The Name Game: The issues with choosing a name!

I don't like Japanese names so I never would give any of my dolls one. (Not trying to sound like some RACIST or something I mean
I am half Japanese with a Japanese middle name it's more of a "I'm sick of hearing Japanese names all over the place :-\" kind of thing.)

I usually look for names with a good meaning or just something I like.

 

I feel a bit silly now saying that about Japanese names.

Maybe it was just were I was looking or something. > >

 

Well, I came up with the name of the first day.) It happened by itself, I do not sit and do not suffer with him.) Then, right when the guy told me his story, the name had changed slightly - but the foundation remains the same. Just appeared different cuts and options.)))
And, yes, his name is not Japanese, but I'm afraid that I could not transcribe it into english correctly from russian)))

 

I'm not really sure how it hapened I think my doll named himself lol and its a girl name but dont' tell him that. I think he thinks the K makes it look more masculine lol. "Klaudia"

 

How did you come up with a name for you doll/s?
Firstly I created a name (The translation of the name of an street nearby my flat into Japanese), but really quickly (Before my first BJD arrived) changed my mind. Then is when I knew the character finally she would be. Her character belongs to One Piece manga and anime series like most of the rest of my BJD do.
About the ones who do not belong to it, only two are my own creation, but I gave them names (Also before arriving) in two different ways (Although in both writing their stories, something I love). I always keep meaning and sound in mind. This is what I did:
1. For my first own creation one home, the boy, I thought about Japanese traditional art I love, "Satsuma", so that is his name. Time after that I found out it is the name of a Japanese-British ship sunk long ago and curiously it fits the back storyline I created for him. He has amnesia so he does not know about it.
2. For my second own creation one home, the girl, I went into meanings of the way she is and got it into two languages to be her name and surname. That is how she became Entêté Headstrong, which means kind of saying twice the same.

Does the name have a special meaning to you or in general?
All their names have, created by the author of One Piece (Eiichiro Oda) or by me. Besides, I think all they match each of their owners.

Do you think names are important to owing a doll?
Not at all. In my opinion you do not love more or less a BJD because you did not give him/her a different name to his/her sculpt's one.

Does naming your doll make him or her closer to you?
I love giving names to them (And nicknames ), but they come from how their characters are in my case. If I get to a name or see a name in him/her for me that means he/she is close enough to me.

Have you ever hated/changed your dolls name? and/or do you change your doll's name to fit your mood or current whim
Never. The name I get in mind, the one which comes because of the character, never failed in my way of doing. Nicknames are the thing I sometimes use depending on my mood.

 

I go with whatever pops into my head when I get the doll in hand, that's why it's so important for the dolls I buy to have the sort of face sculpt that has tons of attitude- it's much easier to think up a name and a character (which usually grows from the name) If the sculpt looks so striking. It took me over a year to find a name that suited my Lati K Edissen. I very nearly sold him because of an inability to bond, when finally, after a new face-up, I gave up trying to make him sort of international and Norse, and went with what he seemed to look like. In the end, (as she does so often) my mum came up with the perfect name- I had been finally leaning towards Ellison, and she changed it slightly to Edissen, and the rest was history. His character was almost immediate after that. For characters, the sculpt can be really helpful too- Edissen became a bit of a ditz when I discovered that one of the magnets from his headcap had gone missing, and as a result, it was constantly falling off.

 

How did you come up for a name for your doll?
Hm. I actually can't remember how it came to be... I really have always loved the name Hayden. And I also loved Olliver.. I was so torn between the two names and I could NOT decide for the life of me. They've always been names I've liked, but never had the chance to use.. Anyways. Since I couldn't decide, I just stuck the two of them together, and so Hayden's middle name is Olliver. And he has no last name really. Part of his story, I guess.

Does the name have a special meaning to you or in general?
Actually, it doesn't have a special meaning. They're just names that I really like and I found them to be fitting~

Do you think names are important to owning a doll?
My goodness yes. BJDs, to me, are really personal hobbies that a lot of people get very attached to. I would hate to call my dolls "thing one" and "thing two" or something (though I doubt anyone would, I'm just using those for lack of anything better to say xD!), it seems so un-personal and distant. Giving a name to something adds a special closeness to it I find, people name boats right? And BJDs are a much more personal hobby than boating, so it makes sense to name your dollies!

Have you ever hated/changed your dolls name?
I never have hated Hayden's name at all, I'm really happy with it, and I'd never think of changing it.
Though wanting to change the name of an OC of mine has come up a few times. For a while I kind of didn't like his name and wanted to change it. ;~; But with Hayden it's never happened.~

 

Mryxadiddly - funny thing is I did playfull refer to my two real puki soso and tyni as thing one and thing two in one of my photoshoots Dr Seuss!

