Roleplaying Name Question

[Nara'to]

Howdy all, I come here to ask a question in which I hope I can get an answer to.

 

Can the name you give your character be the basis for whether others will roleplay with you or not?  I only ask because it has come to my attention by a few people while discussing ways to go about getting random roleplay that my particular name is a big reason for why I am not seeing any random RP.

 

I would love to hear the views of others so I can know.  My character is the second son of a woman named Nara.  I went by the naming conventions I came across for Miqo'te Keepers and thought it was pretty good.  Sadly most people seem to view my character as an Anime character ripoff.  I can see the similarity but I honestly didn't name my character that way, I really put my heart into my character.  To hear this has me worried.

 

I really don't want to have to reroll my character and waste over a month of hard work leveling just so I can roleplay with others.  I really need guidance and opinions because this has me greatly worried.

[Kellach Woods]

It's an unfortunate situation because 1 letter off from Naruto and a Miqo'te (aka what everyone who picks a well-known character name defaults as) is a combination many will stay well clear of.

 

Honestly now that I've seen the origin of the name it makes a lot more sense and I'd definitely hit you up if I saw you in game.

[Enla]

For some people it can be; as first impressions are generally vital when it comes to actually deciding whether or not someone might be worth coming out of your shell and engaging. I'd like to think that most people here are of the mind that a willingness to RP and a friendly demeanor are all that is truly needed when it comes to engaging others, but everyone is different and what one person might view as inconsequential could be a deal breaker for another.

 

Personally I don't really see an issue with the name, yes it made me blink briefly, but overall it fits within the naming conventions for the Miqo'te and even if it didn't it wouldn't hamper my willingness to RP with you if I ever ran into you in the game. My own 'on again off again' crippling shyness, yes - names, not so much really.

 

Just keep putting yourself out there and be yourself, eventually things will work themselves out and you'll find the people who won't see it as an issue at all. Seems like the simple answer, but being proactive is the best way to meet new people and get RP. Sign up for events, offer your character's services IC in-game, join several linkshells - if it's available and looks like an opportunity to meet new people while also staying true to your character TAKE IT. Don't be disheartened if it doesn't seem to bear any fruit either, just keep on trying and eventually it will. However if it keeps on bothering you and you can't stand it any longer, there is a name change option over at the Mog Station. However I really don't think that would ever be necessary and I hope you don't feel it comes to that.

[Nara'to]

For some people it can be; as first impressions are generally vital when it comes to actually deciding whether or not someone might be worth coming out of your shell and engaging. I'd like to think that most people here are of the mind that a willingness to RP and a friendly demeanor are all that is truly needed when it comes to engaging others, but everyone is different and what one person might view as inconsequential could be a deal breaker for another.

 

Personally I don't really see an issue with the name, yes it made be blink briefly, but overall it fits within the naming conventions for the Miqo'te and even if it didn't it wouldn't hamper my willingness to RP with you if I ever ran into you in the game. My own 'on again off again' crippling shyness, yes - names, not so much really.

 

Just keep putting yourself out there and be yourself, eventually things will work themselves out and you'll find the people who won't see it as an issue at all. Seems like the simple answer, but being proactive is the best way to meet new people and get RP. Sign up for events, offer your character's services IC in-game, join several linkshells - if it's available and looks like an opportunity to meet new people while also staying true to your character TAKE IT. Don't be disheartened if it doesn't seem to bear any fruit either, just keep on trying and eventually it will. However if it keeps on bothering you and you can't stand it any longer, there is a name change option over at the Mog Station. However I really don't think that would ever be necessary and I hope you don't feel it comes to that. 

Thank you for the reply.  You've given me a better understanding now and I do hope people can look past my characters name.  I honestly didn't know I named my character after something else, I stuck with naming conventions was all.

 

I do like the name and I've put alot of heart into Nara.  I really didn't want to have to reroll and after what you said I will keep doing what I am, carefully observing others while learning and eventually put myself out there more.

 

Thank you, I greatly appreciate it.

[Duskwright]

One thing important about Roleplay is that you should Always RP something you enjoy. If you like your character name, then by all means keep it. Just because others think it's an anime ripoff doesn't mean it does. (my excuse for things like this, is like. "Show me an anime where there was a mother named Nara and had two children. Cant? then it's not a ripoff.")

