What's In a Name?

Before I go any further, let me just say a few things: first, any names I mention in this article, I’ve pulled out of the air. If there is a pet that is named such before the article comes out, then my article has nothing whatsoever to do with that pet. Second, I’m judging this article on the general consensus. I’m not saying what’s written is necessarily correct, or that you can’t go against the grain on naming your pet.

I’ve organized the possible ways to name your pet into 3 categories (with the third category having 4 subcategories) for easier comprehension-- they go from worst type to best type so you can see the improvements they make along the way. I’ve also tried to include a wide range of examples for each type.

Enjoy!

1. Say what?

s37P00d____ / oO_Mommys_Baby_0o / john386748496847681.5 (and a half)

We’ve all been guilty of creating a “Say What?” pet before. These are pets that are all over the place. They use numbers, underscores, probably upper and lower case letters, and occasionally more than one word---- all in the same name. These kinds of names usually are made by younger users or by users who may be new to the site, and are typically the kind of pet that rattles around in the pound. There are not many advantages to a “Say What” named pet; there are some things to think about that could be disadvantageous. First, if for some reason you lose the pet in the pound, are you going to be able to remember all the underscores or exact numbers that you put in the name? Second, are the numbers and underscores really as attractive as your dream pet could be (once named and painted)? And lastly, what do the numbers and underscores add to the personality of the pet-- example: Champion2007 for your Battledome pet? Or are you just putting them in so you can have the name you want? In addition, these pets tend to be harder to find a good home for even if they are painted great colours.

2. Say again?

RoseBud / DeppFanatical / JoMomma / Bacon_Tofu / JustAh_Bit

“Say again?” names typically don’t have numbers, but the occasional one will have an underscore. They consist of two or more words put together. Sometimes they’ll be separated by an underscore, other times not. The words used are almost always real world words. These names add more personality to a pet’s identity, and are usually used for a themed pet (DeppFanatical the pirate Gnorbu for example, or RoseBud the pink Jubjub and Petal its pink Noilkeet). While on the right track, these names still have some disadvantages about them. While “Say Again?” pets are great for a themed pet, what are you going to do if through no fault of your own (Boochi, “blue” or “red” event) your pet’s theme gets thrown off? Or you wish to start a new life for your pet? It would be very hard for GrrArgh the Mutant Bruce to become GrrArgh the cutesy Baby Bruce... don’t you think? I’d imagine it would also be hard to come up with some original themed names, without having to resort to using numbers and underscores, thus turning your pet into a “Say What?” pet. I once adopted a Gelert named Pinkies_Gelert. For those of you who don't know me, I am not Pinky. The name was a bit of a difficulty (even after he was turned Grey by the labray) for me, and I only managed to find him a new home after he was turned grey. Before that, everyone deemed his name “bad” and not worthy of adoption.

3. Say “aaah”?

Aswhr / Pathos / Decarious / Haync

Now, as you’ll see above, there are a few different styles to this category, but they all have the same thing in common: they are all one word names. “Say aaah” names, are ALWAYS one worded, with no letters or underscores, and most of the time they have their first letter capitalised, though this is starting to give away to an equal balance of both capital, and non-capitalised first letters. I’ve broken down this category further into 4 groups. Lets start with the first: names you can’t say.

These are the names where it looks like the user just picked letters from a hat and put the name together as the letters came out. They can never be pronounced (Awmre), but still look darned cool alongside those pets who have them.

The next subgroup are the real-word names. Pretty self-explanatory. Names which consist of one real world word. These seem to be the latest trend throughout Neopia (the trend transcends into usernames as well), with word types like Desolate or Refined taking the lead. This group coincides very closely to our third group: names that are made of made up words (but still sound pretty cool).

This group is pretty self-explanatory as well. Words that sound real, but aren’t... such as-- Incompate, Decarious, Peforial, Athaibult etc. This group tends to be my personal second favourite way to name a pet.

Our final group in the “Say aaah” category (and my utmost favourite out of the types of names I‘ve listed thus far), is the substituted names. These names are a bit of a combination of both the Real words group and the almost real words group. They are words which started out originally as a real world one worded name, but because it was already taken, you’ve had to substitute letters. Here are some examples: Hanyc instead of Hank, Dilanoh instead of Dilano, or Ahlptrahume instead of Alptraume. This is one of the most flexible categories there is. You can have an awesome name, make it original by changing a couple letters around, keep it themed by looking up what a word means, and matching it to your pet's personality--- all the while it will still look “good” because you won't have to resort to numbers or underscores to make sure you get the name you want.

In conclusion, all you really need to name your pet well is a bit of creativity and originality. Besides, if a pet seems good to you, that’s all that matters. It’s not the rest of the world who has to live with your pet, it’s you.