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What Is In A Name?
20 September 2010 01:35 pmDate First Written: September 2010; Date Last Updated: June 2015
For those of us in our system, our names were not just given to us growing by our family due to them not knowing we were multiple. So we ended up either naming ourselves or naming each other. Because of this, our names tend to be more symbolic, ironic, or relate to a personal trait for a number of us. Also, because our understanding of what we are to one another her changed (it was only until our late teens that we accepted we were multiple), and because our own views of ourselves have changed - some people have gone by different names of our lifetime.
Ace
During our childhood, we called him Blue. Some time in our late teens he ended up with the name Ace.
Aquasarius
We’re not sure if Aquasarius has a name during our childhood, but was named Aquarius during our teenage years. His current name came about during adulthood.
Arron
Arron has had his name since we can remember. Our best idea is it might be a corruption of “Aaron” as while “Arron” is a name, its an uncommon one, so its likely we knew about it as a name back then.
Cavern-Risen
Cavern-Risen’s original name was Vuevusva growing up. However she wanted to leave some past things behind her and also felt her old name was just too hard to say or write so she decided to change her name by the time we reached adulthood. Cavern-Risen is what became of it because in her connection to caves plus she’s always had a flair for nature and description-esque names (as she was the one who started calling the pack their pervious labels and did the most to name them their current names). So, Cavern-Risen is became.
Cloudtail
For much of our life she was just called “the white one” or similar given her coat color, which really didn’t work well for an actual name. So her current name was based on choosing something from nature that is white or off-white due to her fur color and choosing a body part that sounded okay with said color to go along with a naming theme for them.
Darahagh
Since childhood, Darahagh had always been simply just called the Great Oak or the Old Oak. We finally named him in August 2012 because we wanted a name to call him by. However, Darahagh’s demand was the name we came up with had to mean “oak,” which was his way of getting back at us because that way we still are technically just calling him an oak. We ended up deciding upon Darahagh which came from a corruption of Dara and Darragh, both names which drive from the Irish word for “oak.”
Dash
He’s been name Dash since our preteens.
Dracone
We’re not sure where he got his name though Dracone has had this name since we were in our preteens. It seems to be a corruption of the word dragon. Interestingly, ‘drakon’ is the Greek root word for “dragon” though we don’t think we knew that back when we were young. Even though now that we are older he feels a bit of irony being named Dracone and being a dragon he has never felt a need to change it.
Earth Listener
During our childhood both Earth Listener and Ocean Touched together were called “Mud.” In our preteens, Earth Listener was inspired to take on that name after it came up in a dream and ended up liking the sounds of it. It also suited Earth Listener due to zir being rather animistic in belief and having land-based theriotypes. Earth Listener has always had that name since our early teens.
Ebony
Ebony’s name seems to come from his dark skin and appearance though we don’t remember a time where he didn’t have the name. We are fairly sure our exposure to the name occurred with the movie adaptation of the book Black Beauty as the name Ebony was one of the names suggested for the main character. So he’s had that name since at least the late 1990s and he hasn‘t felt a want to be called anything else.
Ereigo
She was given the name Jewel during our childhood, but changed it to Ereigo during our preteens.
Felicity
Felicity’s name was given to her by us upon first meeting her in 2013. The name in English means “happiness” and its Latin derived form means “luck.” We were inspired to the name based on the movie Felidae which is based on a book of the same name by Akif Pirincci because the name sounded nice.
Galatea
For much of our life she was just called “The Unicorn,” “Silver,” or “Moon” due to her silvery white fur and her species. In 2013, she was given the named Galatea because it means ‘She who is white as milk” which she felt suited her.
Ghaith
During our childhood he was called by one name thought we do not recall what it was anymore. He was given the name Ghaith in 2012.
Grizzly Ears
For much of our life he was just called “the gray one” or “grizzly male” in relation to the rest of his pack and his coat color which really didn’t work well for a name. So his current name which was crafted in our late teens was based on taking “grizzly” due to his fur color and choosing a body part that sounded okay with said color to go along with a naming theme for them.
