The Art of the Name

[Tulune]

I name most of my toons and most of my pets after various things from the Elder Scrolls series.

[GormanGhaste]

I name most of my toons and most of my pets after various things from the Elder Scrolls series.

I LOVED Morrowind--that's a great idea for pet names!

[Wark]

1. My first pet naming system was rather mathematical: three syllables, starts with a consonant and ends with a vowel. There were some guidelines per syllable but... whatever. It was insane, but it gave me some nonsense names I liked for their sound: Kirachi, Shikere, Trifuno, Bijanou, Hougouha.

2. My second naming system, for my dwarf, yielded less fancy names. Her first raptor was Fridgit, and all her raptors (there were many) had a similar kind of name: Nardit, Thockit, etc. Her non-raptors didn't get "__it" names, but they were still short: Toife the bat and Fohls the worm come to mind.

3. My latest naming system yields two names per pet. The first is what concept the pet embodies; the second is a fake Orcish "translation" of the concept (which is what I name the pet in-game). Examples thus far:

• Hakogesh, "Devotion": the ravager I slaved away at level 10 to tame. From Azuremyst. As an Orc. Post-Sundering. (It's as bad as it sounds.) Conceptually a ravager is utterly devoted to being what it is: a bristling maw laden with additional spikes; slightly more tangibly I imagine this one is utterly devoted to its master.
  
  Gigulkamuko, "Opportunism": the surprise-tame beetle I caught when all I knew was I wanted a new pet. I had considered a beetle but said "naaah"; I stumbled into this one and had to have it. Opportunity taken!
  
  Urukruka, "Thievery": a raiding wolf, stolen from the Vilebranch of Jintha'alor. A bit impish and not above absconding with other peoples' things.
  
  Aazilkagg, "Confusion": a nether ray. Nobody has ever looked at a nether ray for the first time and not gone "what the heck?" That, and whenever it does its idle looking around animation with the "hraaaah?" noise... well. Four times out of five it knows what it's doing, that's pretty good, right?
  
  Thrakkzoth, "Shrewdness": a brainbug from Un'goro. This hunter's first Exotic, tamed at the behest of her trainers, and she's pretty sure it was grossly violating the "don't tame anything smarter than you" rule. Luckily for her it's as aimless as it is canny-- so it might be more clever than her, but there's no pattern to its mischief.
  
  Nogromu, "Bravery": the dragonhawk tamed for the benefit of the Farstriders' research. Unfortunately my hunter wasn't feeling too brave when she went to catch it, so she found one that was out of the way-- turned out it was hiding, since it's even more of a coward than she is. Bravery because even though it's timid, it's willing to do what needs to be done, and "bravery is being scared senseless but going forward anyways" or such.
  
  Tathokha, "Patience": a raptor, and my interpretation of the baby raptor quest chain in Stranglethorn Vale. The non-spoilers version is the hatchling couldn't leave Stranglethorn with my hunter, at the time... but it waited, and when she finally came back, the raptor was right there.
  
  Oashmuroth, "Adaptation": a devilsaur. Originally one of them many Tyrantus from Netherstorm, introduced to this hunter by the Booterang prequest. Once removed from its fel-tainted, nether-laden habitat, this particular specimen morphed from a black-blue devilsaur into a white one with near-glowing pink bits. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) More generally it has adapted to no longer stomping around terrorizing the Scythetooths, and these days is happily stomping around terrorizing whatever its master aims it at. It's... not her brightest pet.

The biggest drawback to this system is that it's all but impossible to name a pet without some sense of its story and relationship to its master, which takes time, and now I have a backlog of a dozen unnamed pets. Not to mention it's been making me stretch a little bit to think of suitable words for the concepts. Ah well! For some reason, coming up with the perfect, that's-not-a-name-it's-nonsense kind of name is what really makes it for me.

[Cerah]

I have quite a few pets, probably more than I should since I have 4 Hunters. It's been a while since I listed them all too.

First, Cerah's pets. She's my first Hunter and my main, so I don't really have a naming-theme for any of her pets, except her spirit beasts, who all have a "dream" theme to their names. However, a lot of her pets ended up being named after either characters in stories either myself or my boyfriend had written, after Transformers, or as references to Starcraft.

Anyway, here are all the ones I can remember at the moment without logging on. I don't think I'm missing anyone.

Scorponok

Transformers/Beast Wars reference, my first pet. Also a reference to a TF fanfic I wrote, "Vapour Trails"

Beauty

A reference to an old story my boyfriend wrote, where he named two Jurassic Park-style cloned raptors "Happy" and "Beauty". They were the pets of the character he partly based off me, so it kind of suited. Besides, I always wanted a pet dinosaur.

Bloodshock *now released

For my first Cunning Pet, I wanted to name him something really Orcish-sounding, and anything that had to do with blood seemed to match his colour scheme. RPwise, he was supposed to originally have been Cerah's father's pet, so it equally fitted. I later let him go, in order to tame ...

