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This is a guide.
Prologue - Names
Sometimes the hardest part of writing a story is coming up with names. You know the character is a gray she-cat with pale blue eyes. She's in RiverClan, but she loves water voles. You know your character hates thunderstorms but loves sprinkling rain. You can basically recite her history from when she was a tiny kit. But you need a name.
Probably the first or second most common blog on this site is about names, giving names, ideas for names, ect.. It's can actually be a pretty tough thing. If you add in the factors of all the users here with all their stories and all their cats with all their names, it can be really hard to find an original name that you like.
Soo....in short, that's why Arti's Guide is here. To help you come up with names and stuff. :)
There are several other guides to names on the site, but I'm hoping mine can still help you. So enjoy
Chapter 1 - Rogues, Kittypets, Loners
Rogues, kittypets, and loners can be the easiest cats to make names for. They can be pretty much anything, such as ordinary names like Tom, to Ckan-like names like Tadpole. And, if they're a kittypet, were named by Two-legs, or live in Twolegplace, they know about things that Clan cats don't.
Rogues
Rogues are probablyt he roughest of the three, and therefore tend to have names that reflect it. Most rogues don't have Twoleg names like 'Jake' or 'Susan' (they can, most don't) and they don't have Clan names.
Usually rogue names have to do with where ever they live (for rogues living in Twoleg-Place- Brick, Scratch, Rat; for rogues living in the wild: Hawk, Claw, Brook). Rogue names can also reflect on the cat. Typically BloodClan cats (I'll get to BloodClan names later. :) ) have fierce names like Snake, Scorch, Claw, ect. Rogues who are born in Twolegplace can just have names like Brick, Rat, ect.
When you're naming a rogue, it's important to remember a few things.
- Where the rogue is from (wild, Twolegplace...)
- What the rogue is like(Sweet, shy she-cat or battle hungry tom...) and what they look like (gray tom, speckled she-cat...)
- If the rogue belongs to any groups (BloodClan, like Stripes' group...)
Loners
Loners border between kittypets and rogues, so it can be easy or hard to name them. Sometimes they have Twoleg names (like Purdy) and other times they have names pretaining to nature or the wild (Barley)
Loners usually live in barns, or in the wild. The only distinction between loners and rogues is that rpgues interfere with the Clans, in a bad way.
When you're naming your loner, just remember that you have to be careful. You can name your loner something like Scratch, but don't go too far making them seem fierce like a rogue. And you can name them something like Jackson, but it won't make sense unless they have a background with Twolegs of in Twolegaplsce
Kittypets
Kittypets are the easiest to name. You can name them everything from 'Bob' to 'Ruby' to 'Leafy'. Kittypets can have two-leg names, names that pretain to nature....pretty much anything. And because they live with Twolegs, they know about things the Clan cats, rogues, and loners don't like jewels (Ruby, Emerald).
So when you're naming your kittypet, there's really only a few boundaries. Don't name your kittypet 'Emo' or 'Video Game'. Don't name them anything you wouldn't name a cat that you had. ( I know, we all naem our cats after Warriors, but let's pretend we don't. xD)
Another helpful article would be this by Wetty.
Chapter 2 - BloodClan
BloodClan names are similar to rogue names. Most BloodClan cats seem to be toms, but I'm sure there have been/could be female BloodClan cats.
BloodClan names usually are fierce (Bone, Ice, Scourge...). If you name your BloodClan cat something like 'Susie' or 'Mouse Heart', unless your writing a story about how they were ridiculed, you should change their names.
Remember, BloodClan cats aren't like kittypets. They don't know about Twoleg things so don't name them 'Diamond' or something. You can name them after things that are in the Twoleg place, like 'Brick', but really, for a BloodClan cat that seems uncommon.
If your BloodClan cat is a she-cat, ask yourself a few questions. Is she there to distract enemies with her prettyness? Them give her a pretty name like 'Flower' or 'Cherry'. Was her father a great warrior and she's following in his footsteps? Give her a fierce name, maybe even slightly over the top. She does have to prove herself after all. Is she a prisoner? Maybe BloodClan changes her name to something demeaning like 'Trash' or 'Rubbish Bin'. You see?
