Tix's weird situation with some Yugotalia characters' names
Disclaimer: I’m not trying to stir up controversy or anything like that. I had some free time, so I decided to break down some of the odd methods Tix used to name certain characters. I’m very open to discussing it if you want to!
1) Some time ago I decided to expand Yugotalia's fan wiki because there was something to add – for instance, details from the Hetalia fan wiki regarding the origins of the canon human names for the countries.
I decided to start with Herzegovina's name, and imagine my surprise when I realized that her name, "Idriza," is simply a variation of the name Idriz (itself a Balkan variant of the Arabic-origin name Idris),– though I never actually figured out whether that name is even used or not.
(Below is how I wrote it on wiki)
So, this name reflects Bosnian Muslim naming influences.
Of course, what's wrong with that if Bosnia and Herzegovina is one entity, meaning it doesn't really matter?
Well, the thing is that Tix innately made a character separate from Bosnia, referencing her to the historical region of Herzegovina where Bosnian Croats live. And Idriza herself represents a Bosnian Croat. Bosnian Croats are known for being Catholic, so why does she have a name with a Bosnian Muslim influence?
I’m not trying to say that you wouldn’t find people named Idriz in Herzegovina – far from it. But it would be like, say, representing a country like Bhutan with a character named John. That’s a rather extreme analogy, but I’m sure you could find at least one person there with that name.
After all, is that really a good representation of a country or region – using a name that originates from a different country, region, or even a religion that doesn't largely align with their culture? I don't think so.
2) Next, I decided to move on to her surname; although the following image is once again from her fan wiki page, the focus here will be on her husband – Bosnia – from whom she took that surname.
As you can see, through research, this time Bosnia's surname is actually one that is commonly associated with historical communities in present-day Croatia and Serbia.
Again, I'm not saying there's no chance you will find a Bosnian with this surname. After all, the western South Slavs are not that different. You would surely find this surname not only in Bosnia, but even in Slovenia and Montenegro. Shoot, even in Macedonia!
But it's still about the origin of the name. It would surely be better for a character representing a specific region to have a name from the place they originate from, no? Otherwise, at least for me, it feels like a poor naming choice. But I'm not going to repeat myself here.
Also, I found this site that shows the distribution of different names, and I think this image also speaks for itself.
I’d like to point out that the situation is actually a bit funny, since Idriza and Enis have completely opposite situations regarding her first and his last name, haha.
In conclusion: yes, the post's title was a bit sensational, although overall I only have a somewhat problem with two Yugotalia characters.
Of course, I understand that some countries from Hetalia may have a name that is common across the Slavic world. For example, Russia's human name is Ivan – a name you can also find in neighboring countries like Belarus or, further away, Bulgaria and Serbia. It's a very common name! The same goes for Macedonia's name, which is also very common not only in her country, but in neighboring ones as well.
However, the case of Herzegovina's name, Idriza, is different. It is not only more uncommon in her region than in her neighboring one, but it originates from a religion not typically associated with her! Her name does not really even exist, it's just the name Idriz made feminine by adding "-a" at the end.
Maybe with Bosnia you could've been justified using it a little more but it would still be better to use something for him that is more typical or native for him? Like, from his own culture and not from his neighboring ones? Bare minimum, I think.
You know, ever since I did some research on the name Idriza, it really jumps out at me, and bothers me a bit, whenever I see people write it. I don’t blame them, of course; the issue really lies in how the character was named in the first place.
If you criticize, provide a solution, right? If we are really seeking something similar, then I think it would be...
It's a Croatian name that means Daisy. I think Herzegovina's name being Daisy actually suits her a lot!
And of course, the fandom can keep using her OG name, even if it was poorly created; I'm not stopping anyone.
And about Bosnia's surname, I would like to hear if someone else makes a suggestion because I can't really choose myself, to be honest.
kianamaiart
gummygunk
areudirty
theartofmadeline
turnnoffyourmind
