"I Dub Thee"
By
Tiny Dancer
"To name oneself is the first act of both the poet and the revolutionary. When we take away the right to an individual name, we symbolically take away the right to be an individual" ~ Erica Jong.
By
Tiny Dancer
"To name oneself is the first act of both the poet and the revolutionary. When we take away the right to an individual name, we symbolically take away the right to be an individual" ~ Erica Jong.
Ultima Online is a world filled with many different personalities, evident in not only our mannerisms, dress, and attitudes, but the name we give ourselves. I know I have, and I don't think I am the only one (I hope!) that spends quite a bit of time thinking of just the right name for a new character.
Sometimes, we are blessed to know the people we play along side of and other times we just happen to pass by them. Who doesn't notice names? If you are banksitting, 9 times out of 10 you are going to notice the other characters around you. If you are PvPing, you are MOST certainly going to notice the incoming names on your screen.
Names are important why, you might ask? They define us, often times describing what we are passionate about, amused by, or more often than not, tell others a bit about ourselves, not just as gamers, but as indviduals.
"The names that do the serious damage are the ones we call ourselves. The stereotypes we give ourselves are the ones that matter in the long run, not the ones imposed on us by other people" ~Judith Rich Harris
I have played UO for years and never failed to be intrigued by where my friend's, and even my enemie's names came from. From conversations with others, I know I am not the only one who is curious about what inspired them to name their alter-egos.
I interviewed some of the more uniquely named people on the Atlantic shard. Each one of these players comes with a different background, some of them are very well known and others should be recognized for creativitively choosing their names that they will undoubtably go by for their UO careers.
NoKittyMyPotPie, of HOT
What inspired your character's name?
I'm a big fan of Southpark and in the first series of the show was a fight between Cartman and his cat about a pot pie. He kept yelling "No Kitty My Pot Pie".
What do you think your name says about you?
That I love to fight over the little things and I enjoys cats,they are the kings of the animal world.
What is, in your opinion, the best player name you have seen and why did you like it?
Shadam the IV, since I'm a big fan of the writings of Frank Herbert the writer of Dune.
Cear Dallben, of ZOG
What inspired your character's name?
With most of my characters, I take names from my favorite childhood books and mispell them. Caer Dallben is a farm in a series of books called The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. Caer means farmland, its an english term. Dallben was the man who owned the farm.
What do you think your name says about you?
Well either that I'm a large plot of dirt(atleast an 18x18) or that I'm an insane meer alchemist hell bent on ending the world.
What is, in your opinion, the best player name you have seen and why did you like it?
Ceinwyn ab'Arawn. I'm a big fan of that name, its got architecture and it rolls off the toung nice. Also it has made its steak in the RP community. That last name can be found on dozens of players in UO. Litterally.
Texas Pete, of COM
What inspired your character's name?
Because of my PvP playstyle. I play spicy, unpredictable and cocky. What better way to describe that than the Texas Pete hot sauce brand.
What do you think your name says about you?
That I will infact in time, burn your azz up.
What is, in your opinion, the best player name you have seen and why did you like it?
I don't think I've had one specific player name that I liked the most but most of them are eventually renamed by EA staff due to being borderline "offensive". I do like when guilds have the same name and same dress doesn't matter what name they chose but that's always fun to see.
Athelas, of MALL
What inspired your character's name?
Athelas comes from the Tolkien trilogy Lord of the Rings. Athelas is the name of a healing plant and I've just always liked that name. Its deep, I know.
What do you think your name says about you?
Hmmm I've always thought of it as a helpful sort of name. I like to think Athelas is helpful in any way he can be.
What is, in your opinion, the best player name you have seen and why did you like it?
Well I've seen a lot of funny names, some that probably shouldn't be mentioned. Hmm this is a tough one, you said these would be easy!!! It's not really so much about how creative the name is with me, its more about does the name fit. Thinking of names makes me think of Aos clothing for some reason. I guess the sort of names I like best are the little known classics, just find an old piece of literature, open it to the middle and pick out something obscure. Like Coll or Urd or G'Kar, When I see a character named Grocery Store it just doesn't have the same effect.
Fauntleroy Duck, of HH!(SL)
What inspired your character's name?
My name is inspried because Fauntleroy is Donald Ducks middle name. I am obsessed with Disney so I like to throw some hidden things in there!
What do you think your name says about you?
I think it just shows how strange I am!
What is, in your opinion, the best player name you have seen and why did you like it?
The best name I have ever seen is Rollo Tamassi. It is from the movie L.A. Confidential. It is the symbol for the person who got away with murder. I just thought it was creative, haha.
SupSoc, of HOT
What inspired your character's name?
Ahh! My old buddy Supermatt inspired me. I wanted to create a character after him...but it didn't go so well. When I created the character, it was susposed to be "SuperSoc Inc." but I got too excited and forgot the "er". But none the less, it turned out great! SupSoc Inc. (Don't forget the period..)
What do you think your name says about you?
That I am Super...Chuh.
What is, in your opinion, the best player name you have seen and why did you like it?
One of the best names has to be "Stiffy Junior." I have a funny story about this one...One night while we were in vent with a lady (who shall remain nameless), we decided to PvP. She was off by herself away from the group. Out of no where, she says "I have a Stiffy Junior behind me!" The whole vent cracked up laughing! Needless to say, this stiffy was no match for her.
I hope we have given this age old discussion of "whats in a name" its proper due. As you can see, your reputation, how people will view you and even interact with you can all be based on something as simple as your name.
"A good name, like good will, is attained by many actions and may be lost by one" ~ Unknown.
Special thanks to Calat for the inspiration to do such a fun article!
Quotes were taken from: http://www.quotegarden.com/names.html
Quotes were taken from: http://www.quotegarden.com/names.html
