Need help with a name

[Slyest Fox]

So, there's this thing in my WIP that's this long-lived formless semi-intangible evil that is currently locked away but when freed can infect things and make them slaves to its will. Though it's sentient, it appears as little more than a black tar-like thing though it can assume the shape of other things if it wishes.

I've been calling it the Darkness but it's a placeholder name that I'm not really happy with. Just feels really obvious and unoriginal, as do names like Abyss or Shadow or Void, etc. I could just make up a name, of course, but I'd prefer if whatever it was called had some sort of actual real world meaning. Any ideas?

[Snick]

I was going to make some sarcastic suggestions, but you probably already thought of those, so you might try a random word generator or name generator. there are several around the internet, and at least one allows the user to specify certain conditions. You might lso use a common (more or less) word that means nothing like that. I loved the use of "The True Anthrax" as the name of a gem in Dragon of the Ishtar Gate by L. Sprague de Camp.

[Wicked]

Sometimes if I'm stuck for a name for that type of creature, and mythology can't help me out, I go to languages. Then I brainstorm a list of all the words that come to mind when I think of my character, and see how they translate.

My first stop is usually the Latin translator, but words like deceiver, and false, didn't really have good results.

So then I tried German. Unwahr is a German word for false. I think it has that monster quality, while still maintaining meaning.

Once I find a word I really like, I google it, to make sure no one is already using it for a similar creature. Video games are always beating me to the punch.

[DJMaxwell]

I second Wicked, and even if the translations don't quite give you what you want, you can always bastardize it and come up with something interesting. For instance, "darkness" in Japanese is "yami" (pronounced yah-me) and "shadow" is "kage" (pronounced kah-gay), so you could use either of those, or maybe twist and add characters or simply change the spelling so that the name seems like a name (and is easy to pronounce, which is important in my opinion).

Just a thought.

[Titan Orion]

Malevolence

[Arcs]

translate.google.com

God of darkness = Yami no kami
evil god = akujin
dark evil = kurai waru

Then just bastardize the heck out of them. It's kinda fun!

[MelodySRV]

You could take void into different languages. Depending on the time period, you might try a guttural language, like German, or a formal language, like Latin or Italian. Just make sure the word doesn't seem so obvious.

[MysticPunk]

When skin turns black and is dying, usually because of illness, it is called Necrosis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrosis

If this darkness thing takes over the world the way that I understand it, corrupting and engulfing, then something like this might work for you.

[Mr Flibble]

Griswald?

Sorry, sorry....


What does this thing embody in the story? how do people think of it? Sometimes simple just works. Simple =/= bad always. A super clever name might actually jar me out of the story if not integrated well. Because, wel let's face it, a lot of names for things are pretty damn simple

[n3onkn1ght]

The Druj.

It's Zoroastrian, and it means "the corruption". It refers to the pitched battle between light and dark that men and women must fight through good thoughts, good words, and good actions.

[Trevor Bruhn]

Some variation on The Well of Souls? Well's End, Well's Bottom?

[Mr Flibble]

Originally Posted by n3onkn1ght

The Druj.

It's Zoroastrian, and it means "the corruption".

Which will only work if Zoroastrian people named it...

Which brings us to - who are the people naming it? What sort of people are they? What's their culture? how would they think of it??

[MysticPunk]

Originally Posted by IdiotsRUs

Which will only work if Zoroastrian people named it...

Which brings us to - who are the people naming it? What sort of people are they? What's their culture? how would they think of it??

good question. Answer this and you'll have your name.

[n3onkn1ght]

Originally Posted by IdiotsRUs

Which will only work if Zoroastrian people named it...

Not necessarily. Names don't always make sense if analyzed in the context of the world. How many secondary world fantasies have people named John (which means "Gift From God") in worlds that have absolutely no trace of Judeo-Christian traditions? Writers use the name John because they like the feel of it.

[Mr Flibble]

Originally Posted by n3onkn1ght

How many secondary world fantasies have people named John (which means "Gift From God") in worlds that have absolutely no trace of Judeo-Christian traditions?

None that spring to mind (I expect there are some, I just can't think of any). And it would certainly bug me silly if I saw it used that way. YMMV.

[jaksen]

If it's long-lived, or virtually immortal, call it Forever or Always - in a diff. language. Look up synonyms or names of gods/goddesses/deities which have names similar to dark forever, dark always, dark unchanging...

Or Night. Or Emptiness. There has to be a deity somewhere in charge of empty worlds.

Just a suggestion.

[Debio]

Why not use The Darkness, or The Dark. It is descriptive. Sometimes simple can have much deeper connotations that you can play with. Humans have a very basic fear of the dark. You can really play that up.

I would strongly suggest not using a foreign language word from our world, unless you are fluent, or have access to a native speaker for help.

