How do you name your dolls?

My dolls have their own story, so it is easy to name it.

 

For me its based off a few things. I 95% of the time go off their nationality. So depending on if I have an idea for them, I will pick a nationality and then search through names like that. That's how I do it most of the time. Other times I go with a theme. Like pastel dolls I tend to go with sugary sweet type names. So I have named pastel dolls stuff like Marzipan, Sugar Lemon, Mochi, or Coco. And one of my current themes are Greek gods. I have been naming my specifically my switch dolls after Greek gods. So I have Atlas,Helios, and Dionysus. I also have a space boy theme as well. And occasionally a random name will just pop into my head and I will name them that. Lol So that's how I pick my names.

I don't do OC dolls because if I did, Id have waaaaay too many. lolol So I never have a character planned.

 

I prefer to make heroes of favorite stories, so name them after these heroes )

 

All the characters I plan to shell as dolls (as well as my one current doll that I own) are from a fantasy story, so I mostly only have fantasy names or very old-fashioned names.

Usually, for fantasy names, I make up names from words with interesting meanings (ex. Eidol, from Eidolon, meaning idealized person), or I look up the Latin translations of words that relate to the character, and mash a few of the resulting words together or use half of a particularly long one. For certain characters, I directly used existing names of deities / demons / angels / myths etc (ex. Nosferatu, Laciel, Ffion, Lilith etc).

For less-fantasy-ish names, I sometimes use the names of plants (ex. Aster), or alternative spellings of names that aren't used as much anymore. I don't really like very common or plain-sounding names, especially modern ones.

The name of my current doll -- Risel -- is actually just a random mix of sounds / letters that I thought sounded fantasy-ish, though!

All the name examples I included here are names of various characters of mine, most of which I plan to eventually shell as dolls ^^

 

I let them name themselves honestly. It's the same with my OC's. They remain nameless until something just sticks in my head and clicks with them.

 

I love greek mythology and the names I have picked for my dolls are associated with greek goddesses, for example: Persephone, Selene, Iris. Some other names I picked go with their personality. For example my garden hybrid human snail goes by the name of Mr. Fern. If I get more dolls I will probably stick to the greek mythology theme or maybe not, who knows.

 

l like to name them so they feel like a real person (not neccesarily a normal name but so that it feels like they could be a character going about their life with the name). It needs to sound like home for that character.

 

I've been trying to get inspiration from characters from books that I love

 

Honestly, I looked up baby names online! I would find lists of names and read through them until I found one that suited my doll. Also, naming dolls after someone/something can be a great way to find a name.

 

I have a list of names I like. But I usually sleep on it and it eventually comes to me.

 

They’re my D&D characters so they already have names and I pick a sculpt that looks like them. If I were to name a doll, I would try on different wigs/eyes until it looks right, and go by a name that flatters their appearance.

 

Once they arrive, if my doll looks like a Pedro, then he will be named Pedro.

 

My doll had a nickname long before he arrived so I could chatter at my non-collecting friends without confusing them. I was waiting to give him a 'real' name because until he was in my hands, he was identified by his sculpt and brand for invoices and shipping notifications- another name would have just been confusing. Then he arrived and I harassed my friends until I came across a name that fit ^ ^

Or I thought it fit. Turns out that my first pick for his name refuses to stick, so back to square one XD

 

I'm a little embarrassed to admit it but I actually look up baby names for them hahaha. Sometimes a name just comes to me, but usually I have to do some research. Usually I'll have some kind of theme in mind and use that to look for a name.

 

If I am not basing it off of a character from my book, I will go to my "Collection of names" and pick one from there. I like to write down names I find interesting and keep them for future book characters...

 

I might keep the sculpt name, if I like it. Otherwise, since I tend to dress my dolls in historical/fantasy outfits, I choose classic names. So far I've picked them all up from literature. Alice from Alice in Wonderland, Claudia from Interview with a Vampire, Lucy from Dracula, Emily and Anne from Montgomery books.

 

I tend to already have a character with a name, when I'm picking a doll, as it's already decided through story-writing with the setting and time-period.

But, when it's a sculpt I have just absolutely fallen head over heels for and am trying to build a character around (before jumping into owning one), as I am currently, I kind of wait to get a vibe of what sort of name I want. For example, because there don't seem to be many of the AOD 90cm guys "in the wild", I'm looking at uncommon names from more Celtic or Medieval roots; Anglo-saxon, Gaelic, Scandinavian as well. Actually, I do already have one I like the sound of, but it apparently means... 'Salmon'. Do I really want to essentially name my guy 'Salmon'? Not particularly. So, that aspect is also key. I can't just like the moniker on its own; it has to have an agreeable meaning. Like 'joyful' or 'mighty warrior'.

 

They all have the same names they came with. I don’t feel any urge to find new names for them.

 

Interesting topic, some of my dolls are character based from anime and video games. My original dolls are often inspired by my interests, and my first SD was longed planned ahead when I drafted her character even before I preordered the doll!

 

At the moment, most or my dolls are named after Roman/Byzantine emperors, but feminized or otherwise clipped to make them into cute little girls names. It wasn't intentional at first, but after naming my first doll Claudia and my second Aurelia I just decided to keep going.

I have three who don't fit that pattern, two are elves and so have names from Tolkien's mythos, and one is (in my mind) an alien, so she has a name I literally made up to sound cute but sort of alienny.