Ripley

Fell in love with this bugger the moment I set eyes on him. Because his heads look kind of like an Alien's (from the Aliens movies), I desided to name him after the movie's heroine, even though he's a male. Ripley is a rather androgynous word.

Tiamat
Originally soon-to-be
Named after the Bablyonian mythological dragon whose body makes up the world, as well as the corrupted Guardian Force from Final Fantasy VIII. Warpstalkers look kind of like dragons, so I wanted to give her a dragonish name.

Ironhide

Another Transformers reference, plus since that skin is originally called the "Ironhide Devilsaur", I thought it was too good to change.

Daggoth
Originally now
Named after the most important Cerebrate in Starcraft I, Daggoth of Tiamat Brood, the right-hand bug of the Overmind. Cerebrates look like giant worms, so it suits him.

Reverie

The word "Reverie" means "daydream" or "thought". Appropriate since I dreamed about taming her, then I did! I desided to keep the "dream" theme for all my subsequent spirit beasts.

Deekah

Another, sort-of Starcraft reference. She's named after a Zergling character in a very old fanfic of mine, "Walk Without Rhythm"

Waspinator

Another Transformers/Beast Wars and "Vapour Trails" reference.

Peppermint

Named after his colour, plus it embarrassed the hell out of my bf for his main (a Mage) to be beat in a duel by a pet named Peppermint.

Belore

The word in the blood elf language for "Sun". Was originally going to be "Sin-Belore" or "Blood of the Sun", but the game wouldn't let me use the prefix "sin".

Vash

I picked her up in Sholozar while hunting for Loque'nahak, just because she's pretty. I don't know really where this came from -- it just suits her, for some reason.

Eris *released

Named after the Greek goddess of chaos, due to her colour-changing (hey, it's better than "Mood Ring", my bf's suggestion). She just wasn't the same after her colour-changing was "fixed", so I'll just say she was a casulty of the Cataclysm.

Oracle *released. Not clicking

Named after Oracle from the DC Comics series "Birds of Prey".I totally forgot that was the name of the gorloc tribe in Sholozar when I named her, honestly.

Ravage

Yet another Transformers reference. I wanted to change him to the all-black gem skin, but it looks like that won't be happening anytime soon. I think I'll probably release him, since I have more than enough spirit beasts, and cats don't really click with Cerah.

Myst

Fit with the "dream" theme for my spirit beasts. "Myst" was an old computer game where books were literally portals into new worlds.

Lana

Named after the protagonist in an old, original story I wrote, "Lana and the Ant". (I can't post that one online, in case it has a chance of being published one day)

Nightshade
(Oil-Stained)
Named after the protagonist of "Vapour Trails", my own character, an F-117 Nighthawk Decepticon.

Torrasque

After the elite ultralisk in Starcraft I, a literally immortal, unstoppable killing machine (at least until you kill his cerebrate).

Dreamer

Again, sticking with my dream theme for spirit beasts, and also because I thought I must be dreaming if I ever manage to catch him!

Whew! I think I'll tackle my other hunters later. That took awhile!

[Rhyela]

Wark, I love reading your stuff. You have such great writing (typing?..whatever) skills, it warms m'heart. :3 I know that's an incredibly odd thing to say, but, there it is.

So, for my pets, we have:

Apollyon:
- Greek for "destroyer", "destruction", etc. Fitting because 1) he destroyed me a few times, and 2) he's a devilsaur, and they're made to tear stuff up!

Ysuran:
- named after a character from Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2. Ysuran was a moon elf necromancer and this particular carrion bird, as a mob, uses a fel flame ability. I thought it fit. (Plus, he belongs to me, a night elf, who as a race reveres the moon goddess Elune)

Nemaeus:
- my own variation of the Nemean lion from Greek mythology. I know it's not a lion, but oh well.

Shikon:
- from the Shikon Jewel in Inu Yasha. At the time, I still had my white lion Tetsusaiga so I wanted something to go along with that. Gondria just has a very beautiful mystifying appearance about her, so I went with it (thanks to Veph for the suggestion).

Naphthali:
- Hebrew for "struggling", I knew I liked the name ahead of time, but the struggle I went through to get her (underestimated those packs in Zul'Gurub!) just sealed the deal.

Vulkoor:
- I haven't played D&D but the lore fascinates me. Vulkoor is the scorpion god of the Drow. i wanted something masculine and powerful and this name was perfect for a creature such as Madexx.

Skaza:
- Slovak for "fate". Previously Snarler, I knew I "needed" a wolf for raiding and the coyote models have always been my favorite. I was sitting in his spawn point fiddling with Silver Dragon, not paying attention, when suddenly, Snarler appeared right in front of me. 'Twas fate!