Hazeltoes
Throughout much of our life, we just called her “the brown one” or “the light brown” as she and the rest of her pack never really had names. So her current name was given her in our late teens based on her brown colored fur and going along with how we named her parents and siblings in a manner of something that relates to their coat color and then a body part.
Hennatori
did not receive her first name till August 2005 though, which was Moctolia. She changed her name to Venzaveer in March 2014, but still was not happy with that name either. So a short time later she changed it to Hennatori which has remained ever since.
Holo
Holo has had the name Holo since she appeared in our system in late 2013.
Jager
During our teens he became known as Dante. In 2009, Earth Listener confused him for her daemon and from there was given the name Danteberos. Late in 2012 it became apparent that Dante wasn’t a daemon but a headmate. He took on the name Jager after that point.
Joker
We’re not sure how Joker ended up his name as he‘s had it for as long as we can remember. His name does suit his personality well though so we are guessing that is where it came from.
Jordan
Growing up his name was simply Jim; however, he had some reservations about it starting into our teens. He finally changed his name to Jordan in 2014 after asking our mother to pick from a list of names he thought sounded like they could work for him but could pick one.
Kardegray
His name was originally both Kar and Demon during our childhood and into our early teens (due to originally being two different headmates. However years after merging, he expanded his name to Kardegray in 2009.
Knives
We’re not sure how Knives ended up his name. He has simply had the name since we can remember.
Kota
Kota’s name is actually a shorting of ‘Dakota’ after the state and the name which means ‘friend.’ She was given the name in 2013. Not sure why she was given that name other then it sounded nice and she and others liked it for her.
Lacunae
During our childhood and into our preteens she was often simply called Liberian or “The Sphinx.” During our early teens, she was mistakenly called Maya for a years before simply going back to being called Liberian or “The Sphinx.”
Leonis
Leonis was usually referred to as simply “The Rabbit,” or similar growing up. It wasn’t until 13 that he finally got the name, Leonis.
Lunatani
Lunatani’s name growing up and into our teens was simply Luna. In our late teens she decided she wanted a slightly newer name but wanted it to still have her old name within it. Somewhat impulsively, she found a band she liked which was already in our CD collection called, Lunatica, and from which Luna became Lunatani.
Maya
Not sure where she came up with the name though she has had it since she came into the system in 2003.
Nen
For a few short years in our preteens he was called Ninyo, but it was changed to Trance for a while in our teens before he settled on Nen.
Miushra
During our childhood and into our teen years she was actually named “Mu” and later “Mru” as well. However as we got older she grew tired of her childhood name and taking a cue from her off-white coat she ended up with Mist Weaver in 2009. However by 2013, she had come to be unhappy with that name, and by the summer of 2014 she changed her name to Miushra.
Nightlegs
Throughout much of our life, she has been just called “the black one” or even “Amazon black” (due to her large size and personality) which isn’t much of a name at all. Thus around our late teens we attempted to give her more of a name. Her current name is based on picking something in nature that is black like her fur going along with how the rest of the pack was named by ending with a body part which sounded nice combined.
Nychus
His name was Claw during out childhood but his name was changed to Nychus (which still means “claw”) during our preteens. He has had the name ever since.
Ocean Touched
During our childhood both Earth Listener and Ocean Touched together were called “Mud.” Later own, due to still not fully accepting that we were a system, Ocean Touched took on Earth Listener’s name for about a year until September 2013 when ze finally got zir own name. Ocean Touched’s name became what it is due to having aquatic theriotypes so “ocean” and sense of touch is a fairly notable sense to zir due to being a frilled shark therian. Thus, Ocean Touched.
Page
We’re not sure how Page ended up her name as she‘s had it for years.
Pantairin
Growing up and into our early teenage years, we though she was a he (because of having antlers) and called her Breath. (A play on how the English word for “spirit” comes from the Latin word meaning “breath.”) Later in our late teens she began to like the Japanese words/sounds Rin (meaning “bell”) and Pan (meaning “bread”) due to certain past life memories of being a sika deer. Somehow, that turned into Pantairin by the fall of 2010 which is what she has been called ever since.
