Naming your dolls

Thus far, I've drawn from sculpt names for inspiration, since I think they already suit the sculpts so well (eg Luts Senior delf Clary = Claire, Resinsoul Mi = Millicent/Millie). But then again, I also have random names that just came to me (eg Ava for my Comi babydoll Peridot / Leeke world art body hybrid). I also have a couple of names that are old characters I've had since the beginning of time :'D

 

Excuse me ahead of time for geeking out, but I love this sort of thing! For made up names, I think about linguistics. Different blends of vowels and consonants have different associations, so I think about the character I want for the doll and then what phonemes (sounds) would work well.

For instance:

• Back-mouth vowels like 'ah' and 'oh' are usually associated with strength, if not masculinity, and this can be compounded when paired with firmer, voiced consonants like G, D, B, J. Think about: Bard. Goro. Grador. Agadon. These are very firm names.
• Front-mouth vowels like 'ih' 'ee' 'eh' 'uu' are on the other side: usually associated more with softer things, or femininity. And, just as above, this can be compounded when paired with unvoiced consonants like K, T, M, and Ch. Kilia, Temeni, Ukime. These tend to feel more poetic and delicate on the tongue.
• Sonorant consonants like N, M, L, and R tend to flow smoothly and make a character more approachable or even beautiful; it also seems to have connotation with wealth or status (that's a personal thing though, possibly). A masculine prince might be Amenir or Loden, while a feminine queen could be Emmenia or Leteni (all I did between the two pairs was unvoice the consonants and change the vowels from back to front).
• Fricatives like Th (both versions: Thin and Then) or Ch (as in Bach, not Cheese) are very airy and can give the character a lofty or pleasant feel. Tolkein loved using these for his elves, and Anne McCaffrey used them for her dragon names. Thranduil. Thenenoch. Etc.

And that's just raw phonetics! Then you get things like different combinations of sounds:

• Onomatopoeia is when a word sounds like something in real life (think "plink" for a coin landing in a pond). I find these kind of 'impact' sounding combinations work well for childish or lower-class characters. Puck. Clop. Tack. Blot. They're almost always single-syllable, which contributes to that feeling of simplicity.
  
• Sibilance is when there are a lot of 's' and 'sh' noises, and that can make a character seem shifty or suspicious. Sylven, Selth -- even Slytherin, for instance. Often associated with snakes, hissing, and lisping characters.
• Assonance is when there are a lot of vowels. I find this creates a sense of power - though not necessarily masculine as mentioned above - and reverence. Arion, Orado, Aialia, (if you've read Ancillary Justice: Anaander Mianaai).
  
• Consonant Clusters is when there are a lot of consonants without vowels between them. This tends to come off as more bestial and raw (think about the Klingon language, if you're familiar). Chekthit, Draktri, Prejthek.

Look at a name like Thanos: we get loftiness (th), shadiness (s), masculinity (ah, oh) and approachability (n) -- a perfect descriptor of Thanos' character (at least in the Marvel movies )

Then, it can go way beyond sounds entirely. Different cultures have different sets of phonemes to work with, but they also have different masculine and feminine markers (for instance, i, ia, ina, elle are all feminine suffixes in English). Different languages have completely different feels, and it's fun to play around with their unique sounds and just see what pops up.

(And when all else fails, I like combining names with sounds I like, eg: Taylor and Justin to create Taylin)

 

I don't shell characters or have any in mind when getting dolls, so I tend name them after characters I like from various media. One I named after a character from a book I had recently read, another from a character in a video game.

Nothing would "stick" for my last girl 'till a friend suggested a name.

Sometimes it's easy, other times they go through a few names. I just keep trying 'till one clicks.

 

I love naming characters! I'll typically scour through baby name sites, or I'll try to keep an ear out while I'm out in public in case I hear any names I particularly like. Sometimes I get hit with a theme or a meaning I want for a name, and then have to search out the name itself-- my current doll, for example, is kind of a hippie, so I really wanted to have a flower name for him. I probably looked at dozens of different kinds of flowers, and eventually landed on Edelweiss/Edel.

 

And I loved your post! Phonemes is something I guess I do consider, but I never realized it until now.

