Questions tagged [names]
For questions about names: of characters, including titles, nicknames, and honorifics; of in-universe locations, e.g. countries or planets; or of objects, e.g. vessels, weapons, etc. Questions can be in-universe or out-of-universe, about topics such as origins, meanings, usage and pronunciation. For questions about the title of a work of sci-fi or fantasy, use the [title-explanation] tag instead.
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Why does everyone call Hagrid by his last name?
Throughout the Harry Potter novels, Rubeus Hagrid is the only character consistently addressed by his last name in a friendly manner. While the trio do frequently address their enemies by their last ...
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Why do Hogwarts teachers have such strange names?
Look at the first names of the Hogwarts staff we know of:
Albus, Minerva, Severus, Filius, Remus, Pomona, Quirinus, Gilderoy, (Argus), ...
Most of these sound like ancient Roman or Greek names. ...
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Why are the names Sauron and Saruman so similar?
The names Sauron and Saruman are very similar in writing and pronunciation.
Is it an accident? or having an a forethought reason?
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Why does Sauron not permit his followers to use his name?
From The Two Towers, chapter 1, "The Departure of Boromir":
Upon their shields [the orcs] bore a strange device: a small white hand in the centre of a black field; on the front of their ...
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The use of 'Darth' as Vader's name, not title, in Star Wars
I watched Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope for the first time in a while a few days ago (the first step in taking my Daughter through the Machete Order). One thing that stood out was the pre-duel ...
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Why is Sauron's name similar to the Greek/Latin word for "lizard"?
The name Sauron is spelled like, and sounds very similar to the Greek word σαῦρος, or the corresponding Latin word saurus, which means lizard.
Is this just a coincidence, or is there a (known or ...
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Why did JK Rowling choose the name 'Harry'?
The title says it all, my question is, has JK Rowling ever commented on why she chose the name Harry for her main character?
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Does Gollum know that others call him Gollum?
I don't recall any of the characters in Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit calling Sméagol Gollum in his face. It seems to be more of a private epithet. Is this correct? Does Gollum know that others call ...
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Origin of Darth Vader's name
Who came up with the name Darth Vader? According to Wiktionary (apparently Darth Vader now warrants a dictionary entry meaning "a malevolent, dominating and threatening force" :o):
Derived from the ...
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How did Gandalf get each of his various names?
Gandalf goes by many names in Tolkien's works. Gandalf himself says in The Two Towers:
"Many are my names in many countries. Mithrandir among the elves, Tharkûn to the dwarves; Olórin I was in my ...
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Why (in universe) are blade runners called blade runners?
We all know that a blade runner is a detective who hunts down replicants. There is an interesting out-of-universe story of how that name arose during production of the movie.1 However, is there any ...
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How is his name "Chewbacca"?
Chewbacca (Chewie to his friends) is the Wookiee in the original Star Wars trilogy. We know his name because people other than he say his name. Whenever he speaks, it's in growls and other noises, ...
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Why was Frodo "wise" and Samwise a "half-wit"?
According to the sources I’ve found (for example this one), “Frodo” comes from the Old English “fród”, meaning wise. (Apparently in “Hobbit Language” Frodo’s name is “Maura”, but I don’t know if this ...
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How is the name "Gandalf" pronounced?
I've been reading answers to the question asking how "Smaug" should be pronounced and I was wondering, is there an authoritative answer to the pronunciation of "Gandalf"?
I first read The Hobbit ...
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Why was Luke "Red Five"?
In Star Wars: A New Hope, at beginning of the attack on the Death Star, we see the pilots of Red Squadron check in.
Luke reports in as "Red Five", however we also ...
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Did Luke Skywalker ever refer to Obi-Wan as "Uncle Ben?"
Until recently, the Wikipedia article for Peter Parker's Uncle Ben said this at the top:
As far as I can remember, Luke never refers to Obi-Wan as "Uncle Ben" in any of the films, or any of the EU ...
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Why are there two characters named Aegon?
Spoilers for the Season 7 finale of Game of Thrones, "The Dragon and the Wolf".
At the end of the episode through one of Bran's visions we learn that:
While we knew that Jon was the son of ...
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Why was Marvin called "the paranoid android"?
Marvin, from The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is clearly depressed, but there are not any indications that I recall (from the books, at least ) that he is paranoid. Yet both in-universe and out-of-...
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Why is the name "Rigel", and especially "Rigel VII", used in multiple universes?
Star Trek has a Rigel VII.
Star Wars has a Rigel VII.
Marvel Comics has a Rigel-3.
The Simpsons has a Rigel 7, though I expect this is parodying the aforementioned works.
All of the above systems ...
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Is there a reason the Wachowskis chose the names Smith and Anderson?
The obvious reason and what I would assume is most likely is the frequency of these names in at least the United States:
Rank Name %
1. Smith 1.006
2. Johnson 0.810
3. ...
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What are the origins of the names "Just Read The Instructions" and "Of Course I Still Love You"?
SpaceX / Elon Musk dubbed their East Coast floating landing pad (or "Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship", (ASDS) if you really prefer), Just Read The Instructions, apparently after a ship from ...
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What was Darth Maul's birth name?
When a person becomes a Sith, he changes his name. For example:
Palpatine took (or was given) the name Sidious
Count Dooku took (or was given) the name Tyranus
Anakin Skywalker was given the name ...
user64716
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Was the original hobbit name of Bilbo and Frodo "Bilba" and "Froda"?
I am reading the appendices of The Lord of the Rings and in particular Appendix F, part II "On translation".
Tolkien writes:
To their man-children they usually gave names that had no meaning at ...
