Just as a reminder, I'm treating everything as if it's a real-life culture and that it's not just random whim by the writers. Even though I know it's really random whim as many of the names are lifted from previous generations based on an 'approved' list the writers received from Hasbro's legal team, and the previous generation names were very much driven by whim.

Okay, so I believe there is a strong tradition for families to use naming themes. But when two ponies marry, unless they accidentally have names that fit the theme, one or both of them will want to change names. For example, either Carrot Cake or Cup Cake likely changed their name to the Cake theme, unless... no, let's not go there. That's just being needlessly horrible.

Now here’s the interesting thing. When Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza were married, neither changed their names in any way. So while this changing of names, while traditional, is not a cultural requirement even for such a high-profile marriage as that.

Add in all the ponies mentioned in show that have suspiciously accurate names relative to their skills and cutie-mark, and you get the impression that either their names have directed their development to the point that it almost dictates their cutie-mark, or the ponies are treating names like some older cultures in real life did.

In some cultures, for example the Celtic tribes and related peoples, the name of a person can change throughout their life. Not just the family name/special identifier, but all of their name. Mainly because the name people know them by is not their ‘real’ name, but a nickname that can be changed at any time. The person’s real name is known only to themselves and a very select few, to protect them. For knowing someone’s true name gives you mystical power over them. Because the name they are known by is a nickname, they're not like modern names where the parents just liked the way the name sounds or have some vague meaning lifted from a baby name book. No, instead these name have very direct meanings. In many cases they're really words in the current language of the people. So pony names of 'Twilight Sparkle' and the like wouldn't be unusual in such cultures.

J.R.R. Tolkien, being primarily a linguist and a folklorist knew all about this, which is one of the reasons I found the Silmarillion one of the hardest books to read. Character names changed throughout the book, with little to no notice, which confused me considerably when I tried to read it when I was a kid. Now, some of that was likely due to the narrative being assembled after Tolkien had passed away by his son, but still it occurred.

So it seems that ponies are using a similar system to the Celtic one. Whenever a pony undergoes a life-changing event or hits a significant milestone, such as gaining their cutie-mark, getting married, having children, and so on, they may decide to change their names to reflect their new situation. They don’t have to, but they can if they wish, and many seem to have wished.

This kind of naming freedom in a culture that also fosters a strong clan system is indicative of evolving from a relatively low-population and highly mobile culture. Likely one that was originally nomadic and has retained a some of the trappings of that lifestyle. Which makes the Hearth's Warming Eve story interesting as it might in fact be an interpretation of a nomadic period long enough ago to now be shrouded in myth and legend. For that matter, it wouldn't surprise me to find that many ponies in Equestria, especially Earth Ponies, follow a similar tradition to the Travellers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Traveller); a force of itinerant workers moving from place to place as the seasons demand and being a remnant of the original pony culture.

Granny Smith likely changed her name when Big Mac was born, to retain the Apple theme while reflecting her new status as a Grandmother which she is very, very proud of. Unless of course there were other grandchildren before Big Mac. Not to say that Applejack has more siblings that aren't around, but with Babs Seed being an Apple cousin, that means one of her parents is very possibly a child of Granny.

At least one of the Cakes will have changed their name as well. It could fit both of them, but I personally like the idea of Carrot Cake being originally named Romeo (It’s a specific type of carrot that looks more like a radish. I just think it’s amusing for the tall, thin Carrot Cake being named after a small, round carrot. The other meanings to the name Romeo is just a bonus.), and being Golden Harvet/Carrot Top’s older brother or something.

One thing this idea addresses is the various characters that seem to have multiple names. The aforementioned Golden Harvest/Carrot Top could very well have been born with one name, and taken on the other later after a significant event. Also Ditzy Doo/Derpy Hooves, Moondancer/Twinkleshine, Daisy/Flower Wishes, so on and so forth.

It is unlikely that ponies follow this system to the same extreme as the Celtic peoples, with a secret 'true' name. Mainly because that belief is tied very strongly into the Celtic mythological magic systems which at a cursory glance is quite different from the magic system apparently being used by the ponies.

What might throw you off though is the occasional pony name that isn't just an assembly of regular words at first glance. Trixie and Donut Joe are the two that come to mind. Gilda and Gustave, being griffons, are from another culture so we can disregard them for purposes of this discussion.

Donut Joe is easily explained as a translation glitch between Equestia and us. Joe being an old military slang term for coffee, and given his career running a donut store the local equivalent of coffee is going to be involved there. Given it was military slang at that, it wouldn't surprise me to find out the Joe is a former Guard (police), who has retired to running a donut shop. Just a bit of amusement there.

Trixie's a bit easier. It's a misspelling. The actual word is 'Tricksy' which for those who don't know is an actual English word dating back from before Shakespeare, meaning overly elaborate and prankish. A perfect word for a stage magician.

Mi Amore Cadanza and Fluer de Lis are interesting as while they are just normal words as well, they are not in English. Which, which when added to the Cutie Pox's 'She's speaking in Fancy!' gives the impression of Italian and French equivalents *somewhere* in the world. And yet not on the official Equestria map. But I dealt with the inconsistencies there in a previous blog entry. Just add this to that.