Library: Names, Windows to our Souls.

What's in a name? Is it a collection of letters, a simple label for the person it defines, or is there more? Can a person's personality be divined simply be evaluating his or her name, especially in the case where one is allowed to choose that name? Here at batmud, our characters are, in the end, reflections of ourselves. We do things, we say things, we play roles, whether we mean to or not, and taken altogether, these all point to who we are, or would like to be. This in mind, I decided that I would like to see exactly what goes into namechoosing, from a selective list of players here at batmud(I largely stuck with level 50+, and it was highly dependent upon whom happened to be on the couple days I was doing this, so don't feel left out if you aren't here ;) I collected these stories, all of which, excepting the cases where it is expressly stated, are completely spontaneous. I never told any of the participants that I was collecting the conversation until after it was done, so I would get unspoiled, raw information. So, without further ado, here is my collection of names. I hope you enjoy reading them. > tell chra hmm, how did you choose your name here? You tell chra 'hmm, how did you choose your name here?' Chra tells you 'what do you mean?' > tell chra how did you pick "chra" You tell chra 'how did you pick "chra"' Chra tells you 'oh.. :)' Chra tells you 'well, mostly because it was a typo when I was thining about a name to create :).. but it sounded nice.. so I kept it' Chra tells you 'I was thinking of a character.. and chra came from it.. giggle :)' > tell maia how did you choose the name "maia"? You tell Maia 'how did you choose the name "maia"?' Maia tells you 'just have always liked the name' > tell maia where does it come from? You tell Maia 'where does it come from?' Maia tells you 'i don't know? i don't know wehre i first say it...someone in the family maybe' > tell slip hmm, slip, how did U pick the name "slip"? You tell Slip 'hmm, slip, how did U pick the name "slip"?' Slip tells you 'Honestly?' > tell slip of course ;) You tell Slip 'of course ;)' Slip tells you 'heheh .. well, when I first started mudding (On some cyber-type mud, I forget the name) .. I wanted to be Silk' Slip tells you 'after the thief/Merchant prince from the eddings series ..' Slip tells you 'well .. Silk was taken =) .. I needed a name that was smooth and thief-like ..' Slip tells you 'so thus, slip =) ..' > tell slip heh ;) You tell Slip 'heh ;)' Slip tells you 'simple, vague, and had many possibilities for puns =)' > tell ceridwen hmm, ceri, how did you choose the name "ceridwen"? You tell Ceridwen 'hmm, ceri, how did you choose the name "ceridwen"?' Ceridwen tells you 'kinda on accident.. i thought i was making it up, but later i remembered its from celtic literature' > tell ceri woo, who is it in literature? You tell Ceridwen 'woo, who is it in literature?' Ceridwen tells you 'celtic goddess of literature' > tell ceri cool ;) You tell Ceridwen 'cool ;)' > tell raunk hey, raunk, how'd U pick the name "raunk"? You tell Raunk 'hey, raunk, how'd U pick the name "raunk"?' Raunk tells you 'you wanna know? or you poking me ;)' > tell raunk I want to know ;) You tell Raunk 'I want to know ;)' Raunk tells you 'well its from a game on the sega, called shining force, there is a character named Raunk a fighter dude..' Raunk tells you 'an in the game, he has one of the best attacks.. .the dwarf guy.. big AXE ;).. looked cool the way it was animated.' > tell grifter hmm, how did you choose the name "grifter"? You tell Grifter (busy) 'hmm, how did you choose the name "grifter"?' Grifter tells you 'stole it from a comic book. =)' > tell grifter how come though? many characters in the world, why grifter? You tell Grifter 'how come though? many characters in the world, why grifter?' Grifter tells you 'Hmm..Okay..' Grifter tells you 'I like WildC.A.T.S' Grifter tells you 'I like the character itself.' Grifter tells you 'And for some reason the name appealed to me.' > tell grifter and the character