Pypaath
During our preteens he was given the name Taz however he changed it to Taask during our late teens. However during our adult years he changed it again to Pypaath.
Quatz
He was given the same in our early teens. It was inspired by the name Quetzalcoatl, a deity described as a feathered serpent which reminded us of Quatz.
Raina
We’re not sure where her name came from exactly. Only that she has had it since at least our pre-teen years. We think her name most likely came about as a corruption of the word “rain” while trying to come up with a watery name for her and that is what stuck all those years ago and has continued to be her name.
Sage
We really have no idea where the name came from as he is far from a sage-like personality and Sage is generally a feminine name. However he has had it since our pre-teen years.
Spiridon
Growing up, I didn’t have a name really. Our first attempt at giving me a name come around 2004 or 2005 when I was named “Zeeque” (much to my later embarrassment), but I didn’t like the name. So I was dubbed Ghost from the mid 2000s till 2010. At that point, I chose the name Spiridon due to being a Hellenist and wanting a Greek name. So I chose Spiridon since it means ‘spirit’ or ‘ghost.’
Sunfur
Throughout much of our lives she had always been just called “the red one” or even just “little red” which didn’t really work well for a proper name as the years went by. So her current name comes from picking something in nature that we could think of that was reddish or copper like her fur color and chose a body part due to the theme naming we had started with the rest of her pack.
Tanka
Her name actually comes from ‘Tatanka’ which is Lakota for “buffalo.” It was given to her since she didn’t know what to name herself and out of all that we suggested she ended up liking the sound of that name. She was given the name when she first came into the system in Spring 2013.
Titus
In our early teenage years we began to call him Diablo. In our adult years, he took on the name Titus.
Uruk
No one recalls, Uruk ever being given a name throughout our childhood and teenage years. However in our early adult years he was given the name Uruk.
Woadel
Throughout our childhood and into our teenage years, he was simply called “Blue Bird.” Entering into our adult years, his name became “Woadell” which is a mixer of the word “woad” which is a plant which creates a natural blue dye, and the name “Odell.”
Yamir
During our childhood, Yamir was called “Socks” after him having a sock marking on a single leg. Yamir’s current name was given to him when we were adults. While grasping for name ideas, the thoughts was put forward to look for a “Y” name and the name Yamir came up among them. Yamir ended up meaning “moon” as well which ironically, he came back into the system on a full moon. So he has been Yamir ever since.
Z
During our childhood and into our early teens he was called Zephyr. In our teens he took up a name he believes he held in a past life of his, Zeo, but during our early adulthood changed it a bit to Zeoriel. However then on the 1st September 2012, he changes his name to Zedjebdjehuty, after going from being a deist to being Kemetic with the name meaning “To be restored to life by Djehuty” which he took on given the Egyptian god, Djehuty was one of his patron deities and believing his identity is from past lives. By July 2013, he began simply be called Z as all of the names he had been going by began with the letter Z. So to date, we call him and he called himself, Z.
Our System Name: House of Chimeras
Sometimes some systems will decide upon a collective name to use online or sometimes even offline if they are so open. The act of using a collective name varies from being used only as handle to be used online, to a name around friends or family for their group, and so on and so forth. How a collective system name is decided upon can sometimes be symbolic, ironic, or more literal. For all of our members, our collective name is House of Chimeras is not only our handle online but it has also become a symbol for which we have come to identify with. Chimera was chosen because it best suits everyone in this system overall. Almost all of our system identifies as nonhuman, the species variety in our system is very high. Traditionally, the chimera was depicted as a creature that has the upper body of a lion, a lower body of a goat with an extra head of a goat, and a tail that was as snake complete with a head at the end. Like a chimera, we are a wide variety of different creatures from each other, yet we some all have managed to live together sharing a single body. Also, we are a ‘chimera’ because just like the mythical beast, even though we have different identifies and perspectives – ‘heads’ – we all live together in somewhat harmony in one body. The word house certainly has a load of symbolism and meaning. With the idea of our body and brain being a house and home for us as well as it implies a sense of family. Hence our name sake. House of Chimeras.
