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What's in a name?

Teapot

Virtual Duck Enthusiast
Staff member
Administrator
As usual, I got the inspiration for this topic from a conversation I had recently - I was talking to a friend who told me she had a "real name" and a "really real name". This was nothing mysterious and intriguing - she hadn't ran away and secretly married the milkman or anything like that. She just said that her original name was "stout and traditional" whereas she wasn't that sort of person.

So, I pose this question: Do you like your name? Even if you do, do you feel it "fits" you?

For my part, I've nothing against my name - but I've often felt it isn't quite "me" - like most names, it was given to me when I was just born, so my parents had no idea as to my personality or anything else yet. Whereas Database, a name I naturally took for myself, seems to "fit" me better - even if just because I chose it... and I'm incredibly used to being called it these days. Although, speaking honestly, if I were to try and change my name, I wouldn't know what to change it to.

Similarly, another thought I've had before is that people choose their own names - when born, they're given a name by their mother, but when they get old enough to choose - 10 or 11, for example - they choose either to keep their name or choose their own.
 
For a while growing up, I had issues with my name, this was due in the most part from the ignorance of others around me (and, well, you know teenagers, vicious little things >.>). Having put several years between the me of then and the me of now (because, strangely, when I view my past, at some points it's almost like seeing a different person) I like my name and wouldn't want to change it - not to mention the fact that my having this name in particular is acutally somewhat important in the history of my mother's family.

My online handle? Well, all it is is a few syllables strung together to sounds nice. Hah, it's also the name of my first MMO character, which will possibly be one of my favourite and most spoiled ones for a while (an old Guild Wars Necromancer, though, that game isn't really an MMO). It seems natural to have it outside of games as well.

There is, however, a very distinct block between the two names I have. Very few (porbably only Xanthier, really) people know my online handle and at the moment, I can't think of anyone here (or elsewhere) who knows my real name.

I feel comfortable with both names and yes, I probably would respond to 'Tatile' if someone yelled it near me, whether they were looking for me or not. I can't say, however, that a child just beginning Secondary School age is truly mature or worldly (because names have connotations as much as they do meanings) to choose their own names. That being said, I do know of incidents wherein parents haven't been, well... educated enough to choose a 'decent' name for their child (and no, this isn't little baby Adolf, circa 1995, I'm thinking of the woman trying to call her baby girl Urethra).

Your last sentance reminds me of the old 'coming-of-age' rituals. I think it was possibly the Native Americans who would have their name divined through fasting? Well, I suppose it's as it always has been: one 'official' name for the documents and the nicknames you acquire through your life. Some people are more the nickname than they are their 'given' name and occasionally this can be reflected in 'official' (ie work) life:

What would you like to be called, Johnathan?

Call me Dave.
 

Magpie

Feathered Overseer
Staff member
Moderator
For those of you who don't know, my name be Ferne. And yes, that 'e' on the end is silent, so no 'Fernee' pronunciations please. The 'e' was just added by my mother because it made my name 'special' XD

Anyways, I like my name. The only thing that used to annoy me about it a little is that it really never seemed to have a meaning as awesome as all my friend's names. Their names meant stuff like 'king' or 'shining one' while mine is just a plant. A Fern. 'Course now I know that Ferns are awesome, being millions of years old and all, but at the time it just didn't seem fair.

I have been told by a random German man that my name means 'far away', which brings me to my thoughts on whether or not names make you who you are. I think I'm a Ferne. I couldn't imagine being called Sarah or Beth or Louise. I think names do seem to fit the people. I also know a few people by the same name, all of whom exhibit similar traits. I don't know whether names have the 'power' to shape a person, but I definitely think they have some effect.

I don't mind being called Magpie either. I respond to it. It's all El would call me during our Manchester tournament XD

I've sometimes felt the urge to change my online name, but I won't, purely because to a lot of members here, Magpie is my name. It'd be like Carmen changing her online name. She'd always be Carmen to me.

I do have a habit of nicknaming my friends and pretty much everyone I work with. I call my friend Dani 'Doodles' and Jordan is 'Fowgle'. I have no idea where such names come from, but meh XD
 

Linkachu

Hero of Pizza
Staff member
Administrator
My name is Katie, and I'm a Pokemon addict.