is like what? You tell Grifter 'and the character is like what?' > Grifter tells you 'Independent, lucky, unwilling hero.' Grifter tells you 'does what he has to do, and isn't bogged down by stupid and out of date morals. Does what he thinks is right.' > tell elric heya You tell Elric 'heya' > tell elric hey, E, how'd you choose the name "elric"? You tell Elric 'hey, E, how'd you choose the name "elric"?' Elric tells you 'well...it is from one of my favorite fantasy book series..' > tell elric tell me about the character? You tell Elric 'tell me about the character?' Elric tells you 'anyway..he lived off herbs..which kept him healthy' Elric tells you 'until he found Stormbringer..a rune sword..forged long ago....possibly a God itself...' Elric tells you 'and that sword sucked enemies souls out...giving Elric super human characteristics' tell elric wicked ;) You tell Elric (busy) 'wicked ;)' > tell unfo hey, unfo, how'd U choose the name "unforgiven"? You tell Unforgiven 'hey, unfo, how'd U choose the name "unforgiven"?' Unforgiven tells you 'seriously?' > tell unfo yes, seriously ;) You tell Unforgiven 'yes, seriously ;)' Unforgiven tells you ''the unforgiven' by metallica..=)' Unforgiven tells you 'i wanted ot be sandman but someone already had it' Unforgiven tells you 'as in 'enter sandman'' > tell unfo the unforgiven is another song? You tell Unforgiven 'the unforgiven is another song?' Unforgiven tells you 'hmm ya the unforgiven is the title of the song' Unforgiven tells you 'so yes i am named after a song..=)' > tell greyhame hey, GH, how'd you choose the name "greyhame"? You tell Greyhame 'hey, GH, how'd you choose the name "greyhame"?' Greyhame tells you 'its from lotr, i'm jsut really original' Greyhame tells you 'its welsh for "the grey"' Greyhame tells you 'as in gandalf the grey' > tell greyhame cool, so, greyhame is like gandalf's title in lord of the rings? You tell Greyhame 'cool, so, greyhame is like gandalf's title in lord of the rings?' > tell axl hey, axl, how'd you choose the name "axl"? You tell Axl 'hey, axl, how'd you choose the name "axl"?' Axl tells you 'its my nicname at school, i have long blonde hair and tend to wear headbands a lot' > tell axl so U are axl as in axl rose? ;) You tell Axl 'so U are axl as in axl rose? ;)' Axl tells you 'some people like to think so' tell axl hehe ;) You tell Axl 'hehe ;)' BOOK axl You tell Axl 'cool ;) I am writing a book of name origins, ok if I use this convo in it?' Axl tells you 'hmm sure, just stress that i didnt pick it, it was a nickname given to me by my friends because of a similarity :) it just kinda stuck so now about 50% of the people i know call me by Axl and some dont even know my real name :) heh' > tell haulk hey haulk, how'd U choose the name "haulk"? You tell Haulk 'hey haulk, how'd U choose the name "haulk"?' Haulk tells you 'hehe why?:)' > tell haulk hmph, well, I would prefer if U didn't know this, but since you asked, I am writing a book on name origins ;) You tell Haulk 'hmph, well, I would prefer if U didn't know this, but since you asked, I am writing a book on name origins ;)' Haulk tells you 'like name origins in the game?' Haulk tells you 'or names in general?' > tell haulk like where did the name Haulk come from ;) You tell Haulk 'like where did the name Haulk come from ;)' Haulk tells you 'I made it up:)' Haulk tells you 'is that good enough? or do you want why I made it up?' > tell haulk why ;) tell me a story ;) You tell Haulk 'why ;) tell me a story ;)' Haulk tells you 'ok:)' Haulk tells you 'fighting' Haulk tells you 'was creating D&D character...and was given freechoice on anything we wanted...anything...so i asked if I could be a minotaur...' Haulk tells you 'DM said sure...anything you want' Haulk tells you 'so I started rolling...didnt get stats I wanted...cuz I wanted this minotaur to be really big...and REALLY stupid:)' Haulk tells you 'so I asked if I could mess with the stats...and the DM said ANYTHING you want' Haulk tells you 'so I said like even over 18 stats?' Haulk tells you 'and he said sure...but