- Spiridon
For those of us in our system, our names were not just given to us growing by our family due to them not knowing we were multiple. So we ended up either naming ourselves or naming each other. Because of this, our names tend to be more symbolic, ironic, or relate to a personal trait for a number of us. Also, because our understanding of what we are to one another her changed (it was only until our late teens that we accepted we were multiple), and because our own views of ourselves have changed - some people have gone by different names of our lifetime.
Ace
During our childhood, we called him Blue. Some time in our late teens he ended up with the name Ace.
Aquasarius
We’re not sure if Aquasarius has a name during our childhood, but was named Aquarius during our teenage years. His current name came about during adulthood.
Arron
Arron has had his name since we can remember. Our best idea is it might be a corruption of “Aaron” as while “Arron” is a name, its an uncommon one, so its likely we knew about it as a name back then.
Cavern-Risen
Cavern-Risen’s original name was Vuevusva growing up. However she wanted to leave some past things behind her and also felt her old name was just too hard to say or write so she decided to change her name by the time we reached adulthood. Cavern-Risen is what became of it because in her connection to caves plus she’s always had a flair for nature and description-esque names (as she was the one who started calling the pack their pervious labels and did the most to name them their current names). So, Cavern-Risen is became.
Cloudtail
For much of our life she was just called “the white one” or similar given her coat color, which really didn’t work well for an actual name. So her current name was based on choosing something from nature that is white or off-white due to her fur color and choosing a body part that sounded okay with said color to go along with a naming theme for them.
Darahagh
Since childhood, Darahagh had always been simply just called the Great Oak or the Old Oak. We finally named him in August 2012 because we wanted a name to call him by. However, Darahagh’s demand was the name we came up with had to mean “oak,” which was his way of getting back at us because that way we still are technically just calling him an oak. We ended up deciding upon Darahagh which came from a corruption of Dara and Darragh, both names which drive from the Irish word for “oak.”
Dash
He’s been name Dash since our preteens.
Dracone
We’re not sure where he got his name though Dracone has had this name since we were in our preteens. It seems to be a corruption of the word dragon. Interestingly, ‘drakon’ is the Greek root word for “dragon” though we don’t think we knew that back when we were young. Even though now that we are older he feels a bit of irony being named Dracone and being a dragon he has never felt a need to change it.
Earth Listener
During our childhood both Earth Listener and Ocean Touched together were called “Mud.” In our preteens, Earth Listener was inspired to take on that name after it came up in a dream and ended up liking the sounds of it. It also suited Earth Listener due to zir being rather animistic in belief and having land-based theriotypes. Earth Listener has always had that name since our early teens.
Ebony
Ebony’s name seems to come from his dark skin and appearance though we don’t remember a time where he didn’t have the name. We are fairly sure our exposure to the name occurred with the movie adaptation of the book Black Beauty as the name Ebony was one of the names suggested for the main character. So he’s had that name since at least the late 1990s and he hasn‘t felt a want to be called anything else.
Ereigo
She was given the name Jewel during our childhood, but changed it to Ereigo during our preteens.
Felicity
Felicity’s name was given to her by us upon first meeting her in 2013. The name in English means “happiness” and its Latin derived form means “luck.” We were inspired to the name based on the movie Felidae which is based on a book of the same name by Akif Pirincci because the name sounded nice.
Galatea
For much of our life she was just called “The Unicorn,” “Silver,” or “Moon” due to her silvery white fur and her species. In 2013, she was given the named Galatea because it means ‘She who is white as milk” which she felt suited her.
Ghaith
During our childhood he was called by one name thought we do not recall what it was anymore. He was given the name Ghaith in 2012.
Grizzly Ears
For much of our life he was just called “the gray one” or “grizzly male” in relation to the rest of his pack and his coat color which really didn’t work well for a name. So his current name which was crafted in our late teens was based on taking “grizzly” due to his fur color and choosing a body part that sounded okay with said color to go along with a naming theme for them.
