Law of Alien Names: Difference between revisions

* In ''[[Invader Zim]]'', most Irkens have short names, such as Zim, Tenn, Tak, or El, but there's also a one shot character named Gasploodge and several Irkens with names like Skutch, Larb, Spleen, Spork and Skoodge. [[Word of God]] has it that they didn't try too hard at consistency since an alien planet would have names that vary wildly just like ours. [[Word of God]] also has it that Shloonxtaplonxtis exists as a member of the Resisty solely to parody this trope, though, so they were at least aware of the [[Law of Alien Names]].

* Subverted somewhat in ''[[Galactik Football]]'' where all the aliens have names like Warren and Nealy and the heroes have names like D'Jok, Sinedd and MicroIce.

** Niven's aliens ''always'' have these sorts of names. The only exception are those whose names are so unpronouncable to humans, that they simply choose a nickname to use as their business handle. Like the Pierson's Puppeteers, whose personal ''and'' species handles are taken from human sources. Also there are the low caste Kzin who are named after their jobs (Speaker-To-Animals, etc.)

** For a real life horrifically huge name, consider LaurencevanCottNiven.

* All the [[Our Orcs Are Different|Orsimer]] in ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' have names like "Bug gro-Muzgob". Nobody is surprised. Ditto goes for Wood Elves, High Elves, Argonians and Khajiits. The rest of the races are more down-to-earth: Bretons had old Briton names that were replaced in ''[[Oblivion]]'' by French names, Dunmers have Assyrian-sounding names, Imperial names are [[Canis Latinicus]], Nord names are Viking-like, and Redguard names are pretty much normal Anglo-Saxon.

** Some Redguards have names that sound like [[Ghetto Name|Ghetto Names]] (Redguards are Tamrielic black people). Try imagining a white person named "Trayvond." It's as difficult as imagining a non-green person named "Burz gro-Kash" or a non-Viking named "Ongar."

** As of Skyrim, Redgaurd naming conventions and culture have become a mixture of Arabic and Moorish. They now have names like Nazir, Saadia, and Iman. The latter being Arabic for 'faith'.

* In ''[[Neopets]]'', Grundos, which are alien from Neopia, usually have names like this. But that only applies to (most) plot/game characters; 'user'-owned Neopets (Inlcuding Grundos) may have Names like this, or common names with numbers added.

* Averting this was the original inspiration for Robert Heinlen's ''[[Stranger in A Strange Land]]'', to the point where the original title was "A Martian Named Smith".

* Most of the aliens in ''[[Iji]]'' have names like these. Notably, most of the names ending in -a do not belong to females, as Krotera, Yukabacera, and [[Gender Blender Name|Asha]] are all male. The only other named aliens are Tor, Vateilika, Ansaksie, Iosa, Hel Sarie, and Kiron.

* Averted in ''[[American Dad]]'' with Roger.

* Discussed in ''[[Gentlemen Broncos]]'', in which a sci-fi writer orders a class of young writers to name their characters things like this, insisting a girl rename her character, Teacup, Tylonious.