Clan Cat Name Styles

Clan Cat Name Styles

In Erin Hunter's Warriors series, every Clan cat has a name with a prefix and a suffix… and that's about the only thing the fans can agree on (if even that, but retention of out-of-Clan, one-part names is a whole different subject).  The question is simple: how do you name a (Clanborn) warrior?  Two prominent styles have arisen to answer this question.  However, even a civil discussion of which style is best can be difficult because of the varying perceptions of and definitions of each style.  

Creative Style

Its proponents see it as the most descriptive and liberating, with far more words to choose from; its opponents see it as silly at best.  That's because, with Creative style, almost anything goes.  Some define it as having some loose limits – "nothing stupid", but then, there are very different opinions on what is stupid.  The type of names most often referred to as "Creative" will draw from astrological, spiritual/mythical, kinetic, emotional, gem, artificial, and botanical vocabulary.  Note that Creative names do not always come with unrealistic genetics or special powers, though the two can often overlap (if a cat has rainbow fur and wings, it's more likely to have a Creative name).

The reason for the persistant capitalizing of Creative is to distinguish the style from actual creativity.  Many, many "Creative" names only reuse words that everyone has thought of using at some point or another.  Moonspirit and Emeraldgaze, for example, fall under the "Creative" category, but it takes no creativity to come up with these names, which begs the question: what is creativity?

The most technical understanding of creativity is the creation something new and original.  There are two ways to look at this: every single new combination of prefixes and suffixes is creative, or none is creative because they all use English words that have been used before (using words from other languages or even made-up languages isn't creative either; it's stupid).

There must be a better definition of creativity, then, even if it's a debatable subject.  Creativity is not just "doing something different", considering that refusing to blink or driving on the wrong side of the road is not creative, per se, so consider this loose definition: creativity is doing something unexpected and artful with the limited tools you have.  Restrictions do not inhibit creativity; they enable it.  Without limits, there is no expected path, and therefore there is no way to deviate from it.

"Creative" names do not deviate from the expected path.  They are the expected path.  They draw from a larger pool of words than Traditional names, but it is a pool nonetheless, and it is uncommon for them to exhibit true creativity.  "Creative" is but a label for non-Traditional names that often don't make sense.

Traditional Style

So named for following the traditions of the original Warriors arc, this style has a reputation for being a bland, restrictive straight jacket… or for being classic, straight-forward, and true to the heart of Warriors.  A true Traditional name can take a prefix from anything in the Clan's surroundings (the prefix is unique to that cat) and a suffix from a small pool (cats of the same Clan may have the same suffix).  Purists will restrict prefixes to the flora and fauna (and descriptors and spellings) of the British Isles, but fan works and role plays may use other settings and thus other name components.

Just as a name can be uncreative while not following traditions, a Traditional name can be creative, for tradition and creativity are not each other's opposite.  Tradition does have its drawbacks, though – some acceptable suffixes (such as stone) are untraditional, and some traditional suffixes (such as wind and leaf) make no apparent sense, if you understand how names work.  Following tradition will not always land you with a good name or even a decent one.  That's why there's another style.

Third Style

What can she say?  Ten likes numbers.

Names in third style can be both creative and traditional, or they can be neither, for names in this style need only make sense – by describing the cat with words the Clan would know, in a way that they would use them.  To be specific, they use the little formula detailed on Ten's naming guide, which might sound like another bland straight jacket, but you'll find it's quite the flexible little thing.  If you try to refute this with a name that doesn't work in the formula, then it's not in Third style, you silly goose.

The chief aim of a warrior name is not to be aesthetic or different, not to follow tradition in orthodox fashion, but to describe the cat, and the best way for a name to describe is for it to be understandable without knowledge of the backstory or explanation.  If you have to explain a description, then it's not doing its job.