3.2 KiB
What is in a name, anyway? For us here in the fandom, a name can be several things: a pseudonym, a description, even a whole other being, however fictional. It's safe to say, then, that names are pretty important to furries, and so maybe that's worth taking a look at. You have to start somewhere, so lets begin with how to construct a name. There are, of course, many other ways to construct a name, but we've listed just a few of the best here.
adjectiveThe suedonym - Sometimes, you just can't think of a name. Or...well, you can, but they're all taken. Well, that's no reason to stop you! Why, I was once !Xabbu (from a book by Tad Williams), then Ranna (from a book by Garth Nix), who then became Astarael (same book). The pros - don't really need to think too hard; it might already be memorable! The cons - it might already be memorable as something else; it might already be memorable by many others (I wasn't the only Ranna...).Subcategory: The they-can't-suedonym- You know, if works even better if you don't have to worry about the problems associated with a stolen name. Like if the author or origin is long dead. I knew a cat named Merlin, for instance.
The appropriation- Why not just appropriate another word for yourself? I very rarely go by Happenstance, which is also the name of a French film (pure happenstance, of course). I have a good friend named Whiskey, too. That's good, I like whiskey and Whiskey! Pros: pretty memorable. Cons: this one's pretty safe, actually. Subcategory: l'appropriation- Bonus points if you appropriate from another language. Just.. be careful of Japanese, okay? There are a few Ookamis out there.
The punny animal- Of course, these are totally memorable for reasons that make people want to hit you in the mouth. My otter-sona is named Macchi. As in Macchi-otter. In fact, the back story is that he's got light fur and his parents weren't very inventive, so they named him Caramel. Caramel "Macchi" Otter. Sigh. Pros: totally memorable. Cons: people want to hit you in the mouth. Subcategory: The recondite lingual obfuscation of humorous intent- If the pun of your name takes more than a few words to explain it...may actually be a pretty good name, because then people won't hit you in the mouth so much.
The real name- I...er...hmm. I guess I may have met someone who used their real name once. Maybe? I mean...hmm. Hey, was that guy Ty really named Ty? Does Karlhockey count? This could be big, guys, I don't know...maybe the new, unique trend in furry pseudonyms would be to just use your real name. I mean, that's pretty inventive, and it's already© you... Pros: inventive. Cons: now they know your name.