Naming your dolls

I'm honestly pretty bad at names, So I just name my sculpts after my favorite anime characters. Right now I made my own bjd's with three different face sculpts(Currently waiting to get my dolls cast in resin!), and didn't really have any planned names for them. Then I remembered this old manga I used to read called Guru Gurn Pon-chan, So I named one of my dolls Ponta(after the main character)

 

I usually pick names that fit with what they're suppose to be.
Mari - written in kanji as 真理 her name means "truth". She is my inner self.
Usako - a small rabbit fairy
Cherry - a Card Captor Sakura cosplayer
Pansy - a sweet girl that likes flowers

The one excision is Cocopo. I wanted something that sounded cute. She's a new born technology fairy that enjoys memes.

 

for me my dolls do have their own stories and lives but i struggle with names, my main dolls name is ‘Chiru’ and she got her name from a mix of two characters i loved, ‘Chii’ from chobits and ‘Tohru’ from fruits basket, so i combined their names to make ‘Chiru’ or ‘Chi’ for short! I try to be creative like that if i can or else i end up falling back to the same set of 10 or so names.

 

I have to say, I use bits of the character they are to be and a mix of what their face sculpts or face up screams at me to come up with a name. Or go with a theme.

 

A lot of them are named after people. Although a few dolls I have have ended up going by their sculpt name for example my Dollshe Bernard was called Oliver but has ended up being called Bernard or Bernie as does Verona my Supiadoll Rosy is always called Rosy. On the other hand my Dollshe Rey Lewis named Raphael is always referred to as Raphael.
At the moment I am struggling to think of a name for my Iplehouse Luo.

 

For me the doll has either been preplanned or planned on the go. My latest doll been named based on the idea I created for the doll. he's still is being made but i want his character planned and ready to go I like to go with more unusual names to make them stand out more because i really dont want a Mary Jane kind of name.

 

I often found the name of a doll the first time I see it on a website. It's how I know if I'm going to buy it or not: if I don't have a name that pops into my mind nor the urge to immediatly look for one, I think that it means I won't bond with the doll so I refrain from buying.
Usually I choose a real name that has a meaning that fits with what I want to do with the doll. For example: Chimrit (which means 'She who guards') is a guardian of an ancient forest, and Korbane ('an offering to God') is some kind of half-human half-raven Shinto-ish Buddhist-ish priestess XD. Sometimes they also have a kind of title, like Moonfox.
I often end up with Hebraic names, I don't really know why... Maybe it's because they have such a strong meaning?

 

A lot of times I use the company name, because I genuinely like the company name. I've actually had people complain to me about this and try to rename my dolls but I just ignore them, because I think this is a perfectly valid thing to do if you like the name and it suits the character it's going for.

My story is set in western culture, so I do tend to change some of the dolls names to reflect that, or if I really don't like the name of the sculpture, but really liked the doll, then the name has to change. I often, but not always look for names that start with the same letter as the original name Fuyumi becomes Faith and Litidu is Liam for example or 月 Yuè becomes Luna for moon.

Raven Valentine, came off of a tomb in New Orleans. I saw the name and always wanted to use it for something, when my doll MoYo got here, I knew it suited him perfectly.

Trinity got his name because he was going to be my third and final 70+cm doll... This did not last, but he kept his name!

Other times I just look at a doll and the name pops into my head, or I have a character in mind for my photostory and I look for a doll to fit the character, so the name is already picked out.

 

I'm really bad at this... My first doll had a japanese name I loved and then I couldn't find name for my other dolls so I just nick named them like "the fairy one" or "the little one". But it was a little anoying... then I used the company scult name but i didn't really like it. Recently my daughter (who is 8) asked me why my dolls didn't have a propper name and I realised I really need to take time and name them one and for all. Finally I found name for all of them, rename my first minifee (her name was the miror of my name but I never used it) and named the dolls I was waiting for! I even have plan for naming dolls ! I think it's easier to have the name first and then find a doll that fits that name... But I'm glad my dolls finally have a name. Know I have many plans for them I didn't imagine before !

 

Lucrezia was named by me trying to come up with a good Renaissance name that I could abbreviate for modern use. (Lu!) Her brother Lukas came later, and since they looked like twins, I gave him a matching name.

Aurelia is named after my great-grandmother. Candy is named for her cotton-candy wig (which I chose because it makes her light blue eyes really pop!) and Thimble was named because they're so tiny they reminded me of Thumbelina a bit.

