Game Guides Archive

Well, a lot of talk has been generated recently about the fit and match of individual player names with the greater Star Wars genre. Off an on since beta I have offered my services as a naming guide, one who could help others find names that fit their playing style and make them match the Star Wars Universe as best as is possible.

What right have I to judge Star Wars names? Well, I have a bit of a pedigree that I will relate below, but it should be noted that no one, EVEN GEORGE LUCAS has absolute rights to naming in Star Wars. Lucas himself has been overruled on names in the past, and you can see his personal hand whenever you hit a truly ridiculous sounding name like "Elan Sleazebaggano." You should know that most creatures named in Star Wars get their names from others, including in some cases: the toy companies that make Star Wars merchandise, the camera crew, the effects crew, Lucas' chiildren.

I would thus argue that anyone with a good feel for the movies and enough chutzpah can set themselves up as a naming guru. To that end I offer my services. Submit your name below. I will choose a few here and there and with simple yes and no answers establish whether or not in my own, educated opinion, that name fits well with the Star Wars Universe.

Ok, there will be flamers. Go ahead. I have made it clear my opinion on who has a right to name things in Star Wars (anyone who has a sound knowledge of the movies) and remind you that I only act as a guide. You must make those steps yourselves. Flaming me shall say more about yourself than anything you can reveal about me.

My pedigree includes: A lifetime of Star Wars fandom, including such dubious honors of winning numerous Star Wars trivia contests, a lifetime of studying and categorizing names and naming conventions throughout the world, with an emphasis on archaic naming. A knack for linguistics and especially the study of name drift throughout related cultures (John, Juan, Ivan...). I have written ten articles on Star Wars naming conventions for both the internet and publications (my most recent was compiled in under an hour from my notes). An avid roleplayer in this Universe, impacting my server daily with floods of created content including detective mysteries, being Mayor of a large player city, performing Weddings, and recently a public exorcism. I am devoted to being fair and just in my dealings with all, including my presence in the forums.

In short, I feel I am qualified to have an educated opinion about your name.

I will be working off my consulting worksheet that I use for helping people name their characters. It acts on a yes/no scale, and an overall yes or no being the result of the sum of the parts.

Here is a sample of the worksheet. Who wishes to have my services?

Riis' Star Wars Name quality sheet (subjective as all are)

Your name will be rated on a "Yes" or "No" basis. If there is a specific reason for this that may be helpful to learn, I will detail it's reasons.

I run through a simple yes/no questionnaire when I vet potential names.

Quality

Continuity breaking (copying a Star Wars character)?

Continuity breaking (reference to current or recent pop culture)?

Continuity breaking (cross-genre or inappropriate intra-genre words)?

Phonetic version of same above?

Intended humourous but too obvious?

Intended dangerous or capable but too forced?

Species Appropriate

Continuity breaking (name does not fit established name guidelines)?

Fit of name for species?

Potential for species confusion?

Bonus points!

Euphonious?

Intended to stretch genre?

Original to style?

Pronounceable?

Centered on global culture and not Western?

Player backstory intended fit into genre?

RbT

Alright, I'll go first.

Lacto Oora, human, male. Doctor/Pistoleer. Originally intended to be a chef, but I kept the name anyway.

See what you make of that.

a wookie name's Metal ya I know not star warsy at all but has been my handle for years.

a rodian named Dezox

and one I haven't made yet a human or a zabrak and was thinking of something like othoo seer

Male Bothan Squad Leader/Creature Handler/Pistoleer :

Mao-Mao Roose

AndI Lurve It

*points down at sig*

Sluggy Dev'lya Bothan smuggler/aspiring politician

Soon there'll be my alt and bothan brother Wormy, but I'm getting trouts about that one already.

Itan Kirdett

Human Merchant/Squad Leader, was intended to end up as a politician type but became a soldier during play.

Kirdett is a generated name from the SWG name generator. Originally the name was Itan Hother but Kirdett struck my eye so I changed it...

I'll bite...these threads seem like a lot of fun.

Kelliandra Lightmoon

female Human Master Tailor

Residence: Coronet, Corellia

By the way...

