by ~Macmanus~ » Wed Jun 21, 2017 8:39 am
[Note: This post is borrowed from my DeviantArt]
Here is a list on my thoughts on some of the well-known banned Warrior cat names:
(Note, this is my opinion, feel free to have your own)
Red is names that I agree should be banned, Green is names that I think should be accepted. Blue means "in some cases yes, in others no"
(Remember, you don’t really have to name a kit until the kit can open their ears and eyes or walk anyway. Some humans don’t name Premie babies until they can take their babies home, and since kits aren’t really anything but suckling balls of fur for a few weeks, a mother can hold off on naming them until they grow a little. You can use this for names like Quiet, Silent, or Mumble. However, it takes months before eye colour comes in, so the kits should have been named by then, and shouldn’t be named after eye colour still)
IMPORTANT NOTE: At the end of the day, the roleplay owner's rule is law. If they say you cannot name a cat something, you must respect their decision, even if you do not agree. It is their roleplay, after all. If you do not like it, make your own ;)
Arch- There was a cannon cat named Archeye. Furthermore, an arch is a shape, and cats do know what shapes are.
Prefix Named Strictly After the Cat's Personality: And how would the mother know this? I mean, she can tell if the kit is loud or quiet, big or small, pushy to other kits or more timid, but don't give your cat the prefix Rabbit or Hare only because she is a fast runner, Squirrel because she's a good climber, Badger because she fights like one, Fire or Sharp because of her claws. She was named before she could run or climb or fight or unsheathe her claws.
Gemstones: I agree that Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, Diamond etc. have no place in Warrior cat naming. These are very well known as gemstones, not colours. Copper, Gold, Silver, Ebony, and Pearl, however, are also known as colours. Even though the former gemstones mentioned can be colours, their colours in relation to cats makes no sense (Cats cannot be ruby, sapphire, emerald, or diamond. However, they can be golden (diluted ginger), copper (russet) pearl (light grey or cream) and ebony (black). For ebony, some people use the excuse of the ebony tree, although this is only applicable where ebony trees are located, like with Orchid, Cherry, Maple, etc.
Dog: The explanation usually given is that “Dogs are big and stupid, who would want to name their kit after a dog?” Well, do you know what else are considered, brutish, stupid, and monstrous? Badgers, Wolves, and Foxes, yet all of these names have been used. By the same logic, Rat, Mouse, Shrew, Vole, Rabbit, Squirrel, and other prey animals shouldn’t be used because they animals are all small, cowardly, and eaten. If Foxleap, Squirrelflight, Badgerfang, Mousefur, and Wolfheart (all cannon cats) exist, than so can your Dogclaw or Dogtail.
Ocean: Unless you have an oceanside or noncanon clan, I agree with this. A clan who lives near the ocean may know what the ocean is called, but the canon clans just happen to not know what it is.
Fall and Spring: These don’t really work for a prefix, but as a suffix, to me, it sounds like a cat who is good at jumping or leaping.
Seasons other than Fall and Spring: Autumn, Winter, and Summer do not work, due to cats not knowing what they are. However, Spring and Fall are both also verbs.
Thunder, Wind, River, Shadow, and Sky: The four clans don't know about Skyclan, so Sky is fine to them. I personally don't find a problem with these, anymore than I would have a problem with Tiger, Lion, or Leopard.
Butter and Dragon: Bumblestripe’s name was Bumblestripe, not Bumblebeestripe. By this logic, Dragon and Butter can be used (Dragonfly, Butterfly) I personally do not like the way they sound, however, so I won’t use them.
Burning, Burnt, Charred: As a changed name these are absolutely fine. As a birth name, they might work to make a kitten sound tough, like Blaze, Flame, or Fire, or to refer to a russet-coloured cat, although I don’t think they’d be common.
Enchanted, Wish, Dream, Sparkle, Glimmer, etc.: Don’t. Although Shine, Shining, and Bright aren’t so bad, and are much more realistic than Sparkle or Wish and sound nicer than Glimmer. Glimmer has been used in cannon, as have Shine, Shining, and Bright.
Grizzly: Works fine if your clans are located somewhere with Grizzly Bears.
Jump, Pounce, Quick, Rapid: are fine for kits who have long legs and are not named immediately after birth.
