Sesquipedalian Smith/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: An important character is given a longer first name and a one syllable last name to call importance to the first name.

  • Straight: Donovan Smith.
  • Exaggerated: Philip-Samuel-James-Donovan-McAudie...Edgar-Ludvig Smith
  • Justified: It's a part of the character's culture to give a child's first name parts of the mother's first name, resulting in long names going from mother to daughter and so on and so forth, often shortened to three syllables for ease of use.
  • Inverted: James McAubershire
  • Subverted: My name's Edgarshire Jones, but you can just call me Ed.
    • Or: The long name turns out to be a nickname. The character's real first name is Bob.
  • Double Subverted: ...Unless I'm in public. Then, it's Edgarshire-Donovan-Lucy...
    • Or: The long name turns out to be a nickname. The character's real name is even longer.
  • Parodied: An automatic name rater refuses to give anybody an 'awesome' except for Donovan Caine
  • Deconstructed: Donovan Caine'last name is automatically used in common conversation, though Smith wants them to use Donovan
  • Reconstructed: Donovan realizes that various aspects of the name serve different purposes: the last name is good for short conversations or business, the first one is good for talk between friends, and the full name is fun to yell to the heavens.
  • Zig Zagged: Aesop Amnesia occurs, and Donovan switches between Donovan Cain, Don Caine, Don, D Cain, Donovan Woodsworth (his mother's last name) Caine, etc.
  • Averted: Ed Smith.
  • Enforced: Okay, the character's name is Donovan Caine. Your hamminess makes it more fun to yell to the heavens than Ed Smith.
  • Lampshaded: "Donovan, Elliot, Rashida. Do you recognize a pattern in the first names of the Caine family?
  • Invoked: "My parents names me Donovan Caine. They realized that that kind of first name would distract them from the last name, and the horrible history that follows it"
  • Defied: "I don't like my name! Donovan?! Forget it, I'm going with Phil."
  • Discussed: "His name's Edward Caine, but he goes by Donovan. He thinks it's dramatic for some reason"
  • Conversed: "I mean, why do humans 3-syllable names so much. I mean, there has to be some reason why Donovan's such a popular name, right?"

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