Hazeltoes
Throughout much of our life, we just called her “the brown one” or “the light brown” as she and the rest of her pack never really had names. So her current name was given her in our late teens based on her brown colored fur and going along with how we named her parents and siblings in a manner of something that relates to their coat color and then a body part.
Hennatori
did not receive her first name till August 2005 though, which was Moctolia. She changed her name to Venzaveer in March 2014, but still was not happy with that name either. So a short time later she changed it to Hennatori which has remained ever since.
Holo
Holo has had the name Holo since she appeared in our system in late 2013.
Jager
During our teens he became known as Dante. In 2009, Earth Listener confused him for her daemon and from there was given the name Danteberos. Late in 2012 it became apparent that Dante wasn’t a daemon but a headmate. He took on the name Jager after that point.
Joker
We’re not sure how Joker ended up his name as he‘s had it for as long as we can remember. His name does suit his personality well though so we are guessing that is where it came from.
Jordan
Growing up his name was simply Jim; however, he had some reservations about it starting into our teens. He finally changed his name to Jordan in 2014 after asking our mother to pick from a list of names he thought sounded like they could work for him but could pick one.
Kardegray
His name was originally both Kar and Demon during our childhood and into our early teens (due to originally being two different headmates. However years after merging, he expanded his name to Kardegray in 2009.
Knives
We’re not sure how Knives ended up his name. He has simply had the name since we can remember.
Kota
Kota’s name is actually a shorting of ‘Dakota’ after the state and the name which means ‘friend.’ She was given the name in 2013. Not sure why she was given that name other then it sounded nice and she and others liked it for her.
Lacunae
During our childhood and into our preteens she was often simply called Liberian or “The Sphinx.” During our early teens, she was mistakenly called Maya for a years before simply going back to being called Liberian or “The Sphinx.”
Leonis
Leonis was usually referred to as simply “The Rabbit,” or similar growing up. It wasn’t until 13 that he finally got the name, Leonis.
Lunatani
Lunatani’s name growing up and into our teens was simply Luna. In our late teens she decided she wanted a slightly newer name but wanted it to still have her old name within it. Somewhat impulsively, she found a band she liked which was already in our CD collection called, Lunatica, and from which Luna became Lunatani.
Maya
Not sure where she came up with the name though she has had it since she came into the system in 2003.
Nen
For a few short years in our preteens he was called Ninyo, but it was changed to Trance for a while in our teens before he settled on Nen.
Miushra
During our childhood and into our teen years she was actually named “Mu” and later “Mru” as well. However as we got older she grew tired of her childhood name and taking a cue from her off-white coat she ended up with Mist Weaver in 2009. However by 2013, she had come to be unhappy with that name, and by the summer of 2014 she changed her name to Miushra.
Nightlegs
Throughout much of our life, she has been just called “the black one” or even “Amazon black” (due to her large size and personality) which isn’t much of a name at all. Thus around our late teens we attempted to give her more of a name. Her current name is based on picking something in nature that is black like her fur going along with how the rest of the pack was named by ending with a body part which sounded nice combined.
Nychus
His name was Claw during out childhood but his name was changed to Nychus (which still means “claw”) during our preteens. He has had the name ever since.
Ocean Touched
During our childhood both Earth Listener and Ocean Touched together were called “Mud.” Later own, due to still not fully accepting that we were a system, Ocean Touched took on Earth Listener’s name for about a year until September 2013 when ze finally got zir own name. Ocean Touched’s name became what it is due to having aquatic theriotypes so “ocean” and sense of touch is a fairly notable sense to zir due to being a frilled shark therian. Thus, Ocean Touched.
Page
We’re not sure how Page ended up her name as she‘s had it for years.
Pantairin
Growing up and into our early teenage years, we though she was a he (because of having antlers) and called her Breath. (A play on how the English word for “spirit” comes from the Latin word meaning “breath.”) Later in our late teens she began to like the Japanese words/sounds Rin (meaning “bell”) and Pan (meaning “bread”) due to certain past life memories of being a sika deer. Somehow, that turned into Pantairin by the fall of 2010 which is what she has been called ever since.
