Category:Naming Conventions: Difference between revisions

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{{IndexTrope}}
{{IndexTrope}}
There are obvious basic trends in character names. You will never encounter a tough-guy character in a drama with the name "Maurice" or "Adelbert." <ref>Except maybe [[Final Fantasy IX|Adelbert Steiner]].</ref> You will never see a computer geek named "Rocco" or "Lefty". "Ethel" is always dowdy, while "Jennifer" is always a bombshell.
There are obvious basic trends in character names. You will never encounter a tough-guy character in a drama with the name "Maurice" or "Adelbert." <ref>Except maybe [[Final Fantasy IX|Adelbert Steiner]].</ref> You will never see a computer geek named "Rocco" or "Lefty". "Ethel" is always dowdy,<ref>Excepting [[Ethel Merman]].</ref> while "Jennifer" is always a bombshell.


Society has stereotypes that go with most names, and television writers play to those stereotypes. Comedy -- especially broad or satirical comedy -- can play against type with names, and sometimes talented writing can spawn a new stereotype to go with an old name. The rest of the time, though, writers go with what is known or expected, or else they risk having the characters dismissed by the viewers for reasons that they only vaguely understand themselves.
Society has stereotypes that go with most names, and television writers play to those stereotypes. Comedy -- especially broad or satirical comedy -- can play against type with names, and sometimes talented writing can spawn a new stereotype to go with an old name. The rest of the time, though, writers go with what is known or expected, or else they risk having the characters dismissed by the viewers for reasons that they only vaguely understand themselves.
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Foreign and outright alien characters have more leeway, but even with them, certain practices have become standardized.
Foreign and outright alien characters have more leeway, but even with them, certain practices have become standardized.


A primary example of gleeful inversion would be Terry Pratchett's ''[[Discworld]]'' -- you would ''expect'' Death's white horse to have a formidable, dark-sounding name. Instead, [[Fluffy the Terrible|it's called Binky]].
A notable example of gleeful inversion would be Terry Pratchett's ''[[Discworld]]'' -- you would ''expect'' Death's white horse to have a formidable, dark-sounding name. Instead, [[Fluffy the Terrible|it's called Binky]].


See also [[Language Tropes]]. Compare [[Title Tropes]].
See also [[Language Tropes]]. Compare [[Title Tropes]].
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* [[New Neo City]]
* [[New Neo City]]
* [[Numbered Homeworld]]
* [[Numbered Homeworld]]
* [[One Federation Limit]]
* [[One-Federation Limit]]
* [[Please Select New City Name]]
* [[Please Select New City Name]]
* [[Premiseville]]
* [[Premiseville]]
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* [[Sci Fi Name Buzzwords]]
* [[Sci Fi Name Buzzwords]]
** [[Photoprotoneutron Torpedo]]
** [[Photoprotoneutron Torpedo]]
* [[Virus and Cure Names]]
* [[We Will Use Wiki Words in the Future]]
* [[We Will Use Wiki Words in the Future]]
* [[Weapon of Peace]]
* [[Weapon of Peace]]

Latest revision as of 20:00, 29 September 2022


There are obvious basic trends in character names. You will never encounter a tough-guy character in a drama with the name "Maurice" or "Adelbert." [1] You will never see a computer geek named "Rocco" or "Lefty". "Ethel" is always dowdy,[2] while "Jennifer" is always a bombshell.

Society has stereotypes that go with most names, and television writers play to those stereotypes. Comedy -- especially broad or satirical comedy -- can play against type with names, and sometimes talented writing can spawn a new stereotype to go with an old name. The rest of the time, though, writers go with what is known or expected, or else they risk having the characters dismissed by the viewers for reasons that they only vaguely understand themselves.

Foreign and outright alien characters have more leeway, but even with them, certain practices have become standardized.

A notable example of gleeful inversion would be Terry Pratchett's Discworld -- you would expect Death's white horse to have a formidable, dark-sounding name. Instead, it's called Binky.

See also Language Tropes. Compare Title Tropes.

  1. ↑ Except maybe Adelbert Steiner.
  2. ↑ Excepting Ethel Merman.

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