Imagery, Colors, Both, Neither, or What?

When you hear or see a name, any name, does it bring to mind a color or an image? Maybe both?

I connect names very strongly with pictures, and colors as well.

I have a mild form of synesthesia, so I often get imagery, moods, sounds, feelings, ā€œGIFsā€ that play in my mind, and sometimes colors.

The colors are hit or miss and tend to emerge more frequently with combos. For example, [name_f]Cosima[/name_f] alone does not spark a color, but [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is a warm dusty pink, while the combo [name_f]Cosima[/name_f] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is like a backdrop of midnight blue with clouds of the dusty pink like a nebula, and the whole thing is sprinkled with silver stars.

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a little bit! I ā€œseeā€ all of my favorite girlā€™s names as Victorian lace. I guess because theyā€™re all very old fashioned and frilly.

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For girls, I wonā€™t add a name to my list unless I can picture a girl with that name running and dancing through a meadow of wildflowers. Itā€™s super weird, I know. For that reason, I associate most of my girls names with spring. (Colors like pastel yellow, spring green, lavender and light, rosy pink).

For boys, itā€™s the same except theyā€™re exploring a forest. ([name_u]Forest[/name_u] green, auburn, mustard yellow and sometimes navy blue.)

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For Girls most of my baby names scream yellow to me, probably because they are all so cheerful. [name_f]My[/name_f] boys names make me think of reds, blues, yellows, and greens

I donā€™t necessarily see colours but I do get some imagery - almost like snapshots? I guess I see them as little poloroid photos :joy:

[name_f]My[/name_f] best examples would be;

[name_f]Stephanie[/name_f] reminds me of cherry [name_m]Kool[/name_m]-Aid smiles on a front porch, hair in pigtails and wearing pink overalls.

[name_u]Kimberly[/name_u] is a stack of teen movies on VHS tapes beside the tv, a bowl of popcorn and board games at a slumber party.

[name_f]Heather[/name_f] and [name_u]Courtney[/name_u] are going to the mall after school, listening to cassette tapes and sharing a plate of fries while they discuss how to ask their crushes to the school dance.

I typically only get really vivid imagery with names that bring me nostalgia, so I imagine what Iā€™m getting is from things Iā€™ve either already experienced or things Iā€™ve seen earlier in films or on tv or in magazines? [name_m]Hence[/name_m] why I decided to keep with the nostalgic names :wink:

From most (but not every) name I get a ā€˜feelā€™ which sort of brings together personality, imagery, and sometimes there are colours or certain pictures associated with that. I donā€™t necessarily get the same amount of imagery from every name. Often existing associations add to the image of a name, and often a particularly appealing feel can make me fall in love with a name (and vice versa). I like to construct combos based on names with a similar feel, which can be good and bad. Names with a very specific personality can be difficult to match with similar middles that also flow well, whereas I find a more general feel (e.g. fun, energetic names) is shared by more names.

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I tend to go based on the vibe I get from a name, but associations can definitely affect that vibe ā€“ like, for instance, I like the classy vibe of the name [name_f]Grace[/name_f], but I associate the name with too many mean girls for me to really get a good vibe from the name, despite its meaning and overall feel as a name. ([name_m]Don[/name_m]'t get me wrong, I can see the appeal of it and this is nothing against anyone with this name or who likes this name. [name_m]Just[/name_m] my personal experience.)

Some names just conjure up a feeling thatā€™s just inescapable for me. E.g. [name_f]Eliana[/name_f] feels like early morning after a summer rainstorm. I canā€™t shake a feeling like that, so hearing or seeing the name is attached to the sounds, colors, scents, etc. surrounding that imagery, if that makes sense. (Sounds a little crazy, Iā€™m sure! :sweat_smile:)

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Thatā€™s not crazy at all @elanorelle! Funnily enough, I get similar imagery from [name_u]Elliot[/name_u], which is why I paired it with [name_u]Storm[/name_u]! What a crazy coincidence!

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I get both with names! Some names are just a color- like [name_u]Elliot[/name_u]. But to me, [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f] is twilight, [name_f]Faye[/name_f] is a spring meadow, and [name_f]Abigail[/name_f] is red autumn leaves falling.
I think thatā€™s part of why I like certain names- [name_f]Ophelia[/name_f], for example, doesnā€™t really seem like my style, but I love the imagery.
Other things: Of course, I get ā€˜vibesā€™ from names, like just about everyone. And there are names I associate with colors, and names I associate with images. But sometimes I associate names with other things like textures or feelings. [name_f]Madelief[/name_f] is crisp to me (itā€™s also red), while [name_u]Theo[/name_u] is like dark silk (sometimes, itā€™s other colors, but [name_u]Theo[/name_u] [name_u]Night[/name_u] makes it dark). Thatā€™s another thing- [name_u]Theo[/name_u] can also be like dark green corduroy or dark red, but the combos adjust it.
I also envision people with names- [name_f]Thessaly[/name_f] [name_f]Fern[/name_f] wears corduroy overalls that are green, and [name_f]Harriet[/name_f] is shy and soft.