Doll Names : Orginality vs Characters

Well I figure a name's just a name, and we had to get our ideas from somewhere right? I don't think there's a way to avoid that. However, I'm sure the name means something else to the other person ya'know? Maybe they pronounce it a different way, maybe it's spelt a different way, maybe it has a different origin(maybe made up from a person's story?)..the point is, it is just a name, someone may name their doll the same thing but it could still be entirely different somehow. ^^

Most of the names for my characters were given some time to think about, others "it just sounds pretty" and I liked the meaning.
My first doll though, the name started out "I want a word with three syllables and ends with the letter O" and I just put stuff together. Yet somehow it became more than a name, now it's an identity that sums up the entire character. O_o I'm not sure how I did that..
The name is Komesho(which apparently looks like an asian name o.o and I found out it's from an african tribe), and everyone I've talked to pronounced it "ko-mee-show", when it's "K.O-May-show" to me.
Komesho in the african tribe language(forgot the name) means "forward"
K.O = knockout
May-show...you something. It just sums up my character ^-^;
It ends with "O" because all the siblings do. Hoshiko, Ochio, Komesho, and Guido...they have Xs and Os over their eyes so the O-thing fits them. They play Tic-Tac-Toe a lot. ^^;
*end of senseless babble*

 

I think when it comes to "original names" we're really pretty much taxed out. The fact is, someone, somewhere has probably already thought of it and put it to use... and if not, once they hear your twist on it, they will. Names are fluid markers of identity that really shouldn't wholly encompass personality and history unless you want to fall into some serious character traps. (In my opinion)

That being said... my dolls all have character names. Every doll I own has a name taken from books I love:
Twig: The Edge Chronicles
Wednesday: American Gods
Church: Pet Cemetary
Leaf: Keys to the Kingdom
Key: American Gods

Some of them take on characteristics of the character (Key has red hair... ok... maybe that's about it) but beyond that, the characters themselves are disassociated from their namesakes.

 

I know there's a few dolls named Toby on this forum, so that doesn't bother me.

As for my other kids, they have highly unique names that I did research on to find them. Except Shiwoo. But it would be weird to meet another Shiwoo doll with that name. XD

All my dolls so far are not pre-made characters. They were pretty much made on the spot or developed over time.

Though in the future I'd love to have dolls of my RP character Edward Lecter and my OC Ashe. =^w^=

 

Well you see I tried to make a character doll and Haseo was supposed to be based off of the .Hack//GU charater but well he took off with a personality all his own.

So that didnt work out to well...no more character dolls

The other are all original characters

 

When thinking of names I want, I look up a bunch and make up a bunch myself, then when I have the doll in hand pick what their name will be because of what they strike me as. My girl is named Aina and while that doesn't seem to be a common name here I wouldn't be remotely offended if I found another doll with the same name. Now if someone had a doll that was the same mold, resin colour, name, etc. I would probably be a little weirded out, but that's different.

There really are no purely "original" names out there. Unless you're using a string of nonsense syllables and random numbers and symbols, it's 99.9% likely that someone else has thought of that name at some time and there is someone out there with that name. Even if you made it up yourself it's incredibly likely that someone else thought of the same thing before. I think the whole retiring names or being wary of using some is silly, people should have the freedom to name their doll whatever they want if it suits the doll best (however, completely/totally copying a doll is another thing entirely).

 

To owners of these dolls: Why do you enjoy character based dolls? Have you also had a character based doll that ended up turning into an original?

Well I haven't actually got a doll, but I have considered doing character dolls, and, money and time permitting, might do one in the future. I can imagine that eventually it will shift into an original character though. As for why, I think its fun to see a character you like in a physical form. Especially if they had an endearing personality/ interesting appearance.




To owners of these dolls: Why do you enjoy original dolls? Do you find it distressing or upsetting when people emulate your original doll or copy his/her name without asking? Or do you feel names are just names and are up for grabs.


I wouldn't copy names. I come up with names based on characters for this ongoing manga I have (in its lovely planning stages). So the names tend to change over time. As for appearance, slight changes occur too. This is the category I'm more comfortable with. I think its much like with other character dolls, seeing your ideas in a physical shell is exciting. Or would be, if I had a doll =p

 

Oh, no, I'm definitely not saying I'm possessive of the name Ciaran. Waha... No, no. I didn't come up with that name. Neither did Juliet Marillier (don't know her though). It's an Irish name and it's been around for some time.

But as I said, I was talking about the whole name: Ciaran Chayne. I said I would raise an eyebrow if someone else had a doll with the exact full name since it isn't that common. But, I wouldn't flip out either because neither names originated from my brain.

