Unfortunate named dolls - do you inform the owner?

Everyone is different but I personally would want to know. I think it also helps save embarrassment to rename a doll now than to keep saying their name unaware of the unintended connotations.

 

It depends on how common / offensive the name is. There are lots of innocent words that mean something bad in some language out there. "Speed" means fart in Swedish for example. But I would want to know if the name was extremely offensive in a common language to avoid offending others or embarassing myself.

 

I would want to know! Especially since I have dolls with made up "fantasy" names. I try to double check everything, but sometimes things get overlooked. ^^

 

I think it is good to tell, sometime the owner might have done it on purpose and that is fine too, but sometime they might not really know. And learning new things is good, I believe

Some intentional example :
I once name one of my OC 'Shiin' which in japanese sound the same as the word 'Cause of death' , quite unfortunate right?

My current doll name in japanese ver. also mimicking the sound from name of food. (Only the sound, I use different kanji) Like Suki and Yaki = Sukiyaki

 

I've noticed a couple of unfortunate (not really vulgar, though) names but sometimes it's also hard to tell if the owner has done it ironically/on purpose or if it's just them not knowing - after all, there are many names in real life situations that are common in one language but don't have a great meaning in the other so it's also very contextual. I'd say something if it comes across as insulting or harmful but I don't think it's my place to police people's naming decisions. I do think it's a good idea to always do one's due diligence with foreign names, though, especially if it comes to languages one doesn't fluently speak

 

I would definitely want to know. I like making up fantasy names for dolls as well as things like general OCs/stories and I always make sure to Google the stuff I come up with before I use it but sometimes not even Google can tell you. One time I found out that a name I made up for a story was a super old slang word for a toilet and I promptly deleted it and came up with something else.

 

I have a doll who was given a name that has an insulting meaning in another language, and it was done on purpose. It's part of his backstory! (he had the insult thrown at him, didn't know it was supposed to be an insult, and kinda just adopted it as his name). It's something that only works if you're fluent in Mandarin, I think (I'm not personally, but my best friend is and he's the one that worked out the name with me). I know I'd personally enjoy if someone sent me a message letting me know the name was an insult - it would mean the name is working as intended xD

So I think either way (whether it was done by the owner accidentally, or on purpose), sending them a DM to let them know that their name has another meaning in a different language would be a good thing.

 

I probably would not want to know unless it's in the language of the community I was interacting with or it was a really vulgar word or slur. Like I'd be fine with my doll being named something like Cucaracha (cockroach in Spanish) on DoA, but I'd reconsider if I really want that on a Spanish speaking forum. I'd probably reconsider on Japanese due to the amount of native speakers and somewhat fluent anime enthusists in this hobby. If it's anything offensive (not just "oh poor kid!" level), then I'd change the name.

I would also not want to know about English medicine names or terminology. Xulane (birth control patch), Forane (anesthesia), Senna (laxative), Celexa (SSRI), Mirena (IUD) or Liletta (IUD), for example. Or for micro organisms, Neisseria (gonorrhea) or Yersinia (plague) sound plausible as names.

I wouldn't get offended or anything like that. I just wouldn't care about or want the DM. It would get annoying if multiple people chose to comment. Ultimately, it's my doll and their name is my choice. If it's not anything offensive, I'm not changing it anyway. I usually pick my names for their meanings or I'll run a quick google search before deciding. I would not reach out unsolicited to another person unless I knew them well and it was very obvious they had absolutely no clue what they were doing.

 

Yes, I would like to know. In case I got too many messages about the situation (unlikely but who knows) but the name would be intentionally rude like @Brytewolf mentioned then a short note in doll description.

 

Like the others I’d like to know. I’ve done it myself, had an unintentionally very rude name, not on a doll but on a character I played in an mmo, WoW to be exact. I combined two names together which were girls names that had the meanings ‘white’ and ‘queen’ only I chose the spelling of the first name that had an ‘h’ at the end.
For months I wandered around with this name wondering why people were laughing at me, eventually some kind soul messaged and asked if I was danish, I said no and then they asked me what my name meant so I told them, they then told me what it looked like it said to them……boy did I get a shock….it seems that by adding the ‘h’ the combination resulted in a name that in another language implied my character was a lady of ill repute with a fondness for certain acts. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry but I did know that I had to change my name as fast as possible!

 

I think it depends entirely on your audience. A lots of international corporations make silly mistakes with names too (off the top of my head, Bimbo, for example), and even common names can sometimes take on a negative connotation out of nowhere (Karen, Alexa). Foreign names are tricky for similar reasons. With webtoons in particular I've noticed authors sometimes try to pick a cool-sounding Western name that just feels out of place, silly, or outdated. Unless a name was particularly vulgar or rude/insensitive/a slur, I think I would be much more likely to let someone live in ignorant bliss. If they really like the name they picked, I wouldn't want to ruin it for them

 

This just reminds me of the time as a young child when I made up this perfect name for one of my toys....Moron. I thought it was so cool and creative, then my mom overheard me playing and said that was not a nice word and not to call people that.