 

Personally, I don't include relations to Amh'ra's Parents, nor did his parents have any other Children, minus the whole " 'ra " part of his name. It was one of those moments where it was like "That name sounds good and fits the character appearance."

 

I've seen your name around a lot on here and I would've never associated it with any anime of any kind. Just now that you made this post made me realize that it looks like "Naruto" just a tad. Just remember, it's your character. Always enjoy and love the character you RP as, Screw what others think about him! Names are just a very small amount of the character, There is so much more about a Character than their name.

[Enla]

For some people it can be; as first impressions are generally vital when it comes to actually deciding whether or not someone might be worth coming out of your shell and engaging. I'd like to think that most people here are of the mind that a willingness to RP and a friendly demeanor are all that is truly needed when it comes to engaging others, but everyone is different and what one person might view as inconsequential could be a deal breaker for another.

 

Personally I don't really see an issue with the name, yes it made be blink briefly, but overall it fits within the naming conventions for the Miqo'te and even if it didn't it wouldn't hamper my willingness to RP with you if I ever ran into you in the game. My own 'on again off again' crippling shyness, yes - names, not so much really.

 

Just keep putting yourself out there and be yourself, eventually things will work themselves out and you'll find the people who won't see it as an issue at all. Seems like the simple answer, but being proactive is the best way to meet new people and get RP. Sign up for events, offer your character's services IC in-game, join several linkshells - if it's available and looks like an opportunity to meet new people while also staying true to your character TAKE IT. Don't be disheartened if it doesn't seem to bear any fruit either, just keep on trying and eventually it will. However if it keeps on bothering you and you can't stand it any longer, there is a name change option over at the Mog Station. However I really don't think that would ever be necessary and I hope you don't feel it comes to that. 

Thank you for the reply.  You've given me a better understanding now and I do hope people can look past my characters name.  I honestly didn't know I named my character after something else, I stuck with naming conventions was all.

 

I do like the name and I've put alot of heart into Nara.  I really didn't want to have to reroll and after what you said I will keep doing what I am, carefully observing others while learning and eventually put myself out there more.

 

Thank you, I greatly appreciate it.

 

If you ever see me in game on any of the characters in my signature, hit me up. Would love to RP. ^^

[Domri Blackblade]

If you ever see me in game on any of the characters in my signature, hit me up. Would love to RP. ^^

 

^I hear only good things about this chica so take her up on that offer.

 

-

To answer your question, I saw nothing wrong with your name. I also don't watch anime so maybe that's why I didn't make the connection to 'Naruto'. And even as it is pointed out it still doesn't really stick out to me or bother me for that matter.

 

If all else fails, maybe make a thread in making connections? I really don't think your name is a problem at all.

[Chris Ganale]

I would never have associated a name like that with the anime unless it was pointed it out to me. This may or may not be because I have two characters myself that explicitly share the exact same names as ones from another series, and a third that comes damn close.

 

If people are avoiding you on the basis of your name being similar, then fuck 'em, they're not important.

[Kalooeh]

Probably because most people making characters based on popular anime characters or at least have the names or names similar to them tend to be not very serious and often enough trolls that like to screw with rp'ers.

There's been times I've rp'd with people with anime names before just because why not they may do it well, and then the person ends up saying they're actually such and such character from another universe  or end up being lol random and trolling people so I end up putting them on ignore and pretending they're not there, or reporting them if they continue to harass me and/or others around me trying to rp and be serious about it. So now as a result I'm largely very iffy and now on the defense for wondering if someone is trolling or wants to lol-rp. Lol-rp is fine, but it's better for a group of friends rather than public/random rp and can be annoying for people who don't want to deal with that.

And there's a difference between being silly with your rp or having a silly character and lol-rp.

