What’s in a name? A look at EVE Character Names

Published on 06. Nov, 2008 ... written by Ecaf Ersa, Tags: Articles

by Ecaf Ersa … “Ecaf, Ecaf, wherefor art thou Ecaf?” as Shakespeare might have said if he had played EVE! – contrary to the popular misconception wherefor means why, not where. William continues with “A rose would smell so sweet by any other name” and indeed this is true – so what brings us to the names we chose for our toons?

So, why on earth did I pick such a name as Ecaf Ersa? It might seem a bit random but try reading it backwards. In my usual flippant and self-deprecatory way I attempted to call my toon “Arse Face” but without wishing to be so overtly rude I reversed it. Unfortunately I typo’d it getting the r and s round the wrong way but hey I’ve seen worse typos in EVE. It’s an indication that when I started my first, and so far only, character in EVE I had no strong feelings about the game, having never played it before. I am however quite passionate about it now but CCP, for fairly good reasons, won’t let you change it. But would I change it now if I could? I think not – I am quite attached to Ecaf now regardless of what he is called and its not like I picked Iamabigidiot.

So what kind of names do we find in EVE?

The Roleplay Name

Having played Dungeons and Dragons, Rolemaster, Call of Cthulhu, et al, these people have had plenty of practice at making up names free from the constrictions of society’s conformist pressure. These are the names that have clearly had a bit of thought put into making it sound good and with a fantasy or sci-fi feel to it. Some nice examples just from EVE-Mag contributors are Soleramnus, Malori Veneer and Vaden Khale. Famous names in this category include Grismar and Chribba. Whilst they may or may not adhere strongly to the RP theme in EVE they will generally take their character and the game quite seriously. This category makes up, I believe, the majority of EVE names.

The Fun Name

These are people who like to have a bit of fun and don’t take things too seriously although not to say they are flippant. Some take on varying degrees of sexual connotations which reflects on the mentality of some game players! These can be quite subtle and clever, one of my favourite examples being Aiyeeta Beaver, but usually blatant like LookAtMyBoobs, Spankme Moore or bittiy titty. More examples of fun names include our own EVE-Mag creator Smakalicious, as well as Scorchy DaPoo, SoApDoDger, FIsh Bait, Grazy Horse, StinkieHippie and of course me, Ecaf Ersa.

My Own Name

Perhaps this is not true in every case but I see many quite normal real-world names that could quite easily be the player’s real name or maybe the name they always wanted. Take Tony Vegas, Ned Hamford or Tom Price as examples.

The “I looked around the room” Name

Lacking the inspiration to come up with anything from their own imagination (maybe just suffering from a temporary mental block – no wish to insult) this person has looked around the room at objects or words for something to use. Sometimes they will disguise it or use a combination of items to mask the obviousness of their selection method. But sometimes not – one that makes me laugh every time is Office 2000 – a classic case of looking at the bookshelf by your computer! A much more obscure example is Pressman1966 – Jeffrey Pressman published several chemistry papers in 1966 so probably a chemistry student there!

The Cult Reference Name

Usually only spotted if you know the source of the reference well. Such ones I have come across are SharpMango, a subtle and likeable reference to lines from the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth, numerous variations on Forty Two, a less subtle reference to Hitch-Hikers Guide and Evil Pookie, obviously the darker side of Garfield’s teddy bear!

The “I don’t care” Name

Most likely to be an ISK farmer or high-sec gank alt typically named with a hand splashed across the keyboard. As the toon is likely to be melted once the trial expires or the security status gets too low the “player” doesn’t care what it is called. With the right hand on the mouse the keys most likely to fall under a casual left hand are A, S, D, F and G. These toons are unfortunately plentiful and not worth the recognition that listing them would give.

