Fang Gang Names

[Cangel]

Hi people :heart:

So I was wondering this about the Fang Gang. Angel used to be named Liam, Spike was William, Darla also just got her name after being sired (I don't know her original name...was it ever mentioned?)...what about Drusilla? Is that her real name or also just a given name after she was sired?

And to put it a little bit more general: is it a custom among vampires to change their names when being sired ór is this just like a trademark of our 4 favourite vampires?

[Kana]

I don't think there is a rule. I think some perhaps want to disassociate with their human lives but some keep them. Russel Winters and Zachery Kralik don't sound like nicknames along with James and Elizabeth. However the Master obviously changed his name as did Kakistos.

[white avenger]

I can't say for sure about Darla or Drusilla, but the men seem to have gotten their names some time after being turned, more initially as titles than really names. Angel got his name, according to Giles from being "the vampire with the angelic face," which seems strange when it was soulless Angelus and souled Angel, so the Watchers should have known him by Angelus, not Angel. Spike was originally "William the Bloody," until the incident with the heads and railroad spikes.

Maybe the individual vampire adopts some sort of pseudonym in order to sound more sinister. Would you be more frightened by "Liam the Lame," or "Angelus the Awful?" "Willy the Wicked," or "Spike, the Spike-In-Your-Head Guy?" "Melvin the Mean," or "The Master of all Vampires?"

[Cangel]

I can't say for sure about Darla


That was explained on Angel. The Master gave her the name after he sired her. I'm just not sure if her original name was ever mentioned; Darla herself told Lindsey she couldn't remember.
So in this case it was not a name of reputation. Now, 'Darla' has the same roots as 'darling', meaning something very dear. This suits her, considering how the Master liked her ('She was my favourite')

[Lyri]

I thought Darla meant 'Dear One'? Anyway, yeah, The Master gave it to her. she said, because she's so old, she doesn't remember what her real name was.


This is how I figure it:

The Master gave Darla her name after he sired her.
Darla gave Angelus his name after she Sired him, because his sister thought he was an Angel when he showed up at their house...the demon with the face of an angel.
Spike gave himself his name, I'm assuming, after driving railroad spikes through his victims heads. William the Bloody was a nickname he had before he was sired.

My guess is that Dru was too screwed up to keep up with the tradition the Aurilius line seemed to have, so Spike had to rename himself.

[Cangel]

I thought Darla meant 'Dear One'? Anyway, yeah, The Master gave it to her. she said, because she's so old, she doesn't remember what her real name was.


This is how I figure it:

The Master gave Darla her name after he sired her.
Darla gave Angelus his name after she Sired him, because his sister thought he was an Angel when he showed up at their house...the demon with the face of an angel.
Spike gave himself his name, I'm assuming, after driving railroad spikes through his victims heads. William the Bloody was a nickname he had before he was sired.

My guess is that Dru was too screwed up to keep up with the tradition the Aurilius line seemed to have, so Spike had to rename himself.


This would mean that Angel gave her this name?
I checked out a webpage to see when this name was popular. It only went back as far as the 1880s, where according to thi site, it was most popular. Now, Dru was sired somewhere in the 1850s? Maybe we could find out if it already was a common name back then or onl became so after she got sired.

[palabravampiress]

It sounds to me as if the vampire parent names the vampire child if he or she is of a mind to do so and that additional nicknames or titles are sometimes passed on if the vamps develop a sufficiently bloody reputation.

To recap: The Master named Darla because she was dear to him. Darla named Angelus for his angelic face. We can probably assume that Angelus named Dru, too, although more on that later. We know that Drusilla called Spike Willy or William, (or any number of addle-brained nicknames) so he didn't get a parent-inspired name. Instead, he got two deed-inspired titles: "William the Bloody" and "Spike." He seems to either have taken the shortest one as a name or to have had it bestowed upon him by the demon community in general. In the house of Aurelius, at least, naming seems to be a family tradition. Given Aurelius' religious leanings, that isn't terribly surprising. It reminds me of baptism. Christians often take on new names when they are baptized or confirmed or whatever. Turning is a rite of passage. It's a rebirth and a blood baptism all in one. I think it makes sense that the Master would be the type to encourage the tradition of ritualistic renaming.

As far as Dru goes, I think Angelus probably chose it. It was a family name in the family of pretty famously insane Roman emperors Nero and Caligula. Caligula's "favorite" (in every sense of the word, especially the incestuous sense) sister and his famously violent daughter both bore the name. The elder Drusilla held a position of honor in Caligula's home. She was the preferred sister. She had a great deal of influence over her brother and, when they entertained, she always acted the part of hostess and homemaker, even though he had other sisters. She was his go-to woman and a trusted adviser. She was also very much under his power, especially when it came to her love life. Rumor has it that Drusilla's first marriage was dissolved due to her brother's jealousy and that her second marriage was arranged by her brother and to one of her brother's reported lovers. Although no one can say for sure that an emperor controlling his sister's love life, preferring her company, or trusting her judgment is tantamount to incest, Caligula himself presented strong evidence for that interpretation after Drusilla's death. He buried her as an "Augusta" (the highest honorific title in the land, with the masculine "Augustus" being clearly linked to the emperor). He forced the senate to declare her a goddess -- a love goddess. Just as Caligula loved and controlled his Drusilla, I think Angelus loved and controlled our Drusilla. Unlike Darla, who was his equal, Drusilla was Angelus' ever dutiful and subservient daughter. He controlled her completely, but loved her too. During season 2 of Buffy, we saw this dynamic play out. Angelus said with a wink, "Nobody knows me like you do, Dru." He brought her presents. He brought her with him pretty much wherever he went. He genuinely seemed attached.

I think there is an even greater claim to be made that she is based on Caligula's daughter, though. He named his only daughter after his much beloved sister. This daughter, it is said, was a violent sort of girl who had a tendency to try to claw other children’s' eyes out. The little girl did not live long, though. At the age of two, she was killed while kicking, biting, and otherwise unsuccessfully defending her mother from an assassin. Our Drusilla is decidedly childlike and violent and also seems to favor scratching people's eyes out (or cutting their throats with her fingernails).

I think Drusilla was the lover and the daughter of Angelus' unbeating heart. I think that's why he named her after the sisters/lovers/daughters of one of Rome's craziest, most incestuous ruling families. It seems like a very Angelus thing to do.