So just keep those things in mind while naming your BloodClan cat. :)
Chapter 3 - Tribe Names
Tribe names are definately slightly more difficult then rogue, kittypets, loners, and BloodClan names.
Tribe cats usually name their kits for the first thing they see once they're born. Which doesn't mean name your Tribe cat 'Wall of Cave' or 'Cieling of Cave'. But it also means you can't name your cat after something far away from the Tribe's camp or something they wouldn't be able to see.
Also, keep in mind that Tribes are even more restricted in some ways then the Clan cats. They even really know about forests or lakes or other things you might find in the Clan territories but not in the Tribe territories. And, of course, they don't know about anything about Twolegplaces.
Also, Tribe cats have a different set of beliefs and names. They have no problem calling themselves Thunder, Wind, River, Shadow, Moon, or Star which are special words for the Clan cats. How ever they might not use things like 'Stone' or 'Water'. It depends how you look at it.
And Tribe names are more then one or two or even three words. No Tribe cat will ever be named 'Light' or 'Cave Light' or 'Light in Cave'. But something like 'Light that Brightens Cave' or 'Light that Shines in cave'.
Also, Tribe cats technically have 2 names. Their full name (Brook where Small Fish Swim) and their short name (Brook).
So keep all these things in mind when naming your Tribe cat.
Chapter 4- SkyClan
SkyClan names are fairly simple, like regular Clan names. However they do have the strange twist of daylight warriors.
Daylight warriors can be pretty hard to name. First you have to come up with a rogue/loner/kittypet name (see chapter 1) then you have to make it a Clan name by adding a suffix or maybe a prefixes. (Harveymoon, Frecklewish, ect.).
Regular SkyClan cats have warrior names, but it's up to you to interpret how they make them different. You could write it as though they have no difference in names between themselves and Clan cats, or you could write it as though, because Sandstorm and Firestar taught them, not StarClan, that SkyClan cats have slightly different names then the other Clans.
Because most SkyClan cats used to be rogues or kittypets, they're names have usually been modified only slightly, so unless they were born in the Clan, don't make your SkyClan cats' name completely like a normal Clan cat's name. (ex. Leaf- Leafdapple, Scratch- Sharpclaw).
I sugeest figuring out your SkyClan cats' histories before you name them. If you figure out whther or not they're a day-light Warrior, born in the Clan, a former kittypet or rogue, or a founding member, then it will be much easier to name them.
Chapter 5 - ShadowClan
On to ShadowClan. ShadowClan is perhaps the darkest of the Clans, living in the swamps and marshes, hunting and fighting by night. They are cunning and clever and ambitious.
When you're naming your ShadowClan cat, keep these things in mind. ShadowClan cats would never ever ever ever allow a kittypet or loner to join their ranks, so unless your story is about that unlikely event, under no circumstances let your ShadowClan cat have a kittypet sounding name.
When Clan cats are named after prey, they're usually named after the prey in their territory, so your ShadowClan cat will probably be called 'Frog' or 'Newt' or 'Toad' instead of 'Squirrel' or 'Fish' or 'Rabbit'. You see?
Shadow, Thunder, Wind, and River aren't used as Clan names, but you can feel free to use prefixes like 'Shade' or other synonyms.
Clan names can also reflect their territories. So for a ShadowClan cat you may use the prefixes 'Pine' or 'Marsh' instead of 'Forest' or 'Stream'. See?
ShadowClan cats also tend to have darker pelts, a trait passed down from many generations. This helps then hunt in the night. So your name can also reflect their dark fur or stealthy abilities.
But ShadowClan cats can have regular Clan names too. Don't make all your ShadowClan cats' names be about ShadowClan cats. Add some that describe pelts or personalities. Names that any Clan cat could have. You could call them generic I guess.
More info on Clan names and rules will be in a few chapters...