Forums » RP Discussion » changing a character's name?

i've had my character damian for about,,2 1/2 years??? over the past year he's basically become my main oc (and probably my favorite tbh), but lately i've just. wanted to change his first name. i feel like his middle name (avery) actually fits him a lot better, and also i know a few people with similar names to damian so it just,, feels weird. and i basically picked his name out on a whim a few years ago and it just ended up sticking. the only reason why i'm hesitant is because i'm currently using him for a lot of different roleplays, and i feel like it would get confusing or annoying if i just changed his name out of nowhere. i'm also kind of bad with impulsively changing things about characters and then finding out i actually kind of hate it after i change it, mainly because i am Not A Fan Of Change. idk. i guess i'm just asking if i should go ahead and change his name or not?

On one hand, I've had some very love/hate relationships with a few of my character's names. I've never changed one and over time any qualms I had about them have faded.

On the other I had a friend who changed a very established character's name. She approached me and told her reasons (the character was quite old and made in a 'weeaboo' stage in her life and had a faux Japanese name which now embarrassed her). It took me a while to make the mental adjustment, but I understood her reasons and even knew the feeling for myself.

So I think you should consider your rationale, and talk to your RP partners. They might be able to provide insight you hadn't thought of. If you do decide to change his name... It's not like you're setting it in stone. You can change it back if you have second thoughts!

*rolls in*
i could've gave you my Actual opinion on skype but I felt like it would've been really rude to so i didn't uh--
But yeah, basically what Claine said. as u know, I changed Ruth's name bc it made me hella uncomfy to have a character with My Name and it sort of added with all my weird feelings about Ruth
I honestly figured I'd hate the change so I was hella hesitant, and the fact she's literally ages old didn't help, but yknow I changed it, so she's Ruth now. I've slipped up on occasion, but writing her is no longer as much of a big pile of Shame and Weirdness.
Now, like, Damian doesn't share your name but he has a similar name to your friends and I feel like the feeling could be similar..?? ? ? ? ? ????
Anyways, yeah, you could change it for a little bit. Sort of maybe just replace all the 'Damian's with 'Avery's on his profile and read over it once or twice to see if you like it??

My two cents: Avery McFarland has a ring. You could always swap his first and middle name for a while and see how you like it? It shouldn't baffle people that much as long as they know what's up (and even if it does, it's not their choice/their character. so.)

If Avery is just what better clicks in your mind, then maybe you should go for it. I've changed a few character names in the past- sometimes in the middle of a roleplay. Communication with your partners is key. A simple change of a name shouldn't mean the end of the world for them haha.
Even if it might be difficult for them to adjust, going through a few roleplays with him still being referred to as Damian shouldn't hurt.

I've done this hah. I had a very old character who's name I didn't really think suited him as I developed him more and you know, matured as a person and a role player so a few years back I decided "screw it, i'm changing it."
My rationale was that I was moving away from the group i'd been most active in and going to new pastures where this character would be new to all that audience anyway, so nobody would ever know except me.

What you could do in this instance is use their original name as a middle name, or as their legal first name but they decided to go by a middle name. This happens a lot in real life after all. My aunt for instance was never as a child called by her first name, she was always called by her middle name. It wasn't till she became an adult she decided to take back her first name. The reason was her parents liked the way her name flowed better one way than the other, they never intended to call her by her first name it just sounded better as a full name than the other way around.
They did the same with my uncle but unlike my aunt he has always gone by his middle name even into adulthood, until moving to Japan. In Japan his middle name is a very feminine name to their ears so he goes by his legal first name instead, a name nobody back home has EVER called him. He responds to either and frankly doesn't much care what you call him, but it's for business reasons he changed his name in Japan.

I also know other people who've just randomly decided they don't like their name and will be called something else now.

So you could always come up with an "in universe" reason for the name change if you like heh. That might help ease the transition.

The easiest option of course is to wait till you aren't using him in an rp but with ongoing ones, simply explaining that's what you're doing shouldn't take too long for people to adjust to.