Sharing your RL name with random OCs?

[Wishfully]

Do you have a name?


I suspect you do.


Well how about this: Have you ever joined a group RP and discovered that you share your real life name with an OC in the group? I’m not talking about naming your own OC after yourself—I’m talking about some other random person on the Internet names their OC, and it happens to have the same name as you do. 


I’m quite curious to know if this has ever happened to anyone and how it makes you feel. Does it make you feel awesome because clearly—your name must be awesome if someone picks your name for their character? Does it make you feel awkward to read about things that (your name) is saying/doing in an alternate universe but you probably wouldn’t say/do in real life? Or maybe you don’t find it odd at all, and you don’t have any sentiments toward name sharing?


So tell me, friends—what are your thoughts? Also, if this has happened to you, do you consider your name rather common or not so much? I’m not asking you to reveal your real life name if you don’t want to. My name isn’t a big secret or anything, but I probably won’t be sharing it here, so no pressure! 

Spoiler

My response: This event has not yet happened to me—I have never seen my name pop up in one of my group RPs. I did notice one OC profile, probably a year or so ago, that shared my name, and I was slightly shocked because it hadn’t happened to me before. I wasn’t exactly weirded out—I mostly just found it interesting. My name is not what I consider common for modern-day American kids. I shared the name with both of my grandmothers, who passed it down to my mom, who passed it down to me. So I think it was a popular name a few generations ago but not as much anymore.

 

[Ammy]

This has happened to me twice. My name is pretty common due to...well, The Beatles. I'll hold back on the details of that since explaining would narrow too many things down, but it's certainly a coincidence I find amusement in. Makes me take a special interest in the character. Always curious to see where they end up by the end.


So far it's been "secret antagonist" for one and "horribly broken compulsive liar" for another so that was fun.

 

[Kazu]

Unfortunately, my real life name is extremely uncommon and I am the only person I know with it; in reality and in fiction. I'd be shocked if I saw someone use it for their character, but rather pleased... though I wouldn't show it. It gets annoying at times having to explain to people how to pronounce your name and them forgetting it so easily too, so I'd be even more surprised if they were to pronounce it the way I prefer it pronounced. 


I imagine I might become interested in what said character does, wondering how their creator decided on that particular name. It sounds like it'd be fun. I know I've come across several characters in books I've read with several of my relatives' names in them. I always got a bit biased towards them and had quite a bit of fun, especially if I came across a part I could see the person I knew acting like this imaginary character. 

 

[Kalessin]

It happens quite a bit to me. I honestly feel completely indifferent to it, for a simple reason: my name is so common that it is to be expected that I encounter it every now and then. I even know two people  in real life who share the same first and last name with me, both within my town, so I wouldn't even be surprised to encounter a character with exactly that name. That name is simply far from being exclusively mine and I don't feel adressed every time I hear it because I hear it everywhere, really.

 

[Okashi Yuki]

Almost never happens. Why? Cause I have no name! Jokes asides, I wish I could see my name appear, but name is a little... Unorthodox... 

 

[billthesomething]

despite how common my name is, i can't say i have ever encountered an O.C with the name Bill 

 

[Flooffy]

I have a very rare name, even for the country it hails from, so I've yet to meet people and OCs named like that xD

 

[SkyHawk MK III]

I haven't encountered anyone with my full name yet as their OC. Which makes me a select few.

 

[Gegawat]

I haven't encountered anyone with my full name yet as their OC. Which makes me a select few.

And here I am with a name so common, there were even American presidents with it... But back to the point: haven't met a character with that name yet... Surprisingly 

 

 

[Bum Bear]

My name is super duper basic. If I type it in the search bar


right now I would literally see hundreds. I've even


had the non pleasure of roleplaying  with someone using my name, and let


me tell you that it's not pleasing to be a Mary Sue.


But yes, I see my name quite a bit. Not my last name though.


Wish someone would use the last name, it's cooler in my opinion.

 

[eclipsa]

The name I go by online (Coley) has never been used for an OC, but my given name has been used. More than once I think. Which, my name isn't an uncommon name, so it's not a surprise.


The only surprising thing I've ever experienced was the time someone named their OC in one of my RPs Jake Grant when my childhood best friend's name was Jade Grant. That was pretty weird.

 

[Wishfully]

Oh yay, thank you all for your responses ^w^ 


I had a feeling some of you with common names were more used to this, so I was quite interested to see how you felt.



So what I'm gathering in general is that those with more unique names don't see their names come up much but would find it interesting and kind of cool, while those with more common names kind of expect it and find it either mildly annoying or are simply indifferent to it.


I kind of stand in the middle of considering my name common and uncommon, so I guess I that's why I lean more toward the "finding it cool" side if I ever saw an OC with my name or similar name. I'd be excited to "be" someone different than who I really am for a short while. 


I have to admit I tend to use common names for OCs, especially since I do a lot of modern RPs. Apologies if I've ever made someone feel awkward—I like to believe my writing has improved since first joining RPN so hopefully I do you proud. But the names I pick are always names I like! I also find it funny to come across names shared with friends or relatives, but I avoid choosing those names because I'll just imagine them while I'm writing and that would be awkward for me. I mean honestly, how weird would it be if I'm playing someone with my brother's name and another OC started flirting with him? No thanks haha ^^'

 

[Danchou Tsubomi]

*laughs for twenty years*
Haha, I never met anyone or seen a character with my name. 
 


You can thank my mom for being too tired to spell my name right on the certificate. Can I buy a vowel, please?