The “I just plain stole it” Name

Now this group is one for whom I reserve a special kind of hatred which I make no apology for. These people just take a name from a TV series, film or fiction as if using it implies some of the abilities or mysticism that the name usually infers. Take any of the following: Ace Rimmer, Jack Sparrow, Optimus Prime, Mithrandir, Mr T, Gandalf, Daniel Jackson, Captain Archer, and search for characters in P&P. See the number of partial matches you get. What is the matter with you people? Have at least a little imagination please! Nobody is going to say “OMG it’s the legendary Jean-Luc Picard. Better run guys, he’s a starship captain beyond compare!”

So what conclusions can we draw from the name of a toon? Well we shouldn’t draw any really – my toon’s name assumes that I don’t take the game seriously but I do and it’s just down to the fact that I didn’t know that at the time. Try not to judge a book by it’s cover and get to know someone before you decide what kind of person they are………except of course the hated plagiarists…..It is one of my aims in EVE to start a war-dec corp that will specifically and exclusively target corps with members bearing this kind of name. Hmm, now there is a reason to start a second toon!

Tags: char, character, fun, name, toon

39 Responses to “What’s in a name? A look at EVE Character Names”

Silene Derbhan

06. Nov, 2008

Would it be possible to, a least, minimize your hatred for borrowed names if I explained mine ? From my point point of view, borrowing a name is a kind of tribute to to a character or his creator, as well as a way to set yourself some goals in what you want your own character to attain.

For example, Silene is the name of a very dangerous fighter in a relatively unknow french novel that I consider to be the best book I have ever read (and I’ve read a lot). For those interested, it’s called La Horde du Contrevent, by Alain Damasio, one of those very rare writers I would humbly kneel before. And my last name Derbhan, is a variation on the name of the “school” that trains a group of fearfull assassins in the same book, Ker Derban.

It obviously says (for the very few people who read the book and will feel part of a small group of like-minded spirits) that I intend to be an universally known pvp player, someday. Or it is a lie to protect me knowing I am as much a carebear as can be at the moment !

Where I agree with you is on the subject of excessively famous names. Taking the name of an unimportant android appearing five seconds in an episode of Star Trek is fun and tells something about you, calling yourself Spok is just an indication of your laziness or idiocy. I crossed the path of a player named Anakin Takana yesterday. I really felt the urge to explain to him (with fiery trails of laser beams scorching the night) how stupid he looked, with this lame manga reference of the greatest dickhead in the universe. He could have chosen VAder Katana, at least…
Ecaf

06. Nov, 2008

My wrath does not fall on you Silene for the combination of a few reasons.

For starters your reference is, as you point out, obscure so cannot be construed as any conscious effort to impart some kind of non-existant mythical prowess upon those you encounter. Your explanation makes clear this an homage which some thought went into and not just plain lazy copying, and additionally because you combined two separate elements, albiet from the same work. This does, however, not mean that Gandalf Skywalker becomes acceptable!

As I am not a blood-raged homicidal maniac, if I ever do start my War Against Plagiarism corp then I will for sure first of all communicate to the corp CEO what I plan to do and give a short period in which the CEO can kick the offending members to avoid the dec or for the accused to convince me of the sincerity behind their choice of name – as you have done.

So you are safe – well from me at least!
Jacob Mei

06. Nov, 2008

I cant agree with your last group for the most part to be honest. While it is rather obvious where someone would have gotten their name if it was something like Optimus Prime, others, such as Daniel Jackson, are not (thats a fairly common first/last name combination). Others could have have a character or screen name years before it was popularized by a TV show.

Years before they introduced the character Anubis to stargate I played by that name in various other games simply because I liked the lore attached to it (I started using this name when it was “popular” to use names from gundam wing). When the show revealed that character I had amassed quite the friends list and didnt see a point in changing the name, would I still fall under your rip off catagory?
Ecaf

06. Nov, 2008

I am afraid so Jacob. Despite the fact that I admire your writings on EVE-Mag I must be true to my ethos here. Even though the Stargate character appeared, dramatically escalating the exposure of it, after your first use of the name it was still taken from Egyptian mythology.

