Post by Broadwaykat on Oct 18, 2019 19:03:41 GMT
A Guide to Picking Your Prefixes
Everyone wants to let your cat have an interesting name: to stand out, and be a little different. But there is a very fine line between ‘different’ and ‘illogical’. In the world of Erin Hunter, there are plenty of names that are different or fun, but it is also made clear that the warrior cats have different words, and a limited experience of choice names.
So how do you pick a warrior name? How do you stop there from being 18 different “Wolf-”s, but still get across their fierce personality. Here are a few helpful hints to get on the track of finding the perfect name.
Lesson 1: From Cradle to Grave
Everyone receives their names at birth - it’s universal. Therefore, it is important to realize that a cat will carry this name through to being an adult. This may mean that it might be cute to name them something like ‘Fluff’, ‘Tiny’, ‘Fuzzy’ - but remember that it will stick with them being an adult. Plenty of these names are wonderful and acceptable - but realize that you will NOT be changing it in the future.
More common is the desire to name a cat something strong and fierce for when they are an adult. But honestly, how many mothers are looking at their kit’s and thinking ‘Blood’, ‘Slash’, ‘Kill’, etc. are good names. I mean, it MAY happen - but others are likely to look at their mother and wonder exactly what is wrong with them.
Another thing to keep in mind that, while tempting to name characters after the color of their eyes, that is highly unrealistic. Kittens do not open their eyes for a good week, and as cats tend to name their kits directly after birth, it is unlikely for a mother to name their kits with those names.
The best thing to think of is names from nature. If you want to inspire strength and integrity, name them something like ‘stone’, ‘tree’, ‘river’.
Which brings me to….
Lesson 2A: It’s all Natural, Baby
Cats are not in tune with the human world. In fact, even kittypets are pretty ignorant as to human inventions. While no one dreams of naming their cat Plastic (except maybe the Possum Posse), there has been some who have wanted to name their cats after things like Ribbon, Silk, Glass, etc. Here are a couple ideas for natural substances that could be turned into warrior names.
Rocks
Rocks are hard, sturdy, and protective - a good idea or motive that a mother may like to pass on to her children. Examples: Stone, Pebble, Rock, Sand, Mud, Dirt, Dust, etc.
Trees
Tall and sturdy, Trees come in a variety of types that cats know the names of, that could give to interesting names. Examples: Aspen, Elm, Rowan, Willow, Nut, Bark etc.
Fruits and Vegetables
Cats may not be herbivores, but they do know about different types of plants that others eat, and several have named each others off that. Examples: Carrot, Apple, Peach, Berry, Currant etc.
Land Masses
Cats can be named after natural formations. Examples: Mountain, River, Stream, Hill, Bush, Briar, etc.
Flowers
Flowers are a great name for a cat - while most people think of using them for girls, there’s plenty that could be used for males as well. Examples: Poppy, Comfrey, Carnation, Daisy, Bloom, Blossom, etc.
Herbs and Plants
As medicine cats know a lot of healing herbs, it is easy to see that cats could be named after a number of North American Plants. Examples: Mint, Rosemary, Flax, Seed, Leaf, Stem, etc.
Natural Substances
These are things that are often found in nature. Examples: Web, Honey, Milk, Sap, Nectar, Pollen, etc.
Weather Phenomenon
Storms can be powerful and emotional names, often given to kits to show their strength, or in hopes of keeping their power over adversities they’d come across in the wild. Examples: Storm, Rain, Snow, Lightning, Thunder, Hail, Mist, Fire etc.
Lesson 2B: Celestial Bodies
The one area that I have always been hesitant to choose as a name involves the celestial bodies - sun, moon and stars. The first reason for this is simple; star is used as a suffix for the highest of warrior cat honors - a leader. Moon has an equally strong connotation - it means change, adaptation, and is incredibly holy for the life of a warrior cat. It measures the passing of seasons, the tides - many things.
Here is my simple answer on naming cats after celestial bodies; keep them daytime oriented. Names like Sun, Cloud, Sky - these are pretty general. Dawn and Evening as well are common. The only exception, I would say, is Night; usually given to a dark coated cat. But other than that it’s best to keep to daylight hours when dealing with Celestial Names.
Lesson 3: Animal Kingdom
There is another aspect that comes to naming cats; many are named after other animals. In this case, the thing you may want to remember is to keep them as easy, as non-specific as possible. For example, if you are naming a character after a type of bird, try to keep the species as non-specific as possible. For example, Jay is an acceptable and common warrior name; but calling a character Bluejay is a little too cumbersome.
Some other hints for naming:
-- No ‘Darwinian’ names: Yes, Corvid is a type of bird species - but realistically, how is a cat going to know a genus of bird? Best to name them Raven, Crow, Magpie, etc.