you have to suck some points from the lower stats first...' Haulk tells you 'so I wasa minotaur...with a 5 wis and a 3 int...23 str and a 21 con:)' Haulk tells you 'complete bonehead' Haulk tells you 'but he needed a suitable name...' Haulk tells you 'you just dont call a minotaur george' > tell pim hey, pim, how did you choose the name "pim"? You tell Pim 'hey, pim, how did you choose the name "pim"?' Pim tells you 'Just chose it. <Later I found out it was a cookie' > tell pim a cookie? what kinda cookie? ;) You tell Pim 'a cookie? what kinda cookie? ;)' Pim tells you 'not sure ask a finn' [NOTE: upon asking around, I was unable to track down what kinda cookie a "pim" is.] > tell eredlin hey, E, how did you choose the name "eredlin"? You tell Eredlin 'hey, E, how did you choose the name "eredlin"?' Eredlin tells you 'old rpg name from rolemastar' Eredlin tells you 'rolemaster that is' > tell eredlin it's a character name, then? or the name of the RPG? You tell Eredlin 'it's a character name, then? or the name of the RPG?' Eredlin tells you 'character name' > tell eredlin what kind of character was it? You tell Eredlin 'what kind of character was it?' Eredlin tells you 'elf fighter:)' > tell eredlin so, it was the nameof one of your characters in rolemaster. How'd you choose it for rolemaster? You tell Eredlin 'so, it was the nameof one of your characters in rolemaster. How'd you choose it for rolemaster?' Eredlin tells you 'actually it wasnt my character name' Eredlin tells you 'I played kick ass healer' > tell eredlin so it was a NPC? You tell Eredlin 'so it was a NPC?' Eredlin tells you 'no my friends character' > tell eredlin aha, so U stole it? ;) You tell Eredlin 'aha, so U stole it? ;)' Eredlin tells you 'yeah:)' > tell sly hey sly, how'd you choose the name "sly"? You tell Sly 'hey sly, how'd you choose the name "sly"?' Sly tells you 'dunno really nice and short..easy to type...and slightly mtsterious i guess =)' > tell sly so, you just made it up on the spot? You tell Sly 'so, you just made it up on the spot?' Sly tells you 'yeah' > tell xianator hmm, Xman, how did you choose the name "xianator"? You tell Xianator 'hmm, Xman, how did you choose the name "xianator"?' Xianator tells you 'heh, :)' Xianator tells you 'well, My firstname, is Christian.. so thats where Xian comes from..' Xianator tells you '*shrug*' Xianator tells you 'Not much of a story I guess.. ;)' > tell xianator so, ator was just a suffix U chose to make it cool? You tell Xianator 'so, ator was just a suffix U chose to make it cool?' Xianator tells you 'Yeah, somthing like that..' > tell xianator cool ;) You tell Xianator 'cool ;)' > tell alaron hey A, how did you choose the name "alaron", anyway? You tell Alaron 'hey A, how did you choose the name "alaron", anyway?' Alaron tells you 'Good question. I really don't remember. :)' > tell alaron any theories? ;) You tell Alaron 'any theories? ;)' (Long pause) > tell alaron you really have absolutely no clue? You tell Alaron 'you really have absolutely no clue?' Alaron tells you 'Not that I can think of.' > tell gront hey, Gront, how'd you choose the name "gront", anyway? You tell Gront 'hey, Gront, how'd you choose the name "gront", anyway?' Gront tells you 'hmm, I was reading that Clavell's book in which there was a mean guy named edward gront when I started :)' > tell gront which book was that? I dont read much Clavell ;) You tell Gront 'which book was that? I dont read much Clavell ;)' Gront tells you 'think it was noble huose' Gront tells you 'house even' > tell gront what is Edward Gront like? what kinda character? ;) You tell Gront 'what is Edward Gront like? what kinda character? ;)' Gront tells you 'he's the head of one hongkong's trade companies agains the goodies in that book :)' > tell gront so yer a bastard corporate raider? ;) You tell Gront 'so yer a bastard corporate raider? ;)' Gront tells you 'nope, was just reading that book at the time :)' > tell chandris hey Chandris, however did you choose the name "chandris", anyway? You tell Chandris 'hey Chandris, however did