I will say that often just a minor alteration can make all the difference to my feelings on it. For example there is in EVE a toon named Anoobis. Here is small element of modification and a healthy dose of self-ridicule.

But this is all just my opinion and you are of course completely at liberty to disagree with me

To be honest I made my second article a bit inflammatory deliberately as I was disappointed that my first, admittedly plain and factual, article has so far received no comments!
Batolemaeus

06. Nov, 2008

I get the feeling my name might attract some flames for being a dumbed down version of another name, at least on the first glance.

I came up with it while looking for a name for my first character after i chose to stay in Eve. Before, most of my names were fantasy-esque, falling into the elves/dwarves category. (Played a lot of D&D and DsA) But a space-dwarf? Srsly?

So i shuffled some syllables around. I basically came up with a name i liked. It meant nothing, but had a nice ring to it. Thus, Batolemaeus was born, followed by Batolemaeus Junior as my alt a year later.

Only a few days after i created the char i remembered where i borrowed at least parts of that name from. Bartholomäus, the man sans deceit. And also the name of a historic massacre…oh well. Now people often call me Barto, with an ‘r’. Grrr..
Leumas

07. Nov, 2008

I have truly seen some stupid names. I thought I was being clever with my own (Leumas Kharzim), a combination of my first name in reverse and a random name pulled from a book. Aparently, I am not so clever.

The other I have seen some witty humor in is ship names. My favorite from last week was a Hulk named “The Incredible”. Is is blatant, but made me laugh when it popped up on my scanner.
Ecaf

07. Nov, 2008

I had really wanted to include some bits on corp and ship naming but already had to shave down what I wrote just on toon names to make the 1000 word limit. Ship naming is interesting to me in particular as this is somewhere where you can name and re-name as you please unlike with your toon’s name. I often sit in station for 10 minutes trying to think of something witty and clever because I can’t bring myself to undock in “Ecaf Ersa’s Ishtar”!

I have seen some great ship names in the past but for some reason they don’t seem to stick in my mind as well as toon names. I thought about doing a separate article but it would involve a large time investment in-game to research as I cannot use killboards and forums to source ship names as I did with many of the toon names used in the article.

I believe I have also seen a Hulk called The Incredible before – maybe the same character but probably not as it is a big universe and it’s not too tough to think of but still funny especially in the way the scanner displays the information. I went for a bit more obscure reference from the Hulk TV Series with my Hulk’s name “Mr. McGee”. Fans of the 80s series staring Bill Bixby as Banner and Lou Ferigno (who had a cameo in the first film) as the Hulk will remember the line from the opening credits “Don’t make me angry Mr. McGee, you won’t like me when I’m angry”!

Thanks for taking the time to add your thoughts!
Securitas Protector

07. Nov, 2008

Hm….so, Ecaf, what do you think of my name? I came up with it, not after Securitas the company(which I didn’t know existed until people asked me left and right if I worked for it). So, hehe…people call me Sec now. Creative name, though, Ecaf.

Nice article
Ecaf

07. Nov, 2008

Hi Securitas

Well the obvious assumption, that you have already ruled out, is that a Securitas van was passing by your window whilst you searched for inspiration.

But I do know that securitas is Spanish for, unsurprisingly, securities. Was this toon intended as an alt for escorting valuable freighter or hauler loads? Haha!
Mr Horizontal

07. Nov, 2008

My name [Mr Horizontal] is an RL nickname given to me by mates. It refers to the fact I’m super laid back, virtually always horizontal (with a girl), and have a funny walking style that is particularly laid back and easy going…
Silfor

08. Nov, 2008

Nice article, arse face, just like your capital ship arcticle. (so here is your needed comment on that one).
I took on the name of Silfor in Star Wars Galaxies, it’s a simple name, in some languages it’s simply meaning ’silver’.

