The Importance of Naming

I'm always changing my mind about, well, everything, so by the time I got my first complete doll, I told myself I'd stick to the name I decided for every member of my future resin crew... That, because before getting that first doll, I bought a practice head (for face-ups), and changed his name like... three or four times. It was the same with my smaller fashion dolls.

And partly because I'm terrible at naming (I like roleplaying games and writing some original fiction), I also decided all my dolls' names would be theme-related: this way, I told myself, choosing a name wouyld be easier if I were to draw it from a single source. At least theoretically.
...So, out of my four dolls, the first two (Ezra and Carmine) are part of a setting taking place in modern times, while the latest two "live" in an original story I've been shaping, a low fantasy world based on Peru's colonnial times. More or less. But since I also wanted a more fantasy-appealing naming factor -er, yes-, I went with alternate spellings of Lating names for my characters, hence I have Ardent and, now, Nero (Ardent is a rather unusual name over here, though, having Old English and Latin origins, while I chose "Nero" over "Nerón", the proper Spanish spelling, because... the first sounded cooler to me. Ahem.)

 

Names are very important to me, but it's also the thing I'm worst at when it comes to character creation. :'c I have an iplehouse Isar doll on layaway and I have no idea what I'm going to name her. At least I have a few months to think about it, right? XD I wouldn't name her any of the names I would name a kid (if I were to have one) and I wouldn't name her after anyone I know in real life, especially not any of my relatives. She'll probably get a fantasy name to avoid this, in fact.

 

I have several different influences when it comes to naming my dolls. My first doll was essentially a colaboration of ideas both my SOs and my own, her name he suggested was one of his favorite video game characters and I liked it (it also happens to be the name of a place, if I recall).

My second doll is essentially named after her sculpt, since no name came to me after having her for a while. I simply started spelling it how I pronounce it just to avoid having to italicize it every time I refer to her in text.

My third was a bit tricky because I wanted it to be a fantasy name, but also related to nature as she's a fairy. I had to do some looking around but I found it. Her first name is from the scientific name for a type of orchid whose flowers are said to look like people, her last means friend of the elves. Fitting I thought.

The fact that the first three all had names that started with the letter "A" is entirely coincidental. I've no idea how that ended up happening but it did. Luckily my fourth broke the quadruple-A combo with an "M" name, chosen more as a pun of the pokemon I based it off of. My next doll will be another "A" name sadly, but that's not my doing as she's a licensed character doll and I plan to keep her as that character.

Naming is fairly important to me because otherwise it becomes difficult talking about them if you have multiples and are refering to a specific one. Plus something so expensive should have a name, moreso if it's human shaped. My computer has a name, my SO's car has a name, even my airsoft pistol has a name. Logically my dolls have em too. I probably wouldn't use a name from someone I know or would name a kid, as most those names I find to be pretty plain and a bit boring, it would have to be a pretty extravegant name for me to want to use it. I much prefer fantasy or unusual-ish names.

 

I put great effort in finding the name that seems to best fit them or the OC that they are based on,so it usually takes me a couple days. XD I try to pick fantasy-ish names now a days,or from other cultures if the meaning fits them or it's similar to what would be used in that particular character's 'culture'. ^^

 

Depends always~ I use mostly names I like. They don't have to be meaningful to the character, even if they often end up being so by accident. Like Eien's name meaning 'eternity' and him being an immortal being...

Admittedly I picked Cadence's surname (Landolt) purposefully, as his code name is "C" as a reference to the Landolt C.

Because I love playing with words I sometimes love to get names and just twist them around or piece them together so they sound more fantasy-like.

Other cases (just one to be honest) I have simply nicknamed them, this particular one "Bosschan" because his nutjob of a character is as secretive as they come and always introduces himself with a different name even to people that clearly know him no less. The name is a halfway japanese pun since I obviously called him Boss-chan (endearingly) since he's the head of a certain organization but it also sounds a bit like Botchan (young master).

 

I had actually chosen another mold with different name and story for my first doll. Things didn't work out and I ordered my second favorite mold at the time - LUTS' KDF Bory. I had neither name, nor story when he arrived. For few days he just stood on my desk, with me never settling for a name. XD

I was replaying Mass Effect one day, and the main villain's name (Saren) just stuck in my head: "Saren, Saren, Ren, Ren...REN!" And that's how my first doll got his name. ^o^

I'm currently waiting for my second doll and have no idea what to name him. I believe names are really important, be it for people, animals or dolls. I hate my name. That's why I take my time to choose one for my pets and dollies.

 

Names are important to me too. Once I order one, I already have a name, it seems. I do name them after people I know. For instance, I named my first one Aya. I know an Aya, and I think she is actually a really mean person, but the name is beautiful, one kanji, and I think it fits my doll.

I think that naming your doll after your great-grandmother isn't so bad. Close family that you see every day might be a little weird for me, but naming a doll after someone in your family who you weren't super close with seems ok for me.

As for colleagues, I'm okay with that. There are nice names everywhere, and naming my dolls helps me remember my favorites!