 

Sometimes it can be fine though, and I mean look at my sig. One of my characters is "Twin Rova". Usually I get a positive reaction from it and the other zelda-based characters I've met seem to get a lot of positive reactions too.... but to be fair it could be because of where the character name/base is from. Quite a few people love zelda... and while a lot of people love Naruto too, a lot of people hate it and honestly the character from the anime can be super obnoxious. It's also a character people will often emulate and be super obnoxious with. Hell even outside mmos people will copy the most obnoxious parts of a character and act like them because they're being lol so random, don't care what people think of me. And sometimes it's just people shooting for a Chaotic alignment and ending up deep in the Chaotic stupid zone.

 

So it's expected that people see a name similar to something from an anime, especially a fairly obnoxious character to begin with, and be wary about the player and their motives or want to just avoid them entirely (because let's face it, that interaction can be draining to say the least), even if that's not the player's actual intention and the character isn't actually anything like the anime character.

[Khorijin Orben]

I will admit, I had to do a double take when looking at your name. I've known and seen RPers that use anime names, and whether you meant to or not, it might make people steer clear. I don't have room to talk. My first RP character's name was Bramblestar from the Warrior's Cats series whose RP fan crowd was not the greatest. Your name is fine. You picked it. It's yours. Work it!

 

I have seen you post a couple of threads of the making connections topic, and I'm usually nervous to reach out to people. If you can deal with a somewhat rude, arrogent, proud-but-intelligent doctor, then Nick might be the buddy for you! I'm currently running a clinic in Coerthas because of the MSQ story events for 2.55 and if you'd like to stop by for a physical or for a drink in the tavern below his office, I'd love to RP with you. Just message me on here or in the game.

[Darien Cadell]

From someone who roleplayed with someone named Fhqwhgads, don't sweat it.

 

I'd never have assumed your character was named after Naruto unless he did some weird sexy jutsu stuff. People who automatically assume he is are probably the kind of ludicrously overly critical that you might not want to befriend anyway. His name's perfectly in line with the conventions, including one of the family names the generator gives out. My character's not from the Southern Water Tribe.

[Michikyou]

I never noticed your name looked like naruto until you pointed it out. 

._.

[Nebbs]

Can the name you give your character be the basis for whether others will roleplay with you or not?

 

Yes

 

If it is stupid I will ignore you

 

If it is a well known character I will think you are new to RP or of limited imagination, I will RP with you but expect things to be at the beginner maybe also god emoting end of the spectrum.

[Ilwe'ran]

You just have to look at the naming convention for the male Moonkeeper and to look at some japanese name to know that you will always have a name sounding like some japanese/anime ones as soon as you follow those conventions :

 

Miqo'te moonkeeper male naming convention :

First son: 'a

Second son: 'to

Third son: 'li

Fourth son: 'sae

Fifth son: 'ra

Sixth son: 'ir

Seventh son: 'wo

Eighth son: 'ya

Ninth son: 'zi

Tenth son: 'tan

 

Most popular boys' names in Japan for 2012[/b]]

Haruto

Yuto

Sota

Yuki

Hayato

Haruki

Ryusei

Koki

Sora

Sosuke

Riku

Soma

Ryota

Rui

Kaito

Haru

Kota

Yusei

Yuito

Yuma

Ren

Takumi

Minato

Eita

Shota

Daiki

Hiroto

Kosei

Takeru

Hinata

Toma

Manato

Ryuki

Rikuto

Aoto

Ibuki

Tatsuki

Haruma

Yamato

Ryuto

Taisei

Yuta

Itsuki

Soshi

Taiga

Kosuke

Shoma

Yushin

Ryuga

Ryo

Rento

 

 

Cannot be helped and someone who would blame you for this, well, do they really worth your attention ?

[Menelwen]

You just have to look at the naming convention for the male Moonkeeper and to look at some japanese name to know that you will always have a name sounding like some japanese/anime ones as soon as you follow those conventions :

 

Miqo'te moonkeeper male naming convention :

First son: 'a

Second son: 'to

Third son: 'li

Fourth son: 'sae

Fifth son: 'ra

Sixth son: 'ir

Seventh son: 'wo

Eighth son: 'ya

Ninth son: 'zi

Tenth son: 'tan

 

Most popular boys' names in Japan for 2012

Haruto

Yuto

Sota

Yuki

Hayato

Haruki

Ryusei

Koki

Sora

Sosuke

Riku

Soma

Ryota

Rui

Kaito

Haru

Kota

Yusei

Yuito

Yuma

Ren

Takumi

Minato

Eita

Shota

Daiki

Hiroto

Kosei

Takeru

Hinata

Toma

Manato

Ryuki

Rikuto

Aoto

Ibuki

Tatsuki

Haruma

Yamato

Ryuto

Taisei

Yuta

Itsuki

Soshi

Taiga

Kosuke

Shoma

Yushin

Ryuga

Ryo

Rento

 

 

Cannot be helped and someone who would blame you for this, well, do they really worth your attention ?