you choose the name "chandris", anyway?' Chandris tells you 'was a player character of mine for ad&d...dunno how i thought of it at that point' > tell chandris what kind of character was chandris in D&D? You tell Chandris 'what kind of character was chandris in D&D?' Chandris tells you 'cleric...i still use her level 6 cleric :)' > tell chandris human? elf? eh? You tell Chandris 'human? elf? eh?' Chandris tells you 'human...' Chandris tells you 'i painted a fig of here :)' > tell chandris Kool and the Gang, man ;) You tell Chandris 'Kool and the Gang, man ;)' > tell kam hey Kam, how did you choose the name "Kam", anyway? You tell Kam 'hey Kam, how did you choose the name "Kam", anyway?' Kam tells you 'it's from my name... 'kameron'-quite original, eh? =)' > tell tixe Do tell, Tixe, how did you choose the name "tixe"? You tell Tixe (busy) 'Do tell, Tixe, how did you choose the name "tixe"?' Tixe tells you 'looked at an exit sign while soul searching for a name, and said, woo exit sounds good, but it wasnt allowed so i took tixe instead' > tell tixe heh, so you just made it up right on the spot, cool ;) You tell Tixe (busy) 'heh, so you just made it up right on the spot, cool ;)' tell shaith hey Shaaaaaith, how did U pick the name "shaithislord"? it's rather unusual ;) You tell Shaithislord (idle 6 m) 'hey Shaaaaaith, how did U pick the name "shaithislord"? it's rather unusual ;)' Shaithislord tells you 'well it's from the name Shaithis from The Necroscope series by Brian Lumley. Which that name comes from Shaitan...and I slapped a lord on it to be different =)' > tell incanus hey, Inc, how did you choose the name "Incanus"? You tell Incanus 'hey, Inc, how did you choose the name "Incanus"?' Incanus tells you 'I quote: I am known by many names: Mithrandir to the Elves, Gandalf to the men of the west, Thrankul to the Dwarves, Incanus to the men of the South, Olorin in the west which is forgotten.. to the east I go not.' > tell incanus aha, another lord of the rings person You tell Incanus 'aha, another lord of the rings person' > tell entropy hey Entropy, how did you choose the name "entropy"? You tell Entropy (busy) 'hey Entropy, how did you choose the name "entropy"?' Entropy tells you 'just random, i think it was because i was in physics, then i thought about it later and decided it was a good call' > tell entropy cool beans ;) You tell Entropy (busy) 'cool beans ;)' > tell beccy hey Beccy, how did you choose the name "beccy"? You tell Beccy 'hey Beccy, how did you choose the name "beccy"?' Beccy tells you 'i tried a pile of names, and eventually used my own instead :)' > tell beccy heh a pile of names ;) so your rl name is rebecca? You tell Beccy 'heh a pile of names ;) so your rl name is rebecca?' Beccy tells you 'yes' > BOOK beccy You tell Beccy 'cool ;) I am writing a book of name origins, ok if I use this convo in it?' > Beccy tells you 'yep!' > tell indigo hey I, how did you choose the name "indigo", anyway? You tell Indigo 'hey I, how did you choose the name "indigo", anyway?' > Indigo's voice echoes in your head: h Indigo tells you 'I was feeling blue, but 'Blue' just didn't have the proper oomph.' > tell indigo it was that simple? You tell Indigo 'it was that simple?' Indigo tells you 'well, not quite, but that is a nice abridged version.' > tell sir hey Sir, how did you choose the name "sir" anyway? You tell Sir 'hey Sir, how did you choose the name "sir" anyway?' Sir tells you 'I was gonna be a knight.. Sir Lancelet or something... 