Silent, Quiet, Loud, Mumble: Are fine for kits who are not named immediately after birth
Echo: Works fine for a kit not named immediately after birth and "echoes" their littermates mews. Also occasionally used for a cat who looks like their parent or a recently deceased cat, although I prefer the first one
Marble: I wouldn’t use it because it sounds unnatural to me, but it technically is a fur colour.
Star, Paw, Kit: Starstar, Pawpaw, Kitkit
Strong : A good name for the biggest kit in the litter.
Sweet: A kit born within sweet smelling flowers could be named this.
Vixen: Vixentail was a canon cat. They've also mentioned vixens and foxes separately in the books. I wouldn’t use it, but there isn’t any good reason why you can’t. I just don’t like the way it sounds.
Sun and Moon: This is going to be a fun one. The Hunters explained that Moon is not sacred or makes a cat seem sacred. Nor is it an insult to Starclan. However, it does make a cat sound more beautiful than his or her clanmates. By that logic, why do we have prefixes like Claw, Brindle, Bark, and Mud, or the suffix Face (Three of those prefixes have been used with the suffix Face)? In my point of view, they all make a cat sound pretty ugly. Even though Hunter apologized for Moonflower, they later named a Thunderclan cat Ambermoon (I will excuse Harveymoon, as this cat is from Skyclan). Sun has been used several times as well. The name Moon isn’t actually sacred, and in my eyes, as long as you don’t mean it as an exceptionally pretty cat, you’re fine (I’ve used it twice, once for a black Tom and once for a black she. Both Moonkits had a sibling named Sunkit :P)
Ghost, Spirit: I’m pretty sure Starclan cats aren’t referred to as ghosts. They are just Starclan cats. Regardless, don’t. Unlike with Moon and Sun, this would be offensive.
Angel, Demon, Devil, God: Warriors don’t know what these are.
Cactus, Cocunut, Almond, etc: Only if the plants in question are native to where your clan is.
Damaged, Broken, Torn, Etc. These generally work for renames, but may work for given names when applicable (WhiteEye, Brokenstar)
Names that go together (Greycloud, Rainstorm, Snowstorm, etc.) As long as the suffix is applicable to the cat as well as the prefix, it’s fine.
Naming kits after a cat: This is fine, and happens in real life a lot anyway.
Naming kits after what the mother wants in the kit: I generally wouldn’t do it because it seems uncreative to me, but it is perfectly reasonable.
Death: Don’t.
Hollow: Good if not named immediately after birth, for a kit with a raspy or "hollow" mew.
Green: The only logical reason to name a cat this is after eye colours, which we shouldn’t do.
One, Two, Three: Good for a rename, like One-Eye. I will never, however, excuse Onekit-Onepaw-or Onestar (Onewhisker would be okay if he had one whisker, however, he was said to be named this way for the fact that one of his whiskers is whiter and longer than the others. However, I would prefer Whitewhisker or Longwhisker or something. Onewhisker makes no sense to me.)
Song: Sounds better as a Suffix. The arguments for this are the fact that cats don't sing, and that birds don't technically "sing" rather "chirp". The first argument is bad because cats don't have wings either, yet that is an acceptable suffix. The second argument is bad because a bird "song" is a loud, obvious, pretty noise. They don't know lyrics, obviously, but it is still a song. This is a good suffix for a well-spoken cat, who is good with their words.
Fancier Words, like Aqua or Lunar: These don't seem to be in the cat's vocabulary or dialogue, so I am iffy about them.
Feather: It is argued that the prefix or suffix "feather" means nothing, Scarlet_wolf points out how feather can not be used to describe a color or texture, since feathers come in different colours and textures. While yes, they do come in different colours, feathers are most often soft, and all feathers (belonging to the birds around the canon clans, anyway) are light. This could mean a small kit as a prefix or a light-stepped cat as a suffix.
Named for the weather they were born in: If that weather was exceptional, like born during a howling storm or in a raging blizzard, go for it. If it's a light rain or gentle snow, maybe not so much.
-Credit to Scarlet_wolf, since some of these names that I argued for on on their against list. And credit to everyone else who has an against list that I argued from/agreed with.
Last edited by
~Macmanus~ on Fri Feb 16, 2018 2:59 am, edited 6 times in total.