 

^ Pretty much sums up my thoughts. Though I will admit, if I had seen you before reading the story behind your characters name, I probably would have PM'd you with the link to this video.

[Mercurias]

My main's name is M'sato. 

 

This sounds a lot like the name Misato, which ArmachiA has often pointed out is the name of a Japanese idol she thinks is adorable. 

 

M'sato has an often contentious, almost bad-sibling-like insulting back-and-forth with Haru Qwey. It's 90% of the time hard to tell whether they like or outright hate one another.

 

Misato the Japanese idol has another girl in her group named Haru, and they bicker often.

 

M'sato the character is a MAN. 

 

Despite all the silliness, I never have trouble finding RP on Sato. I can bounce into the Quicksand on a busy night and talk with most anyone not straight trolling for ERP. Sato's also shockingly adept at meeting and talking to people out in the world for little to no reason other than that I'm easily distracted and I see a "Walk-up RP okay" tag on someone's description who I think looks neat.

 

People WILL make a dumb pre-judgment based on your character name. It's stupid, but it happens. I've also seen RPers in this game who don't like RP with men or Miqo'te because they think all Miqo boys want is in someone's pants. My FC has a long-running JOKE about how we've got more cat hair on our couch than the most decadent of cat ladies.

 

Just keep trying. You'll find something.

 

If they're too judgy to give your character a shot just because of a name, then they're pretty shallow, especially the ones who come up with silly "cool" names like Nebula, Edge, Blade, Wolf, or something abstract like Troublemoon. Personally I give you props for at least following the in-game naming conventions.

[Melodia]

Can the name you give your character be the basis for whether others will roleplay with you or not?

 

Yes

 

If it is stupid I will ignore you

 

If it is a well known character I will think you are new to RP or of limited imagination, I will RP with you but expect things to be at the beginner maybe also god emoting end of the spectrum.

 

Awwwwwwwww!!

 

*Scraps plans to make female highlander named Bubble Butt for rp purposes*

[Mercurias]

Can the name you give your character be the basis for whether others will roleplay with you or not?

 

Yes

 

If it is stupid I will ignore you

 

If it is a well known character I will think you are new to RP or of limited imagination, I will RP with you but expect things to be at the beginner maybe also god emoting end of the spectrum.

 

Awwwwwwwww!!

 

*Scraps plans to make female highlander named Bubble Butt for rp purposes*

 

*Deletes Hellsguards Yellow Snow, Oldman River, Moist Towelette, Rolling Rock, and Foamy Diarrhea*

 

Honestly, names aren't as important to me as the way the character is presented. I'm more concerned over whether or not someone tries to unreasonably punch or come on to me within the first four words spoken.

 

One of these days I'm going to roll up a character named Four Twenty, make her a thaumaturge, give her the battle cry "Blaze it!" and then go into a long backstory involving her having been born in a lab, the subject of numerous aether experiments which left her aetherically powerful at a young age, yet completely unable to grasp the complexities of human emotions such as joy, empathy, selflessness, and yes even love. Her other quirk is that use of her aether brings her tampered body into a eophoric, almost laconic chemical high, meaning that she is an incredibly powerful caster whose mental abilities are hampered by the desire to talk about deep pseudophilosophy, giggle at nothing, give out hugs, and eat everything in sight.

 

You nerds will know exactly what she is. You will love her anyway.

[Temmi]

If it makes you feel any better, I play a blond Elezen named Temariah... The number of times people call her Temari is just... UGH. I've been using the tag for more than a decade, long before I ever watched even the first episode of Naruto.

 

Don't let it get to you. Keep doing what you're doing and prove through well-written and interesting roleplay that you aren't a troll, and that you aren't some unimaginative twit who regurgitated some other character name.

