Unfortunate named dolls - do you inform the owner?

I'd probably get a laugh out of it if I accidentally named my doll something lewd because it seems on brand for me. I wouldn't mind someone telling me but I wouldn't go out of my way to tell someone else in case it offended them. You never know, maybe the name is intentional!

Admittedly I do laugh a little at every character named "Coco" because it's just similar enough to "poop" and I apparently have the humor of a 10 year old.

 

I think the only time i've ever seen it as a problem is one time when someone posted their new release doll in the BJD news. I think it was some sort of monkey or alien monkey doll and had a three word name where every word was english slang for something rude. I forget one of the words but the others were 'Dong Cum' or something along that line.
I did have a 'uuhh, should I politely let them know they need to tweak the english name...?". But I think someone else might have let them know as they did change the name a few days later. Anyone else remember the doll and the original name?

I do have the slightly oddly named Dikadoll 'Rubber' doll (rubber is slang for condom in some parts of the world). I didn't really see it as a problem but I think they did eventually change the name to 'Ruber' which works a bit better for an english sounding name.

If someone's given thier own doll a name that's accidentally rude in english then it's not really an issue in my mind. It's only if a company/studio is selling to an english speaking audience that it could be an issue if it's rude or off putting.

 

Resinsoul Dong, however, still lives on

 

Probably not. I imagine it would get tiring to receive DMs pointing out my (hypothetical) dolls Karen or Peter Johnson have unfortunate slang meetings. I wouldn't want to risk bothering that person further. I would make an exception if the name sounded like something that's typically bleeped out. However, if someone named their doll (redacted), I wouldn't DM the person so much as inform the DoA moderators.

 

This hobby is very global in nature, I just assume that any doll name I see that could have an unfortunate meaning is because of that; the owner thinking in a different language.

As previously mentioned, here in Sweden we have a lot of words and names that sounds funny in English and vice versa. And I mean a lot. We are so used to it, it barely registers.
I'd like to think I wouldn't censor myself when naming my dolls because of that. Doing so would be a bit... oppressive. But if I genuinely believed that someone would be offended (as in, genuinely feeling hurt) I may give the doll a nick name for English speaking spaces.

If language doesn't seem to be the problem I default to believing it's intentional and the owner is trying to be cleaver or funny, especially is it's an obscure reference. If I fail to see the joke, so what? It's their doll.
The only time I would tell them about it is if they specifically asked naming advice.

The only time I'd like to be told is if it's something really bad. Like, illegal levels of bad.

 

Is the name in a language you speak? That for me would be the defining factor. I have no issues or right to tell others that their name sounds or means X in my language if the name is not in my language or one I know, even if it's offensive/slang in my language. So for example, as others mentioned the name Dong, I don't think I have a right to tell anyone that name in English is slang because it's not slang in the original language. I mean we have names that are technically slang in their own language and no one even cares, like Dick?
Also because it's very subjective, I've seen names in my native language used by non natives that in my country are considered very old fashioned to the point they have certain associations with them (similar to the Karen situation but worse), or that in my country they're not common anymore (or never were) because they contain or rhyme badly with bad/slang/sex related words.

So, would I want to know? if someone sees my dolls names and they can tell or know where my doll is supposed to be from or from which language their name is and they know it's a bad word in the native language of the name itself then I would like to know (or if it's a made-up name then sure). If the name is offensive in another language just because it "sounds like" or "spells like" then generally no. I wouldn't mind being told but I wouldn't care (only exceptions are if it has very bad fascist/racist connotations or something that huge, if it's just slang for whatever or a bad word then I don't care because their name is not in that language).
I actually have a couple of examples of this with my own doll names. One of my dolls is called Angus, a spanish speaker could come to me to tell me that that name sounds like "angustia" (anguish) but like, it's not a Spanish name so who cares? I have a doll called Orla, apparently it means "foreskin" in yiddish, can also mean "garland" in Spanish, but I named her after the Irish name? and I think that even yiddish speakers would be able to understand the name is NOT in their language so the meaning of the word in their language is void in this context even if it makes them chuckle or they think "I could never use that name". And sure, if my doll was supposed to be from a yiddish speaking country/region then I wouldn't have used it, nor I would use it for my child if I lived in one of those places either.
Or take names like Cara, Penelope, Fanta or Jerker, or a diminutive like Manko as well. If you start looking around you'll find many names that are ok or sound ok in some places that don't in others. It happens with names as it happens with average words as well.

