Contentious doll names - gods and so on.

You focused to much on Jesus or Mohammed to be offensive there a lots of name that could be as well if you name your doll certain bodypart name or profession that I can't say here because it's not nice and not realy sure how to whrite it down in english . Lots of people will be offended. There many nice name outther.For me you chose a name because you like the way it's sound or it is meaning something nice to you and go for it and don't let others bother you, anyway you won't go on the street with a pancarte to manifeste so the amont of people who will know your doll name is low and usualy the one you hang with will be ok. When you are young you like to shock people and then you grow up and one day you wake up to be the one offended so that's the part of life

 

I think it all depends on your perspective of "morality."
Is a name just a name to you or is there significant meaning that could possibly upset someone?
This said, if it DID upset someone, would you mind them and care?
It is YOUR doll, and I don't see a problem with any name, really; though someone may and probably will disagree with me.

As Zagzagael said, there are more "popular" versions of names that I think would be offensive to the origin.

Naming a doll Damien and naming a doll The epitome of Evil, are two severly different things.

 

Re: Jesus

I know plenty of people named Jesus. They usually pronounce their name "Hey-Zeus." Regardless, it's not the least bit offensive, maybe except to some uptight Protestant English-speakers.

 

I would only name my dolls with a name I think fits them.

 

Um, as the daughter of a woman raised a Protestant (C of E, to be exact) may I say that Protestants like my Mom would find it less offensive then some Roman Catholics. I mean Holy Rollers (and how offensive is that term?) are one thing, but generalization of a religion is another. And personally, I think someone's doll is someone's doll, and it's up to them what they name it. To bring up the old quote "You can offend some of the people all the time, or all of the people some of the time. You can't do both." So unless it's really, really offensive, I figure just let it go. To sum it up, "There are two things you should never discuss-politics or religion. "Cause you're going to offend someone."

 

I did end up naming my Tinybear Bonbon, Demeter. Demeter is a goddess. My doll looks very much the fertility goddess type so her name is descriptive.

I have a real fondness for the greek and roman gods and goddesses names. I think I bring honor to the triple goddess by naming my dolls for aspects of Her. (Triple Goddess? Maiden/Mother/Crone... Demeter is both Mother and Crone, Persephone, her daughter, is maiden and mother)

And 2000 years ago some of those names were very popular. Many women were named Mary or variations thereof. The reason the name is so popular now (indeed many of the apostle names) is because of our cultural history. Jesus was actually named Yeshua (or some variation thereof)... so it's not even the same spelling or pronunciation of the name.

 

A lot of the discussion on here is focusing on what other people would think, if you name your doll after a deity. I prefer to go the route of wondering "What would the deity think?"

Based on a deity's history, mythology, and the general culture of worship, would it be appropriate to name a doll after said God/dess?

Under this mentality, I would never name a doll "Mohammed", knowing that the the culture and the prophet would object to that usage. However, my first thought upon seeing the (OT?) DollZone elephant was "Wouldn't he make a lovely Ganesha!"

Ganesha, being a rather laid back deity of general good energy and good fortune, I doubt would object to being kept in doll form. (Especially as dolls of deities are commonly kept in India for the sake of worship, or as toys for children.)

I would also be aware of the connotations of a sacred name, in a historical sense. We view Loki now as an almost harmless trickster and a prankster, but in Norse mythology, he was angry, vengeful, and self-serving, and his tricks led to the deaths of heroes. In my mind, the purpose of naming something or someone after a deity is to give that object / person some characteristic of a deity. Mary is expected to be peaceful and forgiving, Zeus is the name of a strong and aggressive leader (altho he was kind of a womanizer), and Durga is the protective mother, watching over and fighting for her children. In this context, I feel that the doll's name would be a reflection of the deity's general "energy", as well as partially determining the doll's personality. In such cases, I would never give a doll a name with strong negative connotations. . . Something like "Loki" or "Belial" or even "Fenrir", as all names have strong and undesirable associations in their own mythologies.

And while I wouldn't necessarily be put off by someone naming their doll after any deity or mythological figure, I would certainly ask why. Not to be confrontational, but just out of legitimate curiousity.

 

I believe dolls' names can carry more weight for some people because the dolls are humanoid figures. I have seen that many of us treat our dolls (at least at times) as if they are real people, and that can change our perspective on nomenclature. For example, I know many people that would wince at the idea of naming a human child Adolf or Lucifer because of the connotations, but these same people would think nothing of a dog or cat with that name. So if you consider dolls to be more like humans in nature, certain names may offend you, or at least be ones you would never consider for your own dolls. If you see them more as inanimate, or at least don't place significance in their humanoid forms, no name would be off-limits.

Then there is the element of ignorance. I own a Bearded Dragon who is named Loki, and I did it with full knowledge and intent to mimic the Norse god. I thought it was very clever since he is a spiked creature with lots of attitude, a wonderful creature to represent a god of Chaos. But at least 50% of the people who learn his name have never heard of his namesake and don't "get it". Yet many of them think it's a very nice name, just because of the sound. In this same way, many people don't know the connotations or origins of names like Damien, Lucifer, Gabriel, Maya, Shiva, Isis, Seth, Artemis, Diana, Juno, Freya, or Beyla... just a short list of names that I have seen used in "pop culture", for dolls, or even for humans, that originate from religion. Many of them are beautiful names, so when someone hears them, they want to use it. Should they be criticized for using the name of a god they've never heard of?