 

People are more than entitled to their opinions, and who can really blame people for trying to make their own experiences pleasurable? Isn't that what we all want? But if your opinion is that your name is cool, then by extent, you're welcome to have that opinion. Own it. Make it yours.

 

I wouldn't let others bully you (explicitly or implicitly) into changing anything about your character. That's a slippery slope, and getting caught up in pleasing the multitudes rarely ends well.

 

You mentioned that you have a hard time initiating roleplay, and I would hazard to guess that that is why you aren't seeing as much action as you'd like, not simply your name.

[Ryanti]

I'm not really sure if it effects me or not. I have not noticed any kind of obvious sign that I have gotten less RP or... have been less appealing as a character because of it. But I will admit that it often haunts my insecurities very frequently when I introduce myself or... am RP'ing with new people.

 

The thing is, I am well aware that my name does not follow naming conventions. I play as a Miqo'te in game, and I'm a Keeper, and I'm without a comma or a first-son-second-son thing. My name sounds exactly the opposite of what you would expect from a Miqo'te and 100% what you would expect from a Hyur or an Elezen.

 

Now, the truth is my character is half Miqo'te/half Hyur, and was born in a Hyuran family that hasn't deviated from being Hyuran for close to 900 years. He's every bit his father's son and his mother has virtually zero connection with where she came from because they are from Islebard, and her father became Garlean and erased his tribe the old fashioned Imperial way before coming to Eorzea.

 

He does have an Imperial name his grandfather gave him, though his mother cut off ties with him after being 'won over' by Eorzea's people shortly before his parents got married. Long story.

 

He also probably has/would of had a Miqo'te name as well, if he could contact that side of his family somehow.

 

But, Ryanti is Ryanti. There's every reason in the world for my name being the way it is, but I often get scared that people will look at it, scoff, and be like "Oh well he doesn't have a Miqo'te name at all, he must be a piece of shit RP'er not worth my time." They don't know what they don't know, but I still am insecure about it.

[Warren Castille]

I give anyone a fair shot, but I'm obviously not going to take Dankmemes Blaze'it very seriously if they approach me in character. I tend to play very guarded with those types of people.

 

It's unfortunate that OP is playing with the phonetic pronunciation of Naruto, though. Some people might just see that as an equivalent to Sephirothz Cloudsquall or something similar.

[Dat Oni]

Howdy all, I come here to ask a question in which I hope I can get an answer to.

 

Can the name you give your character be the basis for whether others will roleplay with you or not? 

 

I'm going to answer your question with a question.

Which do you think sounds more appealing, "Warren Castille", or "Tanky Awesomeknight?"

[Chris Ganale]

But, Ryanti is Ryanti. There's every reason in the world for my name being the way it is, but I often get scared that people will look at it, scoff, and be like "Oh well he doesn't have a Miqo'te name at all, he must be a piece of shit RP'er not worth my time." They don't know what they don't know, but I still am insecure about it.

Again, people who have that kind of mindset aren't worth the time of day. I don't particularly think that has a whole lot to do with it though? Look at Chao. She's a Seeker miqo with nothing even resembling a tribal name, because she's not from an Eorzean tribe, being native Doman. And on top of that, her name is taken directly from a manga character, and has very, very similar attributes and goals. And yet back when I used to sit around the QS she got talked to quite frequently.

[Warren Castille]

Howdy all, I come here to ask a question in which I hope I can get an answer to.

 

Can the name you give your character be the basis for whether others will roleplay with you or not? 

 

I'm going to answer your question with a question.

Which do you think sounds more appealing, "Warren Castille", or "Tanky Awesomeknight?"

 

Keep in mind that "Warren Castille" isn't a Highlander-lore name. It's still more "real" than Stabby Mcbadguystab.

[Gegenji]

Howdy all, I come here to ask a question in which I hope I can get an answer to.

 

Can the name you give your character be the basis for whether others will roleplay with you or not? 

 

I'm going to answer your question with a question.

Which do you think sounds more appealing, "Warren Castille", or "Tanky Awesomeknight?"

 

What about the famous Keeper Paladin Ser Tenk'zi Azimnite?