Some people, if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
Posted
I don't know anybody named Rafe or Carly in real life, but I'm pretty sure most of the characters on soaps answer to one of those names. GL and Y&R have a Rafe apiece. ATWT and GH boast Carlys. And when Crystal Chappell returns, DAYS will have one of each.
Is it just me or are there some character names that make the rounds on soaps much more often than they do in the real world? Are there others I'm not thinking of?
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
However, I think B&B takes the title with this one for Ridge, Thorne, Storm. They don't make the rounds on other soaps cause they're silly.
I didn't think of B&B's trifecta. And don't forget the soon-to-return Whip. Now that you mention it, Brandon Beemer is lucky he got a normal name like Owen. They could have stuck him with something like Thicket or Badger or Sequoia.
"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
Well, i've never met anybody named Sonny (GH) or Dorian (OLTL) and i don't recall ever really having met anybody named Starr (OLTL), Marty (OLTL) or Blair (OLTL). I've definetly never met a Cole (OLTL) or Langston (OLTL).
But i have met a few Vicki's and Todd's in my time.
Other weird soap names: Tess (OLTL, formerly Loving) Liza (i've never met anybody named Liza ever) Kendall (seriously?) Tea (is this supposed be a real name?) Reva (i don't think i've ever met one) Lucky (the only time i've heard it in real life is for a dog)
I agree Brooke is more of a TV name, i've never met one in real life but lots of soaps and teen drama's have characters with this name.
Praying The Daytime Emmys air on TV in 2010!
Posts: 20043 | Location: just outside Providence, Rhode Island | Registered: July 28, 2002
Well my sister's name is Kendall, my stepsister is Brooke, and my cousin is Tess, so I do at least know real life people with those names lol. My other sister's name is Lucy, which while showing up at one time or another on alot of soaps, she's the only person in real life I've ever met with that name that wasn't like 60 or 70.
I however I do not no anyone named Rafe.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: AddieLove,
Posts: 441 | Location: Sands Point, Long Island | Registered: June 19, 2007
My 17 year old niece is named Brooke (and of course, even 17 years ago, i was thrilled when my sister named her after one of my all time favorite characters, B&B's Brooke)
When she had my other niece and nephew, i had to draw the line. There was no way i would allow her to name my nephew Thorne or Ridge. LOL
i don't think i've ever heard of a real person being named Myrtyle or Phoebe, but Phoebe at least sounds like a name that a real person could possibly have, Myrtyle not so much.
Sometimes names on soaps don't match the type of people that have them in real life. On OLTL Vicki is a regal, sophsticated rich lady but in real life in my expierance, any Vicki i've ever met has been pretty disgusting and trashy.
Bo, Austin and Rex are others that are common on soaps that i don't really see much in real life. Same with Nora, Gabrielle and Tina. Although i've met a few Tina and Gabrielle's in my life, they still aren't all that common.
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Praying The Daytime Emmys air on TV in 2010!
Posts: 20043 | Location: just outside Providence, Rhode Island | Registered: July 28, 2002
Let's do the reverse, what are names very common in real life that almost never show up on soaps?
A few i can think of:
Floyd, Melissa, Joe or Ellen. i can't think of many soap characters with these names. I must have known at least 15 people named Melissa in my lifetime but the only soap character i can think of with that name is GH's very shortlived Melissa Bedford. and i can't think of a single soap character named Ellen, Joe or Floyd.
Praying The Daytime Emmys air on TV in 2010!
Posts: 20043 | Location: just outside Providence, Rhode Island | Registered: July 28, 2002
I've met several Brookes actually, now that I think about it. One of them was a guy, actually. Oddly enough, it still doesn't strike me as a real name. I guess they all seemed pretty phony.
Plants seem very popular to soap writers too. A Lily here and there, a Rose, a Daisy, a dash of Iris, throw in a little Jade and Sage -- come to think of it, a lot of those are from ATWT. I wouldn't have been surprised, before Martha Byrne left, if they had given Lily and Rose a third identical sister and named her Chrysanthemum.
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"A movie is not good because it arrives at conclusions you share, or bad because it does not. A movie is not about what it is about. It is about how it is about it: about the way it considers its subject matter, and about how its real subject may be quite different from the one it seems to provide." - Roger Ebert, from the introduction to "Awake in the Dark" (2006)
I live down the street from a family with a Will, Grant, Lily and Rose and their last name is a soap names from ATWT. I'll let you guess because it might be weird to give out that info online.
Originally posted by Boidiva02: Let's do the reverse, what are names very common in real life that almost never show up on soaps?
A few i can think of:
Floyd, Melissa, Joe or Ellen. i can't think of many soap characters with these names. I must have known at least 15 people named Melissa in my lifetime but the only soap character i can think of with that name is GH's very shortlived Melissa Bedford. and i can't think of a single soap character named Ellen, Joe or Floyd.
Joe Martin from AMC
Melissa Horton on DAYS
I have never met a Floyd or Ellen in real life, though some of the names being brought up or more common for certain age ranges.
Originally posted by GloFish: Felicia and Simone are pretty common soap names, and I have yet to meet anyone with either of those names.
I met a Felicia once, but have never met a Simone!
and i have definetly never met a Greenlee, Macy or Helena!
I went to school in Manhattan my whole life, and there was a Macy, Phoebe, Simone, and Felicia all within two years of me LOL, and there were always kids with their parents last name as their first name.
I think in bigger cities you find more people with so-called "soap opera names"- I know like 4 Brookes, 3 Carlys, a Rex, a Roxy, a Nora, a Gabrielle, and so on.
As for common names, how about Brittany, Katie (save for ATWT), Ashley, or Caroline? those are all pretty common names hat aren't really used on soaps.
Posts: 441 | Location: Sands Point, Long Island | Registered: June 19, 2007
Know a few named Carly (one a young girl, one an older man)
Went to school with a Felicia
I know a LOT of women named Brooke
I know a Lily or 2
jcar03, you've never met a Floyd, but I used to live down the street from a Floyd
Someone in one of our other offices is named Macey.
I know it's a last name on B&B, but I know a Logan.
I must live in a soap opera world. haha
****************************** LORELAI: You ruined my joke. RORY: Um, no, the punchline ruined your joke. (from Eight O'Clock at the Oasis) ******************************
Posts: 2448 | Location: Baltimore, MD (but originally from Alabama, southern at heart) | Registered: March 19, 2002
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