Pony family names.

[Sheogorath 1,155]

So I have been thinking this over some. Ponies and their naming policy. By far they seem arbitrary in the generation but since logic can be inserted into them I have done just that.

First inspection to pony names seems rather shallow and whimsical, but then after dissecting the names and some open speculation I've gathered a few pony name rules.

 

Let's start fro the first ball of yarn:

Apple family.

What we have here,is a family that has been introduced to us in a relatively thorough manner and from our given knowledge Apple is the family name and any conjuncture to Apple is the actual name of the individual. This however presents us few problems, sure names like Bloom and Pie and Caramel are easy to understand as female names, but with names like Jack, from Applejack is not too feminine and AJ therefore was named with a masculine name or her name is actually shortened from something like Jacqueline or other Jackish name. And the fact that Caramel Apple as well as Apple Fritter are both names that are not combined up to a single name like Applejack means that Applejack likely is not Applejacks proper name but a nickname. Also the placement of pony last name seems generally random in the case of apple family and names are then paired in a manner that sounds good vocally rather than by order of first name -> last name or the reverse. Also then there are cases like Big Macintosh and Granny Smith who both are of course breeds of apple but are not named with a family name indicating several possibilities.

 

In case of Big Mac we have obviously a case of name where family name is omitted for convenience, his real name likely is Apple Macintosh and he just got named "Big" due his most outstanding feature of size.

 

Then the case of Granny Smith. Another case of masculine name or last name that differs from family name. With her we have the generation excuse at play. It could be that Granny smith marries to family of Smiths and her daughter then married to family of Apple, Making Granny AJ's maternal grandparent. And her maiden-name was likely something else. Her cutiemark suggests that she might be even related to Pie family.

 

Then let's move on to the Family of Pie since we have a little bridge here to cross.

 

Pie family

Pie family, Granny Pie as well as Pinkamina Diane Pie share a last name, and Mrs Cake likely was named Pie before marrying Mr. Cake, making her Pinkies possible aunt. Bellamina Marie Pie, Pinkies dark grayish lavender sister also can be assumed to share Pinkies style of name. Her parents names we do not know but what we do know is that Pinkie Pie does share a similar strict naming we can assign to Twilight Sparkle.

Sparkle Family

Sparkles are unicorns, and likely then follow a more strict name policy in general. Sparkle family seems small and it can be that Unicorns due extremely long lifespan are allowed to have a limited number of offspring to prevent population growth, making generally unicorn family names a little less commonplace. Rarity's last name we don't know but I assume it to be same as Sweetie Belle's: Belle

But since this is all speculation I will leave it at that. But Rarity Belle has a nice ring to it.

Dash

Rainbow Dash's family name likely is Dash, Until there's more Dash Background I dare not venture there either.

And then the more complex cases like Fluttershy and Scootaloo pose questions whether these are combination names like Applejack or their last names just are not revealed.

[Lady Rarity Pony 4,892]

The families in Equestria do not appear to go by their last names as the means of identifying themselves with their family. They may not even all have last names.

From what I see their names either relate to the family name or represent their own personality.

 

Applejack is an accurate name considering she does have a tomboy personality...and applejacks have their clear relations with Apples

 

Nice analysis though I think in the case of names no amount of analysis will come to the logical conclusion you seem to be searching for.

[Fghik 360]

I love how the pony community over-analyzes everything. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Like I just ate a bucket of fried Scootaloo, and am getting hugged by Rarity.

[KPM 288]

I love how the pony community over-analyzes everything. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Like I just ate a bucket of fried Scootaloo, and am getting hugged by Rarity.

 

Would you like cupcakes with that?

 

This brings us to other ponies' families. Rarity has a family. Maybe her full anme is Sweetie Rarity or Rarity Belle?

And has there been any traces of Fluttershy's family?

[Lady Rarity Pony 4,892]

Would you like cupcakes with that?

 

This brings us to other ponies' families. Rarity has a family. Maybe her full anme is Sweetie Rarity or Rarity Belle?

And has there been any traces of Fluttershy's family?

 

Probably not...

I don't think they all have last names and "Rarity" and "Sweetie Belle" definitely are their own personal names and not family names.

[Zoop 8,384]

Maybe her full anme is Sweetie Rarity or Rarity Belle?

