Syrana tagged me again in another of those memes that are going around, and this one is quite interesting indeed. It is amazing how much you can learn about others from the way they create their characters, and especially the way in which they pick a name.

It is a simple concept: “Tell us how you select your character names (even if it means digging out an old post!) and tag 3 other bloggers. Thee who have been tagged shall be revealed at the end.” In truth, the answer is much, much more complex for me than the simple nature of the meme. Let’s get to it:

Byaghro – Bengali for “tiger,” Byaghro actually holds multiple reasons for being my name of choice for the character I love most. Although until recently I never played as a feral druid, the concept of using the name fits well with the cat forms all druids possess. More importantly for me, however, is the fact that the tiger is my favorite animal (followed by pretty much any type of cat), and one whose representation in many cultures and philosophies I identify strongly with. This is one of two names I use in some variation throughout most games when possible.

Jeseth – Actually a play on utilizing my real name, Jeseth is the other name I use in some variation throughout the gaming world. It’s variations have ranged from J’seth in Star Wars Galaxies to Jeseth, Jesseth, Jesth, and Jesethe in various other games.

Aingeal – Irish Gaelic for “angel,” this one and its counterpart below are used for their symbolic meanings in some variation. For this particular incarnation, a hunter, the name was derived as a result of the thought of an “angel of death” in PvP play. Ironically, it is also a result of the thought of one who communicates and cares for animals in such a manner, bonding with them, being angelic in some way.

Deamhan – Irish Gaelic for “demon,” I chose for slightly more simple reasons. This iteration, a priest, simply makes an intriguing counterpart to the hunter above, especially when taking into consideration the ability for a priest to be a manifestation of the light. In essence, the choice to use this name with the priest was driven by the thought that even the strongest wielder of “good” powers is tainted by some dark secret.

Sinil (and Synil – Variations of names that I liked while flipping through the random name generator, predominantly for the concept of utilizing “sin” in the name in some fashion.

Degenerate – I struggled with naming my death knight for multiple reasons. I wanted to use a “better” name in general (I’m very picky about names), but at the same time I wanted to emphasize the thought that a death knight would be an outcast from “society.” Degenerate ended up being my choice primarily because it played into the thoughts I had for using the term in my RP stories that have been posted here.

And that, my friends, is the story of how I have come up with the names I generally use in some variation or another. Sure I still use the random name generator on occasion, but it is rare to accept the name the RNG actually produces (a couple of noticeable exceptions have been Sinil and Aelyn). All in all, my character names generally are derived from some thought of my intent for those characters, or with some identifying trait corresponding to me.

I’m curious about a couple of the names I’ve seen out there, so I’m going to tag the guy that likes my name so much he played off of it (Samodean at Hardcore Casual), the always fascinating Nib over at Mystic Chicanery, and that seductive blood elf Aureilie over at Palordin.