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Where did using "Luna" as the future name for the moon come from? [closed]
Besides Latin, of course. It seems to be very common to refer to the (typically colonized) moon as "Luna" in sci-fi works. Did authors independently decide to use the Latin name? Or did someone ...
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Is there an in-universe explanation for the Roman Empire terminology used for the Romulans?
This answer to another question indicates that several of the showrunners of Star Trek had an interest in the Roman Empire, and that influenced their design and construction of the Romulan Empire. ...
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What's the relationship among the many uses of the name "Galen" in sci-fi?
This name is particularly common in SFF, the most recent example being the character of Galen Erso in Rogue One.
Now, Galen of Pergamon, clearly the most prominent real-world usage, was a famous early ...
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Why is the name Strider considered offensive?
To be clear, I am not asking why Aragorn and the Dunedain are treated as suspicious, but why the nickname 'Strider' (and Longshanks) is implied to have an insulting undertone, by Bill Ferny and ...
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Does Emperor Palpatine have a first name?
Has the first name of Emperor Palpatine been mentioned in any Star Wars work?
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First use of the term "belter" in sci-fi as the demonym for asteroid belt inhabitants?
Obviously the series The Expanse has brought the term "Belter" into relatively common use. However, I have seen the expression used in Larry Niven's great novel Protector (strongly ...
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What's the origin of referring to female superior officers as "sir"?
It is well established in Star Trek: The Next Generation that female superior officers are normally referred to as sir. This is applied to Dr. Crusher, Counselor Troi, Cmdr. Shelby, Maj. Kira, Lt. ...
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Who declared the Last Alliance to be the "last" and why?
Who named it, why and when?
Some possibilities I can think of:
They themselves chose it, meaning that if they would overthrow and destroy Sauron, no more such alliances would be needed.
Someone gave ...
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What’s the correct way to refer to “the Doctor”?
What is the correct or most acceptable way to refer to the main character of Doctor Who?
The Doctor
Dr. Who
Doctor Who
Doctor
The Dr.
I was searching and couldn't find any explanation on how I ...
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Was the name "Thanos" derived from "Thanatos", the name of the Greek god of death?
This is intended to be an out-of-universe question
I recently learned of Thanatos the Greek god of death, and I could not help but notice how similar the name Thanos is to the name Thanatos. This got ...
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What is the Origin of Link's name?
In the Legend of Zelda series the protagonist is always named Link. We know Zelda's name was based on a real world thing from What is Princess Zelda's full name?.
Why/how did the creator come ...
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Who gave Sauron his name?
Sauron, of course, wasn't Sauron's original name. He was called Mairon the Admirable. Mairon was only given the name Sauron upon his defection to evil. The name Sauron was given in mockery of his ...
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Why isn't the First Order the Second Order?
The First Order heavily based themselves off of the Galactic Empire. They were also directly formed from its remains.
The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary:
The Old Empire withered away, becoming a ...
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What was Admiral Ackbar's name?
I saw references in some newer Disney canon to Admiral Ackbar's first name being Gial.
What was the history of the name Gial (as in, how and when did it appear in canon)?
More importantly, what was ...
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What, if anything, is the name FRIDAY an acronym for?
At the end of Age of Ultron,
JARVIS is an acronym for for Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. What is FRIDAY an acronym for?
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In the Alien series, what is the meaning of the "LV" designation for planets and moons?
Alien and Aliens take place on LV-426, Prometheus on LV-223. What does "LV" stand for?
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First uses of names having power?
Often, in science fiction, knowing a person's true name gives you power over it. One such example is in the Inheritance Cycle series. Also, sometimes only knowing the person's name can give you ...
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Did Tolkien give Thranduil his name?
I am aware that during the writing of The Hobbit, Tolkien must not have had much in mind for a large universe, as he was simply writing a children's book. Therefore, Thranduil was simply named 'the ...
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What's the relationship among the many uses of the name "Praxis" in sci-fi?
Besides being the name of the Klingon moon destroyed in Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country,
there are at least five other uses of the name in sci-fi or gaming citation
How are these uses related?
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What does the city name Ankh-Morpork in Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels mean?
I would assume that someone has asked this question before but I haven't found any discussion about the name of Ankh-Morpork. Ever since I read my first Discworld book, I kept wondering about this ...
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Was Hogwarts named such because of a connection to warthogs?
Was Hogwarts named 'Hogwarts' because of a connection to warthogs?
Or was it named for hogs and warts separately, or something else entirely?
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Does "FN" stand for or mean anything?
There are several Stormtroopers with designations in the form "FN-####" in The Force Awakens, including
There are also other First Order Stormtroopers whose designations start with "FN" appearing in ...
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What is the significance of Lily Luna Potter's middle name?
All of Harry's other children have middle names that honour people who played a serious part not just in his life, but in the second wizarding war: James Sirius Potter, and Albus Severus Potter.
...
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What does Eru Ilúvatar's name mean?
So I was wondering whether Eru Ilúvatar has any meaning in and of itself, in-universe, besides being the name of the Creator? Is it at all related to any words in Primitive Quendian, for example?
Out-...
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Why didn't Snape recognize the Marauder's Map?
When Harry was in the corridors trying to find Peter Pettigrew at night, Snape came. Snape took that map, and had a few attempts at revealing it. When he told the map to reveal itself in the name of ...
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Is there any guidance on how to pronounce "Da5id" from Snow Crash?
Has Neil Stephenson ever commented about how the character's name Da5id should be pronounced?
Failing that how is the name pronounced in the audio version?
I'm re-reading the book and my inner ...
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What does "Ilvermorny" mean?
I searched a lot on the Internet for the meaning of "Ilvermorny", including Pottermore, but I couldn't find anything other than wild theories like this. :( Now, I admit that "Hogwarts" doesn't seem to ...
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