It's hard to invent an original name for a character

[Britva415]

I guess I've managed to avoid those offices.

Yeah, I probably should have specified “corporate.” There are non-Karenbait offices

 

[Pabiporffor]

There's an old story of how teachers before meeting a new class look at the name list and predict who the troublemakers are going to be. The logic is people who move in the same circles tend to share common names, good families don't name their kids Dwight or Tracy.

We have preconceived ideas about names and I like to exploit that. I needed a name for a teen from a wealthy background so I picked Sophie rather than Sharon which is more of a shoplifter name. Similarly in my last offering I chose Betty for a granny name and not Zoe.

 

[intim8]

I tried this with my name (Candy Kane) and it returned 317 results with all of them being male with an average age of 94. Something hinky going on.

Yeah, I think that site is BS. I picked a random slightly unusual name from a WIP, Effie Elkington. 900+ hits, almost all male, and average age of 95. I suppose Effie could have been a popular name a century ago, but for baby boys?

 

[Katie_Mae]

Yeah, I think that site is BS. I picked a random slightly unusual name from a WIP, Effie Elkington. 900+ hits, almost all male, and average age of 95. I suppose Effie could have been a popular name a century ago, but for baby boys?

Yes. Apparently there are 777 people named "Bilbo Baggins" and they're all from the US.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Yes. Apparently there are 777 people named "Bilbo Baggins" and they're all from the US.

Seems a little low TBH.

 

[Bramblethorn]

There's an old story of how teachers before meeting a new class look at the name list and predict who the troublemakers are going to be. The logic is people who move in the same circles tend to share common names, good families don't name their kids Dwight or Tracy.

I wonder if there are any other social descriptors that tend to correlate with naming choices?

 

[gunhilltrain]

Yeah, I probably should have specified “corporate.” There are non-Karenbait offices

I'm so old that in the first office job I had, in a brokerage firm, everybody above one's immediate superior was addressed by Mister last name. I don't remember any women having such authority there. When I got my next job at a publishing company which was more "modern," I guess, I started doing that Mister thing on the first day. That seemed to surprise and possibly annoy people. "Call me Ralph."

 

[Katie_Mae]

Seems a little low TBH.

Not to mention all from the US lol. But I just looked again, apparently I was fooled by the big bold text saying

"How Many of Me WorldWide"​

and didn't look at the smaller text saying "produce results according to the number of Americans with the same full name as you"

Interestingly, there are 591 Americans named Hermione Granger... and they are all male, lol

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I'm so old that in the first office job I had, in a brokerage firm, everybody above one's immediate superior was addressed by Mister last name. I don't remember any women having such authority there. When I got my next job at a publishing company which was more "modern," I guess, I started doing that Mister thing on the first day. That seemed to surprise and possibly annoy people. "Call me Ralph."

Yeah, those days of over-formality are either dead or dying. I've got a friend in financial services, historically one of the more socially conservative fields, and the guy who runs their 1000 plus person operation gets annoyed if you don't call him Pete.

 

[SimonDoom]

Another way to come up with names is to come up with a perfectly ordinary name, and then change it a bit. That way you can create names that "sound" familiar but actually are not. For example, take the name "Adams" and turn it into "Eddums." It sounds like a plausible name, but I quickly checked and couldn't find anyone in the US with that surname.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Another way to come up with names is to come up with a perfectly ordinary name, and then change it a bit. That way you can create names that "sound" familiar but actually are not. For example, take the name "Adams" and turn it into "Eddums." It sounds like a plausible name, but I quickly checked and couldn't find anyone in the US with that surname.

Its Pig Latin for names!

 

[Katie_Mae]

I'm so old that in the first office job I had, in a brokerage firm, everybody above one's immediate superior was addressed by Mister last name. I don't remember any women having such authority there. When I got my next job at a publishing company which was more "modern," I guess, I started doing that Mister thing on the first day. That seemed to surprise and possibly annoy people. "Call me Ralph.

I work for a company where a "surname for everyone" culture company merged with a "given name/nickname for everyone" culture company.

For some reason the people in charge of the merger did not anticipate this would be an issue. Let's just say there were issues, haha.

 

[lovecraft68]

Me to my grandson who wants me to play video games with him. "Okay, you can name the character I just made."
Him "Foofart gasburp."
Me: "That works."

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Me to my grandson who wants me to play video games with him. "Okay, you can name the character I just made."
Him "Foofart gasburp."
Me: "That works."

You want Boaty McBoatface? Because that's how you get Boaty McBoatface!

 

[MrPixel]

It was only last week that I gave thought to a new FC, "Lorem Ipsum". Her pillow name is "Lori".

 

[Bramblethorn]

It was only last week that I gave thought to a new FC, "Lorem Ipsum". Her pillow name is "Lori".

I had a Laura Mipsem pencilled in for my work in progress, but there's room for more than one in the Litiverse...

 

[MrHereWriting]

It's hard to invent an original name for a character​

Yep.

 

[MrPixel]

I had a Laura Mipsem pencilled in for my work in progress, but there's room for more than one in the Litiverse...

Taking a look at the Wikipedia page for lorem ipsum, the original text was dolorem ipsum, which apparently translates to "pain itself". So there we have it, a great name for a BDSM domme: "Dolores Ipsum".

Yes?

 

[Writer61]

What are these office environments where people are referred to by their family name?

It can happen in certain locations/cultures. Visiting offices in India I am sometimes referred to as FamilyName only (not even Mr FamilyName). I have also had Chinese colleagues who were usually known by their FamilyName. Then there are countries where honorifics are used.

Although given names are now the norm in western culture it has not always been the case. When I started work the head of the department was Mr FamilyName to most of the staff.

 

[NoTalentHack]

In the D&D sessions I used to run, if I wanted to tell the players that the guy they were talking to was really just meant to be a background player, he’d have the surname Neppic (NPC). Big family, the Neppics.

 

[lovecraft68]

In the D&D sessions I used to run, if I wanted to tell the players that the guy they were talking to was really just meant to be a background player, he’d have the surname Neppic (NPC). Big family, the Neppics.

I'm going to use this to refer to myself seeing I'm anti-social and only interact with people when I have to.

New life goal-to be a Neppic.

 

[Bramblethorn]

In the D&D sessions I used to run, if I wanted to tell the players that the guy they were talking to was really just meant to be a background player, he’d have the surname Neppic (NPC). Big family, the Neppics.

I hear they invented Neppitism.

 

[Treeview]

Those of a certain age might recognize 'Snidely Whiplash' from 'Rocky and Bullwinkle' LOL

https://howmany-ofme.com/

Imagine my surprise when I found that there are 233 'Twin Brothers of Different Mothers' that I need to meet.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

It can happen in certain locations/cultures. Visiting offices in India I am sometimes referred to as FamilyName only (not even Mr FamilyName). I have also had Chinese colleagues who were usually known by their FamilyName. Then there are countries where honorifics are used.

Although given names are now the norm in western culture it has not always been the case. When I started work the head of the department was Mr FamilyName to most of the staff.

Certainly, but what percentage of stories written for literotica take places in offices in India and China?

No doubt there are some offices in the modern West where people use family name rather than first names. But we write fiction here, so it doesn't matter.
If you were to write a story set in an office where everyone is on a first name basis no one is going to call you out in the comments that it is unrealistic, because it isn't. Write a story about a Silicon Valley start up where everyone is Mr. Jones and Mrs. Smith and people will probably point out it's absurd.

 

[Writer61]

Certainly, but what percentage of stories written for literotica take places in offices in India and China?

Why is that relevant?

You asked "What are these office environments where people are referred to by their family name?" and I gave you some examples.