Now, I think it depends. Most of my characters get named after real people, I find the names on baby naming sites, or it comes from a word because of its meaning. So I feel like they should be pretty safe and any critiques would most likely just be opinion or some connection that either I already know or don't care and won't be changing it. In that case, I really don't care to hear it. There are a lot of names that people like that sound horrendous to me, or remind me of something less than pleasant, but it's not my doll and I don't feel it's my place to say anything. I feel like doll naming is personal, and even if there are bad connotations, either the person named it because of that reason, or because it has some meaning in a different language that isn't bad.

 

A long time ago I had a friend who named her doll after a very well advertised erectile dysfunction drug. It was spelled differently, but when she pronounced it, I was like "uuuuhhh..."

I told her in a subtle way... "Doesn't it remind you of a pharmaceutical commercial "... the name changed not long after. Sometimes you gotta help a friend out!

 

I wouldn't really care to know. I imagine if a stranger messaged me just to say they thought my doll's name sounded funny to them, I'd find it really awkward. If someone gets a chuckle out of a name because it looks or sounds silly to them, that's fine, but there's no need tell people if you do. To me, a doll's name is part of the owner's personal styling of the doll. If they like the name, then that's all that matters. As others have mentioned, many owners choose names that have meaning to them, and various names and words can sound odd in different languages. If I see a doll with a name that sounds strange to me, I'd assume it has a meaning to the owner that I'm not aware of, and I'd move on. If I was really concerned (because the name seemed derogatory), I might ask the owner what their intention with the name was.

 

So for me… I would not mind if a friend told me, in confidence, that a character name was not ideal—either in their native language, or because they share a name with a medication or something like that. We already have a relationship of some kind, and I’m willing to take feedback from them.

From a stranger, I would view that as potentially an overstep. I’ll make exceptions if like, my doll is named an egregious slur, or shares a name with a notorious historical fascist (which, the second won’t happen but that’s an example of how bad it would have to be). Anything short of slurs and crimes against humanity, I’d rather you giggle about it on your own, and leave me be. I agree with the comment that at a certain point, it feels like policing someone’s actions in the hobby.

I think if you’re set on approaching a stranger about a name, it’s more appropriate to approach with curiosity, and ask “what made you choose that name?” Than it is to tell someone that a name they’ve chosen is inappropriate outright. Then they at least have a chance to tell you if the offensiveness is intentional, like some people here have. I for example have a doll named Satan, because he represents Paradise Lost Satan. If I got a message warning me that that was the name of the devil, I already know that. He’s the devil in my doll story too, and he’s actually fairly sympathetic. His children, Sin and Death are also named in PL. The offensiveness of the name is not accidental.

I will also point out that some regular people have names that sound offensive—like the actor Dick Van Dyke has both a body part and a queer slur in his name, while also being a fully “normal” name in the language in which it could be construed as offensive. And in some cases it could be culturally insensitive—Dong is a Chinese name, and I think it’s be totally out of line to tell a Chinese person on DoA that it’s used as slang for a body part in English if they named a character that. I think in a lot of cases, it’s better just to let the person quietly look silly than it is to intercede, unless you know them personally (though I largely see people feel the opposite way here, which is kind of neat!)

 

I remember a friend who once told me that some really common Turkish names sound really unfortunate in English. "Oral" (pronounced "Oh-rahal") means "Conqueror of a city", which is a totally legit name for a boy. The last name example he gave me was "User" (pronounced "Ooh-sayer") but I don't remember what it meant now. In Turkish, "Oral User" is a totally legit name for boys, but it is definitely unfortunate in English.

If my dolls have a name that can potentially sound offensive in a different language I would want to know. This is especially true if the the offensive meaning is in a language that we are conversing with. (For example, if a name in Chinese sounds offensive in Swedish, but neither one of us are capable of conversing in either one, I would probably let that go. But if a Turkish name sounds awful in English and we're both speaking in English, I would definitely want to know.) Whether I change the name or not is really up to me.; after all, there are a lot of potential reasons why one would have a doll with a rude name intentionally. But knowledge is power. And in this case, as long as it's done in private and with taste, please share your knowledge with the other doll owner.

 

I would go about it by asking if they know what their doll’s name means first, maybe they did it on purpose. I would personally be happy to have someone inform me if my name choice was a vulgar, gross, or offensive word in another language. I actually wish there was an app or website to check my choices for other meanings in different languages to make sure I’m not making that mistake. I know I can use translation tools but I mean one that will search the word in every language all at once.

 

I purposely use specific websites to get name ideas from because knowing myself I would end up choosing an existing word that either makes me look insensitive or just downright silly (like the above mentioned erectile dysfunction drug name lol) Even then though these name sites aren't able to account for EVERY use of a word so, I would personally appreciate knowing if a name was actually offensive in some way!

 

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!

 

All of my BJDs have flower names, in one way or another.

 

On topic to the pineapple discussion, mine are all named after fruits. Cheriri, Melolo, Cocono, Banana, Bururu, etc.

I wouldn't care if the name is offensive or silly in some language. They're silly made up names, I didn't make them with the intent to be globally acceptable, I made them for me.

 

I have... Suki-Yaki / Date-Maki and Kamo-Seiro

Yep, all my favorite 'Japanese Food'

I named them in pair, so just Suki or Yaki will sound alright as a name. I have a bad habit of buying dolls in pair and think that I will continue the japanese food series if I have to welcome the next pair home.