring place if they did and artistic freedom is something I personally value very highly.

 

To be quite honest, I'm surprised this topic has lasted this long. Personally, I tend to think that someone who has the time to get offended at what another person has named their doll is just looking for something to get offended about. History is full of precedents of people naming their children after deities and significant people. Most Catholics take the names of saints, after all.

I was raised Christian, I consider myself mildly heathen. I have dolls named Asherah, Persephone, Acheron, Pyriphlegethon, Lethe and Camael (an archangel). I don't see anything in my usage of ancient and lovely names that is disrespectful. This hobby is far too fond of trying to force individual morality on the collective, and to be quite honest, I find that far more offensive.

 

wonderfully and refreshingly put! ..especially the last line.

 

Debating isn't really about stating your opinion about what would or would not offend you or what you think should or should not offend others - the original assertion in this thread is why or why not a person would choose a "sacred" or in some cases "vile" name for a doll. The idea that dolls can be named for some of the most horrific historical personalities to have ever walked the earth IS disturbing and very offensive to those people who have been directly affected by those personalities. Some of us feel that naming a doll after a Trickster God whose name at one time could NOT BE UTTERED without following the utterance up with signs and protective acts is astonishing to some people...so, for me, the Debate in this thread isn't about whether or not people should be thicker skinned...but why some people feel driven towards these names. I think, for the most part, this thread has been fascinating!!!

 

I think dolls are like a shell for a character, so I would never name my doll anything that had evil roots. It might sound ridiculous, but I don't like feeling I have invited something unwanted into my home, as cool as some demon names actually sound to me.

Names are pretty powerful in my opinion, so if I were to pick a name that I would have to mention frequently, I would be very selective of that.

 

I don't have a particular problem naming a doll after a deity, especially if the doll is supposed to represent that particular deity. However, I also recognize that certain people would be offended if I named a doll after a deity--it smacks of idolatry and blasphemy or disrespect to some. But at the same time, you have to consider WHY you're naming your doll with a certain name. Are you trying to be blasphemous? Are you trying to disrespect someone or their culture? I don't see a particular problem with having a doll named Zeus,Quan Yin, Isis, et al. as long as it's in good faith and good humor.

Hell, most of the dolls I'm planning are meant to be little characters of different people (Edith Piaf, for example), so I wouldn't see a problem with it.

 

i'm with you there. hehe! i've got the same fears..

 

I was going to say.. I would never think of naming a doll "Jesus", even if it is common enough in certain cultures.

I suppose, as far as mythological names go, it wouldn't be too presumptuous with the right personality, but if they were trying to re-create the god..
eh.
It'd be a little off-putting in my mind.

Generally speaking, i think it's best to keep away from super-spiritual names.
Like, I wouldn't name one Buddha or Mohammad either. heh.

 

agreed!
that's part of the reason i named my girl "Verity".
It means "the Truth". Has a good vibe and whatnot.
It may seem silly, but I do think names bring certain meanings with them.
And I wouldn't want a demoniacally influenced doll lyin' around. heh.

 

I would avoid something terribly cliche or something that would be too easily associated with something else. I want my BDJ to be her own little character, not made in the image of something else.

For about six seconds I considered naming my Shoyo "Misa", but then I realized she would too easily be associated with Misa Amane from Death Note and Molly and Alice both seemed too cliche for a doll.

I'll find a name eventually, one that makes her an individual.

 

If I was to name a doll with a mythological or religious name, I'd first have to do my research. I'm part of the Pagan community and I know a lot of Asatruar (people who follow the pre-Christian religion of the Vikings) and each one has said to me that naming someone after a God isn't blasphemous, but it gives that person a very difficult task. Naming a child Odin writes his future for him and is a name that very few people could live up to. I don't know how they would feel about a doll.

In Hinduism, people are regularly named after Gods and there's no offense caused; humans are called by Gods' names to pay respect to a particular God and statues are regularly referred to by the names of the Gods they represent. I suppose it would be possible to both have a dollfie called Lakshmi out of respect and a dollfie called Lakshmi, I guess, as an idol of the Goddess?

 

Seconded. xD

 

I think it's great to have variety in names, but to keep in mind languages are treated differently according to cultures (e.g. in Polynesia, each word carries power in their belief system).

 

My dolls are all named/going to be named after the characters in my WIP novel. I've grown attached to my characters and so I will name them accordingly. Lucifer's in there too, and I'm perfectly comfortable having a doll hanging around that's supposed to be my own little representation of the devil

I guess it would all depend on your own personal opinion over what would be an offencive name or not. It's not really a debate in which anyone can win. I wouldn't want a representation of Hitler or anything of that sort, and on the flipside I wouldn't want a Jesus dollie either.

 

It's just a name, and generally when you name something, you're doing it because you like the name, and you think it suits, not to offend someone.

So I think pretty much any name is fine, unless you're using that name with the wrong intentions. : D

 

Are you serious? Do you remember which Buddhist sect this person is from? I was born and raised in a Theravadan Buddhist culture, I honestly cannot imagine why a Buddhist could get offended by something as silly as that.

Buddha is a word generally translated to mean enlightened. It's not a name. Like doctor or teacher or police officer. Please excuse me for using Wikipedia, I'm just plain lazy. Wiki's got good points but it's incredibly messy in terms of each article's relevence to each other.

I disagree with the "deity" label entirely but discussion of why is not appropriate here. Although religion is such a passionate, personal issue that laughing at whoever told you this ends up making me insensitive and arrogant.

To me it's the intention, how it's being used. Is it being used in a respectful manner? I mean, as much as you love the character, is it respect? Or do you just like the way it makes people think? The attention you get from it? How they respond when they first hear the name in relation to your doll? Whether negative or positive using something like Buddha or Hitler will get you attention.

"You" here is used as a general term.

 

I'm pretty light and fluffy about religion... I like to think one should have fun with whatever one does. Despite being Wiccan, I named my first cat Zeus. The cat I have now is named after Alexander the Great, which is somewhat though not exactly related. However, he'd probably be honored to have a beloved pet named after him

I also love angels and demons as fantasy characters... and I think it'd be a little silly for someone to be offended by them- again with the taking things too seriously. It's just a doll, and, though demons are a favorite fantasy character of mine, this in no way means I'm a satanist- I'm not. Though even if I was, it wouldn't be any of their business, honestly.

Then again, I'm a very heavily alternative person, and subscribe very deeply to the 'If you don't like what someone is doing, just leave them alone unless they are dangerous'.

EDIT: I also agree with what's been said about the difference between respectful intent and disrespectful intent... if you gave a doll a heavily loaded name, like, say, Jesus, just to mess with people's heads... that's just not nice.