And has there been any traces of Fluttershy's family?

That's actually postulated in the original post.

Good writeup, as usual, Pencils.

[Krall 263]

From what we know from the show, it doesn't appear that ponies use surnames at all. Most ponies are only ever referred to using one or two names (with Pinkamena Diane Pie - having three name - being the only exception I can think of) that appear to be personal, rather than shared surnames.

 

There are only two instances of shared names that I know of in the series: The first is Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and the second is Applejack's Aunt and Uncle Orange. In the case of the Cakes their full names are Carrot Cake and Cup Cake respectively, which suggests to me that these were their names before they were married and people call them "Mr. and Mrs. Cake" because they happen to share part of their name. The full names of Aunt and Uncle Orange are not known, but it's probable that they both happen to have names which have the word "Orange" in it, especially considering they both have orange-related cutie marks.

[Lady Rarity Pony 4,892]

probably the most confusing part of their names is that many of their names are based off their personalities, but they couldn't possibly have been named at birth or the parents wouldn't have known their personality.

[Razege 6]

probably the most confusing part of their names is that many of their names are based off their personalities, but they couldn't possibly have been named at birth or the parents wouldn't have known their personality.

Some families wait a few weeks, sometimes months before they name their child, so that they can watch and observe their personalities and tendencies, and thusly give them a more acurately characterized name.

[MelancholicMemory 2,025]

I think their family name (ex. The Apples) does not function like an English surname and is not used as part of an individual' s name. Rather, it is used to like a family crest, representing the family as a whole, while every member of the family is named individually. I find it easy to believe some families such as the Apples and the Pies use a naming convention based on their surname, especially in the case of the Apples because apples are so important to the family as a whole.

[Fhaolan 4,483]

This is the kind of topic I like.

 

Okay, another thing to consider is that in some cultures, naming conventions are a lot looser. In those societies names can change fairly often, and they don't differentiate between a person's 'name' and a 'nickname' as much as modern Western society does. Also some cultures use 'family' names as 'given' names as well. For example, my father, is actually named Campbell Reid Kemp. To many standards, he has no 'given' name, as all of his names are 'family' names. 'Reid', 'Kemp', and 'Campbell' are all family names in the family tree, and he was named that way as a deliberate call out to the different families. He made me promise to never name any children I have this way, as it was apparently very bad for him at school.

 

Also, the show gives the impression that culturally the gender roles are far more fluid than we're used to in general.

 

With this in mind, let's look at the Cakes again. Carrot Cake and Cup Cake. It's likely Cake is the family name, as it is shared. However, it's possible that when... let's call him Romeo Carrot (look it up ), married Cup Cake, he took *her* family name but didn't want to let go of his own family at the same time, so changed his name to Carrot Cake.

[Feather Gem 967]

The Cakes are not related to Pinkie Pie.  I actually looked it up when I was first becoming a brony.  Apparently, Pinkie Pie hung out so much at Sugarcube Corner, that they offered her a room upstairs.  (or something like that)

Here I found this:  Mr. and Mrs. Cake are the owners of Sugarcube Corner and Pinkie Pie's employers and landlords,

[Scootalove 10,689]

I guess Dash could have a family, maybe her and Scootaloo. Since, we never seen Rainbow Dash's parents in any of the episodes.

But I did see Dashie's house in Cloudsdale.

[pinkiefan1287 610]

probably the most confusing part of their names is that many of their names are based off their personalities, but they couldn't possibly have been named at birth or the parents wouldn't have known their personality.

Some families wait a few weeks, sometimes months before they name their child, so that they can watch and observe their personalities and tendencies, and thusly give them a more acurately characterized name.

 

I think a ponies name and personality are all by chance and some names are just convenient. For one thing Pinkie Pie was named because she is all pink, but her name does not match her skill.

 

The same thing is shown in the episode, Baby Cakes. Mr. and Mrs. Cake had already named their babies. We may not know how much time has passed, but I don't the 6 or anyone would wait to long to see friends you know new born babies. Pound and Pumpkin were already named and their names may not reflect what they do in life.

 

Pound Cake has been shown to be a pretty good flyer. So he could, A. Become a baker like his parents or B. Try and master his flying skills and maybe even become a Wonderbolt.

