How Long Before You Named Them / The Importance of Naming

Yeah, I always make sure I have a name for my doll... I start planning the name and personality usually before I buy them. I can't stand having my doll there and not being able to call it anything!

 

I've had my doll for about 3 months now and he still doesn't have a name. I just can't think of a good name for him. So far I've just been calling my doll by its model name. But then again, I've never given names to my pets. My last 2 cats were simply refered to as 'cat' or sometimes 'kitty'.

 

Actually,I decided to name my future dolls before the day I will purchase them..In my case,I have planned to two of my early dolls based on the yaoi couple that I love the most which is Zoro and Sanji..
The rest of the dolls I made a brief sketch and description about them and I even named them to make things easier and it's suits them perfectly~(Yeah,I even make a research for their names according to their personalities and appearances)

 

I usually have the names set before I buy the doll. More or less the names that I have set for them are characters that I have been developing for years. The dolls that I have or plan to purchase are just the moulds that suit what I have already determined for the character.

 

well she was called Clover before I even saw her, so when I bought her from the lady it was decided she would keep the Clover part
later I added on Yor and Kirakishou
so she has a full name

 

Names are very important to me, and I usually name my dolls or decide what their name will be before they arrive. It makes it very easy to "bond" with them.

 

I agree, naming is super helpful with bonding. While I normally have a name in mind before I even receive the doll, my third doll has posed more of a challenge. I thought I had her name right, but it just isn't ringing true. Even my fiance agreed that it just doesn't seem "her". I haven't quite bonded to her as quickly as I thought I would, and although the majority of that may be due to various other factors, I thinking the lack of a fitting name has something to do with it.

 

Oh, I was merely browsing the dolls at first to decide if they are actually worth even bothering with. Then I saw DOT Ducan and thought that he looked as though he hopped out of an anime. So, naturally, I was kind of drawn to him. But then I saw Sha, and a name sort of instantly came to mind. That's when I decided that I had to have Sha. So, it was the naming that kind of made me 'connect' (Im feeling like an idiot right now o_0) with him (through the screen? o_0).
Okay, I sound like an idiot, but yeah. The name is what made me convinced that my life would be complete if I had Sha.
Feel free to laugh now O_O

 

I always give a name to a doll after ordering it and before it arrives at home.
Giving a name is very important to me; it's a way to give a personality to the doll. It’s a way to bring it to life. I couldn't imagine having a doll without a name.
As soon as my doll is ordered, I feel the need to give it a name. It's like an obsession!
In general at the beginning I have a rough idea of what I want (i.e.: Japanese name or Celtic name ...not common ...which have a meaning...).
And each time I spend hours and hours searching the name that will fit the personality...until I get the one!

 

I have to say I'm in the camp of naming them when they arrive. Seriously, I have tried to name my dolls well in advance, even having lists drawn up of choices and they almost always refuse them. I find I need to have them with at least a face up before I can decide exactly what I will call them. But I usually have an idea or a theme that directs me in creating them. For example, I deliberately got a Bambicrony to make a character based off Plum from Chobits. So she has the same pink hair, darker eyes and is named 'Koume' which means something plum related. Only dolls that had names before I got them still fight those name. One of my girls still won't say if she's Levi or Zenith. Think I'll have to get another for the other name before she will confirm. But I do need to have a name for them in order to get attached. My Soom Amber sits in her box, a hair's breath away from being sold since she has no name. And the first ones to be sold after her would be the ones that fight their names.

 

Since my first doll is a member of a fantasy race I'm developing, I need to get a feel for the language before I can name him, but I always prefer names that have some sort of meaning, whether in the real world or in fantasy (and by "get a feel for the language" I do mean I will probably be building this language from the ground up, since it's to be used in later drafts of a book I'm working on)

 

That book sounds exciting XD. Lord of the rings type thing...Is it hard building a language from scratch? Also, do you have to use some language as a base to help you develop that language? Well good luck!

 

Names, names, names ... I had to change my dolls name because I thought I would never get my dream doll. But then I did so ...

But I have to say, naming does help with bonding/developing the character's story. And sometimes changing names can help

Also, when you name them can depend. Sometimes you think you have a character and a name all picked out, but when the doll arrives it doesn't fit. Waiting until you actually see the doll is sometimes helpful, so there's nothing wrong with not having a name I think. But ... yeah. I think having a name helps. Even though I usually end up calling them "my doll(s)" around other people.

 

With both of mine it took me about 3 weeks to settle on a name I was pleased with. Some of the ones I had in mind beforehand just didn't fit once I had the doll. With other types of dolls I didn't feel a big urge to name them, but BJDs really need a name so they have a unique personality.

 

I am waiting for 2 new girls to arrive and I have decided to give them names found in ''Harry Potter''. One will be Petunia and the other Hermione, not very original but I like those names and I think that they will suit the two !.

 

My first doll went through a whole number of names for weeks before she settled into being 'Amelia' (RS Dai). My second doll is a hybrid, his head arrived before his body and I gave him a faceup myself, I took one look at him after the faceup and he just resonated with the name 'Ashton'. I also feel that I've bonded a lot more closely with my second doll Ashton.

 

It took me several years to name one doll and a few months for the other. Naming is a big deal so I refuse to rush into it.

 

It took me over a year to name my first doll (B&G Triya). She was a gift from my Mom 2 Christmas's ago, I was so excited at first, and then just before Christmas my marriage fell apart. It really made my Christmas hard, and I just lost all the excitement that I had for her. Then, this last Christmas, my Mom, (she's a saint) asked what I wanted. I said a boy doll, for my girl. I thought that it would help if I had a pair to enjoy. As soon as I opened the Doll Zone Box, it was love. Within the day he had a name, Elijah. Then I became determined to find the perfect name for my girl. Finally, after taking her to bed with me, I woke up and said Cally. It stuck! A new face-up, blushing and a wig, and she became the doll I always imagined she would be. Now if I could just get my Soom Ai to tell me her name all will be good.

 

I'd had my little PukiPuki a few weeks before I officially named her. She was bald and I was waiting for her wig before I could decide but then it came and I didn't think it suited her so she was bald again. I decided she couldn't wait any longer and had already half decided on calling her Cleo so now that is her name, even though she is still a little baldie =) Although I still quite often just refer to her as Puki as that is what I had been calling her before. But yeah, a few weeks

 

I've had names and characters thought out in full since I was thirteen so it isn't really a big deal for me, I just gotta find the sculpts to suit them. I have Dante and Reiss now, am waiting for the two sets of twins Jaerin and Junmi, and Ciel and Lenny.

But for those dolls I want and haven't thought of a personality yet it can take ages for me to figure out a name, simply 'cause I'm anal about names. They have to sound nice to me and suit the doll at the same time. It took me quite a while to think out names and personalities for Aiden (Leeke-D Chouette) and Shay (DoC Tender Too), but it's good 'cause I'm going to stick with them.