I think it's obvious that I'm comfortable with my name. If it wasn't for the fact that having nicknames is fun and generic names are, well, really generic, I'd probably just go by Katie all the time. It's actually a bit weird when people I'm friends with online call me "Linkachu" instead of Katie (but I find "Linky" or "Links" endearing), because even though it's my most common screen name (nowadays anyways) it's still just an identifier. A mask that fits the community and my likes/hobbies. "Katie" is just more personal, even when dealing with acquaintances.

Besides... I'd rather view Linkachu as its own entity of cute fuzziness (like the one I dreamed up a week or so ago. Commanding Linkachu to battle was pure win) x3

Something worth mentioning however is Katie isn't the name on my birth certificate. Katherine is. Now, do I think "Katherine" suits me? I do not. Hearing people call me Katherine is just as strange as hearing people call me Linkachu. I don't dislike being called either, mind you. It doesn't bother me in the least. It just feels... odd.

If I was ever given the choice to change my name, I'd probably stick with Katie. I've gone by it for so long now that I'm used to it, and I like it. And there can only be one. I'll kill the rest Highlander style :D

Just kidding. Really. Other Katie's are fine with me. I've still yet to sharpen my katana anyways. :3 ... And yet I've dubbed a friend of a friend of mine IRL "Replacement-Katie" (because I am older, knew Keri longer, and am therefore the original Katie). I don't think she enjoys the term... XD

P.S. - For the people who do call me Linkachu on a regular basis, I'm not saying I secretly hate you and want you to stop and/or die. Seriously. Often times I call people by their screen names, too (especially on actual websites/forums), simply because viewers might not know who I'm referring to otherwise XD
 

StellarWind Elsydeon

Armblades Ascendant
Staff member
Administrator
I'm Gad. Always have been, Always will be. What it means? Luck, or Fortune. It's associated with Jupiter. And it's good enough for me.

Of course, to most of the Internets, I am Stel. Or StellarWind. or OH GOD WHAT IS THAT THING ARE THOSE ARMBLADES AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOG SPJALRJA;LKGJA;LKRJa;lkjgds.

I'm used to that too.

I like my names. That's why I have over nine thousand of them.
 

Shiny Motley

2016 Singles Football
Personally I do like my name, minus the definition. I mean, apparently it means something like "little womanly one", and I'm not that womanly. But the name just has a little ring to it or something that makes it seem... I dunno, special? Okay now that just sounds cheesey. Really, though, in my community I haven't met many people with the same name as me (though I have met several people with a name similar to mine; just change a letter and add an e to the end), which makes me feel unique. ^^

Lately, though, I've referred to myself as "Shiny" and talked in third person ("Shiny's slightly confuzzled...", and even introduced myself as so to some of my teachers when the school year started. Some people even went up to me and asked, "Are you Shiny?" (I blame my bio and my geography teachers cause they're always talking about me in their other classes) I dunno why, but I always felt Shiny fit me better in one way or another. But I'll never change my legal name to Shiny; I may just keep it as a nickname or something.

Funny thing is, after I've referred to myself as Shiny so many times, most of my friends have been inclined to call me that. They actually have to think before they want to say something to me. XD

If I had to choose, though, I would rather for my rl friends to call me Carolyn, and my teachers (just to piss them off) and my interweb buddies like ya'll to call me Shiny (rather than Lyn or Carolyn because that just feels odd).
 
I rather like my real name XD It's not common, but it isn't exactly rare either. It's one of those things where my name has come to represent me and it's hard considering myself by another name (because I'm a bit attached to it). Very few people online know my real name. As for my middle name? It seems like it should be a supermodel name imo.

My online name of Carmen Lopez is pretty generic and ironically it's come to represent my online identity. I couldn't change it if I wanted. XD

And on a random note, my fanfic character Carmen and me are separate from each other. So none of my charries are self inserts, lol.
 
my name is Daniel, and yes I like it, but I hardly use it now, being in the military means that most times you have to go on a last name basis when it comes to the workspace, but when I'm out with friends, they refer to me as Daniel. (i'm not to big on Danny or Dan anymore, to me, they both sound kind of childish)

as for the username, people refer to me as touche (I would post on how I got said username, but then I tend to on a tangent, so I'll keep it as that.)
 

