History Main / ArtifactName

* The Spanish Flu is so named because [[FalseCause Spain reported the most cases, creating the illusion that the disease came from there or that Spain was particularly affected by it]]. The disease was actually spreading in other countries, but the media in those countries couldn't report their cases due to [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI wartime]] censorship, and as Spain was a neutral country, the Spanish press wasn't under the same restrictions. Its ultimate origin is unknown, but the first known cases were actually reported in the United States.

* Back when the Strait of Malacca was named, Malacca was the most important port -- and the Strait, the most important waterway -- in the region. While, indeed, the latter still today holds true (and it is one of the most important in the ''world'', right with the Suez and Panama canals), the former does not: Malacca's port lost importance when [[UsefulNotes/TheDutchPortugueseWar the Dutch conquered the city from the Portuguese in 1641]] and diverted the local hub port to Batavia (today's [[UsefulNotes/{{Indonesia}} Jakarta]]); when the Dutch ceded it to the British in 1824, who would later go on to found UsefulNotes/{{Singapore}} and make ''that'' the local hub port, Malacca saw whatever remained of its importance fade. Nowadays Malacca is little more than a tourist town and fishing port.
* The names of the months of the UsefulNotes/{{Islam}}ic calendar were inherited from a lunisolar calendar that was used by the pagan Arabs, and thus predated Islam. Many of these months reflected fixed seasonal changes, such as Rabi' al-Awwal ("the beginning of spring"), Ramadan ("parchedness", because it fell in the middle of summer), and Shawwal ("carried/pregnant", because camels usually got pregnant during this month). However, Literature/TheQuran made the calendar purely lunar and forbade the usage of leap months, so the months end up cycling throughout the seasons, therefore the meanings were rendered obsolete (e.g., Ramadan can now fall at any season, not just summer).
* The names of the last four months of the year in the Roman calendar. When the months were first named, the calendar had only 304 days divided into ten months, with the remaining 61 days (all on winter) weren't considered part of any month. Therefore, the year began in March, and the last six months were all named after their their order in the calendar.\\
Later, the months of January and February were created out of the monthless period and added to the beginning of the calendar, which made, for example, September (literally, "the seventh month") into the ninth month, October ("the eighth month") into the tenth, and so on.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'', herons have an ability called 'canto' which allows them, if transformed, to move again after they have refreshed a unit. The word comes from Italian where it means 'to sing', which made sense at that time because herons refresh units via singing. However, this mechanic of moving after acting (usually attacking) had existed in multiple Fire Emblem games without ever being given a name, and so the fan community referred to them all as 'canto'. This was eventually used officially in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', where the skill 'Canto' allows a unit to act again after attacking or refreshing. However, the artifact was retired in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'', which replaced the word with the similar-sounding and more appropriate 'Canter', in specific reference to the ability of cavalry units to do this in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''.

* ''Series/SesameStreet'': Baby Bear is still named that even though he's no longer a baby. There was actually an episode where he tried to rename himself Not-a-Baby Bear, but it didn't stick.

* In ''Series/SesameStreet'', Baby Bear is still named that even though he's no longer a baby. He tried to rename himself Not-a-Baby Bear, but it didn't stick.

** In Japanese media, the leader of the Autobots used to be called Convoy rather than Prime (which was supposedly because the name "Optimus Prime" was hard for Japanese children to pronounce). While this made sense for Optimus and later Rodimus (as both turned into BigBadassRig[=s=]), this name did not make sense when Autobot leaders who did not turn into trucks started getting introduced after the conclusion of G1 in Japan. For example, [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Optimus Primal]] was also referred to as Convoy despite the fact he turns into a gorilla[[note]]Though he does have an armored transport mode in his Optimal Optimus form[[/note]]. Other examples of characters named Convoy who did not turn into trucks include Lio Convoy[[note]]Leo Prime[[/note]] (lion), Big Convoy (mammoth), Reverse Convoy (tank), Nitro Convoy[[note]]Override[[/note]] (race car), Flame Convoy[[note]]Scourge[[/note]] (dragon), Live Convoy[[note]]Evac[[/note]] (rescue helicopter), and Megalo Convoy[[note]]Metroplex[[/note]] (gigantic excavator). Following the release of ''Film/Transformers2007'', Japanese media began following the English media in naming the Autobot leaders Prime instead of Convoy, though the name Convoy does continue to show up in merchandise and media geared towards older collectors.

* The Spanish Flu is so named because [[FalseCause Spain reported the most cases, creating the illusion that the disease came from there or that only Spain was badly affected by it]]. The disease was actually spreading in other countries, but the media in those countries couldn't report their cases due to [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI wartime]] censorship, and as Spain was a neutral country, the Spanish press wasn't under the same restrictions. Its ultimate origin is unknown, but the first known cases were actually reported in the United States.

