The Matter of Names

[~ Dr. Ocsid ~ 690]

There is a number of strange names in MLP, some making sense, in a way, others not so much.

Especially after the last two episodes, where the problem of names in Equestria where clearly seen, I think it would be interesting to look closer at them.

 

There seems to be four categories of names:

Noun Based:

These are names that are based on simple nouns, like in Pegasus society "Open Skies" or, in the Goblin society on Discworld, "Tears of the Mushroom". The problem with these is that it can arise some confusion, when for example, Shining Armor tells his soldiers to bring him a sharp sword, and they bring him Sharp Sword, Lance-Constable of the Canterlot City Watch or something.

So how does someone get such a name?

Usually with noun-based names, it is so that the first thing the mother/father sees after the birth is what the child is named after, but it can have other causes, too.

 

Virtue Based:

Altough a virtue is basically a noun, there is a difference: Here the child is usually either named after some virtue it shows, or a virtue the parents hope it would show. In Equestria, an example for this is "Fluttershy", "Rarity", or "Discord".

 

Activity Based:

These we often know as family names, like "Miller" or "Smith".

In Equestria, they are equally often, but they usually mean that the pony with that name really does what the name implies. For example, the "Dash" in Rainbow Dash´s name really does mean she dashes around.

 

Cutie Mark Based:

This is a special case of names, as it doesn´t appear in any fictional or non-fictional society I can think of right now.

In Equestria, there is, beside the name, another very important aspect of identification: The Cutie Mark.

Because of the importance of these in their culture, it isn´t surprising that some have names that refer to their Cutie Mark.

Of course they would often be either noun, virtue, or activity based.

But I doubt that they have these names right from the start, except for those rare cases when the cutie mark appears very early or it coincidentally is like the name (Last being somewhat more probable in families where both the names and the cutie marks traditionally refer to something, like with the Apples).

What I think is usually the case here, is that some ponies change their name when they get their Cutie Mark. This sort of thing, on the other hand, is relatively common:

In some societies, when people grow up, they go through some sort of ceremony, and get their adult name. Or if you become an artist, and change your name for that.

In fact, my headcanon is that, once upon a time, ponies got both their cutie marks and names in a ceremony, and the name would refer to the cutie mark, but then the cutie marks somehow became uncontrollable (I blame Discord - as always) and they would give names for other reasons.

Today, only a few would still do this tradition.

 

"Nonsensical" or Ancient:

Now these names are  those we Earthlings are used to: Names that once had a meaning, but as language and culture changes, the meaning get lost, or is replaced by the name itself.

Examples in our world for this are "Felix"-"Lucky", "Ralph"-"Shield of Wolves", or "Barbara"-"The Bearded One".

In Equestria, those are usually names of very old beings that probably got their names a long time ago, like Celestia, Luna, or Sombra.

A special cas is Pinkie - Pinkamena Diane Pie, who got for the first name one that is basically meaningless, for the second one that is the name of a greek godess, and a noun for her family name.

(The family name isn´t unsual)

So here I have some examples on what the full names ofher sisters could be:

-Maudesra Athena Pie

-Inkareen Iuno Pie

-Bilingkhas Hermia Pie

 

 

There are of course more ways to name somebody, but these are the most usual in Equestria.

 

[colt_following 169]

This is something I've been curious to see addressed lately. Well-done on the classifications.

 

I think "Troubleshoes" may be his surname in this case.

 

Cheerilee's name doesn't tell us about her as it's JUST a name, and her cutie mark doesn't quite explain what she's good at/what is her occupation.

 

I wonder about someone like Snails- maybe his name is just a nickname and he happens to be knowledgable with invertebrates. Of course that's not implied but it gives a bit more credit to his name situation since Snips is (comic semi-canon) good at cutting things with his teeth.

 

Granny Smith likely has the title of 'Granny' tacked onto a surname of 'Smith'. I call my Grandmother "Grandma- (last name)", NOT "Grandma- (first name)" so that's plenty understandable.

 

I'm trying to think of some naming anomalies- those who don't really fit properly into a category, or have some sort of descrpancy by their name. There seem to be a lot, and there are clearly many ways to acquire a name in Equestria.

I guess I'm trying to wrap my head around how names and cutie marks are always perfectly aligned even if ponies received their name from their parents.

[pony.colin 156]

Oh this is a nice classification about pony names.  It's really well thought-out. 

 

I know that the names are purposely written to be nonsensical (to ensure unique copyright, non-confusion or generic enough as well).  The point is that nonsensical names are chosen on purpose for characters on the show.

 

Anyways,

 

agree with noun names.

 

virtue and activity based.  I can't wait for the pony family that gives their children names like 'murderous intent' or 'reckless vandalism' or 'peeping tom'.  Seriously, virtue and activity based can be open to abuse.  

 

Actually the real thing I want to talk about is how surnames and family names are handled.   AJ always refers to her family as the 'Apple Family'.  But does that mean 'Apple' is meant to be taken as a family name?  Would AJ's full name then be Applejack Apple? 

Is Pie really Pinkie's family name?  Or was it meant to be part of her own name? 

 

Ponies changing names later on in life due to getting the cutie mark sounds like a nice idea, since naming seems to have no real sense of standardization or common rules or such.  

 

 

 

Are surnames/family names even properly used in Equestria?  It seems rather vague really to me.

 

 

This is something I've been curious to see addressed lately. Well-done on the classifications.

I think "Troubleshoes" may be his surname in this case.

Cheerilee's name doesn't tell us about her as it's JUST a name, and her cutie mark doesn't quite explain what she's good at/what is her occupation.

I wonder about someone like Snails- maybe his name is just a nickname and he happens to be knowledgable with invertebrates. Of course that's not implied but it gives a bit more credit to his name situation since Snips is (comic semi-canon) good at cutting things with his teeth.

Granny Smith likely has the title of 'Granny' tacked onto a surname of 'Smith'. I call my Grandmother "Grandma- (last name)", NOT "Grandma- (first name)" so that's plenty understandable.

I'm trying to think of some naming anomalies- those who don't really fit properly into a category, or have some sort of descrpancy by their name. There seem to be a lot, and there are clearly many ways to acquire a name in Equestria.
I guess I'm trying to wrap my head around how names and cutie marks are always perfectly aligned even if ponies received their name from their parents.

 

Cheerilee sounds like any normal name to me.  If I didn't know about it already being a pony named and owned by Hasbro, I would've thought it'd be a regular name if someone told me that was their daughter's name. 

 

Granny Smith - unless that's a name she changed to later on in her life, just think of how awkward it would've been to call her Granny Smith when she was a young filly.  

 

Naming rules and conventions seem so arbitrary in Equestria (Guess it's the price you pay when you need to create unique branding copyright IP).