Naming Conventions in MLP · 4:27pm Dec 11th, 2013
There was a thread posted in the writer's workshop about choosing a name for a horse. It seems that a lot of either fan-named characters or original characters have both names and cutie marks that directly describe exactly the one thing they're good at. The show rarely does this, though. The other thing that really bugs me is when authors try to put last names to characters that don't have them as if Equestrian naming conventions mirror those of US/Canada, UK, Europe or Austrailia, even though they clearly don't.
I'll talk about the first issue first.
When naming a character, I think it's important to remember that the character would have been named before they got their cutie mark. Although names reference talents sometimes, most of the time they really don't, directly, and just have the same sort of feel. The fandom named characters are the ones that more commonly have names that directly reference their actual cutie mark.
The major exception to this seem to be what I'll call "Legacy" characters: Characters whose families all seem to have a related cutie mark of some kind: most notably the Apples. This makes sense. It's family tradition to name a pony something to do with apples, although in reference to point two, they don't all have the word "apple" in their name. Another example seems to be Stinkin' Rich, Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara, who seem to have a legacy of names that imply wealth.
What the show does is make oblique references between names and cutie marks, and the cutie marks are only oblique references to the actual special talents.
Other ponies have names that have nothing to do with their special talent (like Sapphire Shores or Joe), others are more direct. Theoretically, the pony was named before they ever got their special talent, so the name should at least be a plausible name. Apple family is a legacy, and we can maybe assume that ponies like Photo Finish come from a family of photographers (or race horses). As a little kid, Fluttershy was probably always quiet, and Rainbow Dash was probably always energetic.
Let's look at a few more specific examples:
Cheerilee: is her name, and her cutie mark consists of three sunflowers with happy faces. Her special talent is being a teacher. So, the cutie mark is cheery, sure, but her name isn't flower butt and her talent isn't growing flowers. It references her sunny disposition, so it's oblique, not direct. The name, cutie mark and talent only reference her personality without flatly asserting it.
Rarity: is her name, and her cutie mark consists of three diamonds. Her special talent is fashion design/sewing, esp. with garments incorporating gemstones. Her cutie mark is something "rare" (although not really in Equestria), but the actual gemstones are not really the main thrust of her talent. But she's refined, sophisticated and likes the nicer things. Her name and mark reference her personality more than her talent, and both references are oblique, not direct.
I think these are both good examples of names. The characters that have less depth to them also seem to have less time spent in giving them a more oblique name:
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon: Their names are exactly their cutie marks, although we don't know what their talents actually are, although probably something to do with wealth or business, so it's probably a little oblique anyway in that regard. It's more of a reference to what their personality is (stuck up rich kids) so the writers can say a lot without spending a lot of time saying it.
If it's a background character and you want to pack a lot of information in as a reference, then I think it's fine to be a little more obvious. If it's a character that you want the story to be about, then you should probably think about choosing something more oblique.
The second issue is really annoying because it's not supported in the show. Whenever I see "Rarity Belle" it makes me throw up a little in my mouth. The biggest "legacy" characters don't all have "apple" in their name: The first three we're introduced to and the three that appear most regularly are Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith. If we add in Applebloom that's still only half with the actual word "Apple" in their actual name. Official merchandise names Rarity's dad "Magnum" and her name is "Rarity," not "Rarity Belle."
The ponies of Equestria clearly aren't named like most of us here are, and when I see EU/American names applied especially to characters that already HAVE names, it makes me think the writer doesn't actually watch the show.
We've gone in depth with this discussion in our little group skype but yeah that's why Tempus Fidgets' name is not really Tempus Fidgets because he ~chose~ that name later and his actual name has nothing to do with his cutiemark whatsoever
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The Rarity Belle thing honestly is much more annoying, seeing as how some characters do have names that are actually pretty close to their talent.