I can tell you now originality is for the most part dead. Everyone, even if they don't know it, is copying someone elses idea to some extent and giving it their own unique twist.

I myself was shocked to discover several months ago one of my characters shares the same first name with an MK fighter but mercifully that's the only similarity.

Bottom line is, focus on what manner of creativity you do have going with your characters (which, let me tell you is a lot) and don't worry about the small similarities like that. :)

You think that's bad? Try finding our that your personal character name is identical to the nickname of a non-furry brother on the RL side..oi... :)

Frankly, I am amazed he hasn't commented on the half dozen convention badges that I don't bother to hide in my home, all bearing the name 'NIKO' beside a suggestively-dressed, busty black and orange fox. :)

But in any case, you're right. Oft times it's the personality and creative use of the character that sets them apart. It's one thing to be named the same, but do they act the same? Or look the same, for that matter?

Yeah second that emotion.

XD Ouch, and here I was thinking you'd based her off her as a template. Err... Dayum.

But I know the feeling. SquareSoft are my eternal pre-emptive ripoffs. I started overusing the word Ragnarok before I knew they did (I originally actually heard about it from Golden Sun, so ner), and Shinkada's original last name was Shinra. No prizes for guessing what Square used that in.

Squenix likely has a big book of referential, often religious material. They've ripped and adapted names for everything from christianity and the bible, the kabbalah, the Koran...

Square's Final Fantasy VII is a study in adaptations of Norse and Christian mythos with terms like 'Midgard' being the Norse term for Earth and 'Ragnarok', or Gotterdammerung, being the End of the Cosmos in Norse mythology.

I know Square takes stuff from just about everything in pretty much the most inconsistant and innacurate ways they possibly can, and I know Ragnarok comes from Norse myth, but Square use the term Ragnarok similarly to how I do. It's the name of Shinkada, my character's, weapons, as well as his energy source in a way. It's a long story, but I was using Ragnarok as a weapon before I knew they were, hence the pre-emptive ripoffs.

This is the problem with choosing to pattern a name on a language which is meant to be exotic to Westerners, however not completely unlike anything they are familiar with (such as Japanese). You have a great idea in choosing the basis for Hitomi's name, but the concept of your choice itself isn't really original. Online and in fiction, Japanese titles and root words like 'hime', 'kami', 'kaze', and other terms for anything meant to be symbolic of something strong or beautiful are ripe for the taking. Names that mean something are simply more attractive. It sucks, but as the previous poster has mentioned, original is kind of dead. ..Well, maybe not *dead* dead, just on life-support and harder to find than gold dust on a beach. :)

If it helps, I for one have never once made the connection of your Hitomi to the DOA Hitomi; the separation of personalities also helps a bunch. I would also be willing to bet that the many readers of your CC fiction haven't, either, since three common syllables are enough to consider it a doublable occurrance. Now, if you had named her something along the lines of 'Hitomiwashimitsuudesu' when another of that name exists for...some unfathomable reason...then it might be a case for concern of unoriginality.

I wouldn't have minded as much if it hadn't been the name of a fighter. That's what really made me 'DOH'.

Also, I call dibs on Hitomiwashimitsuudesu!

LOL Hitomi is one of the most-used names for characters (there is one in Dominion, one in Escaflowne, one in Cat's Eyes (for some of the most well-known) and so on and so on and so on.............. This still doesn't prevent this name to look beautiful to me anyway.

Really? I had never, ever seen it before I selected it. D:

I trust the Hitomi in DoA isn't a mouse, either. :)

I wish. DoA has great boob physics. They'd look good on any mouse. :D