Naming Conventions: Traditional or Adoptive?

[Drakevarg]

Not sure if this would go here or the writing forum, but feel free to move it if I got it wrong.

I've been struck with a bit of a conundrum in regards to a major character in the webcomic I'm ever-futilely working on. Specifically, what his name would be, considering his origins. You see, the character in question is the son of former slaves, freed from servitude and left to find a life for themselves on the streets of the culture that formerly treated them as property.

The thing that has gotten me thinking is that up until now, I've given the character a name from his race's native culture. It recently occurred to me that as a child he had no connection whatsoever to this native culture, having been raised entirely among the people that had once enslaved his parents. Even his parents were from a lengthy line of slaves, so they didn't nessicarily have much of a connection to their native culture either.

So putting yourself in the shoes of his parents, do you think they would be more prone to name their child in the tongue of their own culture, or would they adopt the culture they were subjugated by and were now forced to integrate with? I'm not sure how much of an impact it would have on the character himself, as he was orphaned at a young age and was never raised according to his parents' veiwpoint, regardless of what it was. But even something as simple as a name can have subtle but important effects on an individual's worldview.

As a point of interest, the character was named in his race's native tongue, he'd be Nonki, but if his parents chose to assimilate he'd be Chalari. Just looking for some outside viewpoints, and I'll happily provide more detail on the situation if needed.

[absolmorph]

I think this might be more suited for the writing forum, but I'll give my thoughts.

Long answer: It's possible (and even somewhat likely) that his parents held on to their culture to some degree and gave him a name from that culture, but he goes by a nickname which is more acceptable to the culture he's part of.
It's very common for immigrants to still use traditional names of their culture, but go by an adaptation of their name which the inhabitants of the place they moved to have an easier time with. I don't know how many generations this persists for, though.

Short answer: He could have both, but go by the more commonly acceptable name.

[Drakevarg]

I think this might be more suited for the writing forum, but I'll give my thoughts.

That was my concern too, but I couldn't be sure.


Long answer: It's possible (and even somewhat likely) that his parents held on to their culture to some degree and gave him a name from that culture, but he goes by a nickname which is more acceptable to the culture he's part of.
It's very common for immigrants to still use traditional names of their culture, but go by an adaptation of their name which the inhabitants of the place they moved to have an easier time with. I don't know how many generations this persists for, though.

Short answer: He could have both, but go by the more commonly acceptable name.

So his full name would be something akin to Nonki 'Chalari' apo ti Lampri Stemma, Nonki being his "real" name and Chalari being what he's called in his adoptive culture.

On the other hand, he's been orphaned since he was around 4-5 years old. If he lived mostly in the company of his parents before then, would he necessarily even ever learned his "public name?"

[The Succubus]

Naming conventions? You mean stuff like GenCon, San Diago ComicCon and E3?

[Drakevarg]

Naming conventions? You mean stuff like GenCon, San Diago ComicCon and E3?

It's 5 in the morning here. My humor reserves are near zero. :smallannoyed:

[absolmorph]

That was my concern too, but I couldn't be sure.



So his full name would be something akin to Nonki 'Chalari' apo ti Lampri Stemma, Nonki being his "real" name and Chalari being what he's called in his adoptive culture.

On the other hand, he's been orphaned since he was around 4-5 years old. If he lived mostly in the company of his parents before then, would he necessarily even ever learned his "public name?"
It depends on the circumstances; was he taken in by someone who knew his parents and his full name, or was he taken in by someone from the dominant culture?

[Kolonel]

Even his parents were from a lengthy line of slaves, so they didn't nessicarily have much of a connection to their native culture either.

As creator, you are in charge of this fact.
The answer is easy: decide! If the parents felt that their native culture is important, they named their child in the old tongue. If not, they gave him a non-traditional name.

You may think that designing the parents is an unnecessary extra-work (because they have little to no impact on neither the character's personality, nor the story), but it's not.
It can come in handy later, for example when the main character encounters someone, who knew his parents.

[Drakevarg]

It depends on the circumstances; was he taken in by someone who knew his parents and his full name, or was he taken in by someone from the dominant culture?

Technically neither. He lived on the street for the most part, albeit the streets of the "good part of town," the noble district. He mostly got by on leftovers --of which there are no shortage when you're digging through the trash of rich folks-- and by doing odd jobs like errands for the nobles. Between being helpful and just extremely charismatic, he was tolerated enough that he wasn't chased out of the area.

So being basically self-raised until around age 12, he might've either stuck with his birth name or would have been given a more "normal" name by the nobles he worked for.


As creator, you are in charge of this fact.
The answer is easy: decide! If the parents felt that their native culture is important, they named their child in the old tongue. If not, they gave him a non-traditional name.

Well that much is obvious. I'm just trying to get an outside opinion.

[The Succubus]

Hmmm.

My guess would be that his parents have embraced their new found freedom and are looking to make a new start. Their child represents their hope for the future. By choosing the assimilated name, it suggests that they will never be able to get rid of the ghosts from their slavery years.

I'd go with the traditional name. With their new found freedom, the parents will have had the opportunity to explore more of their own culture and by giving their child a traditional name, it suggests that he will be the start of a new generation of their people.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

Hmmm.

My guess would be that his parents have embraced their new found freedom and are looking to make a new start. Their child represents their hope for the future. By choosing the assimilated name, it suggests that they will never be able to get rid of the ghosts from their slavery years.

I'd go with the traditional name. With their new found freedom, the parents will have had the opportunity to explore more of their own culture and by giving their child a traditional name, it suggests that he will be the start of a new generation of their people.

Alternatively, it is also possible that they connect the old culture names that they held during slavery with those years, and feel the best way to show their freedom is to take a free-person's name.