I wanted it to be simple so people could remember easily, something with 2 syllables, and also, to be able to type it easily in a /tell Silfor, for example.
Eve doesn’t work this way with chat, but a lot of rpgs, (or mmo’s, or other online games) do.
Not very usefull to have to type /Tell ByzantianXenomorph Hi !.

I’ll probably use this short character name in any other game I’ll play in the future.

I’ve used it a couple of times now, and i’m thinking that if someone would shout “Hey Silf!” on the streets, I would probable respond

Cheers,
Silfor

I look forward to your next mag-post.
Flavan

08. Nov, 2008

An interesting article, reflecting some of the thoughts I’ve had recently flying around and noticing the ‘randomly generated’ names that are so clearly macro-farmers.
I also think there’s too many people whose names have clearly come from WoW or similar worlds, coz they’re obviously fantasy-genre names.
Wish you wouldn’t use the word ‘toon’ though. It’s terribly out-of-character with the rest of the article.
Ecaf

08. Nov, 2008

Yes agreed on the use of ‘toon’. I don’t really like it myself but it has somehow ingrained itself into me. I shall try harder!
ZERG RUSHKEKE

11. Nov, 2008

Yes I did play Starcraft but I couldn’t think of a name to use so I used a random one and I decided on ZERG RUSHKEKE. There are only like four others in the EVE universe….
Quake Opaque

12. Nov, 2008

I think the name I’m using is much better than ‘Blamme LaFlamme’ which was on my short list for a Gallentean…maybe I’ll use it for a ship

Great article.
Kename Fin

24. Nov, 2008

Interesting take on names. It might be fun to do a follow-up piece on ship names. I tend to try and keep my ships named after pop media references. The aforementioned “Lou Ferrigno” for for my Hulk and “Bobby Drake” for my Mackinaw. I named my Drake “Howard” and my Raven is named “Erasmus Craven”.
cincannatus

03. Dec, 2008

you mentioned me!! im very flattered, my name’s sharpmango. and i have no idea how you remembered it but yeah hehe…
oh and this particular alias i post under on eve-mag…ermm…
it might come under the jon luc picard category!
cincannatus was a great general who protected the people of rome. And when offered the chance to be emperor, he refused, because he stated he had the love of his family, he had his farm, he had his children. and he needed nothing else in this world… dont often here about a man truly turning down the chance to be absolute ruler! so yeah, hes a great hero of mine
Ecaf

03. Dec, 2008

As I recall I saw your name on a killboard and it tickled me as I am a big Blackadder fan. Am I correct in assuming that SharpMango was an intentional reference to the Battle of Umboto Gorge from the final episode?

As for using the name cincannatus, I am little torn – it’s an obscure reference, it’s a real historical figure and you make it clear that your use is an homage which all work in your favour for me – I think the fact that you came up with SharpMango which is another subtle reference and a nod at a great work of comedy tips the balance and lets you off the hook for me!
cincannatus

04. Dec, 2008

oh yes, its a very intentional reference. I used to go around telling people about the battle of umbuto gorge being a real historical event! in fact, if im feeling particularly mischevious, and the person in question is particularly gullible, people still fall for it! and don’t forget the guava halves either…..actually that would make a great alt one day…^^
Nipplator

08. Dec, 2008

I have to say nice post. I am sorry for the late post but I didn’t see the post until it was pointed out to me by an corp friend. I find myself having this conversation on with many people in eve (especially when they find out my other toons names). I glad that somebody finally wrote something worth pointing them to when they comment on my name, thanks for this post.
Ecaf

08. Dec, 2008

Better late than never Nipp!

That’s a great name – caused a few funny looks when it made me laugh out loud in the office!