8P Then I start goffing off too much 8P' > tell sir so U remained a squire? ;) You tell Sir 'so U remained a squire? ;)' Sir tells you 'hehehe' > tell osir how did you pick the name "osir", anyway? You tell Osir 'how did you pick the name "osir", anyway?' Osir tells you 'at the time I was creating my character, I was reading a book named 'Shogun' by James Clavell. It had some japanese words in it and I learned that O-prefix means 'great'. I combined O and Sir.. Osir Great Sir.. and on the other hand it reminded me of the Osiris-goddess of the ancient Egypt but was a bit shorter' > tell avandhar hey, how did you ever choose the name "avandhar"? You tell Avandhar (busy) 'hey, how did you ever choose the name "avandhar"?' Avandhar tells you 'it has been my name in many computer rpgs' Avandhar tells you 'originally I first time used it on ULTIMA series' > tell avandhar so the name was originally a NPC on ultima? You tell Avandhar 'so the name was originally a NPC on ultima?' Avandhar tells you 'no' Avandhar tells you 'I made it up' > tell avandhar just made it up randomly? You tell Avandhar 'just made it up randomly?' Avandhar tells you 'no , it comes from avatar' Avandhar tells you 'heh in strange fashion :)' > tell avandhar aha! U see, I never played ultima much You tell Avandhar 'aha! U see, I never played ultima much' > tell avandhar what are the avatars in ultima like? You tell Avandhar 'what are the avatars in ultima like?' Avandhar tells you 'the main character was the avatar , it means a person who masters all' Avandhar tells you '8 virtues' Avandhar tells you 'pretty ironic :) cause I master none of em' > tell avandhar heh! You tell Avandhar 'heh!' > tell aru hey, ace, how did you pick the name "aruthra"? You tell Aruthra 'hey, ace, how did you pick the name "aruthra"?' > idle aru Aruthra has been idle for 1m 26s. bell aru You bell aruthra. Aruthra tells you 'umm... it's Supposed to be Arutha ... from the Riftwar series bye Raymond E. Fiest :)' > tell aru so, you are a typo? ;) You tell Aruthra 'so, you are a typo? ;)' Aruthra tells you '*cackle*!!! Yeah :P' > tell aru what kinda character is this "arutha"? You tell Aruthra 'what kinda character is this "arutha"?' Aruthra tells you 'He was one of the main Characters.. actually Prince Aruthra.. swordsman.. he was called the Bane of Darkness... riftwars series is pretty damn good.. almost as good as Tolkien..' > tell aru was he good/evil, do tell? ;) You tell Aruthra 'was he good/evil, do tell? ;)' > Aruthra tells you 'he was a good guy of corz :)' > tell oasis hey O, how did you choose the name "oasis"? You tell oasis 'hey O, how did you choose the name "oasis"?' Oasis tells you 'from a music group' > tell oasis hmm, Oasis, what groups is that... oh, wait oasis, live forever, that oasis? You tell oasis 'hmm, Oasis, what groups is that... oh, wait oasis, live forever, that oasis?' Oasis tells you 'you got it' > tell seaside heya S, how did you pick the name "seaside", anyway? You tell Seaside 'heya S, how did you pick the name "seaside", anyway?' Seaside tells you 'I like vacationing on seas and oceons' Seaside tells you 'its easy to remember and spell, and no one else picks that name :)' > tell seaside hehe cool ;) You tell Seaside 'hehe cool ;)' > tell darkblood hum, you never explained how being a troll gave you the name darkblood ;) You tell Darkblood 'hum, you never explained how being a troll gave you the name darkblood ;)' Darkblood tells you 'seemed appropriate to me. I figured trolls all have sinister sounding names - that and the fact that they are traditionally thought of as having regenerative ichor in their veins inspired me' > tell darkblood coolio, so U made it up after some thought? You tell Darkblood 'coolio, so U made it up after some thought?' Darkblood tells you 'yeah, I played bat for a day, decided to try another race, suicided the old character, and started darkblood as a troll' Darkblood tells you 'I was happy to see that my race leader's name was "blackpool" I thought that was cool' > tell streyd hum, S, how did you ever pick the name "streyd"? You tell Streyd 'hum, S, how did you ever pick the name "streyd"?' > tell streyd it sounds vaguely familiar You tell Streyd 'it sounds vaguely familiar' Streyd tells you 'sounds odd, doesent it :) just 'invented it :)' > tell streyd totally, out of the blue, made it up? no influences? You tell Streyd 'totally, out of the blue, made it up? no influences?' tell streyd cool ;) You tell Streyd 'cool ;)' > tell franco how did you ever choose the name "franco", anyway? You tell Franco 'how did you ever choose the name "franco", anyway?' > Franco tells you 