8.2 KiB
What's up with the name Juniper?
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Author: u/PHalfpipe *
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URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/rational/comments/8wqqfz/whats_up_with_the_name_juniper/
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Score: 26
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Created: 2018-07-07T04:50:59
Post:
I've never met or heard of a Juniper in real life, but it seems like the name shows up in every web serial. Is the name that popular? Is this some kind of in joke?
Comments:
u/Trips-Over-Tail [+35] Death of Crabs (an hour later)
It's in honour of Vilod's special mead.
Helgen, 17th of Last Seed, 4E 201. Never forget.
u/ZeCatox [+31] (2 hours later)
Doesn't seem too rare
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniper_(given_name)
In 2011, Juniper entered the top 1000 list of given names in the United States for the first time and is quickly becoming a popular girls name likely due to the popularity of a wide assortment of well-known fictional works (...)
u/electrace [+14] (5 hours later)
It's likely a fad-name. Here's the US baby-name data on it. The most recent data has it as the 352nd most popular girls name in the US.
u/None [+28] (2 hours later)
Hm, now that you mention it:
Main character's name in Worth the Candle.
Name of a dryad in The Gods Are Bastards.
Name of an Orc in A Practical Guide To Evil.
Edit: Also the name of a pokemon trainer in Origin of Species.
Am I missing any?
u/PHalfpipe [+21] (2 hours later)
Name of the old rebel leader in the The Dark Wizard of Donkerk
u/Throwitover9000 [+16] (2 hours later)
Isn't that by the same author as Worth the Candle though?
u/ketura [+9] Organizer (2 hours later)
So that makes it count less?
u/Throwitover9000 [+28] (2 hours later)
I'd say so. If a bunch of stories from the same author use a name a lot it doesn't show that the name is weirdly popular in a certain kind of fiction, it shows that a single person has a (conscious or unconscious) fixation on it. In that case the only person who can be asked for the source of the trend is the author.
Of course there are only two stories sharing an author, making that not the case. On the other hand there seem to be only four stories showing the Juniper trend, so there's not much of a trend in the first place.
u/sicutumbo [+15] (10 hours later)
And one of them is the dryad, who is explicitly named after the tree. She has sisters named Apple and Mimosa, for example.
u/tjhance [+9] (21 hours later)
Juniper is the name of an ocean in The Dark Wizard of Donkerk. 'The Juniper rebellion' was probably named after the ocean but I don't think it says so anywhere
(you know... just sayin)
u/alexanderwales [+10] Time flies like an arrow (a day later)
This is correct, the Juniper Rebellion is named after the Juniper Ocean. IIRC, it was named the Juniper Rebellion because it happened while the king was abroad, and there was a period of time where he ruled from the waters, but I don't think any of that is explained in the text.
u/tjhance [+2] (21 hours later)
or maybe it's the name of an ocean and a person and therefore it should count TWICE
u/None [+17] (8 hours later)
[deleted]
u/waylandertheslayer [+12] (a day later)
I'd also argue that since Pokemon Professors all have tree names, Juniper should only half-count from Pokemon: The Origin of Species
u/Massim0g [+3] (6 days later)
Yeah, and juniper is an official canon professor, not from OoS.
u/htmlcoderexe [+2] (12 hours later)
Might be professional deformation, but all I can think of is network equipment.
u/Ev0nix [+2] (28 days later)
There's a webcomic named that with a character named that too
u/Kaylors [+10] (13 hours later)
My kid is going to named Juniper and I will introduce you to her. Then you will have known someone named Juniper.
u/xland44 [+10] (24 minutes later)
Names heavily depend on where you live. It's not too rare a name.
u/ricree [+6] (an hour later)
Where at?
I also have never once run into someone with that name, but know several serials that use it.
u/xland44 [+7] (3 hours later)
I know one Juniper, although my friend has mentioned another one whom i've never met. It's a berry, it's not that outlandish for a persons name to be based off of a plant: Lily, Rosemary, Daisy etc, are all names that are derived from plants.
u/kotoshin [+2] (9 hours later)
It's a tree. IIRC the most common tree name I know Rowan.
u/Sparkwitch [+1] (11 hours later)
Not only where you live, but when you were born. For the same reason you wind up with multiple kids with the same name who wind up in the same class as school, authors of the same generation will be fond of the same name. It's some form of cultural osmosis.
When an individual is seeking a certain name to associate with a particular sort of person, they reach into a basket they share in common with a lot of people.
u/None [+6] (13 hours later)
Chapter 10 of Delphic introduces two female characters, one of which was going to be named Jenni.
"Find and Replace" is such a useful feature.
u/altoroc [+6] (7 days later)
Did you just change a character’s name because of this post? Lol
u/None [+6] (7 days later)
... ... ... ...maybe?
u/Subrosian_Smithy [+3] Nudist Beach (2 hours later)
...and here I just like the name Juniper.
u/cheers-- [+3] (6 hours later)
nah i think it's just the kind of name that's normal and different at the same time. to me it sounds like a girl that's not too girly but not tomboyish, so i can see why rational writers might like it.
though it is pretty weird that you're noticing it a lot.
u/TheIssac [+3] (4 days later)
Juniper is also the Codename for the GPU HD5770 from the 5xxxx Gen of AMD Graphic Cards.
u/Charlie___ [+2] (an hour later)
It's becoming more popular as a girl's name recently.
u/Ih8Otakus [+6] (5 hours later)
I am just glad that its not a really generic Caucasian name like bobby. Joe, Mitch, john. If your MC's name is generic I subconscious ly think your story is generic. Compare a name like Gary to a name like Randidly Ghosthound. Which story will you get invested in more? (Too bad randidly ghosthound is still a terrible webnovel but the name got my foot in the door)
u/CountVine [+10] (16 hours later)
Actually as someone who reads a lot of fanfiction I stated to associate nonstandard names with Mary Sues and bad writing. I'm not sure if such a correlation exists, but from the works I remember most of the badly written author avatars had some extravagant name.
u/CopperZirconium [+9] (a day later)
... Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way
u/ianstlawrence [+2] (18 hours later)
If you would like, can you share why you dislike Ghosthound? I read it, and I enjoy it. I am not sure I would call it great, and I don't mean to, like, accost you, but I am curious if you have the time and inclination.
u/Ih8Otakus [+5] (20 hours later)
The side characters are the problem with ghosthound. They have no motivations for themselves and are just there for being there.
u/ianstlawrence [+1] (a day later)
Yeah, understandable. Hope your day is going well : D
u/DismalWard77 [+4] (2 hours later)
Pretty sure its the name of a plant
and a planetso that could attribute to its popularity
u/ZeCatox [+9] (2 hours later)
and a planet
like... Jupiter ? <^__^;
u/DismalWard77 [+5] (2 hours later)
omg i thought he spelt jupiter but the plant thing still stands
u/Omnibuser [+8] (5 hours later)
So you thought there was a plant called jupiter?
u/DismalWard77 [+9] (6 hours later)
jupiter's beard? yeah
u/Omnibuser [+4] (6 hours later)
TIL!
u/MaddoScientisto [+1] (14 hours later)
What's up with the name Smith? its like everyone in fiction is called that