Feel free to direct as many people to EVE-Mag as you like
SomeHardLovin

16. Dec, 2008

Admittedly I may fall into the ‘flippant’ catagory but I had good reason when I created it. I came from Ultima Online where everyone wanted a “Suit of Shadow Plate crafted by some hard lovin’”… I just sort of kept the name as I moved through other games I’ve had a few comments on the name when I enter sector in lowsec/nullsec. People assume i’m there to cause trouble… but really i’m a big teddybear.. er.. honest
Digital Solaris

18. Dec, 2008

I’ll admit, I was completely out of ideas! I fall under the “looked around” bunch, I spotted my digital camera and the camera was resting on the ‘Solaris’ novel by the polish author Stanislaw Lem.
Havegun Willtravel

31. Dec, 2008

In hindsight I perhaps should have given my name more though, but at least it’s unique and individual. Advice to noobs, most people will shorten your name to something more convienient in chat. As such i get called Have more often than Gun which i find annoying, but not enough to pay the $25 for a new name lol. War decks and perma podding to all the ” xxDarthxxVader”’s and “JamesxxTxxKirk”’s of the universe. Show some originality. And remember, pick something you’ll like for a long time. This game is very addictive.
Manasi

12. Jan, 2009

hmmm… well Manasi ( as best I can remember) was a generated name…..I clicked a few times and tried several I normally use and poof… manasi showed up, granted this was back in 2003 ( may 30th to be exact) and IIRC there was a name generator I had to use….interesting article
Nyght Star

13. Jan, 2009

my name came from the simple fact ive always be called Star, a nick name i picked up in primary school that ive long since for got the origins of?
I coupled it with a spelling variation of “night” just to anoy people in chat cos they actually have to take a moment to see if they spell it right.
i’ll also mention that my alt is called “Dae Star” which was not an adaptation of the name of the virus used in the film Blade : Trinity, just a clever ( i thought so:P) way of showing the alternate side of Nyght Star, Nyght is all pew pew, whereas Dae is a quiet miner providing the Isk For Nyght’s personal War effor. lol

as a foot note to this i name all my ships with the prefix USN (United Systems Navy) and a description of what the ship is like e.g. My Blaster boat Enyo is called “USN Puppy Teeth”, cos she’s small, fast and vicious, and my Future Nemesis Steath Bomber is to be named “USN Silent Hammer”
Nyght Star

16. Jan, 2009

Good article Ecaf, Just waiting for the ship name one now .

My name “Nyght Star” is cos Star been my nickname since i had several tattooed on me in my teens so that had to be included in there, so when i started i made 2 chars on the same account, i decided that they where gonna be opposites of each other (one a PvP/Missioner, the other an Industrialist/Miner) so what better than Day & Night, just with different spelling to make it individual.

so now we have…
Nyght Star – Gallente Drone Commander & Armor Logistics
Dae Star – Caldari Industrialist / Watcher-scanner

Ship Names All Follow This Structure Below:

USN (cryptic descriptor)

So My Ishkur is: USN Hive Mind
& My Nemesis is: USN Silent Hammer

Genius huh?

o
Togg bott

20. Jan, 2009

i guess my name will be under the Unique list as i have NEVER seen my name elswhere.
i got the name i a VERY old online game…battletech. where my brother was Named Togg and i was named Flag. but due to the fact that we were in the same room playing and i always backed him up… i recieved the nickname Togg;s Bot… wich i modified into Togg Bott.
Cyd Fisher

30. Jan, 2009

Battletech you say? I used to play in at VR center on the Navy pier in Chicago. Which is where my name comes from.
Brian

24. Feb, 2009

I just picked my names to sound like someone in that career path would have chosen. Something to help your first impression. My industrial guy is named Earl Scolari, which makes me think of a blue-collar-type guy. And my pirate (at the time, no longer really play it) guy was named Xander Kivotsky, which made me think of an assassin for hire-type name.
Raeyna Torbynla

01. Apr, 2009

There are two things worth mentioning about this article:

1) Poeple are smart enough to come up with names but are either too lazy to put effort or sometimes run into a creative block. I have numerous times run into that block, and there are many names I’ve used in various games that really are lame.

