My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Image #758,598

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Anonymous 05/18/14(Sun)07:58:04 No.178230301782312317823224 178234401782564817828516 >>17818439 Ponies have family names and personal names, but it doesn't work exactly like it does with humans Keep in mind, the show we watch has been translated, and not perfectly In the case of Twilight Sparkle" her name is better translated as "the appearance of light between day and night". "Shining Armor" would be better translated as "the appearance of light reflected on armor". The "family name" then is "The appearance of light" whereas their personal names are derived from one specific type of light. Unicorn names are often moderately prophetic: unicorn mares can have vivid dreams while pregnant which influence what name she chooses for her child The other prominent unicorn siblings in the series also share a family name, but again, imperfect translation obscures this. Their names are most approprately translated into "Beauty which is Sweet" and "Beauty which is Rare" but of course the translators chose to simply refer to the latter as "Rarity Anonymous 05/18/14(Sun)08:06:47 No. 1 7823 123 >:178231 91 >>17823224 >>17823440 >217825648 >>17828516 Earth ponies are similar, but while unicorn families are named after ephemeral concepts like "light" and "beauty" Earth ponies tend to be named for physical objects. The family name of an Earth Pony family is based around a general type of object: "Apple" or "Pie". The names of the individuals are then specific types of that object. The apple family is named after types of apple, parts of the apple plant, or things made from apples Historically, Earth Pony families would name themselves after their profession (much as humans named themselves "smith" or "weaver") but as time passed many Earth Pony families drifted away from the professions of their ancestors, though their name would remain. This resulted in many Earth families naming their children after vague and/or incorrect forms of the family object, so because the "Pie" family no longer has any familiarity with pies, they named their daughters things like "Pink Pie" and "Mud Pie" Earth Pony families can often determine how closely they are related by how closely their family names resemble the other. The Apples and the Oranges are very closely related, as are the Pies and the Cakes while the relationship between the Pies and the Apples is somewhat more obscure □ Anonymous 05/18/14(Sun)08: 12:28 No. 178231 91 >217823224 >217823440 >>17825648 >>17828516 >17823123 Pegasi culture is very different: Pegasi to not have family names at all, as family is less valued in their society. Their names are utilitarian, based on physical characteristics and abilities. "Rainbow Colored, Flys Quickly" is translated to "Rainbow Dash". "Unsociable, Flys Poorly" is translated as "Fluttershy". The phrase "Fluttershy can hardly fly", used to bully Fluttershy in the show, actually only consisted of a single word before translation: the fact that she can hardly fly is implied by her name itself "Scootaloo" is not translated at all: it's simply a nonsense word she likely named herself. She was not given a name, as she was not expected to survive

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Nagging Marge

May 19, 2014 at 11:52AM EDT

“She was not given a name as she was not expected to survive”

Has this nigga just gone full Sparta on MLP?

+12

AugustDay

May 19, 2014 at 11:12AM EDT

I really love this concept. It makes a lot of sense and totally makes Equestrian culture sound very unique.
Also, the "mothers having visions that influence their name decision" thing is an idea that I'd actually had before. It makes sense, it's really the only way to explain why ponies are given names that follow their cutie mark so well.

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