The "What's a good name for this?" thread

What's a good name for a character who speaks only in rhymes?

Fume?

:

"Baird", which is a variation of "Bard" and "Barde", and therefore has obvious poetic implications.

Or, for an older and/or more exotic character, "Kavi", meaning "poet" and "sage".

Anyone have a suggestion for me?

I'd really need more of an idea of the intended audience perception of both the character and the world before I could make suggestions.

The world's mythology is similar to Norse Mythology (and Old English mythology), and it's his (protagonist's) home world, even though he's grown up in our world because of a conflict. He's supposed to be a bit naive about the events (this is an urban fantasy modelled on Tolkien)

EDITED: A plausible name might actually be Middangeard/Mittelerde ("Middle-earth" in Old English) but I still need a surname for Frodo.

edited 22nd Jan '13 6:07:48 PM by MorwenEdhelwen

A man who speaks in naught but rhyme...must surely be named something like Thyme. For the who and the what is all about rhyming, and as for the when that's for the timing.

So, I went with Vermilium for the school. How could the school be called? It teaches magic, arts, science and war... Vermillion Academy of General Studies? It sounds a bit... Off.

edited 23rd Jan '13 12:03:18 PM by risingdreamer

Why not just Vermillion Academy? Also, is there any reason why the school is offering such a diverse range of subjects? If so, you could mention that in its name.

Polygnostic Academy of Vermillion?

Vermillion Military Academy? You said it taught war so I'm seeing some sort of West Point deak going on.

I need a name for two of the three towns in my story.

The town I have named is called Innsmouth (An H.P. Lovecraft reference) and I need the other towns to also have New England style names, as the story takes place on an island in New England.

Any suggestions are welcome.

I may be wrong but New England towns tend to have typically 'English' and/or 'Colonial' names. In which case, one possible route is to open up a map of England and borrow a name from there (e.g. Boston, MA was named after Boston, Lincolnshire while Manchester, NH was named after the English city and county of the same name). Alternatively, the town can be named in homage to a British monarch; with 'Jamestown' and 'Georgetown' being popular choices. Perhaps 'Henrytown' if you want something more unique?

An assortment of British town names chosen at random: Basingstoke, St Albans, Harrogate, Grimsby.

All evoke different imagery in my mind. Maybe one or a few might strike your fancy. To the best of my knowledge, none of those names have been used in the U.S. (at least not in New England).

edited 25th Jan '13 9:18:22 AM by peasant

Muchas gracias, that should be good.

I need a name for a place where magic is studied in a manner similar to physics; testing, rigorous experiments, and so on. Not a specific place, but a generic word, the same way "laboratory" is to science.

Does International Security Support Elements sound like a fairly innocuous name for what is basically an international counter-terrorism task force?

: Sorceretory? Magiratory? Sorcitorium? Magitorium? Incantorium? (Or some various spellings thereof?)

Maybe even just "the magery"?

: I'd say so, yes.

Ethereal Arts Lab?

A 'laboratory' literally means a 'place where people work'. In that regard, you could very well use the same word for the place where people study magic.

Alternatively, since magic is the opposite of science, you could change it so the magic equivalent of a laboratory is a 'place where people dream' or to that effect. Perhaps an 'imaginarium' or look up the Latin words for 'dream', 'wonder' or 'imagination'?

Thaumatory or thaumatorium? Labyratory? Sortilegery? Studio?

Actually, this is neat: Wikipedia notes that the French word atelier, for studio, has connotations of being a home of a wizard or alchemist.

edited 26th Jan '13 8:32:59 PM by Noaqiyeum

Thaumatory has a nice ring to it.

I was considering "arcanorium" or "arcanium", but the former's apparently the name of a college claiming to specialize in magic, while the latter's a heavy metal band. Maybe I could use one or the other anyway.

I need an alternate name for a fantasy version of Germany. My current name is "Theodiscus," but that name doesn't exactly mesh well with the tone of the story (which is basically a fairy tale).

Need a "boring" name. A name for a man who, though powerful and influential, doesn't rock the proverbial boat, and who is generally free of any drama more complicated than his use of #2 pencils when OBVIOUSLY a man of his station should use a #1

edited 26th Jan '13 10:03:26 PM by Eagal

John Williams? Michael Smith?

Well, the German word for Germany, Deutschland, is kinda fantastic sounding really.

Williams is good if not 157% perfect. Good enough for my purposes in any event. Thank ye kindly. :)