* The Spanish Flu is so named because [[FalseCause Spain reported the most cases, creating the illusion that the disease came from there or only Spain was badly affected by it]]. The disease was actually spreading in other countries, but the media in those countries couldn't report their cases due to [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI wartime]] censorship, and as Spain was a neutral country, the Spanish press wasn't under the same restrictions. Its ultimate origin is unknown, but the first known cases were actually reported in the United States.

* The Spanish Flu is so named because [[FalseCause Spain reported the most cases, creating the illusion that the disease came from there]]. The disease was actually spreading in other countries at the same time, but the media in those countries couldn't report their cases due to [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI wartime]] censorship, and as Spain was a neutral country, the Spanish press wasn't under the same restrictions. Its ultimate origin is unknown, but the first known cases were actually reported in the United States.

* The Spanish Flu is named that because [[FalseCause Spain reported the most cases, which led people to believe that the disease came from there]]. It is now known that the disease was actually spreading in other countries at the same time, but that those countries didn't want to report their cases due to UsefulNotes/WorldWarI-related reasons[[note]]Spain was a neutral country in WWI and wasn't involved, therefore the Spanish press wasn't under the same restrictions as the Allies[[/note]]. Its ultimate origin is unknown, but the first known cases were reported in the United States.

** The ComicBook/PostCrisis incarnation of the Legion were [[CloningBlues clones]] of the originals (the sons didn't exist in this continuity), and they ''still'' didn't sell papers.

* An InUniverse example in the ''{{Fanfic/Luminosity}}'' short story "Molly": the title character, a human girl [[RaisedByTheSupernatural raised by vampire parents]], uses the screen name "ultravioletcolorblind" in reference to the fact that [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires can see ultraviolet]]. Later, when she's turned and sees the color for the first time, she immediately thinks that she's going to have to change the name.

* ''WebOriginal/{{Serina}}'': The ancestral gravedigger species is so named because of its distinctive habit of killing prey using spiked pit traps. None of its three descendant species alive during the Ocean Age retains this habit -- thalassic gravediggers and icefishers both hunt sealife using implements such as fishing lines, nets and harpoons, while savage gravediggers lack both the resources and intelligence for any kind of tool use -- but retain the collective moniker used for their ancestors.

* The ComicBook/MartianManhunter's name came from his earlier appearances, where he appeared in ''Detective Comics'' and his main gimmick was that he was an investigator who was also an alien in disguise. As the Silver Age kicked into full gear, he was retooled into a more conventional superhero, and the detective side of his character fell out of focus almost completely. The "Manhunter" side of his name is now rather incongruous, and even seems a bit malevolent to some readers now that it isn't associated with detectives and investigators anymore.

** The name of the franchise and the creatures themselves, Pokémon or Pocket *Monsters*. It comes from the fact they were originally going to be monstrous beings resembling kaiju monsters. The kaiju theme was dropped, with most Pokémon being based on animals rather than monsters, and a large percentage of them [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter looking adorable,]] yet they're still referred to as monsters.

Can occur due to LanguageDrift.

Sister trope to ArtifactTitle, which is this, but for work titles, and this is a subtrope of NonIndicativeName, which is for when any name doesn't make sense, at least on its face.

NonIndicativeName is the SuperTrope for names that don't make sense. This trope is for cases of LanguageDrift or other kinds of change over time, changing things to a name that was accurate, now is not.

In some cases the name was a NonIndicativeName all along, but something else has changed that also makes it an Artifact Name, usually requiring two parts to a name. For example, a "green dragon" has its color redefined as "blue" over time, but was initially named knowing that it's not "dragon"-y, such as in cases of CallASmeerpARabbit.

In some cases the name was a NonIndicativeName all along, but something else has changed that also makes it an Artifact Title, usually requiring two parts to a name. For example, a "green dragon" has its color redefined as "blue" over time, but was initially named knowing that it's not "dragon"-y, such as in cases of CallASmeerpARabbit.

In some cases the name was a NonIndicativeTitle all along, but something else has changed that also makes it an Artifact Title, usually requiring two parts to a name. For example, a "green dragon" has its color redefined as "blue" over time, but was initially named knowing that it's not "dragon"-y, such as in cases of CallASmeerpARabbit.

This can overlap with NonIndicativeName in cases where somehow, inaccuracy is not caused by change over time, usually requiring two parts to a name, like if a "green dragon" has its color redefined as "blue" over time, but was initially named knowing that it's not "dragon"-y, such as in cases of CallASmeerpARabbit.

* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}''. When Robot disbands the "teen team" because he's joining the Guardians of the Globe, he points out that the name would've become inaccurate within a couple years anyway.

* The Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance was for most of its history [[Main/ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an alliance of American pro wrestling promotions]], with a couple overseas members, and was the backbone of the territory system. Due to various poor business decisions by NWA members and [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} stiff competition]] the NWA in the 2020s is now a singular promotion[[note]]Currently owned by Music/SmashingPumpkins frontman/vocalist Billy Corgan, who purchased the [=NWA's=] rights and trademarks in 2018[[/note]] that really has no connection to the old territory companies.