 

I'm bad with naming anything, especially ny dolls! But I go for vibes and meaning that matches the vague character I'm planning if I can find enough info during my research! Until they get names, I just call them by the sculpt name!

 

Depending on what I have planned or if I like the sculpt name, I will either go by that or just.. Visiting tons and tons of baby names websites lol. The same what I name my characters for my stories, I guess! Sometimes you just have something in mind and just can't shake it out of your head, other you can not decide on something.

 

I've always had names pop into existence on their own. Sometimes it's an instant thing, sometimes it takes a while. If I plan a name it never sticks.

 

I'm terrible at naming dolls so they usually just go by their company names. But there is one exception and that is my Dollzone Carter. For whatever reason, my brain refuses to remember that the sculpts name is "Carter". I've always called him "Carlton". So now his name is Carlton, whether he likes it or not.

 

I guess I'm somewhat of a name nerd, so it takes me a long time to decide on a name and usually it starts as soon as I order a doll and most times I still haven't decided by the time they arrive (by which point I usually have a short list) as seeing them in person also makes me change my mind sometimes. My dolls don't have in-depth stories but they do have personalities and a general past and present backstory, so I choose names that fit with that and that I like, what means that 99% of the time they need to have a meaning related to nature.

One of the main things I take into consideration for the realistic human ones is the nationality I choose for them and the naming conventions of the place (for example one of my dolls is from Iceland, so I had to decide on her father's name as well in order to get her surname) and sometimes I go veeeery in-depth in my research, I'm talking at the level of looking for example at surnames of a specific county over the ages to decide on one that also needs to mean something I like, or the time I researched the 17th century immigration of an island to see the surnames of immigrants and compare them to the census of present times to then choose on a surname for my doll (I learn a lot in the process and I find it fun haha).
At the same time sometimes I choose guilty pleasure first names, names I like that I wouldn't use for a kid of my own but they fit for the dolls perfectly. Sometimes the names are also associated with something all of a sudden I've seen around a lot and I choose them in memory of it, especially those for non-human representing dolls. It doesn't have to be very special or anything, for example one of my dolls is called Buttercup because the year she arrived there was an explosion of that flower all around and I also happened to rewatch The Princess Bride around that time for the millionth time.
I guess I'm always between realistic human names, fantasy names and word names depending on what the doll represents and the seriousness or humour I want to portray in them.

 

I plan on naming my dolls after my pre-existing OCs they will be based on. If I ever buy a doll without any plans of shelling an OC, I might just call them by the sculpt name. It's just easier that way I guess.

 

Most of my dolls are OCs. My best friend and I named them when we created these characters for our stories years before. I will say most of their names are borrowed from our favorite anime and movies, or names we decided match their character.

I'm currently trying to figure a name out, for my new boy that I'm adopting. I have an idea of where I want to go with his name. But I'm still deciding.

 

i love to plan out my dolls in advance before getting them, so naming them is a part of my progress of bonding with them and getting excited before i even buy them! i don't really write but naming my dolls is important. i have, however, noticed that impulse buy dolls are harder to name and harder to bond with since i don't get the same "getting ready" progress with them :-D

 

Ahhh it really depends for me, often I will take names that relate to the theme/aesthetic of the doll, for example, a ballet themed doll might be named something like “Rose” or “Odette” but I always search around quite a bit, try out a few names, and make sure what I pick truly clicks!

 

Most of my dolls "choose" their own names at some point after I receive them. I like to wait for one that feels "right" to me, much like everything else about their character. It can be a slow process, but it's also generally crucial for my bonding experience with them.

Every once in a while, though, I have a name or character concept picked out before a doll comes home and it ends up fitting. That is exceedingly rare, though, and generally only happens for dolls I've considered for a long time before buying. I think it has something to do with the longevity in which they occupy my brain space that makes the whole process faster/easier.

 

Hmmm, among my six dorries, three of them (Reaiah, Samael, Cephere) were easy to name since they are based from original characters I used to RP in the heydays of Yahoo!Groups and want them to come to life as BJD's . The other three who were conceived as BJD's first (Eremiel, Hisame, Bian Hua) were more of a challenge, mostly because I want the their names to match the characters I created for them.

 

The best way I’ve found a name so far is for my Luts boy. I was at a store looking at all the plushies and saw a dragon plushie named Sebastrial and knew I had to steal it for him XD

 

I'm very bad at names, which made me write up a list of things to consider when naming dolls and characters:

1: Culture. Depending on where your doll/character was born and raised, they might have a name unique to that country, language and in some cases, religion.

