(If you want to see it in Word, you can do so, but what you are seeing below is the duplicate, and almost exactly what is on the file.)

So, there are a few that would wonder how I was able to give my red panda OC the full name of Alfred Ludwig Brockington, eh? You will likely ask why I don’t go for such untraditional names to name him like  runtt or  derrick or by hit and miss, “Warblon”. Well, it is my choice, and I feel that the name fits well. How I got the name was via a careful process. I did go by lots of background information, the nature of the species, and my experiences with the name. So enjoy the little essay about my fursona’s name and you could tell me if it is the right decision to give him that name; but he will stay as Alfred until I retire being a furry or I sell him to someone else.

Furst of all, why I chose the red panda as my main fursona? Well, you know how cute it is in RL: https://www.google.com/search?q=red.....62&bih=815 and I am nearly that way in RL also, though I feel a bit too old to be cute. The animal also is secretive and though it can be brown, orange, or red (in terms of tint and shading), it hides well in the trees. Also they are cathemeral, meaning that they have an irregular sleep pattern and they wake up whenever possible-so they can be active 24 hours, dusk and dawn only, when there is sun, or at nightfall. Scientists are still studying why it has this pattern of activity. For me, I do have an irregular sleep pattern, but I’m trying to regulate it again. Other than meeting another to mate, the species is solitary, and so am I, in addition, I am shy, so….

In their diet, they are omnivorus, but their prime diet is bamboo. Despite that they are in the order, Carnivora, they prefer vegetation in their diet, just like the giant panda, which ALWAYS eats bamboo. I, in RL like to eat vegetation also, and I am trying to be VEGETARIAN, but once in a while, I can have some meat in my diet. Though optional when you draw Alfred, the RL red panda has whiskers. Me, I have something analogous to whiskers-moustache. The fact is, I had one since I was born. (Fact: the word “Panda” in an oriental language means “Bamboo eater, ” and the red panda was discovered BEFORE the unrelated black & white one, so it was for a time, the only panda known to man.)

In other things, I do like using many words, so if you do look up this species, you will find at least four names for it. (Examples: Golden panda, lesser panda, wah, cat bear, firefox…. [Yes, the browser Mozilla has is named after this species.]) I am a fan of the King Fu Panda franchise, and so you will know that Master Shifu is one. He is a serious and wise character, but he does have his light sides. I do emulate him, but not seriously enough to say that I’m a mirror image of him. Though I will not be climbing trees often, nor do I eat bamboo-I wish, I feel that this species represents me well. I do worry; though it can adapt to any climate and they adapt well in zoos, the world population of them is still on the decline, and the IUCN declares them as vulnerable to being endangered: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/summary/714/0

And so, how did he get his name was a careful process.
In choosing his name, I had felt that I should match my fursona’s name with mine as close as possible. It was by happenstance that I had chosen it from me watching the show, “The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog.” If anyone has watched the series, it shows the main character solving mysteries that pop up in Gnarly Woods. The main character is quite smart. However, I was going to change it later on because it was not used often in the furry world and that it is low in popularity.

I did save it because of deep research into the name and because I’d like him to be unique. No, if you have seen the other names that float around in the FF’dom, like  Sebafox,  Caroo or  shuigetsu (Shui), my fursona name is simple. Though you can call me sophisticated sometimes, there are times where and when I have to be simple, like the names I give to my fursonas.

How my real name is connected to Alfred is by its meanings within. I won’t give my real name, but I will say what it means- counsel and rule or “A wise and powerful ruler” in English. Alfred means “counsel” in English also, but it also pertains to” elf.” However, many famous people were named Alfred: A king in England’s history, Alfred Nobel, (Lord) Alfred Tennyson (there is a street named after him in my city) Alfred Hitchcock, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Al Pacino, and Alfred Molina to name a few.

I do stress on King Alfred of England’s Wessex family because it is one reason why I have my red panda named this way. If you look at his history, he is the only monarch in England’s history who is dubbed “the Great” since he has done many things good for England-he was nearly a saint.

Also, one of the shortened nicknames is “Al.” It does tie in to many other names, like Alexander, Allan/Allen, Alfonso(e) or Albert, but the reason being is that it is tied to an oldie song, “You Can Call Me Al” by Paul Simon-it is one of my favorites! My fursona hates being called “Fred” because it refers more to Frederick as it is one of the only names associated with that nickname other than “Rick.” He can go by Alf, Alfie, Alfy or Alfredo. (Playfully, you can call him “Noodle” since the food associated with it is fettuccini.)

No, if you will ask about the deformed child named Alfred E. Neuman, I had never thought about the MAD Magazine/TV mascot when I thought of a name for my catbear. Besides, my wah can be dorky at times, but is more of the serious, handsome and intelligent type. He does have a good sense of humor, though.
If you do know my fursona’s middle name, it is Ludwig. I happen to incorporate that name of the game, HetaOni. It comes to luck that one of my friends,  Brittonbubba is going to make/or made a comic based on that game, FurOni. I did choose to be Germany when he was looking for volunteers to be characters of his comic-I did not know at first why, it was random. In the actual game, (I’ve been watching on youtube,) I have been to the point where the characters were going to use common names. The characters represent countries-weird really. You will see Germany (A.K.A. “West” by Italy and sometimes, Prussia,) use the name Ludwig. He is one of the serious “countries” in the game. Luckily, it was a good choice because if you ever visit the famed University of California, Berkeley, there is Ludwig Fountain. Since I took classes there, well why not put that name in my fursona? Based on history, it was a lucky pick, no? (Yeah, if you play or see HetaOni, you’ll find America choose Alfred as his common name, but my pick was well before I saw the game.)
Lastly, his last name, Brockington. It came out of the blue, but I had some connection to how I picked it-I remembered having seen an old but very popular show’s episode that aired on U.S. Public Television (PBS): Ghostwriter. In this one, when one part of the amateur sleuthing team went to London on vacation, little did he know that there was trouble in the future. He ended up trying to save the son of a famous author, Gloria Owens, whose maiden name is Brockington. (If you want to see the episode, look here [Part 1/4]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr2xm8ExVuI) Also, though I am not a fan of the show anymore, I do like Brock in Pokemon. The name was random, but it fit well as a last name for my fursona.

So there you have it, you now know my red panda’s fursona as Alfred L. Brockington and how much history and near careful process I’ve been through to selecting the furry and name that represents me. It was a good combination of names, and I’m happy to make it the permanent name for him. Admittedly, I brought it up for the first time when  JamesSnow drew me a headshot of him (see description): http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9027991/ .

Hope you enjoyed the story on how he came to be from my mind.