Mortimer:
- a name I came up with. Previously was the disembodied jormungar, so I liked the "mort" part (in many languages, mort- or muert-, etc., means dead or death, and this worm was a ghost). I changed him to this model in Cataclysm but I may go back to his ghostly form. The name fit so much better that way.

Khamen:
- same name as the NPC I tamed. Couldn't remember which one I grabbed but was hoping it was Khamen (liked the name better), I entered both crocolisks' NPC IDs into NPC Scan and sure enough, I had Khamen! I loved his given name so I kept it.

Sheldon:
- another name I made up (the "shel" part is pretty obvious). He went through a few color changes before I came back to this one, it's my favorite. I don't have the heart to get Terrorpene or Ghamoo-ra. Sheldon's been my go-to guy for far too long for me to try to change his model. I wuvs me mah Sheldon.

Xaphan:
- a supposed demon ("fallen angel") who fans the flames of the abyss. I wanted something with a demonic or evil deity origin, in addition to fire-related, and Veph gave this name as a suggestion among others (even though I don't see my pet as being evil at all).

Twinblade:
- named for the blade-like protuberances coming from his chins. Also the name of the bandit king in Fable (and an ex-Hero, at that).

Zilean:
- named after one of my favorite champions in League of Legends. Zilean (from LoL) has white hair and has time-based abilities, my fox is white and slows attack/cast speed. It just fit.

Taric:
- another named after a champion in LoL. Taken from his description: "He wasn't to be a healer, but a defender - one who used the power of the earth to preserve and protect". Works out perfectly for a shale spider!

Reaver:
- a name I didn't technically make up (he's a Hero in Fable II, but not the reason for my raptor's name), but I do like it, and it seems to suit a spiky raptor.

Aska:
- a beautiful bird and the summon spirt of light from the Tales series of video games. In Tales of Symphonia, he has beautiful colorings including red and purple.

Oscar:
- a name with a sillier origin (but no one knows it except me....well and now you guys). He's a dog on fire, or a hot dog, which made me think of Oscar Mayer. Yep, that's really it.

Piandao:
- previously Azzere the Skyblade. As a mob, used fire spells. Master Piandao from the Avatar show is a master swordsman (blade!) from the Fire Nation. It was a perfect name for him.

Celeborn:
- named after Galadriel's husband from LotR. He had white hair, this wind serpent is white...and I just like the name.

Nago:
(fiery version) - named from a boar god in Princess Mononoke who was corrupted by hate and turned into a demon. I associate fire with demons, so the name fit.

Rainey:
- named after RL Blues singer Ma Rainey, "mother of blues". The Tallstrider Clutchmother is both blue and a mother, so it was perfect!

Surge:
- takes his name from the beverage Coca-Cola used to make. It was green in color and was said to make people extremely jittery and hyper. What better name for a creature that's green and NEVER stops moving?

And that's that!

[Skade]

I get a lot of my names from mythology! But I got a few other inspirations in there.


Krakatoa: A volcanic island that exploded in 1883, which was among the most violent volcanic events in modern and recorded history.

Thor:The god of thunder in Germanic mythology

Loki:Norse Trickster god, to go along with Thor. I figured it fitting since I picked up a color changing sabre worg.

Bowser:After the bad guy from Super Mario Brothers.

Zeitgeist:German term meaning 'Spirit of the times'.

Boreas:Greek god of the cold North Wind and the bringer of winter, sometimes called the 'Devouring One' and depicted with snakes for legs.

Frostbite:Not horribly creative, but fitting and a bit of a poke at that achievement of a similar name that gave so many hunters headaches.

Giriko:Named after a character from a certain anime with a vicious and violent temper.

Orthus:Cerebus's lesser known two-headed brother in Greek mythology.

Schrödinger:Based off the paradox of 'Schrödinger's Cat', a thought experiment by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger. It's a buncha sciency stuff that theorizes a cat being both alive and dead following certain events. So yeah, ghost cat.

Yang: To go with my friend's white lioness called 'Yin'.

Kali:The Hindu goddess associated with eternal energy, time and change. Her name also means 'The Black One'.

Kumiho:The Korean variant of the more well known 'Kitsune'.

Nekhbet:Egyptian goddess often depicted as a vulture.

Arachne:Kinda self explanatory, inspired by a spider-themed anime character as well.

Rocksteady: The rhino half of a villain duo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. A friend of mine named a boar called Bebop to go with him.

Sobek:Egyptian crocodile god.

Spitfire:It spits.. and it's fiery. Not too creative with this one.

Tankenstein:My first tank pet, and one I can't bring myself to abandon! He's a tank that's a zombie. Frankenstein, Tankenstein... Dorky, I know.

Tzeentch:Demon god of Change, Magic and endless schemes and plots in Warhammer lore. Demons of Tzeentch are often depicted as birds, and with multiple heads, and blue is the god's most common color.

Hades:Greek god of the Underworld.

Faust:A character from German Legend known for making a deal with the devil.