Naming your dolls

I try to come up with a list of names while I'm waiting for the doll to arrive, but sometimes I just need to see it in person before I can make a decision. I've changed names before if the character grew into something a little different that what I had first imagined.

 

I have the name for my first doll picked out already, and she hasn’t been ordered. The idea for her name and nickname (it’s a very old-fashioned puritanical-style virtue name paired with a super modern nickname) just gradually floated to me as I was shopping around, and her personality is based off of that same old fashioned/modern pairing.

I was already looking at a lot of sculpts that fit that sort of general innocent and virtuous but with a modern quirkiness feel, and narrowed the focus once the character emerged out of that trend.

 

I am really bad with names in general (like a lizard names Mr.lizard) so idk how I'm gonna name my doll I have 2-3 months before it arrives but I do like old names such as Magnus and Claude maybe something along those lines

 

I make lists using name generators and kind of experiment with each one. It's not a very efficient method, but it hasn't gone wrong so far!

 

All my dolls have Japanese names so I make a list of potential names for a character and spend a lot of time reading through it and looking at the doll I also use potential names in sentences when talking about the doll to see how it feels

 

The doll I've just ordered, my first doll, is going to shell one of my characters named Wren from a story I'm writing. Whilst I was creating his character, I didn't even know it was a girl's name (or a name at all, to be honest, I was just naming him after the bird) but I felt like he was perfect for the name so I didn't change it after I learned it was feminine. As for surnames, though, I sometimes just steal it from a location? (One of my OC's surnames is Carolina, which I just took from North and South Carolina), but other times I find something relevant to their role in the story.

 

Naming things is my absolute favorite haha. I usually establish a character and from there go through popular names in different cultures, list the ones I like and slowly narrow it down. I also collect names that I really Love in a big list so I have them available!

 

For me, it's one of the most important aspects of collecting. Honestly, I'm a complete naming freak. I've probably spent days of my life researching, rifling through baby naming books, and, most importantly, contemplating.

That being said, I don't like to over-research. A name should feel organic, not forced. So when the hunt starts to feel like a burden, I back off and take a break until a new wave of inspiration hits me. Luckily, most of the time I'm able to settle on a name relatively quickly. Rarely, I change my mind. This usually only occurs when I'm waiting for a doll to arrive, or while he/she is being painted.

There are nine primary ways I settle on names:

Ethnicity
Some sculpts have a definitive ethnic look. Others are ambiguous and could lean in multiple directions depending on how you'd like to portray them. Even though my dablyop and ceryop by ApoDoll are a dinosaur/alien composite, their facial features seem very African to me. Growing up, I had many Ghanaian friends. So I decided to base their names on ethnicity, and I also incorporated alliteration. Examples:

Afi Atta
Ekua Elbani
Ena Elbani
Queen Mother Uma Uffeysa Udabi

I've decided to follow the same principle with my mini bactro. I chose one Chinese name, and decided to do the same for the remaining bactro. It will be months before they arrive and are ready to be displayed, so there's a small possibility that their names may change. However, I'm quite pleased with them at the moment:

Jade
Mei Li
Rou


Exploration
Occasionally, I have no idea where to start with a name. In those cases, I open up my trusty baby naming book or one of various reliable online sources and get to work. Sometimes I get lucky and find a name that's perfect, but more often than not, the exploration method sparks an idea that leads to another naming method. Below are a few names I came across purely by exploration:

Icmus (transparent Xiro by Akhmel)
Orseline (grey henna/corpse by Varvyanskaya)
Imperator Phyllon Terribulus III (Happy Aloha by Pipos)


Instinct
Some of my collection was named spontaneously, or by instinct. This happens most frequently when I'm choosing a name late in the game, i.e. the doll is in my possession, painted, wigged, and dressed. There's no time like the present, right? Examples:

Anjou (dark tan Fatima by Nidum Dolls)
Greta/Gretchen (Varvyanskaya)
Malvina (white moth by Argonautica)
Zaire (ebony Aki by Akhmel)


Meaning
I've found that meaning becomes more important the more developed a character becomes. I'm not one to develop extensive backstories for my dolls. However, I sometimes research meanings when relevant (see Theme).


Namesake
We all have things that are special to us. Occasionally, if we're lucky, some of those names might be usable for our dolls. Perhaps the doll in question reminds you of a person/place/thing that's special to you. Or maybe you're just looking for an opportunity to use a really cool name. Examples:

Lux (white moth by Argonautica, named after one of the sisters from The Virgin Suicides)
Mitski (white Pollen by CreaturesDolls, named after the Japanese-American singer/songwriter)
Tasmia (Varvyanskaya, named after the LOSH character Tasmia Mallor)


Referral
I don't usually reach out for naming help unless I'm completely frustrated, which is rare. However, I have found some keepers that way.