And my teachers screw up my name all the time:


"Dementia M., are you here?"
"...yes...I'm present."

 

[Wishfully]

*laughs for twenty years*
Haha, I never met anyone or seen a character with my name. 
 


You can thank my mom for being too tired to spell my name right on the certificate. Can I buy a vowel, please?


And my teachers screw up my name all the time:


"Dementia M., are you here?"
"...yes...I'm present."

Oh gosh, I always feel bad for the people who get their names screwed up by teachers every time! But I also feel for teachers having to try to pronounce a large list of names correctly. Since I hated my first name for a long time (I'm kind of indifferent about it now), I was always that kid who said "I prefer to be called by my nickname ____." Then the teacher has to repeat it back or ask for the spelling, and then all of a sudden I realize everyone's staring at me and I'm like >.< jk I didn't want this attention. 

 

[call me rae]

Well I have a name that's kind of uncommon-ish. It was sort of popular a little before I was born ( I have a cousin with that name and a coworker ) but maybe it's a generational thing. Because I don't see anyone in roleplays with characters with the similar name.


I don't think it would really shock me if someone had my name ( likely they'd have my last name before my first. It's kind of super common for a certain ethnicity of people ). 


But yeah it wouldn't worry me or anything. Heck one of my characters for a long time was a combo of my name and my partner from the time. And she actually told me her name so I could use it for the character.


So yeah I figure names are names and it's not like it would weird me out if someone had my same name. Now if they happened to put like the name of my town or something in a roleplay - that would maybe weird me out. 

 

[Danchou Tsubomi]

Oh gosh, I always feel bad for the people who get their names screwed up by teachers every time! But I also feel for teachers having to try to pronounce a large list of names correctly. Since I hated my first name for a long time (I'm kind of indifferent about it now), I was always that kid who said "I prefer to be called by my nickname ____." Then the teacher has to repeat it back or ask for the spelling, and then all of a sudden I realize everyone's staring at me and I'm like >.< jk I didn't want this attention. 

I mean...I understand why teachers can get names wrong but


my name


it's literally a Russian/Greek boy's name with an "a" thrown at the end to sound feminine.


It also makes my ethnicity even vaguer so people are always asking if I'm from a certain country.
;-; YOU GUYS, I WAS BORN AND RAISED HERE, NOT MEXICO, ASIA, OR EUROPE. 


I don't even have like an accent, but sometimes it sounds like I do...

 

[Wishfully]

Well I have a name that's kind of uncommon-ish. It was sort of popular a little before I was born ( I have a cousin with that name and a coworker ) but maybe it's a generational thing. Because I don't see anyone in roleplays with characters with the similar name.


I don't think it would really shock me if someone had my name ( likely they'd have my last name before my first. It's kind of super common for a certain ethnicity of people ). 


But yeah it wouldn't worry me or anything. Heck one of my characters for a long time was a combo of my name and my partner from the time. And she actually told me her name so I could use it for the character.


So yeah I figure names are names and it's not like it would weird me out if someone had my same name. Now if they happened to put like the name of my town or something in a roleplay - that would maybe weird me out. 

Generational name club! Now we have another thing in common besides the green keys c:


That's pretty cool that she let you use her name for a character~! My two best friends and I used to write corny stories based on the three of us (we were basically magical girls in all our alternative lives, haha) but the best part was always getting to pick different names for ourselves that we liked rather than using our own names.


But yeah, I kind of feel similarly. I mean, people on Earth share names, so I guess it's bound to happen in the RP world as well!


And I mean really...

sorry not sorry~ you all should've known this was coming xP

 

[octopi]

I was raised in China, where if you have a "common" name people judge your parents for not being educated enough to come up with something unique (mine's an obscure reference to a poem about perseverance), so it's profoundly weird for me to encounter people/characters/anything that share my name. I have a fairly uncommon English name so it doesn't usually happen, but it definitely freaks me out.

 

[NekoQueen49]

I actually have a rather common name, but I've only ever seen it used for one. When I first noticed, I was like 'Whoa' and immediately took an interest. I kind of enjoyed it, other than the fact the character was completely unlike me, lol. Interacting with said character was doubly weird. I don't resent people using it, it actually makes me happy as it means someone likes it enough to use it :3 

 

[KhazTheGiraffe]

My name is my username.... so A) it's uncommon and B) people usually don't name their characters after me if I've already  posted

 

[Quit]

Only someone had Alec, but it never realy happend. Im happy about it on the one side :]...

 

[q r o w]

I can't remember actually. Im sure i have encountered many, i just don't remember the details. 


1). Cause my name is common as hell. 


2). Mostly my nick name. lily.  

 

[u k i y o]

Lol my name is so uncommon but their are a lot of names that are a bit more common that are spelled / sound similar.


My real name has never been used but I think it would be cool if it was, even better if it was spelled correctly. While my name is unique it's also spelled quite weird in my opinion, and I think the meaning of it is quite weird as well. 

 

[k a r m a]

I share my name with a celebrity. That being said my name isn't that uncommon because someone in my class has the same name with a different spelling.


I've never seen my name as someone's OC but I think it would be very interesting if they did it. Whenever I read about the celebrity I'm always like it sounds like I'm the one being talked about or that would be my ship name with other celebrities lol.


I've only ever come across someone's OC with a similar name to mine. My reaction was a short laugh and then examining the person's character sheet to see if the character was similar to me in any way.

 

[MyUsualTriumph]

Wishfully

But I don't have a name ;-;