An Orc by any other name would smell as sweet... Well, there's just no way to make orcs smell good, so you might as well give yours a good name. One of the first adventures you will embark upon within World of Warcraft will be that of choosing a character name. While your subsequent exploits should prove infinitely more exhilarating, great care should be given to name selection. The first impression other players have of you will be based on your character's name, so it's best to start off on the right foot. While choosing the perfect name for your character is left to your discretion, we have determined that some types of names are not allowed in this game.
The Naming Policy is part of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use that governs your play on World of Warcraft. Below are guidelines to help you determine whether or not the name you have chosen is appropriate for your character, guild, or pet. Hopefully, we have encompassed all manner of offensive names, however there may be inappropriate names that do not fit into any of these categories. The GM staff will only change a character's name if it is indeed found inappropriate; we will not change character names for any other reason. However, if you want to change a character’s name that is not inappropriate, please use our paying Character Name Change service. We reserve the right to evaluate each incident on a case-by-case basis and in extreme cases, take action not detailed here. Please remember that World of Warcraft European servers will gather many players of different nationalities and languages. So please avoid any name that could offend a specific European nationality
Highly Inappropriate
Names which fall under the following categories are deemed to be highly inappropriate. Clarification on what constitutes each category can be found by clicking on the links below.
Though we have varying tolerance for repeated or extreme abuse of each category, any name that violates one of these categories will most likely:
- Be assigned a randomly generated temporary name, to be changed via the online ticket system
- Be temporarily or permanently suspended from the game
Moderately Inappropriate
Names which fall under the following categories are deemed to be mildly inappropriate. Clarification on what constitutes each category can be found by clicking on the links below.
Only applied on the Roleplaying Servers
Names which fall under the following categories are deemed to be mildly inappropriate but only on the Roleplay servers of World of Warcraft. Clarification on what constitutes each category can be found by clicking on the links below.
Though we have varying tolerance for repeated and extreme abuse of each category, any name that violates one of these categories will most likely:
- Be assigned a randomly generated temporary name, to be change via the online ticket system
- Be given a warning
- Be temporarily or permanently suspended from the game
IMPORTANT
- Repeatedly violating any area of the Terms Of Use, including the areas detailed above, will often result in temporary suspension from the game.
- This policy is not language-restrictive. Names that fall under this policy will always be subject to the repercussions listed, whether they are inappropriate in English or any other language.
- Questionable names may not be changed immediately, but at a later date, pending further review. Blizzard reserves the right to change any names we deem inappropriate or that violate policy.
- Players found to be in violation of the above policies may be assigned a randomly generated temporary name for their character, guild, or pet. An E-mail will be sent to the account's registered E-mail address with instructions on how to change his/her temporary name to one of their choice if he/she is not online.
The bottom line is that we want World of Warcraft to be a fun and safe environment for all players. World of Warcraft is an MMORPG, and the key words are "Massively Multiplayer." In playing this game, you will encounter thousands of other players who share different experiences and come from vastly different backgrounds. While a certain name may not be offensive to you, consider the fact that that same name may have a completely different effect on someone else. We've done everything we can to make this a great game but now it's up to you, the players, to breathe life into the world. Choose wisely my friends..
[Return to Policies Main]