Glad to hear it (though looks like my thread got merged with one from several yrs ago

Oh hey, I recognize that avatar! I have a Pollen of my own for sale, but in sculpt name alone, ha. You do have an interesting small stature collection. The uniformity suits them.

 

I tend to reuse names a lot. I recycle names I like for my pokemon in various pokemon games, my characters in rpg video games, and some of my ocs. So I give my dolls reused names as well.

And most of the names are inspired by songs/bands I like.

 

I am actually in the naming process right now, I just got my first doll a couple of weeks ago but its been far too rainy to prep her for a faceup, so I've been staring at her face and trying to come up with a name

 

I usually base the names from the style of clothing they would wear to fit their image and persona. Or if they have multiple personas they have different names because I change their hair and eyes and they’re a different personnwitj a different story and background.

 

To be honest... I have a book of names where I collect every name I like or create... I use it for characters in video-games, characters in stories I write... and also for my dolls! Some of my doll's characters are inspired by certain characters from movies/mangas/stories/games and therefore share the names with them

 

I have the hardest time naming dolls! I tend to want to fall back on the sculpt name or existing characters of mine’s names. I now avoid using my ocs’ names because the doll is supposed to be their own character. But presently my MSD girl is named after an oc (Delphi) and my puki is still just using her default sculpt name (Luna). I need to do better with my names!!

 

I'm so bad at naming my dolls (and video game characters.. and animals LOL) so I, as a lot of people, actually stuck with the dolls' sculpt name. A friend kept harassing encouraging me to name my dolls! I ended up just trying to find a name from the same region the doll was made. For my Dust of Dolls Appi Khol who is made by a French company, she has a French name (from my research at least!)

I am a bit worried about my Korean dolls though! I want to give them beautiful Korean names but need to do research before deciding anything!

 

I am so bad at naming things! So I just go with their official name until I can figure out a perfect name

 

i have a hard time naming anything, never mind dolls ^^' my fav is sirius, and his name came very readily, surprisingly, but only once he was in hand and dressed. my pukifee never got a name (i sort of acquired her by convenience so not terribly invested in her) but she will soon bc i plan to pass her on to a friend who's much more excited about her. logan is my only other doll, and he has that name from his previous owner.

i have a new doll set in my sights to save for, but i have no idea what i'll call him .... i guess it'll come to me once he's in front of me, like it did with sirius?

 

I look for the meaning of a name and at the second turn how it sounds to me. But most of my dolls have a last name so it is way more easy.

 

I'm just going through the names one by one until I come across one that sticks. And, oddly enough, it is not often the names that I like or I find beautiful and exquisite. But if the name's stuck, what am I supposed to do but accept the inevitable? This applies to names. And the surnames usually occur later, all by themselves.

 

Most of the time I write down names that I like or ones that I hear and think they're neat. Other times I will just look at my doll and be like....hmmmm yes this will be your name. I usually prefer to have the name+character planned before, though

 

I name them within the day of their arrival.
I put eyes in, choose the wig that suits them best, spend a few hours handling them, often go through a list of names I like.
And if this is not enough, I start surfing the web for baby names or lists of nouns that fit their sculpts. I tend to check the original meaning of the name as well.
The only time I had real difficulties naming one of my BJD was when I refused the first name that popped into my head. Obviously, it was to no avail, and she still ended up with that particular name. I don't fight it anymore.

 

So I really love skeleton keys, I like to collect them, and when I got my boy and I was thinking of a name I wanted something unique and in the end I named him 'Key' xD I love that my brother remembers his name but is so scared of him!
but for my next doll I think I have a few names that I like and I'll prob practice calling her the names and seeing which one fits best!

 

My dolls shell OCs with at least a human alter ego, so during the character development process I decide what nationality to make them, then head over to behindthename.com to check out what names they have for that nationality. I look for a meaning that matches the vibe of the character, as well as whether I can get a natural-sounding nickname from it. From there it's just a matter of browsing until I find one that clicks.

 

I have a long list of names that I like in my bjd note book. When the doll is done, face up, wig, etc then I choose from that list the one that I guess match better with him