The Great Handy Name Diagram

The duplicate Tenth Doctor created in the New Who series 4 episode "Journey's End" is never properly named onscreen, and as a result, fandom came up with its own names to refer to the character: some called him "the metacrisis Doctor," some "Ten II" or "the Blue Suit Doctor," and some of us affectionately called him "Handy," after his origin as Ten's severed hand.

A Handy living a human life in Pete's World might need a human name, if only for paperwork. Fanfic authors began assigning him names, some unique enough that fan (and fellow Teaspoon moderator) platypus began compiling the names other than the too-common "John Smith" onto what became the Great Handy Name List: a list of 72 names (as of January 2019) Handy adopts within the course of a story, provided the story and/or characters consistently refer to Handy by that adopted name. (That is, temporary aliases don't count.)

Looking at the list reveals obvious canonical references authors used to generate the names: combinations of Donna's name with "John Smith," combinations including Rose Tyler's name, combinations that referred to other canon characters, such as Ian or Jamie. I began to wonder what the connections would reveal about name origin and popularity.

And thus: the Great Handy Name Diagram.

Note: because this diagram cannot be made readable at small sizes, it has not been made responsive, and will require significant scrolling on mobile phones.

Names were typically a combination of Donna's name (or that of her grandfather, Wilf) and John Smith, but frequently combined the Doctor's name with someone else, such as "Alonzo Timelord" or "John Theta Sigma." There were also several cases where a name had three separate origins; for example, "Donald John Tyler" is a combination of Donna ("Don"), John Smith, and Rose, while "Jonathan Noble-Storm" combines John Smith, Donna, and the Doctor's "Oncoming Storm" nickname. Authors incorporated David Tennant and his Scottish origins ("David Noble," "Michael Scot Tyler") and brought Billie Piper ("Daniel William Piper") and even actor Patrick Stewart into the mix with "Jonathan Stewart." Name origins weren't always explained in author's notes or in story text, but I relied on both as the final arbiter if a name choice wasn't obvious. (I never would have guessed the Patrick Stewart reference if the author hadn't mentioned it in a note.)

There were also a few names for which I could trace no obvious origin: "Christopher Baryon 'Bary' Longhill." "George." "Julian." And the pithiest of all: "Don," though perhaps that was simply an unidentified Donna reference.

No matter what the origin of the names, the diagram is a fascinating look at fannish creativity. Keep those names coming, authors!