 

Same can be said for Pumpkin Cake. She could be come a baker or become more skilled in the art of magic.

 

As a side note. I don't think Applejacks name is short for anything. She called herself Applejack as a baby and I'm sure Granny Smith would call her by her full name and not a nick name. Grandmas just do that.

 

Also, the Cakes and Pinkie Pie are not related. Pinkie just went there a bunch of times and they just hired her.

Edited January 28, 2013 by pinkiefan1287

[Twinhead B 482]

Interesting theories OP, but If I had to guess, I'm relatively certain that ponies don't have "proper" last names, and their family name is most likely what they are known for.

 

I can't see someone as brash as Rainbow Dash asking to be called by her full name, and someone as sophisticated as Rarity wanting to be called by her first name only.

Edited January 28, 2013 by Twinhead B

[Scootalove 10,689]

Well these family theories do sound interesting. But with Pinkie being related to the Cakes, not possible. She just works there at the Sugarcube Corner.

[Descant 1,897]

I agree, naming conventions in Equestria have to be looser than they are here by definition. I think that, in the case of the Apple family and the Pie family, that names are chosen as testament to the family as a whole. Every named member of the Apple family has a name that, in some way or another, relates to apples. And in the Pie family, well, every documented member has 'Pie' in their name. Funnily enough, these would happen to be both Earth Pony families that value families in their naming conventions. Similarly, Mr. and Mrs. Cake share a surname. Whether the surname was taken from Carrot or Cup, we might never know, or even if it was taken from either at all.

 

As for Unicorns (I'm throwing alicorns in with this, since Shining Armor and Cadance got married), naming conventions don't seem to follow a trend, although we've not seen much evidence of unicorn families other than the fan-named Twilight's and Rarity's parents, and their canon siblings. I think that it's likely that unicorn parents may recieve some kind of premonition as to the talents of their children, or as to what their cutie mark may be one day, as unicorn siblings don't share common names (Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Sweetie Belle) and unicorn names almost always have to do with their cutie marks. I doubt that, if this premonition very much elaborates on what exactly their skills will be, but tells enough for the parents to name the children accordingly. Also, it appears that, upon marriage, unicorns do not adopt surnames from either partner, judging by the fact that neither Cadance nor Shining Armor adopted a new name upon marriage, and by the fact that there are single-word unicorn names.

 

Pegasi are probably the hardest to pinpoint upon the naming aspect, as there are not many consistent examples for me to choose from. However, I have reason to believe that pegasi choose names for themselves. As each pegasus' name relates to what a pegasus enjoys doing, or their personality, while not necessarily directly correlating to their cutie mark, and generally seem 'cooler' than many ponies' names. In fact, I quote the first Trixie episode, "They don't call me Rainbow, and Dash, for nothing." I may be wrong, though, I admit this. I'm least familiar with pegasi out of all three races.

 

I'd type more, but I need to go to class. Kbai

Edited January 28, 2013 by Descant

[speedyblupi 76]

probably the most confusing part of their names is that many of their names are based off their personalities, but they couldn't possibly have been named at birth or the parents wouldn't have known their personality.

I reckon it's just nominative determination.

 

The parents give their foal a name, then the foal tries to live up to that name.

[Manman20x6 359]

My theory is that each pony has a family name that is separate from their given name, and is rarely used outside of very formal situations. The formula for using someone's full name is "[X] of the [Y] clan".

 

For example, we know that Applejack's family name is Apple, so her full name would be "Applejack of the Apple clan". If the family name is part of the given name, it is repeated, so Pinkie would be called "Pinkie Pie of the Pie clan" rather than just "Pinkie of the Pie clan".

 

This means that Twilight's last name is not necessarily Sparkle, Rainbow's last name is not necessarily Dash, etc.

[sweetolebob18 728]

In the card game there is a Rainbow Blaze & I remember reading that he is Dash's father.  IRL, I remember reading that Jews were forced to take Last Names during the Middle Ages for tax purposes.  Before that, it was just "son of" Joe, son of Jack, etc.

 

In EQ, it seems like brides don't necessarily take the grooms last name (Reading the 1632 stuff, Germans didn't either -it was an English custom at that time).  Cadence didn't change her name but that could be because she was a princess.