StellarWind Elsydeon

Armblades Ascendant
Staff member
Administrator
JAPAN WILL BE DESTROYED. LIGHTNING SHALL STRIKE THE PEOPLE DOWN FROM THE HEAVENS, CAUSING THEM TO WRITHE IN AGONY. IN THE END, ALL OF MANKIND WILL DIE.

... Sometimes, Daniel says stuff like that.
 
I don't know what to feel about my name. I do get sort of agitated hearing it since I only ever hear my full name when someone is about to scold me, which is totally my fault in the first place :V According to my parents, I received my name from a priest that was a friend of theirs.

I have too many online names. One befitting each and every forum or online thingamabob that I register to. My name here, Rocket X is hardly ever used as everyone either calls me RX or hax, which I've grown rather attached to.
 
Meagan. That name totally does not match me. I've always felt like it's someone else's name, I've never felt right with it.

Actually, sometimes I will realize that my real name is Meagan (yeah I'm weird like that), and I will just be in awe that I have a name that really doesn't represent me.

In fact, I hardly hear my friends call me Meagan. They all call me "Miss Jones" or just "Jones", unless one of them is being serious with me.. and then I will hear "Meagan.. listen to me.".. It's usually when they are trying to convince me that I'm wrong about something I'm worried about. So at least when I am called by my real name, I know someone is being serious with me and really means whatever they are about to say.

Now.. Rain.. I adopted that name back in 8th grade, when I watched Resident Evil. My favorite character in the movie was Rain, and I wanted to be like her.. Then I took characteristics of my first original character, Metal, made a new character..and named her Rain. That is when I started signing my drawings with that name. I started introducing myself to other local artists as "Rain", and it was easily accepted. I am still called Rain by many people around here. Also, when my mom is mocking me, she will call me "Rain". XD

Sometimes I find it ironic that the name Rain stuck on me, since I actually dislike rainy weather. Heh.

So..about what I prefer to be called..It's Rain..unless I'm really close to you, then you can call me Meagan, especially when you are trying to get something across to me.
 

Dwayna DragonFire

2014 Little Cup Champion
As many of you know, my name is Sara. As it is typically associated with the 'Sarah' spelling (which pisses me off a little bit when people spell it that way), I found out long ago that it's actually Hebrew for 'lady' or 'princess'. Hnn... >>;

Anyway, it's always been my name, so I'm used to it and I've grown fond of it. Everyone in real life would call me Sara, until my best friend... Quayla is what she likes to go by on the net... introduced me to Gaia Online. For a while I frequented there under the alias of Nerezza Dellanotte (which I came up with because I was obsessed with Italian at the time. If it's separated properly, IE. nerezza del la notte, it roughly means 'darkness of the night').

So for a while I went as Nezzy sometimes, until I made a grave mistake... So I had to come up with a new identity. A new me, if you will... and so, Dwayna DragonFire rose from the ashes of my imagination (or rather Guild Wars and two things I really love). Now practically everyone on here calls me 'Dway' for short. I'm still learning, still changing, but I think this name will still be with me, no matter what.

DragonFire Forever.
 
I have the Worst. Second. Name. EVER. Not that's it ugly on itself, but it means 'Dust cleaner' in English.

As for my first name; it means 'Godling' in Irish, according to my uncle.
Jesper. But i'm mostly refered to as Jes, without the D in the J, so you pronounce it like yes.

Around the Interwebs, I'm mostly Hunting Rifle, Saluno, or Megamix Aqua.
On 'Charms, i chose the name Hunting Rifle after the one I have in my weapon collection. Seriously. That thing radiates awesomeness.

Saluno is the name of my selfcreated lizard god, with 'Sa' from Salamander, and i love the name Luno. Male form of the Roman name of the moon. Or was it Greek?

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with my name. I was almost named Tobias, but my mother liked Jesper better. It's not a really uncommon name.
 
Hm. Names. Funny little buggers, no?

My real name is Megan. I don't quite think it suits me, as it's kind of boring and dull. However, it's my name, and I'm sticking with it. Sometimes, people will shorten it to Megs, which always makes me giggle. There's a few people who use the name "Meggers", but usually that will warrant a punch in the face, or at the very least a sidelong glare.

As for my online handles? SCT is only my most recent, and I really only chose it because of my obsession with Sho Minamimoto from The World Ends With You. Before that, I was known as Covenant Dance on most sites, and SomeoneStoleMyID on Bungie.net, as... well, someone stole my name, and I just got pissed off.
 
