How do you name your dolls?

For dolls I didn't buy specifically to be a certain character, it's a matter of feeling out-- sometimes my first idea is the one that sticks, but sometimes a doll just settles into what it 'wants' to be called.

 

I've actually just received my first doll and am waiting for two others. During this time that I've been waiting, I've just been compiling a list of names I liked in general and thinking about OC personalities and backstories for them, but I think like some others have said, I won't really know how these will fit until I have them in front of me and all together actually.

 

honestly most of my characters are not public so i have no shame in naming them local names from my country, my language tends to be very versatile when it comes to words having the ability to turn every word in to a diminutive name that sounds unique so i mostly go with that, names that are based on their personality quirks, physical appearance, hobbies or fashion choices or i just take a name from my country and try to find a foreign variant of said name

 

I am currently struggling with naming my newest girl so this thread is pretty helpful at the moment.

To name my dolls, I sometimes take names from characters in anime, manga, movies, ect that I like (my doll don't become the character, they simply take the name), sometimes I just come across a name that I happen to like randomly, I search baby naming websites and as has been the case recently, I pick a concept or kanji that I really want to be included in the dolls name and use that to search up a list of names and pick from there. I do usually make a point to avoid naming dolls after people that I know in real life though (for example when I got my FCS girl the name "Yurie" was up for consideration but I ultimately decided against it because I had a student with the same name and that would be sort of awkward).
I also put a lot of thought into the meaning of their names and the kanji used to int their names in order to best suit their character/personality (Mafuyu is a perfect example of this going well).
Ultimately I go with whatever name feels like it suits the doll the best and never had an issue with that but it does usually take a long time to finally decide

 

@Chibi_Rat heh I just counted and I realised that about 8 of my dolls (appearing named on social media followed by my students) have the same names as my students. But I also use the names of my close relatives (for dolls that hardly resemble them) and they know about it. The dolls who share my students' names were named so usually long before that and, if anything, I used the name simply because I like the sound of it. With small exceptions, I can even use a name when I don't like a person in real life who has it. I never thought if it's creepy. Also... one of my dolls has a variation of my own name. Yes, on purpose And she looks *nothing* like me

 

Finding a name for a new doll is always a fun search. I spend a lot of time on nameberry looking at names, they have user made lists (a lot of my dolls admittedly got their names from "soft boy names" lists lol) which helps me narrow it down. There's usually a name that stands out or just "seems right" for the doll.

 

I don't usually have to name my dolls, I just name them the name of the character they're based on. BUT those characters have to get names somehow, and here are the ways I name my OCs.

Sometimes they're named off of other characters who may have had a hand in their inspiration, and in one case the actor who portrayed that character.
Sometimes I use names I like
genealogy - old family names are great
I have a huge list of names I've found here and there that I've been collecting for years so often I look there
Pick a theme (plants, animals something else) and look up names in relation to the theme
names by nationality
a couple names have just been made up
at least one was the worst placeholder name that he's stuck with now

Baby name sites are great
Name generators are also great (especially for fun stuff like witches, elves or demons)

I have a bunch of angel characters and I have multiple angel encyclopedias with a million post-its in them to help with their names and personalities

 

My dolls give me a hint of what their names are but not the name. Hints are things like "pale" or "dark" or "wistful" or "yearning", then I go to Google translate and match the hint with the area the doll looks like it came from. I have to try several different languages before I find one that clicks. But that's how I ended up with dolls named "Mali" and "Li Ming" and "Kaali".

 

I don't usually think that hard about about naming my dolls. The names for my dolls just randomly popped in my head one day as I'm handling or dressing them.

For instance, for a while my Myou Michelle was just... Michelle. Then one day I randomly decided she looks like a Charlotte and that was that.

 

I mostly look at Google because I am terrible when it comes to name choosing.
The only BJD i'll have is an already existing OC, her name, 'Nami', was choosen by a friend.

 

Honestly, I just pick names I can feel an attachment to that I think fit the "look" of a doll. Sometimes I think I'll go with a certain theme, only to see the doll in person and go with a name I like instead.

A bit like Owl Queen mentioned, a cool name that I might think I want for it might feel wrong after I've had the doll for a little bit.

 

In the past I've had an OC in mind, and certain sculpts just jump out and fit the bill, so they immediately attach themselves to that OC's name. But then I've also had moments where I just see a name and it sticks!! No idea who the character is lol

 

I think creating a sculpt is a long process and the sculptor is thinking about the perfect fitting name for his created sculpt during this process. I feel sorry to change that carefully and thoughtfully chosen name...
It seems to be unpopular to not give a doll a new name, but untill now I never had the feeling the sculpt name does not fit my doll.
I create my dolls and craft for them with the feeling I have towards their face, body and given name.

 

I literally just wait until a name jumps out at me, try it out for a while and if it feels right, I keep it.
I have two dolls named after song titles, one named after a street in my home town (the street name in turn came from a character from Norse mythology, though my doll has no connection to that character, I just liked the name), one kept her sculpt name because I just really loved it and the other three I genuinely have no idea where the names came from.

I never actively go looking for names for my dolls, they just kind of come to me. Sometimes it takes a really, really long time and sometimes I find one rather quickly.

 

From favorite characters! Before buying, i tend to look around to fit the character I want for them.

 

Tbh I’ve recycled a lot of names However for the most part, most of my doll names are generally due to the meaning they carry and how I want it to reflect in their personalities/character.

Mytilene is the capital of the Greek island Lesbos. As a sapphic witch herself, Mitty would have definitely chosen Mytilene as a sort of reborn-again name. I thought Erik would be my only doll so a name meaning “sole ruler” was apt And then my pukifee was named Gyoza because I looked and her and that was the first to come to mind LMAO

 

Depends on the doll.

Most of my smart dolls are various metals: Argent, Caesium, Wolfram, Aureum.

Dearmine cats are named for celestial events: Estival, Equinox, Solstice.

My single precious Pipos is named after Anya from Cinderella Girls because similar aesthetic and imagined personality.

And it goes from there. One of my dolls came from Germany and was lost for a month before she arrived, that's Verloren.

 

When I'm naming them I usually pick a name that just feels right, and I cant really explain it better than that lmao. I usually look through behindthename, sometimes it takes a few minutes and sometimes it takes frustratingly long but they NEED to have a name that feels perfect for them.

 

Man I was hoping I would know my bjds name but I still have no clue! She is a dollzone cindy but I am hoping when I finally get time to paint her I will feel it.

 

My little elves have nature names... Daisy, Nutmeg, Violet, and so on. I've named one Pukifee so far, she's Katie. One more Pukifee and a Lati Yellow Mystic Elly to name. Katie didn't get named until her hair and clothes defined her personality. Pictured is Katie
Pukifee Vanilla. Her name is Katie by Christine J., on Flickr