-- Girls and Boys: When it comes to naming animals, in certain cases picking the name for or male or female of the species is okay. Chicken and Sheep are okay names; but so are Ram and Hen. If you want a bit of a different name, sometimes the name for males or females can help you be a little different without being too out there.
-- Baby Mine: Similar to naming after gender variations of different animals, you can also look at naming your character after the baby forms of certain animals. Like Chick, Lamb, etc.
Birds
Characters can be named after different species of birds, from song to predatory. Examples: Hawk, Robin, Swallow, Sparrow, etc.
Bugs
Characters can be named for creatures from the insect or arthropod kingdoms. Examples: Worm, Beetle, Bee, Wasp, Hornet
Fish and Water-dwellers
Characters can be named for water-dwelling creatures. Examples: Toad, Frog, Carp, Perch, Minnow, etc.
Predator
Characters can be named after other animals that prey on cats. Examples: Wolf, Coyote, Bear, Snake, etc.
Prey
Characters can be named after animals that they prey on. Examples: Squirrel, Shrew, Mouse, etc.
‘Mythical Creatures’
While you may get the occasional kittypet named Dragon, Phoenix, etc - you will not get a warrior cat named after such giant beasts. But there are Mythical beasts in the lineage of warrior cats; the big cats. Plenty of characters are named after those ‘original’ cats, that do not exist in the clan lands but who have stories named after them regardless. In this way the names of many big cat species can be used. Examples are: Cougar, Lion, Leopard, Tiger, Cheetah, Lynx, etc.
Lesson 4: Active Vs. Passive
If you want a unique name, without being too out there, feel free to look at just adding a couple of letters to a name to make it a little different from the usual. Runkit sounds ok...but you can also have a character named Runningkit - an active character. Pounce and Pouncing is technically okay, and very different. Fly and Flight can be two different things. Changing a passive word into an active or action word can change the meaning of a name and give a bit of added umph to a name.
You can also change a word by adding ‘y’ to it. Rock means solid and stoic - whereas Rocky could be bumpy, tumultuous, spotted - different meaning to a very similar name. Mud means brown, while Muddy is sloppy, splotchy and different. Don’t shy away from taking a common name and making it your own by adding an activity to it or even a pluralization. Turn Pebble into Pebbled, Stone into Stony, and Rain into Raining.
Lesson 5: Color My World
While you cannot name your character based on the color of their eyes, other things can contribute to a colored name. A deep grey is often considered a ‘Blue’ coloring, so you can still have a ‘Bluekit’. Cats also come in a variety of sizes, shapes and patterns - Spots, stripes, marbling, ticking - lots of different patterns that could be commented on and be named after.
The only caution given to naming cats is how...creative and specific you get with your colors. Similar how you may want to name your character after a specific species, you don’t want to be too specific with your colors. Azurehaze sounds like an interesting name - but let’s thing...how exactly does a cat know the difference between ‘Azure’ and just...Blue.
Don’t be too specific when you are naming your cats. Keep to the basic colors: Orange, Red, Yellow, Green, Pink, White, Black, Blue. The only ‘basic’ color to steer clear of is Purple - it is not a natural occurring color, save in flowers, and in that case it would be more likely for a cat to name them after the flower itself rather than it’s color (ie Lilackit instead of Purplekit).
Lesson 6: Clap it Out
The last lesson I will give you is one that I’ve never really seen done before - but I think is important. To point out. When naming your cat, think about how easy it would be to be said by others. Even moreso - think about having to scream a name in battle, to constantly repeat a name not in short form. Now, for example, let’s see what would be easier.
Example 1: “Littlefur, come over here won’t you?”
Example 2: “Gossamarmelody, where are you?”
Which is easier to read, to say - the first example, right? It’s also easier to read as a roleplayer. Even if, technically, both names could be used as a warrior name.
When I think of a warrior cats name, I think of syllables. At most, the longest name I think would make sense is five syllables. If you remember your emphasis lessons in school, a syllable is the pattern of beats that make up a word.
So in our example:
Littlefur can be broken up as follows.
Lit-tle-fur = three syllables.
And Gossamermelody?
Gos-sa-mer-me-lo-dy = six syllables.
For the most part, warrior names tend to be three-four syllables at most. Common patterns include:
2 Prefix, 1 Suffix
Spot-ted-leaf
Leo-pard-heart
Croo-ked-star
1 Prefix, 1 Suffix
Red-ear
Tall-star
1 Prefix, 2 Suffix
Grey-st-ripe
Jay-fea-ther
The longer the first part of the name, the shorter the second part needs to be: For the most part, I think that a three syllable word would be the best option for the first half of a name; no longer.