 

I love naming my dolls, but so far I've only officially named two. One kept the sculpt name, and the other I just went through a list of guy names, and Riley just stuck for my punky Migidoll Miho. Now I sometimes call him RileyRawr ^^

 

I always prename my dolls, but I'm also always aware that at box opening the name can change in an instant. It's all about personality. When I received my littlest doll Kyen he was supposed to be named Tuyen, but the name didn't fit him at all. I felt bad, but for the first several months I owned him he didn't have a name.
My second most recent doll Fae (pronounce Fye) was named because she was faerie like, yet when I got her Fae just didn't stick with her. So when I changed the pronunciation everything came in to place and I had no more problem. :3

 

For me, names are third priority (first is the face, the body comes second). If I can't come up with an appropriate name for a doll I've been eyeing, then I know I'd have a hard time bonding with it, and that means it's time to move on.

Same as AmberLeigh, I rifle through a list of names and see which one jumps out. When I find a name, I look for its meaning to see if it fits the general persona I am aiming for (yes, I am a firm follower of meaningful names ^_^). Then (this part gets weird :P) I stare at the doll's face for a while, chanting the name I chose for him/her a few times, and wait for that mental click, that satisfying feeling that I chose the right name.

Sometimes, though, the company name of the sculpt fits too well and I am not able to find my own. In which case I simply append a second name (functioning as either family name or title). Case in point, Iplehouse JID Joshua. The name fits his face so perfectly, a jovial name for a jovial persona. When I finally buy him (if Jerome doesn't win, that is :P) he'll simply be called Joshua Baldwyn.

 

I love naming dolls. It's one of the fun parts of the development process(albeit somewhat frustrating when you can't think of something). I ... Actually go online most of the time and search for baby names websites. Mainly because my taste in names is a bit odd and I can't always think of something that fits the character.

 

Yep, I use baby naming sites too, mostly for characters is general as I'm just getting my first doll. His name is I'm 99% sure going to be Ollie, short for Oleander Huxley. His character (eccentric, playful and earthy) just popped into my head one day so I went on a hunt for suitable country sounding names and that's how I found his last name Huxley. I thought he was going to be a Quinn Huxley, but out of the blue I thought of Oleander and loved it. It's quirky and nature-related, and I think the nickname Ollie fits him so well. I've actually kind of fallen in love with this name--just seems to have a nice ring to it (which is probably why I won't bother figuring out a middle name to go with it).

 

I have the laziest naming convention in the world. First doll is a Solstice present: named Solstice (Sol for short), second doll was ordered Febuary 14th: Named Valentine (Val for short). Since then I've only bought two OTs but as soon as I get up money for another doll all I have to do is wait for Saint Patrick's day. XD

 

I adore naming dolls, future kids, pets, etc too (:
I normally name my dolls after characters in my fiction writing, which most are Greek themed names. I like to try and make them as unique. I even like taking common names and adjusting them so they're different/more original.

 

I don't have my dolls yet...but I have names for my first 4...theyare characters for a story I am working on.
I have two girls twins...Raisa and Isabis( Isa for short) their names make sense because of their mother
Then two boys...half brothers(different family from the girls) they are supernatural in nature Torben and Caderyn(pronounced Cade-rin)
It took me a long time to find the boys names but Isabis came to me pretty easily. I found a GREAT name website that sorts names by themes and everything which is where I came across the boys names. 20000-names.com it was a great resource and super helpful as I like to know the meaning of names before I settle on them.
Good luck naming your dolls

 

I'm also a name freak Things I own and use often, have names. Like, my ipod is Celsius, journal is Key, my stereoscope is Wiz, and ect... But I don't usually have a name for them(dolls and other things) until i can hold them in my hand. The name usually means something to me, whether it's a feeling I get, memories, or something stupid! =D

I guess naming things just make them feel more like they're mine!

 

Where do you get your doll-naming inspiration from?
I get inspiration from all around me- from people, places, books, history, movies, etc.

Do you do themes, like mythology or floral names?
Sort of... In an orphanage in my imaginary world where some of my characters are supposed to originate, it is typical to name children after days of the week. The tradition started when the people still spoke a simplified version of French, modified with sounds and grammar from the native languages. So far, two of my characters with names like this are shelled in BJDs (well, one is on layaway) They are Mardi and Samé (developed from Samedi).


Do you use names from old RP characters?
Yes, I do. Most of my dolls come from pre-existing characters, and some of them were/are RP characters.

Would you use family names, or names you'd also consider naming a child?
In one of my character families, I use a similar naming pattern to that of one of the branches of my family only with different names. I would not actually name a doll after a family member or friend, but if the name fit based on the story and just happened to be the same as someone I know, I would probably use it. I do not want children, so the second part is not an issue for me.


Do you just look through name books/name generators?
I do this all the time for fun, but they are not my main tools when naming a character. I have lists of names, origins, and meanings all over the place. o_O

 

well i don't really gonna say naming is really important because sometimes people just take the sculpt name as their name~

odd thing for me when i have my eye on a doll and will buy them eventually i come out with the name before i have all the money to buy them ~

 

I often buy second-hand dolls so I sometimes keep their names from their previous owners so as not to confuse them, haha. When I name them myself I usually peruse a list that I keep or go on a name generator and mess around. Occasionally it takes me a really long time to find a name for a doll because I want them to be perfect and suit the sculpt and character. I usually wait until after they arrive.

 

Cesavier is a name that I made up that was a character in one of my earlier stories. Seraphine is an adaptation of a user name that I saw on here, and obviously it has religious connotations too. Both my dolls have been named before they arrive.