Original or New names?

Kind of a mix of both. If I had a character in mind before I bought them they get that characters name, but if I bought the doll before having a character they usually keep the original name.

 

So far all my dolls have gotten new names. Though a few are still in progress. I enjoy creating backstories and personalities for my dolls. Currently have two stories just so I can have more creativity with them. One is modern and the other medieval, so I get to come up with lots of fun names!

Though I also love a few companies compete dolls (fullsets that seem to have a character already) or creating a doll form of a character from a show or game. In those situations the doll would keep their original name.

 

For the most part, I'd say that I go in with an idea in mind, or looking for inspiration for a new OC.
Especially if I were to buy only the faceup, or just the base body/head. Though, I agree with the idea that if they are from a show/game/etc that I previously enjoy or know of, I would probably keep their name that way and treat them as the previously established character.
In that case though, it's more just because most original doll identities don't really have much story or anything behind them on the website for me to really feel a connection to that specific identity. Some are made really well and tell the story well enough through the pictures alone though?? So if I felt particularly interested in that, I might decide to keep them like that and expand upon the character already established.

But overall, I'd say original like 90% of the time probably.

 

If I was buying a full set of a character (especially one from an established fandom) who already had an established name and personality, I would keep the name and personality as intended. However, right now I'm looking to shell out two existing characters, so their name is already set and came BEFORE the doll. I can't think of any situations where I would come up with an entirely new original name for a doll.

 

For one, I am a huge LUTS fan, however I don't think the names they choose for most of their sculpts are fitting at all. Honestly, I don't know how they even come up with them Lol. So for me, I always give them a new name. I like to feel out the sculpt, see what kind of personality would match with their facial expression and dress style and choose a name based from that. I often use baby name websites to find names that describe what I'm looking for. Like "sweet and innocent"..which is how I came up with Yoko's name.

My new boy that I am expecting is originally named "Loid". I never was a fan of that name (which is odd, cause my grandfather's name is Lloyd..don't worry, I never knew him Lol). With his smoky eye makeup and hard set expression, I have given him the name Sebastian (with "Bash" being his main nickname). I will see once he arrives if he will keep that name or not and if it fits his personality.

 

Currently I'm referring to most of my dolls as their factory names because I'm still debating on what to name them for their characters. I'm very indecisive so it's probably going to take me awhile!

 

I like to rename my dolls. I think of the company names as more of a label for identifying the sculpt but as someone who likes to customize my dolls it feels weird to keep the old name when they look so different from their company photos.

 

Mine's sort of a weird mix of both. Usually I'll have a character in mind when buying a doll so I'll re-name them, but my first doll was a Resinsoul Ju and I didn't really have a character so she ended up being "Julie". My Resinsoul Song was supposed to be an oc but he didn't fit the sculpt so I've sort of defaulted back to calling him Song (or River Song; my mom is a big Doctor Who nerd), and my Volks little Alice has always just been Alice - I like Alice in Wonderland and had no desire to change her character.

And I've just realized now that most of my other dolls don't even have proper names...I have two Volks FCS, a Dollfie Dream who's head I brought blank from Volks USA, and a Luts event head; it would just be weird to go around calling them "F-17" or "DDH-04"! I guess the only dolls I have right now that I've actually properly renamed are my Iplehouse and my Island Doll.

 

My intention has always been to give dolls new names and create a new character for them. I accidentally kept Claude's model name, though. I didn't want to, because it made me feel unoriginal, but... he's just such a Claude! My other doll's name, Celadon, was chosen as a way of linking back to the sculpt's Korean traits (her model name is Korean, and her features are quite East Asian), because of the beauty of Goryeo celadon. It's harder for me to be sure I'm pronouncing Korean names properly, but it still hearkens back for me, which I like. So in a way, I do like to incorporate something of the model name.

It's also a lot like celga said earlier in the thread, about how it comes down to the waiting period--I kept thinking of Claude as Claude during the long wait, so by the time I had him, that was just his name, and there was no changing it. But Celadon's name popped up as a possible idea when I was still just considering buying her, so.

 

I searched for weeks for the perfect name for Chloe but ended up keeping her sculpt name once I saw her in person. It just fit. I’m starting to write down and develop her character too so I can fill out a character profile for her on here and it still fits even though I’ve changed her look and style a tiny bit. She’s perfect, her name is perfect for her.

I do tend to give my dolls original names though. While I begin looking long before I have them, I don’t settle on one until I actually see them. When I began collecting again I would start out with a set name and story, personality and style for the character I wanted my doll to be. And then everything would change once I got the doll. This happened every time! So I learned to just have a basic idea but never settle on anything until I have the doll in my arms and can get a real feel for the personality and style. It’s much less frustrating for me this way and I end up with characters I enjoy rather than forcing myself to try to love characters I’m really not into because I think I should after all the time I put into their development.

 

None of my dolls have names yet, because I'm a name nerd and it's daunting to come up with the perfect names for them. I'm not shelling characters with mine so there's no story for me to work off, but I want them to have their own names. After all, there are so many I like and I probably won't have kids, so why not? That said, there are two sculpt names I like a lot, so maybe I'll end up keeping them.

 

I have always given them new names for the character i intend them to be. But for the first time ever in 12ish years the doll i have incoming, the company name fits the character im making. So they will keep their sculpt name

 

I give all my dolls new names. My Soom Rick kept his sculpt name for a few months, but is now Zack.

 

I come up with a new name for my doll based on the region I got them from. For example one of my dolls came from the. Netherlands so I googled names for girls in the Netherlands and picked one I liked.

 

I give names to all of my bjds and azone dolls;
for dd, depends on character or self assemble

 

I'd definitely always prefer to name dolls myself. It's part of the customisation process for me. However, I'm not great at naming things! If I put too much thought into it, I become incapable of making a decision, so I usually just go with my gut and choose something that ends up quite boring... my doll's name is Louie, which honestly I'm not sure I ever even liked?? But once I called him that, it instantly stuck. Oh well.

 

I'm always after a doll to be a character or so. So even before I get them, they have a new name.

However I do have one doll that's going to rep and photoshoot as two different characters, so that'll be interesting.

 

I am mostly new names, but I have two guys who still use their sculpt name. One of them is the Ringdoll Isak I ordered, I tried coming up with a name but Isak just fit the smarmy bastard too well. The other is Studio Naiko Duke, he has not converged on a proper name yet, so Duke he remains till I can suss out his character.

 

Mine get new names. They are all named, it helps me bond with them, which is necessary for me, because I am still not completely "cured" from my Pediophobia (doll-phobia). I don't know if you ever really will be completely cured, but what I mean is that I still have quite a lot of issues with finding some dolls extremely creepy. So me choosing sculpts I think look nice and cute, me making their face-up myself, thinking about their character and naming them is helpful and makes me able to not fear they will murder me in my sleep.

 

I always give my dolls new names. I will use the names of characters that I like or names that I heard somewhere that I liked or sometimes start with a particular kanji and create a name around that.
As for the story behind the name, it's not very exciting, I usually just go with the process of what led me to choose that name for the particular doll.