What's in a Name? by ohjoy49 |  |
After reading chickenpurse's
article a couple weeks ago, I've decided to go a little bit further
into the subject of naming your pet.
OK, why should you spend so much thought, effort, and time into the simple
process of finding your pet a name? Well, it's like naming a child. It shows
that you cared enough to give your pet a good name. Don't you want your pet
to have a name that you can both be proud of? If you really, truly, don't care
at all, don't bother reading this and go here.
Now, I have been on NeoPets for more than six months now, and when I just
started, I could not think of anything to name my pets. I'll take this, my original
account, as an example. Most of my pets on this account are poorly named, as
I was not very creative, but I love them all the same. I have a Jubjub with
the name of ChubbyJubby63. ChubbyJubby is an extremely common name for Jubjubs
that is rather embarrassing for the NeoPet, don't you think? Now, he's been
going through the lab ray, which was a BIG mistake! I accidentally put him through
once, and he turned female, so I have been trying to get him male again ever
since. I am a bit more creative with my names now, I am happy to say.
Well, first of all, keep in mind that once you create a pet, you cannot undo
the process. It is such a shame that people put NeoPets in the pound just because
they just realised that the pet's name is misspelled or something. Even though
they may not have the best name in Neopia, that doesn't make them any less important.
Try giving them a nickname, and put it on their description. If you want, look
through the adoption centre for a NeoPet. I have found many NeoPets that many
people would have loved to adopt, but the majority of them are poorly named.
Now, don't get me wrong, I have adopted my share of NeoPets, but I think that
when you create your own pet, you can give it a name, you decide it's personality.
It's more personal, and when it is born, you already share a special bond. That
said, on to the naming process!
When thinking of a name, brainstorm for some possibilities. Some things that
can be useful are the dictionary, thesaurus, or sites/books (especially ones
specialising in baby names). You can search for a name with a specific meaning
that fits your pet. Most baby naming sites let you search by meaning, name,
origin, and gender. You can combine some names or make up one that you think
sounds cool. Keep experimenting with sounds or words that sound nice (like chrysalis
or aurora) and maybe look through some more names for ideas, or just tweak a
name a little, so it's more unique. You can also think of a nickname, like Krissy
or something, and work your way from there. Try your favourite movie star, or
a character from your favourite book or myth. You can look up some sites about
the subject and they might have an index of names, or you might find a good
name somewhere on the site. If you look for a pixie site or something, there
might be a story about a pixie named ______, which is a name that you really
like. I have found wonderful names in different languages also, so keep your
mind open. Maybe you would like a name that are words put together, like my
Gelert, SweetMelodyz. Try looking up different words that mean the same thing
and experiment with different combinations until you find a few that you like.
Remember that unless you are planning on keeping it the same or painting it
a certain colour, don't try a name like rose_red. You might be tired of the
colour and want to paint it, but then the name, rose_red would not suit it if
it is green or blue. So try not to name it something specifically meant for
it's colour or species (or something it will grow out of, like LiLbaByPooKy),
unless you are absolutely sure that you are not going to change it at all. Once
you have a name you like, go to the next step...
Now that you have a basic idea of what you want to name your pet, you can
either check if it's available, or tweak it some more. You will usually end
up changing it a little, but if you've found that it's free, claim it! Make
sure that you are completely satisfied with it first, and remember that once
you create it, you can't undo it. Here is a couple of some things you can change,
using one name as an example: EX: StarrySkies (maybe if you are planning to
paint it starry?)
1. Look for alternative spellings: Starry, Starri, Starrie, Stari,
Skies, Skyes, Skys, Skiez, Skyez, Skyz You can replace letters like I and Y,
S and Z, U and OO, YOU, OU, YU, and there are many more possibilities, just
be creative. You can also put in or take out silent letters, like the GH in
Night, and put an E at the end, so it is Nite.
2. Pick the name spelling you like best and if you want, you can decorate
it. Use underscores to break apart two different words, using capitals, or using
Xs or Os to make them look more unique: Xx_Starri_Skyes_xX Remember, this is
optional, and if you decide to do this, don't go overboard.
Once you are one-hundred percent satisfied, create your pet! If the name is
already taken, tweak it some more until you find a version that is available,
remember that if you really liked a name but didn't (or couldn't) use it, you
can always use the name for it's PetPet! :P |