Ula (blue sea creature by ArgoDoll)
Umiko (blue sea creature by ArgoDoll)


Retention
Sometimes a doll's sculpt name or (in the case of art dolls) given name is too iconic to bother changing. While this is rarely the case for me, I have made two exceptions:

Constantine (Lillycat)
Neonilla (horned fawn by Varvyanskaya)


Theme
I struggled for several months when it came to naming my Popovy. Nothing seemed cohesive enough. Ah, that was the word. Cohesive. I realized that with their emaciated bodies and unusual features (grey skin, claws, rat teeth, etc), Popovy reminded me of the monster dolls that got me collecting in the first place. So I started thinking of how I could portray Popovy as fashionable monsters, and with that, a theme emerged. (The below list contains future members of my collection as well):

9 - witch (named after the Nine Olde Witches)
Amani - jinn (translation: wishes in Arabic)
Eve - zombie (translation: to breathe in Hebrew)
Io - shapeshifter (named after Jupiter's densest moon)
Lulu - shapeshifter (translation: pearl in Arabic [like a moon])
Mimi - vampire (named after Mimi Tachikawa [see Namesake])
Nym - rat (inspired by The Secret of NIMH [see Namesake])
Orchid - ghost (like a ghostly white Orchidaceae)
Rajni - moth (translation: night in Hindi)
Venus - succubus (named after the goddess of desire)
Ylla - mummy (of Incan origin)


Uniformity
Like many collectors, I tend to buy the same sculpt in various skin tones. I have a total of nine Little Kio and Little Pri by Argonautica, and they were all (more or less) named uniformly. Why? I wanted to create a unique feel for an entire alien culture, so making sure the names complemented one another was integral. There are exceptions, of course. Several of the first names below are clearly human, but almost all cultures borrow from others, so it seemed reasonable to me that some alien names might be pronounced similarly to earth names, whether by exposure or coincidence. That's when I decided to also create last names to further a sense of unity. To me, uniformity requires a bit of je ne sais quoi. You don't know exactly what it is that makes the names sound good together; they just do. Examples:

Antopus Min
Eyl Ether
Ishai Isamu
Leilani Yn Yn
Micah Nu
Penelope Quago
Rajeera Baswanni
Ylla Ipson
Zeke Fetton


So, those are my methods. Sometimes they overlap, and there are a few methods I prefer over others. But I've found that no matter how long it takes me to name a doll, or how frustrated I might get during the process, it always seems worth it in the end.

How about you?

 

Some times it just comes to me and that is what it is. other times i come up with names and stare at the doll saying the name multiple times to see if it clicks

 

My crew is far smaller than yours, but so far all my names follow your convention of instinct/uniformity. Spore came first, then Pollen, Seed and Polyp. Spore and Polyp are thematically appropriate when looking at the sculpts, and Pollen joins the trio. Seed hasn't arrived just yet, but thinking about my names for this thread brought it to mind and it's perfect for my Aileendoll Camellia Cyclops/DC hybrid. I've got a couple unnamed still - I'm searching for names that reflect their small stature, with a biological background.

 

I don't have any tips of my own yet, just wanted to say that this thread is very useful! Naming is hard.

 

I just compile a giant list of names that I happen to like, whether in passing or looking around online, and then picking from those for my MSDs. My SDs are my shelled characters, they usually get their name from their abilities or the like. O:

 

You're thought process on naming is quite deep! Looking over my own dolls, I'd say that meaning is what I strive for, but before they get their permanent names they will get whatever I think of off the top of my head. After that I'll research names and meanings after that to figure out what fits best.

Pandora (DC Lilly) - First named Morticia, I named her Pandora once she became shelled as a BJD. She has a dark sense of humor, but at her heart she is rather upbeat for a tall skeletal styled creature. Pandora as a name seemed like a great way to encapsulate that.

Papillon (DC Katherine hybrid) - She was named Noodle initially, simply because of the fact that she may have great posing capability but ended up moving more like a wet noodle. She became Papillon due to her themed around butterflies (butterfly tattoo and flowers are part of her engravings.) Not exactly deep in meaning there, I favor simple names.

Aria (Dearmine/Resinsoul hybrid) - I figured that Aria was the best was the feminize Aries, the constellation she was named after. She's supposed to be a being who travels through space, as a piece that originates from an even larger more abstract creature. I'm thinking I'll reinvent her as a character, however, which will also mean a new name.

I'm realizing now I don't have a clue what I'm going to call my sphinx who is on the way, or my unicorn centaur project on order. Better start looking around!

 

Honestly, I mostly just go with what I like or what feels right to the doll. Sometimes I do look up baby names websites to help me choose, sometimes I do base it on ethnicity, if that's even important in their character at all, or sometimes if I base the OC on an existing character, person or idea, I might look for names similar to theirs.

 

Since most of my dolls are Asian in ethnicity, I usually start with a kanji with a meaning that suits their character and use a dictionary to find names that use that character. I've found some really unique and beautiful names that way!

I'll also name them for characters (either OC or existing from anime, movies, etc).

 

I use meaningful names related to the doll and my life, like what i was going through when it arrived or why i bought it and things like that.

 

I find this one probably the hardest aspect in the hobby haha. Actually, I use to ask for help to my bf. He has named all of my dolls.

The process is:

- He starts spelling lots of funny names.
- I say: THAT ONE!
- And he stops.

So voilá! My doll has its own name! haha.

 

I used a name generator - and although I didn't choose any of the names that popped up, it did give me a feel for the "sound" that I wanted. I started thinking of names that started with E, and came up with Elenor

 

I have only one doll named Rhein. Like the river in Germany. Why? I don't know why.