'u don't like it ?' Franco tells you 'something wrong with it ?' > tell franco just curious ;) how did you choose it? You tell Franco 'just curious ;) how did you choose it?' > tell franco you remember that far back? ;) You tell Franco 'you remember that far back? ;)' Franco tells you 'yeah i do..' Franco tells you 'but there is no story behind it... ;)' > tell franco doesn't have to be ;) You tell Franco 'doesn't have to be ;)' > tell franco I jsut wanna know how ya chose ;) You tell Franco 'I jsut wanna know how ya chose ;)' Franco tells you 'hmm, i remember logging in first time.. seeing that prompt asking for name.. and wondering what to put there.. and franco just poped out ;)' > tell franco hehe, just totally out of the blue? ;) You tell Franco 'hehe, just totally out of the blue? ;)' Franco tells you 'yep.. that's how it happened' > tell franco heh You tell Franco 'heh' Franco tells you 'before that that name never had any meaning to me' Franco tells you 'well, it still doesn't much ;)' > tell caladar C, how did you choose the name "caladar"? You tell Caladar 'C, how did you choose the name "caladar"?' Caladar tells you 'umm... it just came to me :)' > tell caladar U just totally made it up? You tell Caladar 'U just totally made it up?' > Caladar tells you 'I think so' > tell amarth hum A, how did you choose the name "amarth"? You tell Amarth 'hum A, how did you choose the name "amarth"?' Amarth tells you 'hehe.. how did I choose it.. GUESS' > tell amarth I have no idea, so I am asking ;) You tell Amarth 'I have no idea, so I am asking ;)' Amarth tells you 'there is this language in which amon-amarth means the mountain of destiny and amarth = destiny thought it was ok' tell amarth what language is that? You tell Amarth 'what language is that?' Amarth tells you 'lord of the rings had it' >tell amarth aha, lord of the rings person. neat :) You tell Amarth 'aha, lord of the rings person. neat :)' > tell dire hum, why did you choose the name "dire"? You tell Dire 'hum, why did you choose the name "dire"?' Dire tells you 'whaat why not grr' > tell dire I am just curious ;) You tell Dire 'I am just curious ;)' Dire tells you 'bcoz I wanted something shorter than isildur and I happened to be listening to dire straits at the time I think' > tell dire aha! coolness ;) You tell Dire 'aha! coolness ;)' > tell quadra hey, Q, how did you pick the name "quadra", anyway? You tell quadra 'hey, Q, how did you pick the name "quadra", anyway?' Quadra tells you 'i founded a consulting company for macintosh consulting.. i tried to get name McConsulting but it was reserved...' Quadra tells you 'then i picked up Quadra Consulting... it sounded great and ive loved that name... that time it was new Mac model name' > tell quadra that would explain your surname too. Quadra Storm, as in the secret name of one of the first quadra machines You tell Quadra 'that would explain your surname too. Quadra Storm, as in the secret name of one of the first quadra machines' > Quadra tells you 'not really.. that surname was just an invention in mud... sounded dynamic short and fitted to first name somehow good :)' > tell quadra heh, cool beans You tell Quadra 'heh, cool beans' BOOK quadra You tell Quadra 'cool ;) I am writing a book of name origins, ok if I use this convo in it?' Quadra tells you 'sure' Quadra tells you 'say quadra storm in loud and it sound fitting...' > tell quadra already did, hehe, and it does sound cool You tell Quadra 'already did, hehe, and it does sound cool' > tell banzol huh, B, how did you choose the name "banzol", anyway? You tell Banzol 'huh, B, how did you choose the name "banzol", anyway?' Banzol tells you 'hmm..dunno, its just Banzol :)' > tell banzol so you just made it up out of the blue? You tell Banzol 'so you just made it up out of the blue?'llenge!' Banzol tells you 'nod' > tell banzol any reason U made it up? there must be some sort of inspiration? You tell Banzol 'any reason U made it up? there must be some sort of inspiration?' Banzol tells you 'it just came to my mind...' > tell entreri how did