Archetypal name

Proper name used as a descriptor

An archetypal name is a proper name of a real person or mythological or fictional character that has become a designation for an archetype of a certain personal trait.[1] It is a form of antonomasia.

Archetypal names are a literary device used to allude to certain traits of a character or a plot.[1]

Literary critic Egil Törnqvist mentions possible risks in choosing certain names for literary characters. For example, if a person is named Abraham, it is uncertain whether the reader will be hinted of the biblical figure or Abraham Lincoln, and only the context provides the proper understanding.[1]

## Examples

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### Persons

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* Nanook, a Native Alaskan[2]
* Tex, a cowboy[3]
* Hanako, an archetypal Japanese name for girls.[4]

### Groups

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A name may also be an identifier of a social group, an ethnicity, nationality, or geographical locality.[1]

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

* Chad, a young, confident, masculine man that makes a strong positive impression with his assertiveness
* Karen, mainly used in the US for an entitled and demanding white woman
* Paddy, for an Irishman: from Saint Patrick, the patron of Ireland[1]

### Animals

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In French, the Latin-derived word for the fox (French: goupil) was replaced by French: renard, from Renart, the fox hero of the Roman de Renart (originally the German Reinhard).

### Traits

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#### Real persons

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* Genius: Einstein
* Polymath: da Vinci
* Womanizer: Casanova
* Traitor: Benedict Arnold, Quisling
* Betrayer: Brutus,[5] Judas
* Outstanding ability: Bradmanesque[6][7][8]

#### Fictional or mythological characters

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* Handsome man: Adonis[9]
* Lover: Romeo
* Manipulator: Svengali

[10]

* Womanizer: Don Giovanni / Don Juan, Lothario

## See also

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* Stock character
* Placeholder name
* Eponym
* Category:National personifications
* List of eponyms

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e Egil Törnqvist (2004) "Eugene O'Neill: A Playwright's Theatre", ISBN 0-7864-1713-7, Chapter 8: "Personal Names and Words of Address"
2. ^ "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow". arf.ru. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
3. ^ Handy, B.; Swaeny, G. (2003-08-18), "The Summer of Bruce", Time, archived from the original on January 14, 2009, retrieved 2008-03-10
4. ^ Takeda Hiroko (2004) "The Political Economy of Reproduction in Japan", ISBN 0-415-32190-5
5. ^ Tempest, Kathryn (2017). Brutus : the noble conspirator. New Haven. ISBN 978-0-300-18009-1. OCLC 982651923.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
6. ^ "Bradmanesque". www.collinsdictionary.com. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
7. ^ Guha, Ramachandra (30 June 2016). The Picador Book of Cricket. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 9781509841400 - via Google Books.
8. ^ "Market in Bradmanesque form". www.capitalmarket.co.in. 7 February 2007. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
9. ^ Ehrlich, Eugene (2014-01-28), What's in a Name?: How Proper Names Became Everyday Words, Henry Holt, ISBN 9781466863200, retrieved 2020-08-04
10. ^ "Dante's Inferno - Circle 9 - Cantos 31-34". danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2021-07-23.