Taking on a Night Side Name

[The Madame X]

[Jezabel]

[Amaethon Cane]

[ShadowEyes]

Some believe you are to know yourself better than others know you. In that regards, a name chosen for you (rather than by you) would have less merit. However, I generally feel ambivalent towards it...differing cultures have different naming conventions.

Modern occult practices being more "buffet style" rather than strict ceremonial (ie: the practicioner has more lenency to pick attributes that they enjoy or feel more inclined to practice), I'd say seek within and you shall find a name there. Names are power, names can obscure and protect, and names can change you.

Chose wisely.

[Amaethon Cane]

The way I look at it is kinda like they are 3 view points of who a person is. The image you have of yourself, the image others have of you and the real you. I personally think the image others see is closer to the real you than the image you have of yourself, so in that sence it's better to be given a nightside name than to take one on yourself.

TJ

[The Madame X]

Traditionally, your nightside name if given to a vamp by their Sire as a sign of their awakening to a new reality of life.
Altho I usually make suggestions, I seldom insist that the ward take on a name that they do not like.
Like most things it has to be a mutual agreement.

TJ, I am looking forward to meeting you in person ...

[Jezabel]

[Caliphora]

My nightside name popped into existence at the same time as my awakening, it just happened to be a word that stuck in my head at the same time as I started realising my nature. It comes from the latin word for blue bottle fly - and I see it qite fitting. Blue bottle flies can help in the process of generating healthy tissue in flesh wounds, and they are annoyingly buzzy.

Yeah, suits me.

[mayakali1]

[The Madame X]

The double edged thing about scene names is their turnoff value. Scene names are our calling card, often they are our first words and our closing note, and they are what we first offer to others as a first impression piece.
Some common turn offs are: Cliches, bad sad combinations, bad spelling choices, cartoony names, RPG names, acronyms / abbreviations and names that make you sound dumb.

Cliches are turn off number one but we've learned to live with them as they unfortunately permeate the Community ... cliche' names include: wolf, raven, vamp, lilith, cane, drac... These names which may be a shoe-in for you, are so over used in the scene, that they are literally beaten into the ground. You may not want to be the 6th multicolored Wolf on anyones' Rolodex.

Bad sad combinations make folks want to cringe. What we may think sounds catchy may actually be in poor taste. Ask yourself: would a self-respecting community elder have such a name? Funny is usually bad. Rhymmy is usually sad. Rude Blood Dude is horrible!

Creative spelling choices are dangerous. Generally folks assume you misspelled your own name... and that's bad. Accidental text misspellings are bad enough. When using alternate spellings or a spelling change, make it subtle like: Jesabell from Jezebel. .. and Gsus from Jesus. Avoid apparent mistakes like: Lusifer and Drecula.

Cartoony names like Dewy Duck, Seedy Gonzalo, and Mighty Mouser are downright immature and will get you only disrespect (and maybe a few chuckles). It may be catchy, but if it sounds remotely cartoony, stay away from it. So...Don't use the Pirate Name Generator, Don't use the Goth Name Generator and definitely Don't use the Vampyre Name Generator for anything other than laughs.

Role Paying Inspired names, scream one thing:"I'm a roleplayer!!" Its a shame, but if you use WhiteWolf inspired names like: Ventrue, Ravenos, Cataiff, etc... You will automatically be dismissed for being a gamer wannabe. There are quite a few old school individuals with RPG inspired names who had to more than prove themselves to earn community respect. No need to start out with a name that may be counterproductive from the get go.

In the age of acronyms and abbreviations, its hard to stay away from them, particularly if we are looking for a scene name. But keep in mind that not everyone has your background and while you may understand the initials or abbreviations, others will mostlikely misinterpret them. Stay away altogether from extended acronyms as most folks will find those hard to recall. Abbreviations are dangerous they are misleading and often misinterpreted.

Ultimately you want a name that conveys your interests, personality, history, etc... a classy name, worthy of an Elder, not one that makes you sound less appealing, less talented or less polite. Poor choices would be: Lord Nothing, VampTramp, BloodWhore, Staked N. Stupid, etc...

[Hellkat]

I have a friend who chose Vampiress UK but when she registered it she put vampiressuk..... you can see how that tured out for her.

[The Madame X]

Has anyone had a naming ceremony or has attended one?
Why have a naming ceremony?
What should a naming ceremony entail?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[Khan]

This is just for thought, but has anyone contemplated a common Family name to be added to your current name?

[vampirearges]

I honestly haven't heard of that happening- but since I've been out of the loop- that doesn't mean anything.

Personally, I probably would include my family name- my family's last name comes from a little town in bosnia- and according to my father- we are distantly related to Vlad Tepes, but I havent seen anything to prove that. But be that as it may, I would wish to include my family's original last name in my nightside name. I currently do not have one- and would wish for my name to be given traditionally.

[The Madame X]

Khan do you mean Dayside or Nightside Family? Give us an example...