Defending Hated Names in Warriors by Ivystone

Ivystone shares their opinion on some names in the series. Spoilers for The Broken Code!

Hello, everyone, I’m Ivystone and if you’ve seen me around the blog, you’d know that I actually like the name Twigbranch and a few others. Please keep in mind that I’ll be including names from Lost Stars, the most recent Warriors book to be released and the kick off to the new series The Broken Code, so if you don’t like spoilers, I suggest you turn away now.

Before we get into the names, I’d like to give a reminder as to what names can mean in the Warriors world. The prefix could mean a color, a plant, an animal, symbolize something, or the cat could have your prefix in honor of a cat before them. From what I’ve seen, people usually tend to colors, plants, and animals for their OCs, but I digress. As for the suffix, it could be after a feat that the cat has accomplished, their personality, their physical traits, a certain event that happened in their lifetime (or before), or after a cat to honor them. However, let’s keep in mind that there are no actual rules to naming your OCs- this applies to the fandom and the canon world of Warriors. I’m looking at you, traditional naming…

Name 1 – Harrybrook
I feel as though the hate for this name has died down, but nonetheless, I want to talk about this name regardless. Now, let’s get some background on the cat with this name before discussing the name itself. Harrybrook is a warrior of SkyClan, son of Leafstar and Billystorm, littermate of Stormheart and Firefern, former mentor to Fringewhisker, named after Sol (known as Harry at the time) who helped Leafstar and her kits escape from a Twoleg. Let’s move onto the name. To be completely honest, I will agree that the prefix Harry- is pretty stiff and awkward, and would struggle to find a good match. However, let’s keep in mind that Harrybrook is in modern SkyClan, a Clan that accepted daylight warriors, kittypets, and loners. So I wouldn’t say that this prefix is strange whatsoever, judging by the fact that this Clan is more recent and was founded by a former kittypet (Firestar) and a former loner (Leafstar). People also question his suffix and say it makes no sense (from what I’ve seen), to which I think I’ve found a good theory as to why he has the -brook suffix. In Harrybrook’s debut during the SkyClan and the Stranger arc, there was a flood that took place during the Beyond the Code and After the Flood parts to it. Harrybrook could’ve been named after his survival of the flood, but that’s just me being hopeful. But I do like this name, either way.

Name 2 – Blazefire
(Background info: Blazefire, warrior of ShadowClan, formerly of the Guardian Cats, former apprentice to Strikestone.) If you’ve glanced at the allegiances for Lost Stars, you’d know that Blaze from Tigerheart’s Shadow has now become a warrior with the name Blazefire. People say this name is rather redundant, and while it is, hear me out. Let’s go over the separate definitions for blaze and fire separately:

Blaze: 1) a very large or fiercely burning fire, 2) used in various expressions of anger, bewilderment, 3) burn fiercely or brightly, 4) fire repeatedly or indiscriminately

Fire: 1) combustion or burning, in which substances combine chemically with oxygen from the air and typically give out bright light, heat, and smoke, a) a destructive burning of something, b) a collection of fuel, especially wood or coal, burned in a controlled way to provide heat or a means for cooking, c) one of the four elements in ancient and medieval philosophy and in astrology, 2) a burning sensation in the body, a) fervent or passionate emotion or enthusiasm, b) luminosity; glow, 3) the shooting of projectiles from weapons, especially bullets from guns, a) strong criticism or antagonism

(I would’ve added more but the verb section was just as long, if not longer than the noun section for fire 😛 )

Now that we’ve went over the definitions for blaze and fire, let’s think about in what context these can be used in. Blaze is quite obviously, meant to be the first definition. Let’s go to -fire. Sure, it could mean fire like blaze, but if you look it up, the fire part in his name could mean passionate emotions or enthusiasm. If we know Blazefire, he’s been shown to be very enthusiastic at times and has passionate emotions, such as like when Spiresight died (when he pretty much lashed out at the patrol for suddenly caring after their guide died) and him being enthusiastic about trying to become a warrior. All in all, this name really isn’t that bad and though it doesn’t receive the hate that Twigbranch gets, it doesn’t really deserve the hate. After all, there are worse names that I can mention right off the top of my head but won’t.

