The "What's a good name for this?" thread

I've come upon, and initiated, a pretty good share of topics here concerned with naming. "What should I call this character? What's a good name for this device?" Questions in that vein are a popular topic in this forum. So this is a thread for people to discuss names in general; to ask for ideas and to give them.

Allow me to start. I have a lens in Red Right Hand that has the power to see aura, the supernatural energy that radiates from living things and from magical artifacts. Originally I planned to call it the Evil Eye, but that name has already been taken by a symbol to be used in the story. So I'm at a loss. Burning, searing, cutting eye... something like that? I can't decide.

edited 24th Dec '10 12:47:57 PM by Takwin

Name for a character who's a young member of a very powerful magical family, surname 'de Martre'. Mages are long-lived (they can heal all their cell damage with some practice, so in essence they just pick an age they like and stay there). That kind of dynasty/house thing is rare in the magical society, because semi-immortal people don't tend to go in for kids, and because the powerful ones don't really go in for close relationships at all, because you always get betrayed.

Which is what happens here: she decides she doesn't like her grandfather (who is around four hundred years old, and the current leader of the family) and decides to screw him over by offering her services as an assassin to his biggest rival. She's between sixteen and eighteen, Deadpan Snarker First-Person Smartass narrator, and she's had a good basic training in magic because of her upbringing and has a few areas of talent but has yet to get really specialised. She's fairly Genre Savvy and has some theatrical tendencies, but she doesn't let them take precedence over practicality.

And that's all I know about her at the moment - I'm still fleshing her out in my head while writing something else set in the same continuity and I'm getting to the point where I really need a name.

And I'm sorry for writing a short novel for you. You probably didn't need all those details, did you?

Edit: oh, yes, forgot to mention that in my magical society people choose their own names, so it doesn't have to be an actual first name, it could be anything that sounds good. And she might change her surname as well when she formally secedes from her family, so that could be something as well.

edited 24th Dec '10 2:17:00 PM by cityofmist

I think that "Thread For Naming Things" would make a great name for this thread.

I second that.

When I first saw this thread I was confused by the title. A change in wording would be good for next time.

Who made the lens? Sometimes magical artifacts like this are named after their creators.

edited 24th Dec '10 9:16:52 PM by EldritchBlueRose

Er, is there any way to rename a thread? I thought it was cute, but apparently the title is too confusing.

Anyway, on to business. What technology level does your setting have, cityofmist? Details are always good; don't worry about talking my ear off. Why I ask is because we don't want a name that sounds too out of place with the backdrop. Names like Slyvanas and Varda Elentári are perfectly appropriate for a swords-and-sorcery feel, but in a modern setting they could be pretty jarring.

I haven't really thought of the lenses' creator. The name of this object is not unique, just an expression for this type of magical artifact. They're scarce, but not unheard of, and most semi-powerful magicians go out of their way to get one or a similar device. There are lenses that can see aura, spot the minute tendrils of spells snaking around, and others that can permeate glamour.

I just realised how unclear this was in my previous post, but it's set in the real world, only with a magical masquerade, so she'd probably have some fake identity to use in normal life, with a passport and whatever, and then a name that she uses when she's with other mages.

Let's see, the name wouldn't be too high-fantasyish, most of the other characters either have names from mythology, like Artemis, names that are normal words, like Sable, or names that are made-up but don't sound too exotic, like Delana. Hope that helps.

With regards to your lens, what's it made from? Maybe you could do something based on that.

Ah, that clarifies a lot. Perhaps a very old-fashioned or unusual name would suffice, such as Adelaide, Delphine, Christelle, Amaryllis etc. I've found this baby-name website to be very helpful.

The lens is polished glass, made from volcanic sand, and it's set in a gold leaf frame dotted with small sapphires. It's not the materials that make objects like this valuable but their practical application, and there are plenty of similar lenses made from cheaper components. Some insist that such lenses work just as well as the expensive ones, but professional magicians always favor the older, more precious specimens. This lens is sort of upper-mid level in quality; reliable and clear, but not some kind of ancient, mythic artifact. ...I've got a pretty good idea of its function and appearance, but the name still eludes me.

I need a name for mystical gems that give people powers. It needs to sound vagely scientific, ending in something like -ium or -ite.

edited 30th Dec '10 11:32:46 AM by SalFishFin

Hmm... Quantanium is the first thing that came to mind.

Superite? Magniftium.

little round nerf balls you squeeze, after squeezing they grow, sorta like a pokeball but it's really just a round hard rock you throw at people.

I'm thinking throwing rocks or gerf balls, possibly smashing stones

edited 30th Dec '10 1:54:59 PM by dafsa

I need a title for my My Immortal fanfic. Right now, it's saved on my computer as "my_immortal_redux.txt"

It contains Mary Sues, pozerz, flammerz, goffs, Harry Potter, Tara Gilesbie, Jenny/Raven, Reality Warpers, Metafiction, J.K. Rowling, Lawful Evil, vampires, Squick, and more.

edited 30th Dec '10 4:41:32 PM by LilPaladinSuzy

@Takwin, thank you for the suggestions - I like Delphine, and I'll check out the website now. I'll try and think of something for your lens, although I doubt I'll be that helpful.

^^ My Immoral

edited 30th Dec '10 6:26:10 PM by Madrugada

Name for a species of aliens that were banished from their homeworld for worshipping a god different from everyone else, and thrown into a sort of pocket dimension.

I'm using the placeholder name of "Rift-walkers" but it seems a bit too... Buffy Speak is the closest term.

A name for a species of otherworldly beings.

They're generally huge, with the smallest being their equivalent of a bug, standing at 4 feet tall, and the largest standing at over 40 feet tall. They're all damned scary.

I need a name for their species. I've been using the placeholder 'Reihnt', but that sounds too stupid to go into a book I'm trying to get published.

^^ and ^ are you looking for a name other people call them or what they call themselves?

edited 30th Dec '10 8:09:07 PM by Scholastica

Well, rift-walkers could be what the humans call them, so yeah. I'm looking for what they call themselves.

@Mukora: They could do the Of the People thing if they're a bit arrogant. If their religion is still a major factor, than a name derived from the name of their deity would work. They could also use a name derived from whatever they call their pocket dimension, or an Appropriated Appellation from those who banished them.

If you decide against "rift-walker" for what the humans call them, humanity could simply use an untranslated version of what they call themselves, if it fits on a human tongue, or even an approximation if it sort of fits.

According to the backstory I have, which is... an intimidating amount, the humans started calling them by their species name, simply because it offends them to be called that by any species other than them.

So, the species' name, not the humans' name for them.

@Cygan: The Akropos? Has no special meaning, the word just sort of popped into my head. Feel free to use.

Actually, drunk, I think you may find you accidentaly stole from the word Acropolis.

Actually the word I was thinking of was "Apropos" but both would be close. :)

Either way, that would still be odd for an otherworldly species, don't you think?

What kind of names are you going for, Cygan & Mukora? Are you looking for unique names, or something derived from human language? If you want ideas for a word that's never been used before, try a random name generator. Otherwise... Latin? Greek? Old English? What kind of linguistic backdrop do you want?