you ever choose the name entreri? You tell Entreri 'how did you ever choose the name entreri?' Entreri tells you 'the books by RA Salvatore... :) entreri is a rockin ass kickin assasin.. :)' Entreri tells you 'pure white death, evil' Entreri tells you 'he is great.. :)' > tell entreri ooh, you so sinister! ;) You tell Entreri 'ooh, you so sinister! ;)' Entreri tells you 'hehehe :)' > tell axlgd hum, so the question is, how did you ever choose the name "axlgd"? You tell Axlgd 'hum, so the question is, how did you ever choose the name "axlgd"?' Axlgd tells you 'eehm, axl was reserved...hehe 8)' > tell axlgd so, why gd? You tell Axlgd 'so, why gd?' > tell axlgd hmm? why the "gd" part? You tell Axlgd 'hmm? why the "gd" part?' Axlgd tells you 'well, I used alias Axl / Glamour Design in the demoscene some 3 years ago...(in fact I still use, but....i'm not very active.. )....so gd means glamour design..heh 8)' > tell axlgd what's the demoscene? You tell Axlgd 'what's the demoscene?' Axlgd tells you 'uh 8)' > tell axlgd hum, not gonna tell? ;) You tell Axlgd 'hum, not gonna tell? ;)' Axlgd tells you 'uh-huh..ask someone else 8)' [NOTE: never bothered to ask around. The mystery continues. (cool, huh?)] > tell ikar hum, Ikar, how did you choose the name "ikar"? You tell Ikar (busy) 'hum, Ikar, how did you choose the name "ikar"?' Ikar tells you 'seemed like a good idea at the time...why?' > tell ikar you just made it up? no inspirations from anyplace? You tell Ikar (busy) 'you just made it up? no inspirations from anyplace?' Ikar tells you 'nod' So. In the end, was I able to find some common thread to name making? Nothing that one couldn't guess, actually. Namechoosing is as varied as the people who play the mud, and that is varied, indeed. I would wager that you could notice trends across time, newer names, newer characters might show some trend when compared to older players. Perhaps styles come and go for namechoosing, perhaps not, that would be interesting to know, but it is a bit out of my scope here. So, where did my name come from? Several people asked when I was conducting my interviews, and I promised that I'd include the story here. OK so, fine ;) > tell yari hey, Y, how did you choose the name "yari"? You tell Yari 'hey, Y, how did you choose the name "yari"?' Yari tells you 'well, actualy, I made it up. well, sorta. You see, I wanted to have a different name. I first would have liked raistlin, but decided that that would be cheesy, because it isnt original.(I enjooyed dragonlance a long time ago, though R was a cool char. anyway.) so I discarded that before I even started. So, then I said Hmm, I wanna be Felix. Felix is a character in 2 different books by John Steakley, Armor and Vampire$. Excellent books, I recommend reading them. Anyway, Felix was taken, and it was quite a while before I had the clout to get a high wiz to give me the name.(Felix is now my secondary.) So, at my login, I had to think up a name, quickly. I made up Yari, it was short and easy to type, and sounded sorta medieval.' > tell yari whoo, hum, yari sounds vaguely finnish, you are american, right? You tell Yari 'whoo, hum, yari sounds vaguely finnish, you are american, right?' Yari tells you ' yeah, I am american. Over the years, I have learned that "jari"(pronounced yari to all U non-finns) is a fairly common finnish name, so I suppose that might have cause confusion. I have also learned that it means spear in japanese(which *may* be where I got it from, you see it's in oriental adventures, which I own. the word yari is listed in a weapons page there, shrug who knows.) I have also been told that it means warrior in russian and that it means friendship or some such in hindi. So, I am a friendly warrior spear, I suppose ;)' And there you have it. If you read this, and have a cool story about your name, I am compiling them still, for a later book. Mudmail me with your story, if you like, and Ill perhaps use it if it is wicked cool ;) Yari' //

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Library: Names, Windows to our Souls.