Name 3 – Sneezecloud
(Background info: warrior of RiverClan, mate to Havenpelt, father of Fogkit and Splashkit.) I’m going to be honest, I absolutely adore this name and think it’s really cute. I even have a character named Sneezefeather. But bias aside, I don’t think it’s that bad? Honestly, I don’t really think it deserves that much hate and even then. this is the name of a background RiverClan character so I don’t see why there is much need to make a fuss about it.

Name 4 – Daisytoe
(Background info: Daisytoe, warrior of ThunderClan, mate to Rooktail, mother to Goosefeather and Moonflower, grandmother of Bluestar and Snowfur.) While I don’t see all that much hate for the name Daisytoe, I really don’t think it’s that bad? I feel like people take the names too literally at times when deciding which names they like and dislike, and Daisytoe is one of those names, unfortunately. I think it’s mainly because of the -toe suffix, which I can agree that while it is weird, we have the -leg and -belly suffix, do we not? I think people would’ve complained regardless if her name was Daisyleg or Daisybelly, but that’s besides the point. -toe is not that bad of a suffix, and I feel like people are overly hating it and taking the cat’s name too literally.

Name 5 – Smokehaze
I’ve hardly seen any hate for this name anywhere, but I’m going to defend it regardless. If you don’t know who this cat is, Smokehaze is a warrior of WindClan, daughter of Breezepelt and Heathertail, littermate to Brindlewing, and older sibling to Applepaw and Woodpaw. People have said that smoke and haze are the same thing. Like with Blazefire, let’s go over the separate definitions, shall we?

Smoke: 1) a visible suspension of carbon or other particles in air, typically one emitted from a burning substance, 2) an act of smoking

Haze: 1) a slight obscuration of the lower atmosphere, typically caused by fine suspended particles, a) a tenuous cloud of something such as vapor or smoke in the air, 2) a state of mental obscurity or confusion

As I looked through the synonyms for haze and smoke on Thesaurus, haze isn’t a synonym for smoke and smoke isn’t a synonym for haze. Therefore, the two can be considered different from each other. Smoke is specifically something that comes from fire and such, while haze can be slight obscuration of the lower atmosphere, or a state of confusion. All I really wanted to say is that these are different from each other and to do your research before assuming things, meep.

Name 6 – Twigbranch
Y’all should’ve expected this, because the hate for this one is getting old and annoying imo. Alright, so let’s get into specifics. Twigbranch really isn’t a bad name…technically, a twig grows from a branch, so no they aren’t the exact same thing. A branch grows directly from the trunk while a twig grows from the branch, so there is a difference. Plus, her name was given to her for a reason. Let’s reread her warrior ceremony, hmm?

Bramblestar: I, Bramblestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Twigpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?
Twigpaw: I do.
Bramblestar: Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Twigpaw, from this moment you will be known as Twigbranch. StarClan honors your energy and the way you have carefully thought out where you belong. You have proven over and over that your heart is in ThunderClan, but I’m also impressed by the way you care for all the Clans, and for how they function together. Having such a wide view will make you a stronger warrior. I give you the name Twigbranch in memory of the way you came to our Clan as a small, fragile kit, and have grown into a strong warrior, just as a twig grows into a branch. We welcome you as a warrior of ThunderClan.
Everyone: Twigbranch! Twigbranch!

As shown by this, there was a reason for her name and I don’t think that Twigshade would’ve suited her that much (while I like the name, it doesn’t really suit her energetic and impulsive personality). In general, the Twigbranch name hate is getting pretty old…it’s honestly just a name, and there have been worse in even the first series. And really, would you have rather her be named Twigbelly, Twigwater, or Twigbush? I’ll let you think on that for a second, but really, it’s been a little over a year since River of Fire came out and if you want to count Kate sharing the name on here in November 2017, then technically 1 and a half years since we’ve known that her name is Twigbranch. The complaining in general is really getting old, especially after this long that we’ve known her warrior name, it’s not going to change the name Twigbranch. I do realize that everyone has their opinions, but seriously. It’s getting old.

I hope you enjoyed this article, and tell me if there’s any other names that you think are overly hated that I could potentially defend in the future. Or comment if you agree with me that these names are overly hated or if you disagree. All I ask is that you respect my opinion and others in the comments section down below. ^_^