My name is Aaron,but no one knows me as that anymore. I get called Benny which I've grown quite fond of,even the teachers call me that now. (There's also someone in our school that we call Ben Tyler Guy) Infact I like this name so much I often get annoyed If I get called by my real name.

This Forum Name is very diffrent from my name from other forums. Leaf just came from what I call myself on Pokemon.My Usual Forum Name is Robofire2 which I've grown very very fond of over the last 7 Years.I don't know exactly where it came from but the Miniute I made it I knew it Suited Me. I think the fact was back then I had a fasination of Robots and I loved Fire therefore making myself Robofire,but I didn't feel that was enough so I added 2 at the end as a Placeholder.
 
Ah Data~ What a question...

Well, my name - Toby - is a name I've actually really grown to. My original full name used to be Toby Owen Allen; however, after some incidents (that I would not like to bring up) I had with my now passed away Father, I legally changed my full name to Toby Owen Jones, mainly because of the fact most of the relatives on my Mother's side of the family were more friendly, talented, and kinder.

Now onto my username; Toru.

I have grown to this username over the 5 years I have used it, mainly becuase it starts with the first letter of my name, and has exactly the same amount of letters. It makes me remember when Me, Magpie, Oak, Baratron, KoL and Cinders went to Liverpool to go to the Regigigas event, and everyone kept on calling me 'Toru', and it felt so natural, like they were calling me Toby! Also, here are a few fun facts about my real name and username:

1: My name Toby, was inspired by the character 'Sir Tobias Belch' from Shakespeare's 'Twelth Night'. That does not mean my full name is Tobais, however.
2. When I was a rabid Narutard, Toru was the name of my OC Ninja. He failed.
3.My name in Japanese is pronounced 'tobii' and has the meaning 'God is Good'.
 

KoL

Expert FPS Player
Staff member
Moderator
As some people on the chat are aware, my real name is the same as none other than the high overlord of 'Charms himself: Alex. From what I could find, the name is (obviously) a shortened version of "Alexander" which comes from the Greek name "Alexandross," which itself can be split into two halves: the Greek word "Alexo" which means "to push back/to hold off" and "Andross" comes from the Greek word "Aner" which simply means "man." Put it together and it basically means "the man that pushes back/holds off," with the name itself expressing strength in battle and being able to hold off and push back enemy forces.

Considering that and the fact that I share my name with a world-conquering war general (Alexander the Great,) I must say I like my name quite a lot. Is it ironic that I'm 1/4 Greek too?
 
I'm usually called by my middle name, which is Ellen. Up untill I was four I thought it was my first name. I like ten times more than my first name, but my first name really suits me. My first name is Mary. It means stubborn as an ox. I don't really like it though because it sounds too generic. That's why I prefer Ellen.
 
Well, my name is Rachel. Srsly. Very popular name. There are THREE Rachels in my English/History class dealy. Really. And I have no middle name to go by, so that's out the window. I might go by my last name, but my brother took that and it's not really me...
But I have flipped it backwards. I don't go by it in real life, but Rotak has been a name I've used for a lot of my elf charries... mainly my WoW Hunter, but I've also got an OC that evolved from her and became her own character.
Rayn is a name I've developed for an Espeon OC, you've seen her around. Shyu is a creation that I made years ago... both combine to be my Pokemon persona.
I don't think I'm ever going to change my name, I'm the counter point to all the preppy stupid Rachels that are out there. If I was ever forced to, how ever, or if I got to have a middle name... I'd go by April. A couple of different kids have said that I look like one so... I guess that'd be the best fit.
 
Adriana. I don't think it suits me. Almost everyone when I tell them my name says 'oh that's a beautiful name'. It doesn't suit me at all. It reminds me of some girl whose princess like in looks and personality, which I am not (although I do act polite to people who don't know me that well...)

I like the idea of having a name almost no one else does. The only person whom I know to have the same name as me is my mum's cousin. My middle name is pronounced Elice, but it's spelt Elyse. Another odd thing.

I think Adriana is an italian word that comes from the latin name Adriene or something like that. It means 'dark' or 'rich'. I like the first meaning more than the second one; most rich people seem to be stuck up or something like that.