Unfortunately, I would even more strongly suggest not using a Japanese word. But this is because anyone who speaks or knows any Japanese who sees that name will automatically assume that you are a Manga Fanboy, with all the associated baggage that comes with that image. Unless that is what you are trying for, I would avoid it.

Other languages will give you similar problems. Granted, the number of people who read your story who also know the language you took the name from will be very small. But it may very well hurt you with those readers.

*If this post offended any fans of manga, I do apologize. I read manga myself. I do not and would not insult people who enjoy manga in general. I was referring to a small subgroup that tends to go a bit overboard.

[Dreity]

The Dark is at least workable. I think it could be pretty wicked if you added another word that describes the nature of the beast. Creeping Death is an overused guild name in MMOs now, but before that it was an okay Metallica song with a freaking awesome title.

This is why I would not use The Darkness. Watching this video is something of an initiation rite in my circle of friends, and if I used it in a serious context I would be mocked mercilessly. So now I'm going to ruin it for everyone else, too! *cackle*

[Slyest Fox]

Originally Posted by IdiotsRUs

Which will only work if Zoroastrian people named it...

Which brings us to - who are the people naming it? What sort of people are they? What's their culture? how would they think of it??

Yeah, that's the big issue because the people who named it are an invented culture. The Roman Empire, during the course of its conquering, comes across these fictional group of ancient people that have been holding it at bay for millennia. So since it's a fictional culture, the name would be fictional too. Unless the Romans renamed it, then I suppose it would be Latin.

Obviously names from other cultures, be it Japanese, Chinese, German, etc. wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.

[n3onkn1ght]

Originally Posted by Slyest Fox

Unless the Romans renamed it, then I suppose it would be Latin.

Wouldn't be an isolated occurrence. As the Romans considered themselves the seat of civilization, they had a fondness for renaming things in their own language, like "Britannia", which is obviously still in use today. Of course, learning the local tongue isn't easy when you're slaughtering the inhabitants and driving them into the hills, but that's neither here nor there.

Also, after Emperor Hadrian dealt with a succession of bloody Jewish revolts in Judeah, he basically renamed the whole region "Palestine" after the original inhabitants, the Philistines, just to piss off the Jews.

It, uh, definitely worked.

Anyway, you could always name the Darkness after "umbra", which means both "shadow" and "ghost" in Latin. Maybe the "Umbraen Legion" or something like that.

[blacbird]

Originally Posted by Slyest Fox

So, there's this thing in my WIP that's this long-lived formless semi-intangible evil that is currently locked away but when freed can infect things and make them slaves to its will. Though it's sentient, it appears as little more than a black tar-like thing though it can assume the shape of other things if it wishes. Any ideas?

Investment Banker.

caw

[Shoeless]

You could always come up with the original, fictional language name for it that, when translated to Latin or modern English, is Darkness. Although myself I personally lean towards "Sin," just because it's simple and powerful.

[WackAMole]

Originally Posted by Debio

Why not use The Darkness, or The Dark. It is descriptive. Sometimes simple can have much deeper connotations that you can play with. Humans have a very basic fear of the dark. You can really play that up.

I would strongly suggest not using a foreign language word from our world, unless you are fluent, or have access to a native speaker for help.

Unfortunately, I would even more strongly suggest not using a Japanese word. But this is because anyone who speaks or knows any Japanese who sees that name will automatically assume that you are a Manga Fanboy, with all the associated baggage that comes with that image. Unless that is what you are trying for, I would avoid it.

Other languages will give you similar problems. Granted, the number of people who read your story who also know the language you took the name from will be very small. But it may very well hurt you with those readers.

*If this post offended any fans of manga, I do apologize. I read manga myself. I do not and would not insult people who enjoy manga in general. I was referring to a small subgroup that tends to go a bit overboard.

I wholeheartedly agree with this post! Think of the series 'Dexter'. If you read the books, in it he mentions his 'dark passenger'.

I really do believe the word 'dark', even though its been used a million times, is still a very emotional word if used in a story by a crafty writer.

[Dreambrewer]

You could always use a gestalt name like Darkshadow or Shadowvoid or such. Or use something else in the front, like Eye of Darkness or Hand of Void or Song of the Abyss. Or perhaps add something else after the word, like Shadowspring or Voidroot. Or you could always go super simple, like The Black, or the Evil or such. If it's considered something that shouldn't be(theologically), it could be called the Rupture or the Wound or something like that.

[Mr Flibble]

I remember what this reminds me of - the tar-thing that ate Tasha Yar (Armus was it called?) Anyway, point being, it doesn't have to have a 'portentous' name. It just needs a name.

Probably best not to get too fancy pants about it. Maybe play on the slave thing or the infecting thing instead of its colour?