Do you have go-to names?

[Dyne]

When I was a kid I'd always name the character my name. I guess I just thought thats what you were supposed to do. But when I got older I started to prefer using the default name. If the character doesn't have a default name, I usually just go with Dyne.

 

[Deleted member 884]

None in particular.
I usually choose female characters, so I use female japanese names.
Although on PKMN games I always use JJ for the girl, always my choice.
Rico if I have to use a name for a save file.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

In Zelda I go with either Icare or 009.

I'm not creative.

 

[JustLooking123]

I used to use a single name for main characters of all RPG games i play... but it caused some confusions!
I sometimes played games and my parents watched and i was dubbing the game for them live!
However, later whenever i wanted to refer to those games, i was calling all of them "story of <goto-name>"!

So i decided to use different names for main characters of each game, giving each of them a separate personality.

Also, later i decided to use default names when there's a good enough one... because it will be etched in my memory, and later, seeing people calling my beloved characters with other names... ugh... i just can't stomach it!

 

[_Lorenzo_]

I generally choose the most idiotic or ridiculous names for everyone, such as names of cheeses or other foods.

 

[CG4R12I4N]

Default names if the games had them, or random name generators if the feature is available.

Otherwise,

simply because my real name is close enough.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

Default names if the games had them, or random name generators if the feature is available.

Otherwise,

simply because my real name is close enough.

Your name has a square root?

 

[nintara]

nintara

 

[Yankee]

Yeah I keep the Default if there is one. After all it is Cloud, it is Squall, it is Crono, etc.
When there is no Default I just make something up new. I've never had a problem with name-creation in RPGs or D&D, etc. In fact I have a huge document of names I come up with just sitting around or while doing something else, so I can remember and use them later.
The exception is Dragon Quest where I've always named the Hero "Hiro".

 

[YoshifreakZX]

I mostly just have "Yoshi" as my name and any abbreviation of my username when there isn't enough space.
In games like Pokemon though, I sometimes go for some of the default names like Ash or Gold or whatever else.

Post automatically merged: Apr 20, 2025

Oh, and any game that heavily focuses on story, I just use everyone's default names.

 

[GardeniaSky's icon GardeniaSky GardeniaSky]

Gwyn/Gwynayne or Shaw.

 

[Mr. Daddy]

I don't really tend to have go-tos for the most part. Most of the time I just go with the default or canon name, unless the game has character creation. The first character I make in most games with character creation is almost always named "Meat Man" (or some variant of that) and is always a character I use to test out the creator by making them look as gross and weird as I can get.​

 

[Adrastia]

If I can't think of anything and the character is male, I default to Orion. There's so much light pollution I can barely see the constellation anymore.

If it's a female character I'll use this username or something similar much of the time.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

JoJo for males (old nickname given to me).

Luna for females (after a good friend of mine).

 

[Grumpy_Old_Man]

Default, my name or Epic or adventure tales Heroes, Like El Cid, Rolando, Sandokan, etc, in the case of males.
Females I tend to gravitate, With names related to space for some reason like Luna, Stella, Étoile, etc.
I mostly stick to names that looks good in the setting, like French or English names in an rpg set in the Hundred years war.

 

[NobodyHere]

Feel like I’ve said this before but - I used to use just my name until I was about 10 (give or take) when I started using ‘cupcake’ ; I know I also miss spelled it but I don remember how.

Around 14 I started using my current username name because I found it funny when characters would say it. Alts being ‘Nobody’, ‘NobodyIsHere’, I don’t like using numbers so I’ll just keep making it longer leading to ‘NobodyIsHereToHelpYou’.

Then later on (like 2 years ago or so) I came up with my other go to ‘FaceInCrowd’ or just ‘Crowd

(These go for player characters, usernames or whatever else)

 

[extermist]

If the game allows it, profanity and slurs.
It's funny when reading dialog and suddenly the context shifts just because they have to say your name.

 

[Skeleben]

If the game lets you name your horse, I've been calling them 'Epona' since I was 12.

 

[legsrjust4show]

I used to ONLY use the default/canon name for the characters in any game, even one where you're making the character, but lately I'm just "oh whatever" and either use my name or something funny.

Played all of Persona 5 with the player character named "Nasty Crimeboy" because of the memes. Was worth it.

 

[brighter]

Canon name in a game with a pre-written protag. Something lore-appropriate for games where "real" roleplaying is meant to happen. Otherwise "Azadeh" "Melvy" "Connie" or "Ageha" depending on what my toon looks like.

If none of these feel appropriate I wil pull up a Wikipedia article like "List of Kazakh Sportspersons" and scroll till I find something "right."

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

I think that feeling obligated to stick to the canon name of the protag when the game allows you to change it would be a bit too limiting. Video games are about freedom of choice, not having to play a scene like theatre.

 

[brighter]

I think that feeling obligated to stick to the canon name of the protag when the game allows you to change it would be a bit too limiting. Video games are about freedom of choice, not having to play a scene like theatre.

some video games are about freedom of choice. if something has a specific narrative its trying to tell, dynamics between one's party, etc, i generally trust the developers to have considered things like "the name of your guy," and i kinda dislike when whatever thing i picked sticks out among all that. i get nothing out of renaming Cloud Strife to Kevin, or whatever. different strokes, though!!

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

some video games are about freedom of choice. if something has a specific narrative its trying to tell, dynamics between one's party, etc, i generally trust the developers to have considered things like "the name of your guy," and i kinda dislike when whatever thing i picked sticks out among all that. i get nothing out of renaming Cloud Strife to Kevin, or whatever. different strokes, though!!

I disagree: if a game wanted the character to have a specific protagonist name for its story it shouldn't even give you the choice to change it.

To be honest I personally didn't like the name Tidus in FFX and Crono in Chrono Trigger as the first didn't sound well to my ear and the second sounded a bit too "cliche" (aka the character's name being similar to the game's title).

I love when they give you the choice of the character's name while the canonical one is hidden or only in bonus material:

In fact in pre-production screenshots the protagonist used to be called ENIX.

Same with Pokémon although I always name them over their respective versions (like Gold and Crystal instead of Ethan and Kris).

 

[brighter]

(trimmed)

in JRPGs I mostly see it as something included for old times sake. I'm glad you get something out of it, but I don't! that's all.

oh, you edited in the Pokemon example. Yeah, that's one where I'd just put in my own name. I guess I'm not super strict about this, but I don't play Pokemon for the story anyways.

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

in JRPGs I mostly see it as something included for old times sake. I'm glad you get something out of it, but I don't! that's all.

I think that games forcing a name are voiced so they won't have to workaround to avoid giving a name to the character in voice lines.

Maybe they should allow a "pseudonym" while the character still has a name but then again protags are either blank slate or set characters.

In the Zelda games Link could be named anything because he was an avatar rather than a character until BotW and TotK forced the name Link (which is a bit too bad imo, they should've let you name the save file instead) but I think it's to make voice lines easier.

Inversely Adol Christin in the Ys series, despite starting as a blank slate avatar, still was named since the entire franchise is following the adventure of a notorious explorer that started a new era of discovery in that universe (which is a parallel version of medieval/Renaissance-era Europe where the Roman empire still exists).

Perhaps names should be given for a save file to give it some originality while keeping the canon names.