All Topics  
Archetypal name

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Archetypal name
 
 
  Topics Archetypal name Topic Home

Archetypal names are proper name
Proper name

"A proper name [is] a word that answers the purpose of showing what thing it is that we are talking about" writes John Stuart Mill in A System of Logic , "but not of telling anything about it"....
s of real, mythological, or fictional characters that have become designations for archetype
Archetype

An archetype is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype after which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all....
s of certain personal traits.

Archetypal names are a literary device used to allude to a certain traits of a character
Character

Character may refer to:*Character , an agent in a work of literature, drama, opera or other works of fiction*Character , the abstraction of an observable physical or biochemical trait of an organism...
 or a plot.

Literary critic Egil Törnqvist
Egil Törnqvist

Egil T?rnqvist is Professor Emeritus of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Amsterdam and an academic literary critic.Earlier he was in charge of the drama division in the comparative literature...
 mentions possible risks in choosing certain names for literary characters. For example, if a person is named Abraham
Abraham (name)

This is a list of people named after Abraham, the Biblical patriarch ; the father of the Abrahamic Religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam:...
, it is unclear whether the reader is hinted of the biblical or Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
, and only the context provides the proper understanding.








Discussion
Ask a question about 'Archetypal name'
Start a new discussion about 'Archetypal name'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Archetypal names are proper name
Proper name

"A proper name [is] a word that answers the purpose of showing what thing it is that we are talking about" writes John Stuart Mill in A System of Logic , "but not of telling anything about it"....
s of real, mythological, or fictional characters that have become designations for archetype
Archetype

An archetype is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype after which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all....
s of certain personal traits.

Archetypal names are a literary device used to allude to a certain traits of a character
Character

Character may refer to:*Character , an agent in a work of literature, drama, opera or other works of fiction*Character , the abstraction of an observable physical or biochemical trait of an organism...
 or a plot.

Literary critic Egil Törnqvist
Egil Törnqvist

Egil T?rnqvist is Professor Emeritus of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Amsterdam and an academic literary critic.Earlier he was in charge of the drama division in the comparative literature...
 mentions possible risks in choosing certain names for literary characters. For example, if a person is named Abraham
Abraham (name)

This is a list of people named after Abraham, the Biblical patriarch ; the father of the Abrahamic Religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam:...
, it is unclear whether the reader is hinted of the biblical or Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
, and only the context provides the proper understanding.

Archetypal names for persons

  • Bruce
    Bruce

    The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix of the Manche Departments of France in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands"....
    , a male hairdresser or interior designer
  • Destiny
    Destiny

    Destiny refers to a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a Predeterminism future, whether in general or of an individual. It is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe....
    , potential future
  • Nanook
    Nanook

    In Inuit mythology, Nanook or Nanuq , which is from the Inuit language for polar bear, was the master of bears, meaning he decided if hunters had followed all applicable taboos and if they deserved success in hunting bears....
    , an Eskimo
  • Tex
    TeX

    TeX is a typesetting system designed and mostly written by Donald Knuth. Together with the METAFONT language for font description and the Computer Modern typefaces, it was designed with two main goals in mind: to allow anybody to produce high-quality books using a reasonable amount of effort, and to provide a system that would give the exact...
    , a cowboy
  • Hanako
    Hanako

    Hanako may refer to:People with the given name Hanako:*Hanako *Hanako Tsugaru, later Princess Hitachi of Japan*Hanako Yamada, Japanese comedian...
    , an archetypal Japanese name for girls.


Archetypal names for groups


A name may also be an identifier of a social group, an ethnicity, nationality
Nationality

Nationality is a the relationship between a person and their state of origin, culture, association, affiliation and/or loyalty. Nationality affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the state....
, or geographical locality.

Some of the names below may also be used as ethnic slurs
List of ethnic slurs

The following is a list of ethnic slurs that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or to refer to them in a derogatory , pejorative , or insulting manner in the English language-speaking world....
.

  • Irishmen: Paddy
    Paddy

    Paddy may refer to:*Paddy, a masculine given name, and a common diminutive for Patrick or Padraic*Paddy, in British English, slang for an Ireland person...
    , from Saint Patrick
    Saint Patrick

    Saint Patrick , said to have been born Maewyn Succat , was a Roman Britain-born Christianity missionary and is the patron saint of Ireland along with Brigid of Kildare and Columba....
    , the patron of Ireland


See also

  • Stock character
    Stock character

    A stock character is one which relies heavily on cultural types or names for his or her personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics....
  • Placeholder name
    Placeholder name

    Placeholder names are words that can refer to objects or people whose names are either irrelevant or unknown in the context in which it is being discussed....
  • Eponym
    Eponym

    An eponym is a person, whether real or fictitious, after whom a particular toponym, ethnonym, regnal year, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named....
    Category:National personifications
  • List of eponyms
    List of eponyms

    An eponym is a person from whom something is said to take its name. The word is back-formed from "eponymous", from the Greek "eponymos" meaning "giving name"....