Chimpanzee Name Generator

Start with a voice, a gesture, or a familiar companion

Generate a few chimpanzee names and picture an encounter. Echo Joy could fit a chimpanzee whose call makes someone turn toward the trees. Milo Toolmaker suggests a character someone remembers for a particular action. Try both names in the same line. If you are making a drawing, place them under the same picture and see whether each one draws attention to a voice, an action, or a relationship.

Try a name in a notebook and in conversation

Smart Anvil might appear in the notes of someone who remembers a scene with a stone. Say it in the observer's voice, then imagine a companion who uses a short form. If you keep both forms, put them in the same scene the first time. A reader can then follow the short form when the chimpanzee shows up elsewhere.

Say the names of chimpanzees who appear together

Echo Hoot and Echo Joy share the same beginning. Try one beside Milo Toolmaker if you need to tell two chimpanzees apart in a quick exchange. Write a line in which one animal moves away and another stays close to its companion. Say both lines aloud without looking at the list. If you forget which did what, change one opening sound or choose a single word for one animal.

Use the name once the scene has changed

Keep two names and use each in a later scene. If the first name came from a call, try it when the chimpanzee is quiet. If it came from an action, show the animal beside a familiar companion without repeating the action. Choose the name that still brings the same chimpanzee to mind and fits the voice of the person using it. If both choices work, let someone else say the lines and listen for the one they remember without having to read it again. Ask what detail made them think of that chimpanzee in particular.