One thing that we shouldn't forget is that most names do have a meaning behind them, even if they don't have a widely-recognized connotation. We often ignore these name meanings even when naming children. I've met people who are atheists, but name their son Joshua, which means "God is Salvation" in the original Hebrew. I have even met an atheist family who named their son Christian! I wouldn't say that this offends me, but the contradiction bothers me enough that when choosing my own children's names I want to know the meanings. If it would bother you for someone to name a doll after a religious figure, then in the interest of not being hypocritical you should know the meanings of your own dolls' names as well.

 

It wouldn't bother me probably because I'm not religious at all. It's just another name, haha. If the name fits the doll for the owner, then why not?

 

I think that if the owner is okay with the name and isn't purposefully trying to be offensive then there's no problem with naming a doll after a deity. It's the connotation to the owner that is important.

 

well I agree with Leloi and twinklingfae.

also I think one should be free to name a doll after any deity or mythological figure, as long as:
- Its not meant to be purposefully offensive,

- It is not purposefully meant to ridicule any religion,
(twinklingfae pointed out "Mohammed" as a doll name but since islamic people are (if I am correct, I am not islamic but this is what I leaned in school) not supposed to depict him I could understand how it Could be offensive. ON the other hand as a teacher I have had a lot of boys named mohammed in my classes over the years, so who is to say a person that calls a doll Mohammed might not just like it as a boys name. as long as the doll is not ACTUALLY meant to depict the prophet I think one should be free to use the name for a regular boy doll)

-Last but not least I think the name should fit the doll. (thus not offending to any Deity)
(like I love Leloi's Idea of making a BONBON into Demeter!! I think she makes for a great fertility goddess. likewise I would love to create a doll Artemis and/or Cerrunos, but the doll would have to fit the god(des) in char and appearance I would not just buy any doll and slap the name on them, because then whats the point of that particilar name?)

Well this is just my oppinion, anyone is free to disagree I just wanted to add my 2 cents.

 

When it comes to naming, I try to use uncommon names. Though I know a ton of people use Loki I have a love of mythology ^.^;

As for not using certain names, other than common ones, I don't really have any particulars.

A name is a name and people shouldn't get offended by it unless they are trying to portray someone and purposely disrespect the doll to disrespect that person. Does that make sense?

 

I try to name my dolls after me, with a variation of my name. there is a website that has name of elfs, fairies, and others and use my name as the bases of the search...

 

If I recall correctly from the Mohammed teddy bear controversy, it is considered inappropriate by some Muslims to name an inanimate object after Mohammed. And while depicting Mohammed is questionable, there have been plenty of historical depictions of Mohammed, and a few modern ones, so I believe it is dependent on the "sect" of Islam that is followed.

I tend to think that modern religious names like Mohammed and Jesus, even while meant respectfully, are a kind of slippery slope. Most people won't care, but you have to expect that there are people who will, and be able to respond accordingly.

 

My cat's names are Odin, Freyja, and Loki. I mean no disrespect to the gods, and the cats seem to fit the personalities well.
I have not yet thought to name a doll after a god, but if I saw a doll that personified my idea of that god (for instance, a common name like Minerva might do well with a bookish doll) I may be inspired to name them after that god, or change the name up a bit.
It's more like keeping the God's name alive, for me.

 

just because it's a name of a "god" is a poor argument for condemning people who use that name for dolls/pets/other people etc. gods can be anything you choose to worship, and most people are just using the name as an extension of the character they're creating anyway. so whatever, people need to just get over it and quit being so hypersensitive to everything. : |||


stop trying to be politically correct, just do whatever makes you happy. if you wanna name your inanimate object jesus, mohammed, holy god, or bloody mary or something, you should be able to. you bought it after all. whether a person regards such name(s) as holy shouldn't matter to you if you don't also hold them sacred. it's all in the eyes of the beholder. so, yeah... should other people have say in what you want to name that ridiculously expensive hunk-o-plastic? no, not really. name it -insertnameofmalegentaliahere- if you so desire. why someone would spend their free time debating over the name of a doll when they could be doing something productive is lost on me.

 

Naming a doll after a deity shouldn't be taboo, as long as there is no disrespectful connotation. After all, my deity may not be your deity. There's a whole wealth of possibilities out there, and if you stop to think about it, there will always be a way to offend someone. If you try too hard not to offend anybody you're zipping yourself up way too tight, if you ask me. Which nobody did, I realize...

 

Actually I think that this is a very interesting idea (being Cabalistic & slightly Druidic myself)...

Oh, & Mohammed was the prophet, not the deitiy, that would be Allah; in neither case would anyone Muslim be likely to be ok with that, because of course they have strictures against anything figurative.

 

I would never name a doll something relgious, Jesus, Mohammed, Bhudda, etc. but that's just me personally. I think it's kind of disrespectful. But I think if someone else names their doll that, I wouldn't have a problem with it. I don't know. I'm weird like that XD If someone else does it, it's their choice. I just wouldn't.

 

It seems that a lot of people seem to think its more disrespectful to name a doll after mainstream religions than some of the smaller ones. I'm very interested in Demonology and Lucifarianism yet I am not offended if people want to use fallen angels name or anything demonic. A lot of my dolls are named after demons/angels but that is from an interest in it, and the ideas in my head being based around this and mythology.