I think if it's a company maybe then yes if they want to cater to an international audience and especially if their sculpt name is in English but if it's again a name in the country's language that just sounds like X in English then no? This would come to me as very egocentric of people to complain about it. It might make you chuckle and whatnot but it's not a big deal. It happens in real life and will always happen in different tongues because certain sounds are repeated across the world in different languages (related or unrelated), it's normal and it's a no issue if you have some linguistic awareness. It will make you giggle or wonder why they went for it or if they were aware of it (Nokia Lumia, Nissan Moco, Laputa Castle in the Sky...), but ultimately it doesn't matter because it's not in your language originally. Part of my name means "leg" in japanese, it was a chuckle for 0.5 seconds when I met friends, then it was just nothing? my name is not japanese so.

 

If the name is vulgar/profane I would like someone to inform me in a non accusatory manner the issue with my doll’s name. Since many of times in many languages different words mean different things. What is vulgar to some is not vulgar to others. However if my doll name mean something silly like feces etc. you could lightly inform me in a joking manner but if you choose not to do so no foul there either.

 

There was someone I observed who named their doll after a hideous mass murder perpetrated against some of my kinfolk. To *them* it was just a pretty word and a place name. To ME... not so much.

Well, I never said anything because there's nothing you can do, is there? All they have to do is argue that they didn't mean it like that, they meant the place and not what it is globally famous for, the doll being edgy didn't mean they chose the name because of, etc etc, and you're harassing them... and you'd stand a good chance to get banned.

Sometimes it's best to say nothing.

 

This is one of those things someone would thank you for, and someone else would get offended about. Personally I'd appreciate the heads-up¸ as with other criticism or advice in general...

Spoiler

I had to figure out on my own that the first time I put eyes into a doll she was cross-eyed and the photos looked silly. Wish someone had told me, but I understand that not everyone wants this kind of unsolicited info.

Dollmore Zinna makes me chuckle because it's Sicilian for "boob".

 

Makes sense with the amount of boob the Judith body Zinna comes with has

 

But what's wrong with naming a doll Pinapple?

I mean isn't the name of the doll up to the owners own choice?

We aren't here to dictate what they do and don't name their dolls, or to make judgements against them for using a name that you, personally, don't think appropriate or consider vulgar due to your background or local socital norms.

There's story of the scene in one of the Superman movies where he flew over a London Tube station and the destination board had to be edited in all the shots because the place name "Cockfosters" might offend American audiences, for example (goodness only knows how they'd react to places like Penistone and Clitheroe...!!). Those are simply cultural and geographical differences. One person's vulgarity can very easily be another's everyday and unremarkable and DoA and the doll community in general are international so shouldn't relly be getting caught up in deciding that something as innocuous as a name having a different meaning in another language is odd or unacceptible, or worthy of pointing out as being out-of-place.

Teddy

 

Interesting discussion, and I have somewhat related anecdote from my time in this hobby which might help you consider things from a different angle. A long time a go, someone had posted a profile of their doll on a website intended for people to showcase their collection (similar to DOA’s profile section but not, I can’t remember the exact name of this website - there have been several of them over the years). Anyway, some one posted a profile of their doll and she was named ‘Sappho’ , my given name. I wasn’t looking for her, she was recommended to me by the websites algorithm for one reason or another. Looking at her page in more detail, her own had written ‘her name is Sappho - a very beautiful name but not one you should ever give to a real child, so I used it for a doll instead’ (or something to that effect). I was very insulted (no not really, - but I did think it was a little rude and a very unnecessary comment).

So in answer to the original question, I would probably be inclined just to leave it - if the owner likes the dolls name it’s no business of mine. And there’s a fair chance that the owner knows of the names possible meaning and chose it anyway - there are several names in English that can mean something else depending on the context - I’ve seen at least a few ‘Willy’s in my time, and I am sure that who ever called their doll that knew it could also refer to s certain part of a man’s anatomy - they don’t need it pointed out to them ad nauseam.

 

The Willy joke goes back as far as it being an interpretation of sonnet 135! Shakespeare did on enough occasions make crude humour in his plays, so it tracks that that absolutely could have been intentional. Relatively off-topic for this thread, but funny enough that I had to bring it up.

Also, one of my friends named herself Sappho, because of the context around the name, and I think it’s a beautiful name. Being named after an Ancient Greek poet is insanely cool, that person is just likely very closed-minded.

 

Fine by me, but please don't put that doll on a pizza!

 

I have a doll named Mozzarella, would they be acceptable?

 

@oubliemoi Now that's more like it. You have-a my approval!
I wonder if anyone has gone with themed names for the whole crew. A bunch of mice BJDs named after cheese would be great.

 

I protest, Ananas goes great on pizza with their companions Ham and Cheese!