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Riis wrote:

An avid roleplayer in this Universe, impacting my server daily with floods of created content including detective mysteries, being Mayor of a large player city, performing Weddings, and recently a public exorcism.

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here is mine:

Robha Norav

Human Male - Novice Pistoleer

Lacto Oora

Riis' Star Wars Name quality sheet (subjective as all are)

Your name will be rated on a "Yes" or "No" basis. If there is a specific reason for this that may be helpful to learn, I will detail it's reasons.

I run through a simple yes/no questionnaire when I vet potential names.

Quality

Continuity breaking (copying a Star Wars character)? No

Continuity breaking (reference to current or recent pop culture)? No

Continuity breaking (cross-genre or inappropriate intra-genre words)? No

Phonetic version of same above? No

Intended humourous but too obvious? No

Intended dangerous or capable but too forced? No

Species Appropriate

Continuity breaking (name does not fit established name guidelines)? No

Fit of name for species? Yes.

However. A name like Lacto gets you thinking about milk. You gotta be aware that some folks won't be able to see past that.

Potential for species confusion? Yes.

With humans, you walk a fine line between not wanting a name like Fred Rogers, but also sounding unnecessarily alien. While your name is quite nice, My first species I would have pegged you is Rodian.

Bonus points!

Euphonious? Yes!

Very nice. Rolls off the tounge with a little music in there.

Intended to stretch genre? No

Original to style? Yes

Gonna remember this one.

Pronounceable? Yes

Centered on global culture and not Western? Yes

Player backstory intended fit into genre? NA

RbT

Metal

Riis' Star Wars Name quality sheet (subjective as all are)

Your name will be rated on a "Yes" or "No" basis. If there is a specific reason for this that may be helpful to learn, I will detail it's reasons.

I run through a simple yes/no questionnaire when I vet potential names.

Quality

Continuity breaking (copying a Star Wars character)? No

Continuity breaking (reference to current or recent pop culture)? Yes

Ok, you know I'm gonna ding ya...let's learn why. Metal in my mind is referring to Megadeath and not minerals found with sorosilicates. I'll stab that there is the reason for it. Definitely gonna make others think this too.

Continuity breaking (cross-genre or inappropriate intra-genre words)? No

Phonetic version of same above? No

Intended humourous but too obvious? No

Intended dangerous or capable but too forced? Yes

Now, I don'tKNOW if you are trying to sound mighty and/or capable, we candiscuss this, but Metal seems to me to try to indicate you are an unyielding force...trying to sound mighty in otherwords. Maybe in a droid, yes -- in a Wookiee, I'm sorry, but no.

Species Appropriate

Continuity breaking (name does not fit established name guidelines)? Yes

You knew it too. Wookiees don't go around with human words as a name, and if you were to be one with a nickname, Star Wars has established that it should be a tiny bit more descriptive of your "claim to fame."

Fit of name for species? No

Nope. Wookiees have names they can roar. Let us all pause and think of how Chewbacca would try to say his buddy "Metal"'s name

Potential for species confusion? Yes

I would think you were anything but a Wookiee.

Bonus points!

Euphonious? No

Nope, sorry, but Metal sounds like something I listen to while driving, or something I used to study, not something that would be carried with pride by a member of an environmentalist hunter/gatherer culture.

Intended to stretch genre? No

You said as much above. You always use the name.

Original to style? Yes

With some work, a name of this type could be interesting.

Pronounceable? Yes

Centered on global culture and not Western? Yes

Player backstory intended fit into genre? Yes

That was a hint. Make a good backstory and nearly anything will work....but in this case, it had better be a darn good story. Maybe most of your skeleton was replaced with ditanium or something...

RbT

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Riis wrote:

However. A name like Lacto gets you thinking about milk. You gotta be aware that some folks won't be able to see past that.

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Aye! This is where the chef occupation comes in. Lacto was originally intended as a chef. It's far fetched I know, but at least I tried.

I do have a character with a possibly better play on words on Bloodfin. A pacifist, human doctor named, Tender Lightmist.