2) Taking a name like Darth Vader, J. L. Picard (I have seen this one), James T. Kirk, is laziness on a cosmic scale. Maybe I will join the Creativity Cause, spreading originality wherever we go!

Seriously, poeple do not seem to care anymore. It really is rather sad.
Narciass Killscythe

11. Apr, 2009

Honestly, i dont mind the names that copy from other fictional or non fictional characters. My only pet-pieves are the buttheads that smash their head against the keyboard to create their name, then they spend all of their time spamming local expecting someone to respond to their BS offers, argh… makes me so mad.
RandomMale

30. Apr, 2009

My name, RandomMale, came mainly out of not really knowing what Eve was going to be like when I first started and I didn’t have any idea what race, bloodline etc. to choose so it was pretty much random choices. So when it came to a name for my male character I decided to keep that ‘random’ as well.

On ship names my favourite is my Drake, which is named ‘Shaguar’ (I’m sure you’ll get the reference). I also have a Raven called ‘E A Poe’ (another obvious one) and my Buzzard is named ‘You Ain’t Seen Me’ taken from the comedy sketch show ‘The Fast Show’.
Toofpick

21. May, 2009

Toofpick actually has a story to it unlike many of the stupid random names you hear. My brother is an graffiti artist and he like to create little characters to go with his Drawings and one day he made one named toofpick. one day we found a cat that looked very bad and mistreated but it also looked a lot like this character so we kept him and his name is Baby Toofpick. when i first started eve it was a couple weeks after my friend had who named his toon after one of my brothers characters that we created together so i couldn’t use that one. My cat was laying with me while i was creating the character and I thought it would be the perfect name for me. Kinda like a tribute to my brother and cat.
just wanna know which of your categories this goes under because it seems to have a bit of plagiarism, fun, and look around the room.

by ship standards I tend to name them after the dragons in my Magic: the gathering card deck. think they are pretty cool. the renewer, the purger, the hunter, overlord, etc.

p.s. sorry for the bad grammar I’m at work and in a hurry.
Totally Original Name

04. Aug, 2009

Wow. You must have a difficult time in reality, what with all the people named after famous people, relatives, saints, apostles, etc. The lack of originality of the average human name must pain you. I suppose you can always take comfort in rock stars. With the truly original names they tend to give their children, they are a beacon of hope in our dark and repetitive times.
Assassin

29. Aug, 2009

how about me? assassin126 whats that come under? i use 126 for prety much any game, simple reason really its just my house number with last 2 numbers swaped so i easily memorise it, my other is clearshot which i have made in a couple of different ways
Zdrahonul Gallentor

06. Sep, 2009

Well if you look at my first name you would probably zap to soem sort of World of Warcraft Tauren-like name, whereas in fact it’s a noun in my native language meaning (roughly) a big guy with not much of an IQ score. It’s a tongue-in-cheek approach. IMO EVE Online MUST require a last name as well. I cose mine to represent my chosen ancestry (Gallente) but since I usually am not fond of pure ancestry, I changed it a bit to mean my “blood” is not pure enough
Aiyeeta Beaver

16. Nov, 2009

This is Aiyeeta Beaver himself of CLS. Loved the article, you should’ve shot me an evemail ^_^
Maman Brigitte

15. Jan, 2010

I borrowed this name from Vodou as a declaration of intent.

Naming a character after a lore-burdened entity (at least for me) is the equivalent of naming a child after a saint. The hope is that they might grow to emulate their namesake, and that their own name might remind them, from time to time, of the sort of life they should be leading.

It’s also a way of suggesting your intentions to those interacting with you. Someone above already mentioned that such names tend to be easy for people to remember, as well.

I never gleaned much satisfaction from naming a character “Xylonius Bmapherboon”

But once derived great joy from a fighter/mage/thief named “Isosceles”