When I mentioned making up names in my original post, I was referring to some other names I had come up with, which a few of my friends have protested were too hard to pronounce. Now those names I would be surprised to see elsewhere.

 

Original Characters:

I feel that you can't really get possessive of the name. Complete originality is impossible if we are all using the same alphabet. And I think this hobby calls out to some very, very creative people. It is also fairly ridiculous to horde a name that has been used before in pop culture or if it exists in an dictionary or database. That's public domain, baby.
But these dolls are Fully customizable! So... do it up. You pick each thing to make your special doll. So What if more than one doll has the same name, make your own special and exceptional in other ways. I would like to think of it as a challenge, but I am unreasonably competitive.
Of course my boys have very common names based on famous writers, artists, and local historical figures in Connecticut (I work in the museum biznass). But I try to make their personalities glow.
What's in a name? A Rose by another name would smell as sweet...

Characters:

Like hiritai I want to make a doll who more or less RPs as a character. Same hair color and eye color as an anime character I like, but my own personality. That way I can dress her in anything I want and I won't feel distressed about breaking character.

Also I highly recommend what Shido said about googling your name. If you are really bent on something original. My incoming boy is to personify the ghost who haunts my house. (No joke, a little kid freaked out and had to leave my house last week! It. Was. Awesome.) So I wanted something playful and fairly original. "Skulduggory" is a real word that has been around since the 1800s (but I like it) so I named my boy Dulldiggory. I am satisfied. Not completely random/original but nothing came up in a google search. So at least I know it's rare.

 

I own mostly original-type dolls. I have one doll who is a "character doll." However, he is mostly the character in name alone because.. he's just a doll.

I don't know beyond that. He does not seem to be developing beyond just a doll named after a character. Kind of like naming a teddy bear Prince Charming or something.

 

My dolls are all my own characters. I prefer it this way because I can know every facet of my own character. If I were to have a character doll, I could try and nail their personality as well as I could, but always miss something.

If someone wants to copy from me, have fun. It's a bit flattering I would think. I could see how it is also irritating. There is a difference in getting ideas from and blatantly ripping off, you know? Name sharing and things like that are fine. But having the eexact same character in the end? That's a bit fishy and irksome.

In the end though, I really think it's just up to the person. If you want a character doll, go for it. It's just not my cuppa.

 

I have more of a liking of original dolls. Most of my movie/anime/manga character obsessions blow over quite easily, so I don't really want to do quite so expensive fanart!

But name-wise, I wouldn't be too possessive of names. I rarely make up names and just consult baby naming sites. But if someone copies the name and the doll and the character the doll is meant to encapsulate, of course I'm going to throw a fit. Though I don't know the likelihood of someone creating a Middle Eastern assassin named Idris by chance...

 

It's pretty likely if they play an Assamite in Vampire: The Masquerade XD I agree with you though that someone taking the name, the character's personality, and background is less likely a coincidence than the name alone.

 

I prefer having an original character for my doll for much the same reasons I prefer to play completely original characters in RPs: so I don't have to stress about whether or not every little action or word is in-character for him/her. Since original characters have a basis in ourselves (a singel aspect of one's personality magnified, what someone wishes they could be like, what someone is afraid of becoming, et cetera), it's a lot easier to sit back and think the way this person could or should think and proceed to speak or act from there. With an established character from a book/movie/tv series/comic, you have to spend extra time and effort to get into someone else's head, and that's not easy; it's easy for your acting/writing to become too forced or to slip up and go OOC.

As for other people emulating my doll...well, LAWL, it'd be kind of hard to do that, since my photography and writing skills suck and I never post any of the photostories I want to do. XD But, it really would depend on just how closely they copied Adrien's history and personality, and whether or not they attempted to claim 100% of the credit. I'd feel a lot more insulted if someone did a piss-poor job of copying him than if they did it well enough to confuse people, but I'd be mad either way if they obviously copied us and gave none of the credit back. That would be like...oh, I don't know, someone doing a fancomic featuring the cast of Hellsing and trying to pass everything as their completely original work, characters and all.

And names? Yeah, they're free for all. I think it would be hard to have a doll named "Lucy" and not realize how insane you'd look if you flipped out because someone else named their doll/kid/whatever "Lucy," as well. It's almost impossible to come up with a completely original name these days. I'd venture a guess that the only way to do it is to come up with a whole new language, but that's probably a bit extreme of an example...

