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4[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dubname.png]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:350: A woman of many names, to be sure.]]
6
7->'''Vincent:''' And you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?\
8'''Jules:''' They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?\
9'''Vincent:''' Nah, man, they got the metric system. They wouldn't know what the fuck a Quarter Pounder is.\
10'''Jules:''' What do they call it?\
11'''Vincent:''' They call it a "Royale with Cheese".
12-->-- ''Film/PulpFiction''
13
14A Dub Name Change is when one, several, or all the characters have their names drastically changed with the importing of a fictional property.
15
16Usually it's meant to be a {{Woolseyism}}, when name changes are made [[CulturalTranslation so the audiences of the foreign country can better understand and relate to the characters]]. Names are also changed to avoid controversial names (or have different meanings in another culture like [[Manga/DragonBall Mr. Satan]]), [[WritingAroundTrademarks prevent trademark infringement]], [[RenamedToAvoidAssociation other thorny associations]], or retain {{Meaningful|Name}} or {{Punny Name}}s that would otherwise be [[LostInTranslation lost in a more pure translation]]. In the case of video games, these have often come about due to [[CharacterNameLimits limitations in the number of characters used in a name]] (Japanese names can become ''much'' longer when written in the Roman alphabet). Sometimes not all the names will be translated, leading to AerithAndBob situations in some cases. Often, the dub name becomes so heavily ingrained in the local culture that it's difficult to imagine anyone using the original names.
17
18On the other hand, as mentioned in SubbingVersusDubbing, there are countries where dubbing is only done for works intended for young children, who can't be expected to read the subtitles fast enough or at all. In those countries, this trope is much harder to pull off - for a viewer in, say, UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} or UsefulNotes/{{Finland}}, having subtitles that read "Israel Israeli" or "Matti Meikäläinen" respectively, while the name spoken on-screen is "John Doe", is disorienting.
19
20Fans of the original material are likely to [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks get upset about or ignore the name changes]] (and some are legitimate {{Macekre}}s) but other fans have embraced (or at least tolerated) them. It usually depends on how strong the culture/national pride in the original work comes out; European names on characters who are supposed to be Japanese and from Japan can seem a little odd.
21
22As well, some are not actually changes but a romanization or translation that is easier for foreign voice actors to replicate. In some cases, it's possible to more or less literally translate a name, eg. in most cases of LukeNounverber or SomethingPerson; such a name might be left untranslated, translated literally, translated partly literally, or changed altogether. Also worth noting is that it's actually common practice for foreigners to adopt European names in real life because it's easier than having to explain how to pronounce their original name again and again. Japanese names are an exception because their naming convention is easier for European language speakers to grasp.
23
24For the same name with a different spelling see InconsistentSpelling. See also CleanDubName (when it happens to avoid profanity or jokes), BarelyChangedDubName (when the localized names are written or sound similarly to the original name), DubPronunciationChange (when the name itself is unchanged but it's pronounced differently than in the original language), LocalizedNameInANonLocalizedSetting (when characters' names are changed but not the setting), MascotsNameGoesUnchanged (when the mascot doesn't have their name changed) and DitchingTheDubNames (when the dub names are dropped in later installments). For changes made to work titles, see CompletelyDifferentTitle and MarketBasedTitle. May be part of a DubInducedPlotlineChange. May also cause local IAmNotShazam situations. See also DubSpeciesChange.
25
26----
27!!Examples
28
29[[index]]
30* DubNameChange/ForeignToEnglish
31** DubNameChange/JapaneseToEnglish
32** ''DubNameChange/AceAttorney''
33** ''DubNameChange/{{Barbapapa}}'' (including its other languages)
34** ''DubNameChange/DragonQuestI''
35** ''DubNameChange/DynamiteHeaddy''
36** ''DubNameChange/FinalFantasy''
37** ''DubNameChange/JoJosBizarreAdventure''
38** ''DubNameChange/{{Kinnikuman}}''
39** ''DubNameChange/MarioParty''
40** ''DubNameChange/MegaMan''
41** ''DubNameChange/MonicasGang'' (including its other languages)
42** ''DubNameChange/PhantasyStarI''
43** ''DubNameChange/{{Pokemon}}''
44** ''DubNameChange/PowerRangers''
45** ''DubNameChange/RainbowMagic''
46** ''DubNameChange/TearsOfThemis''
47** ''DubNameChange/{{Transformers}}'' (including its other languages)
48** ''DubNameChange/VoltesV'' (including its other languages)
49** ''DubNameChange/YuGiOh''
50* DubNameChange/EnglishAndOtherLanguagesToForeign
51** DubNameChange/EnglishToForeign
52*** ''DubNameChange/{{Cuphead}}''
53*** ''DubNameChange/RainbowBrite''
54** DubNameChange/NonEnglishExamples
55[[/index]]
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