How did you come up with a name for you doll/s?
I take a VERY long time. I try a name on knowing it might not stick. If I have to put too much effort in remembering the name thats a sign it won't stick. Also I look at the face and feel the country of origin of the doll, for example I have a hypermanaic doll who looks very russian to me. This has narrowed down names to only russian names - though I might also go for a name that feels russian but isn't if that makes sense.

Does the name have a special meaning to you or in general?
I would say no. Though I have one doll who I will probly name Beatrix she has the feeling of the Beatrix potter world to her.
Many times its about what the name feels like, capturing the feeling the aura of that name and what it means to me.

Do you think names are important to owing a doll?
I think they are the final topping they can solidify the mood and a commitment to the character also make you feel a bit closer in some cases.

Have you ever hated/changed your dolls name? and/or do you change your doll's name to fit your mood or current whim
Sure I have changed names before if I keep forgetting the name !

 

I pick names based on my character's background and/or personality. My first girl is June, picked because her parents are a little old fashioned, and I didn't consider the meaning, I just liked the sound, and it fitted character wise, whereas another character is Hambre, which means hungry, picked entirely for its meaning.

Names can come from anywhere!

Also I don't see a problem with picking Japanese names for dolls. I know that there are a lot of Japanese named dolls out there, but if you like them, then why not? I cherry pick names from all languages I know.

 

Naming them is much easier with some dolls than others, I find.

I named my first two boys before I got them. Only one of them has kept his name while the other one took me a couple of years and a series of ill-fitting names before I found out his true name.

My third boy was always going to be called Malachi until I opened the box, then he was like, "Hi, I'm Lucah". It was perfect and that's been his name ever since.

I have tried naming dolls before I get them, but usually the names don't stick. So now I wait until I have them and they "tell"* me their name. But sometimes, even having them in your hands doesn't help with the naming process. My latest boy is Jasper, but I'm not entirely sure he's telling me the truth about his name Time will tell.

*Just so I don't sound like a crazy old doll lady, when I say the dolls tell me their names, I mean that the name I have in my head fits the doll I have in my hand.

 

I always search some named I think it might fit them before they get home.
but all the time it's just pop up in my head.^^
and most of the time it has no meaning,just sounds right for the one I guess.
I'm a lazy person so I usually won't change their name.
and I think if you really love your doll then they'll close to you no matter you named him/her or not!

 

It took me forever to find a perfect name for my dolls. Believe me that I spent hours surfing through naming websites but none of the suggested names I find suitable for them. So now I name them based on some of the characters I like in movies, anime, manga and my favorite game series.

 

For me, Lance is just.... Lance! He didn't give me any other name, and so I stuck with his sculpt name. I can't think of anything more perfect. I'm not sure what I'll end up naming my DC Carol; I'm thinking Odette, but I think she'll tell me when she gets here.

 

Ooh~ I love choosing doll names! It's so much fun~

I often look for names that mean something, like my little Ula which means 'jewel of the sea' or Alula which is 'winged one' to name a couple. Anything a little different really. Sometimes I even make them up, like my little PukiFee whose name is Lunaselle!

I think by naming a doll you become more attached to them. Just like you do when you name a pet, for example. You form a bond with them, it's a similar thing. I've never changed any of the names I've already given them but some of them have been given last names years after I've had them. My boy Tobias recently became Tobias Solstice.

 

I've written stories for a long time, plus am in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism). Also am interested in historical research. So I had lots of experience choosing names before I got any BJDs. What I did before I ever ordered my first, was decide on what the back story for the whole group would be, and wrote some plot lines & background information. Since I made the setting a little town in contemporary Georgia (as in the US), outside the Atlanta beltway a bit, it made it a lot easier to hone down the group of names I'd choose from. I'm Southern myself (grew up in Charlotte NC) so am familiar with the kinds of names & nicknames common here - plus this little group had two other things in common. One, although there are the usual mix of ScotchIrish, English, & other European (as in, Italian & French) surnames, this town has some Asian links as well - Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Phillipines/Vietnamese, Japanese. The other - most of my dolls follow some sort of alternative or geek lifestyle (cosplayers, SCA, Pagans, SF nuts, the usual DragonCon going mix) - which comes into play w/their choice of kid names & nicknames.
Given this background, it narrowed down the field for me.
I then did this fun thing w/some of them, where I tried to fit the surname to the doll company name - LOL It helped narrow down my choices but it soon went astray as I changed my mind about various sculpts to shell the characters.
Anyway, sometimes the names do just jump at me once I get the doll - the first name or the nickname especially. So I end up adding or changing it from what I originally meant it to be. Most of the time, tho, nope. I already know the name of the character I'm getting the doll to shell.