 

Also, IRL, people sometimes take new names when converting (new Jews often do, I've been told) or when taking religious vows (Catholics sometimes do when becoming monks).  I'd bet that at least in some pony societies, they sometimes take new names after gaining a Cutie Mark.

 

Finally, I'd make a small bet Pipsqueak, Dinky, Granny & Scootaloo are all nicknames & not their real names 

[Manman20x6 359]

Finally, I'd make a small bet Pipsqueak, Dinky, Granny & Scootaloo are all nicknames & not their real names 

 

I am curious as to why you believe this. Sure, these names aren't all flattering, but there is a pony whose real name is confirmed to be Stinking, so having a stupid name isn't out of the ordinary in Equestria.

[RainbowTashie 378]

So I have been thinking this over some. Ponies and their naming policy. By far they seem arbitrary in the generation but since logic can be inserted into them I have done just that.

First inspection to pony names seems rather shallow and whimsical, but then after dissecting the names and some open speculation I've gathered a few pony name rules.

 

Let's start fro the first ball of yarn:

Apple family.

What we have here,is a family that has been introduced to us in a relatively thorough manner and from our given knowledge Apple is the family name and any conjuncture to Apple is the actual name of the individual. This however presents us few problems, sure names like Bloom and Pie and Caramel are easy to understand as female names, but with names like Jack, from Applejack is not too feminine and AJ therefore was named with a masculine name or her name is actually shortened from something like Jacqueline or other Jackish name. And the fact that Caramel Apple as well as Apple Fritter are both names that are not combined up to a single name like Applejack means that Applejack likely is not Applejacks proper name but a nickname. Also the placement of pony last name seems generally random in the case of apple family and names are then paired in a manner that sounds good vocally rather than by order of first name -> last name or the reverse. Also then there are cases like Big Macintosh and Granny Smith who both are of course breeds of apple but are not named with a family name indicating several possibilities.

 

In case of Big Mac we have obviously a case of name where family name is omitted for convenience, his real name likely is Apple Macintosh and he just got named "Big" due his most outstanding feature of size.

 

Then the case of Granny Smith. Another case of masculine name or last name that differs from family name. With her we have the generation excuse at play. It could be that Granny smith marries to family of Smiths and her daughter then married to family of Apple, Making Granny AJ's maternal grandparent. And her maiden-name was likely something else. Her cutiemark suggests that she might be even related to Pie family.

 

Then let's move on to the Family of Pie since we have a little bridge here to cross.

 

Pie family

Pie family, Granny Pie as well as Pinkamina Diane Pie share a last name, and Mrs Cake likely was named Pie before marrying Mr. Cake, making her Pinkies possible aunt. Bellamina Marie Pie, Pinkies dark grayish lavender sister also can be assumed to share Pinkies style of name. Her parents names we do not know but what we do know is that Pinkie Pie does share a similar strict naming we can assign to Twilight Sparkle.

Sparkle Family

Sparkles are unicorns, and likely then follow a more strict name policy in general. Sparkle family seems small and it can be that Unicorns due extremely long lifespan are allowed to have a limited number of offspring to prevent population growth, making generally unicorn family names a little less commonplace. Rarity's last name we don't know but I assume it to be same as Sweetie Belle's: Belle

But since this is all speculation I will leave it at that. But Rarity Belle has a nice ring to it.

Dash

Rainbow Dash's family name likely is Dash, Until there's more Dash Background I dare not venture there either.

And then the more complex cases like Fluttershy and Scootaloo pose questions whether these are combination names like Applejack or their last names just are not revealed.

 

Rainbows dad is called Rainbow Blaze as noted in the mlp ccg.

[Northwynd33 0]

I have two answers. First, It has been revealed that Fluttershy's last name IS actually Shy, as referred to someone (I forgot who) visiting Fluttershy's parents and saying "Mr. and Mrs. Shy". Therefore, her last name being Shy. Also, It has been revelaed that Pinkie Pie and Applejack are apparently related, and i'm just wondering, Could Granny Smith be the link to that? I wonder. Also, maybe Applejack IS named Jack, as, Applejack being a tomboy, and Jack being a usual boy name. These are just my thoughts.