 

Three of my dolls are named and modeled after characters from books (Mephistopheles and Faust from Goethe's Faust and Dorian from The Picture of Dorian Grey), but I didn't decide on those names or characters until I had had the dolls for months and changed their eyes/clothes multiple times.

I know I've seen another Dorian around, I'm pretty sure there has to be at least one other Mephistopheles, and the girl I split a SDF Bliss with to get a body for Faust named her Bliss Faust.

I named my Musedoll Erato Datura, only to find out a couple of weeks later that there's another doll here by the same name (I think a Lishe?), but it doesn't bother me in the least.

The rest of my dolls have original characters, but I wouldn't pitch a hissy fit if someone had the same name or similar clothes on another doll. I bought all of my stuff from Dollmore, Soom, or Luts; someone is bound to have a SD girl in Black Guard other than me.

 

I don't see a problem with character dolls having the same name if the dolls represent the same existing anime character.

I'm not really into character dolls and I try to think up my own names.

To owners of these dolls: Why do you enjoy original dolls? Do you find it distressing or upsetting when people emulate your original doll or copy his/her name without asking? Or do you feel names are just names and are up for grabs.

I think I would only be upset if they had the same faceup and the same name. Maybe a little upset if the same model of doll had the same name and a different faceup, but I don't post my girls a lot so a lot of people probably don't even know my dolls' names!

I try to pick a name that is not common and not used by another of the same doll type. But my dolls' names are fairly simple and often nature words, so there may be other different dolls on the board with the same name. Sometimes the doll seems to insist on a particular name and if I know someone else uses that name for a different doll type, I might even ask them if it would bother them. If someone with the same doll type uses it, then I try to find a different name for my own.

In general, I think common names, common words, names from Mythology, fairytales, fiction, history, etc. are sort-of up for grabs. But I would still avoid using one if another doll of the same type had that name.

Carolyn

 

This whole "doll thing" for me originated because I want to make Ichigo Kurosaki real.

Why do I enjoy the character based dolls?
Because they bring them so much closer to "real" in three dimensions as opposed to the two dimensions of anime and manga.
And I can make them "mine".

I also have original dolls.
Why do I enjoy them?
Usually it's because they're incredible eye candy.
*looks over at DIM new boy body abs* *rubs them* *purr*
The original ones had some sort of characteristics in them that called out to me. *laugh* Mostly snarkiness. But beauty too.

 

I could care less if anyone used names that my dolls have. From Denzel to October/Toby to Nanaine, there's varying degrees of 'individuality' but I know for sure that names are never going to be totally unique. I've never seen another Nanaine, but I wouldn't shoot lazers at anyone who did have one and even took it from me. The character is what matters - a rose by any other name. I don't think anyone is going to get into my brain and steal the characters behind the names. x3

I find it silly how some people get up in arms when they have an OMGORIGINAL name and have a panic attack when they see it used somewhere else. It's not a contest of 'I made mine first!", is it? Did I miss something?

I'd be really amused to see another October James. I think it'd be a good cowboy name, or a detective...

 

I kind of like both. Karo was an original doll (not based off of a roleplay character), and I love him to death. It's wonderful to get a doll without a real intention of what they're like, and to get to know them on your own.

But then, most of my dolls will be based off of roleplay characters. Karrian was a roleplay character for three years before he became a doll. It's also great to get to know and love a character, then simply bring them to life with a shell. ^^

 

I very briefly had a character based doll (Edward Scissorhands) and I felt that I couldn't make him mine being that I didn't create him. I also realized that anything I wrote involving him would be nothing more than really bizarre fanfiction. In the end it didn't end up working out and as you can see, I no longer have him.

In general I find orignal dolls much more pleasing. But that's original characters, not original names. Almost all of my boys are named after someone.

Donovan (Niccals) is named after Murdoc Niccals from the Gorillaz
Leo is named after my favorite Ninja Turtle
Yan (Truant) is named after Jan Valentine from Hellsing and Johnny Truant from House of Leaves
Tycho (Hailey) and Mir (Gabriel) are named after Tycho and Gabe from Penny Arcade as well as Paige and Amir from Orgy
Kitten's real name (Franklin Sugano) is taken from Frank Iero from My Chemical Romance and Souichi Sugano from eX-Driver
Varekai (Valentine) is named after a Cirque du Soleil show and Jan Valentine again
Kà (Estacia) is named after a Cirque show and a performer from the show Varekai

They're all original characters completely but the names are definitely borrowed. So if someone else used them I wouldn't really have any room to be fussy about it.

All that being said, the one character doll I'd still really love to own would be Jan Valentine. Then I'd have Jan Valentine, Yan Truant, and Varekai and Jack Valentine.