2: Influences. If your character is inspired by, say, a TV show or book, you can subtly take the first name from one character and the surname from another.

3: Mythology. Since these are dolls and not children, you can name a character something like Artemis, Kaguya, Isolde or Anubis without worrying about teachers giving your kid's name a double-take.

4: Symbolism. Fair maidens often have flower names, like Jasmine, Lily, Rose. Is your character ambitious? Maybe name them after a star, like Sirius, Vega, Antares, Electra. (But do note that this particular one overlaps with Greek mythology!) Is your character a free spirit? Name them after a bird, like Raven, Sparrow and other things similar.

5: Mash names together. But do so with moderation, or they can sound really awkward. Catrina and Serena can become Carena and so on.

6: Swap out letters. The GRRM way of doing things, and whose character I'll use as examples: Jane becomes Jeyne, Peter into Petyr and more.

7: Heritage. Are your dolls related? Maybe the doll's character was named after an ancestor, like their grandmother or their father. Or maybe they have a sibling whose name sounds similar to theirs, like Stan and Dan.

8: People you know. You can ask a friend if they're cool with you having a doll named after them. Some might think that the gesture is very sweet.

9: Hobbies, yours or theirs. As a fan of art, you can name them Vincent from Van Gogh. A ballet fan? Odette from Swan Lake.

10: Name generators. Most famously fantasynamegenerators.com which is so good that I'm at a loss for words. There's also the random generator on behindthename.com which is one of the most accurate name meaning sites.

And of course, you can mix all of the above, but preferably not at once as it might become a bit of a messy name...
If I forgot something, feel free to add! I hope this list helps anyone skimming the thread for inspiration.

 

I chose the name of my dolls as soon as I got them. However, they use to end up with another one since I see that the first name does not suit completely their personality or de Oc so never ask me for the name of my dolls when they arrive but some months later (?)

 

It's very hard to me to find names that i reallyyy love, but once i hear a cool name it stays in my head for a while... Like, i named my OC Marshall after the amplifiers brand XD, or I usually look in Google for "dark/gothic names"

 

I've thought of naming one doll a great name I love a lot, which is also the name of a friend I'm no longer in touch with due to life and time. I have great memories of her and it wouldn't bother me to be reminded of the actual person behind the name. I think it would suit the cheery and outgoing tomboy character I have in mind. But I'm not sure. I generally avoid names I might associate to real people.

On the other hand I really can't find any other names that click the same way. I know I wouldn't like obtuse or hard to pronounce names for my own dolls, or obscure variations of a common name. But I have a lot of IRL people who bear these common names so it's hard. I can't name a doll Rose even though I love the name (I love roses like few other things), cause I know dozens and I'm inevitably going to be reminded of someone and that will spoil the doll (weird I know).

Same goes for characters in media. Whether I like the source or not, if the name reminds me of a character from a show or something else I have to scrap it.

 

Everyone has such beautiful stories and meaning for their doll's names. Many of them are quite moving!

As for me, I have a set of four, four sisters and I like the idea of staying with that four theme. So my girls are named after the four seasons! Midori for Spring, Momoki for Summer, Momiji for Fall, and Miyuki for Winter. And I chose Japanese names because that's the origin of my doll's manufacturer. Pretty simple and not too special.

 

Name is one of the first things that I think of when creating a doll OC (or any type of OC I make, really). Knowing it helps me shape the rest of the character personality. Not knowing it feels very uncomfortable, like major unfinished business, so I try to stick a name on a doll ASAP after I've decided to buy it.

My earlier dolls were named whatever sounded nice to me - some made-up names, some real-world names/words. I'm a collector of words and keep lists of them, so I always have something to refer to for inspiration. Nowadays I don't make up names that much, I prefer to draw inspiration from real-world languages.

My current dolls are an ensemble cast in a defined setting. I always have rules for names (it comes from having done a lot of world-building/con-worlding in the past), and the rules for the doll characters are: they need a name that references a bird (I assign a bird type to each character), and a name that references some virtue/blessing (since they're angel characters). I haven't always stuck to these rules, but they help me narrow down choices, and ensures everyone has more-or-less harmonious names, even if they're from different languages.

My weird obsession is making sure that every name in the ensemble cast starts with a different letter of the alphabet. I don't know why, but reusing a starting letter always makes me squirm inside! I've disregarded suitable names because the starting letter has already been claimed by another character, luckily I've been able to find nice alternatives.

I wrote about my dolls' name origins in this BJD games thread!