Even though I don't think my name suits me in sound, I'm not gonna change it. What would I call myself? Other than Adriana or my nickname, Adi, I can't picture being called anything else.
 

Psycho Monkey

Member of the Literary Elite Four
My name is Psycho Monkey. I am the lord of the Evil Space Monkeys and the right hand of Sun Wukong the Monkey King. However humans simply call me Brian.

Given that I've been called Brian since the day I was hatched, I would have to say the name fits me pretty well. There is no other human name that I can think of that would work with me. Even so, a lot of the people I've met since middle school have called me by my last name which is far less common then my first and apparently a hell of a lot cooler which is why people did it in the first place. I don't even think half of them knew my name was Brian.

As for Psycho Monkey, I'm insane and I have a monkey fetish. Do the math XD. Most of the people here and in my Anime Club call me Monkey.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
 
Eh...I'm not revealing my name, but it's a strong female name that means 'faithful.' I like it, as it's not floofy (I like that word, lol) like Isabella or Jennifer. I don't like names that end in the -ah or the -ie sound, though there are exceptions such as Alexandra that can be shortened to a unisex nickname. I like those.

As a funny note, we're going to be in a future in which there are eighty-year-old 'Chads' and 'Tiffanys' in nursing homes. XD

As for my username, it's a portmaneu of either 'second+admirer' or 'secret admirer.' I don't remember which. Ever since I joined 'Charms, I use it nearly everywhere. However, in the past, I've used the name Asp or Egyptian Asp. I like snakes. :p

And that's my name stuff. Though for pets, I look for inspiration from the past, like Augustus and Julius (future gerbils), Semper (real gerbil), and Fi (fake gerbil for online persona based on female version of Semper).
 
my name is james.
my name means supplanter , which i guess fits me because i am often having to take charge of the little ones , and am definitely a substitute for my parents when they are not here.
 

Rex

Resident Furry
My name is Anthony, I prefer the short form Tony. I'm alright with Anthony I guess, it comes from the Greek work "Anthos" meaning "flower." Tony is a lot nicer in my opinion however. Online I normally use the Alias "Seth." Pokecharms is one of the few exceptions. My sn here is a combination of my nickname, one of my favorite animals, and, to top it off, my favorite number, repeated three times.
 
My name is Seth, and apparently that can either mean 1) placed or appointed in Hebrew or 2) the Egyptian god of chaos. I'm not exactly sure if this fits me or not, but apparently, to most people I look like a David. I'm fine with my name, although most people call me Dingo. My username is, I think, one of the bosses I created for my imaginary Zelda game when I was 10.
 
As started by Database, revived by Mystic_Suicune. I didn't wanted risk the "grave digging" warning, since Database's was inactive for 60 or more days

So, Database posed this question: Do you like your name? Even if you do, do you feel it "fits" you?

My first name- Travis- means crossing over. I don't really think that suits me. My mother probably didn't vare what it meant. I mean, I was named after Travis Tritt, the country star. Which is ironic, since I loathe country music entirely. My middle name Page means "a young boy in training as a personal assistant to a knight" Eh. It would be cooler if it meant knight. My last name, Bohanan is Irish name, the variant of Bohannon which means "victorious". So I'm the young boy in training crossing over victoriously I guess. LOL I like it. I probably wouldn't change it.

Now for my screen names. Mystic_Suicune...I chose this name 'cause almost every time I have a dream about Pokemon, Suicune shows up for to help me with whatever I need help with. I added the Mystic because....well, that's what Suicune is. Most people on Charms call me Mystic. No one outside of the interwebz calls me by any of my screen names, although I wouldn't mind.

A couple other screen names I have are TravSparrow (Sparrow for short, like Jack Sparrow), RedRumSlacker15 (RedRum for short...taken from my favorite color, and Jack Sparrow's favorite drink) and Blue Moon Duelists.

The only screen name my friends call me by outside the web is RamenRush. Which was the name of my rescue team on PMD. But sadly, that's not often.
 

Linkachu

Hero of Pizza
Staff member
Administrator
Heh, I figured I'd just merge the topics since Data's is still fairly recent. Plus it was still on the first page of topics for this board. No harm done ^^
 
I dont love my name because it is too plain for my liking. I would prefer to have a name that was original to me and that no one else had. Dont you just hate it when you know someone with the same name as you? I definately do, its annoying.
 
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