Pypaath
During our preteens he was given the name Taz however he changed it to Taask during our late teens. However during our adult years he changed it again to Pypaath.
Quatz
He was given the same in our early teens. It was inspired by the name Quetzalcoatl, a deity described as a feathered serpent which reminded us of Quatz.
Raina
We’re not sure where her name came from exactly. Only that she has had it since at least our pre-teen years. We think her name most likely came about as a corruption of the word “rain” while trying to come up with a watery name for her and that is what stuck all those years ago and has continued to be her name.
Sage
We really have no idea where the name came from as he is far from a sage-like personality and Sage is generally a feminine name. However he has had it since our pre-teen years.
Spiridon
Growing up, I didn’t have a name really. Our first attempt at giving me a name come around 2004 or 2005 when I was named “Zeeque” (much to my later embarrassment), but I didn’t like the name. So I was dubbed Ghost from the mid 2000s till 2010. At that point, I chose the name Spiridon due to being a Hellenist and wanting a Greek name. So I chose Spiridon since it means ‘spirit’ or ‘ghost.’
Sunfur
Throughout much of our lives she had always been just called “the red one” or even just “little red” which didn’t really work well for a proper name as the years went by. So her current name comes from picking something in nature that we could think of that was reddish or copper like her fur color and chose a body part due to the theme naming we had started with the rest of her pack.
Tanka
Her name actually comes from ‘Tatanka’ which is Lakota for “buffalo.” It was given to her since she didn’t know what to name herself and out of all that we suggested she ended up liking the sound of that name. She was given the name when she first came into the system in Spring 2013.
Titus
In our early teenage years we began to call him Diablo. In our adult years, he took on the name Titus.
Uruk
No one recalls, Uruk ever being given a name throughout our childhood and teenage years. However in our early adult years he was given the name Uruk.
Woadel
Throughout our childhood and into our teenage years, he was simply called “Blue Bird.” Entering into our adult years, his name became “Woadell” which is a mixer of the word “woad” which is a plant which creates a natural blue dye, and the name “Odell.”
Yamir
During our childhood, Yamir was called “Socks” after him having a sock marking on a single leg. Yamir’s current name was given to him when we were adults. While grasping for name ideas, the thoughts was put forward to look for a “Y” name and the name Yamir came up among them. Yamir ended up meaning “moon” as well which ironically, he came back into the system on a full moon. So he has been Yamir ever since.
Z
During our childhood and into our early teens he was called Zephyr. In our teens he took up a name he believes he held in a past life of his, Zeo, but during our early adulthood changed it a bit to Zeoriel. However then on the 1st September 2012, he changes his name to Zedjebdjehuty, after going from being a deist to being Kemetic with the name meaning “To be restored to life by Djehuty” which he took on given the Egyptian god, Djehuty was one of his patron deities and believing his identity is from past lives. By July 2013, he began simply be called Z as all of the names he had been going by began with the letter Z. So to date, we call him and he called himself, Z.
Our System Name: House of Chimeras
Sometimes some systems will decide upon a collective name to use online or sometimes even offline if they are so open. The act of using a collective name varies from being used only as handle to be used online, to a name around friends or family for their group, and so on and so forth. How a collective system name is decided upon can sometimes be symbolic, ironic, or more literal. For all of our members, our collective name is House of Chimeras is not only our handle online but it has also become a symbol for which we have come to identify with. Chimera was chosen because it best suits everyone in this system overall. Almost all of our system identifies as nonhuman, the species variety in our system is very high. Traditionally, the chimera was depicted as a creature that has the upper body of a lion, a lower body of a goat with an extra head of a goat, and a tail that was as snake complete with a head at the end. Like a chimera, we are a wide variety of different creatures from each other, yet we some all have managed to live together sharing a single body. Also, we are a ‘chimera’ because just like the mythical beast, even though we have different identifies and perspectives – ‘heads’ – we all live together in somewhat harmony in one body. The word house certainly has a load of symbolism and meaning. With the idea of our body and brain being a house and home for us as well as it implies a sense of family. Hence our name sake. House of Chimeras.
- Spiridon
