Name changing ceremony

In the Warriors series, a name changing ceremony is an event in which a Clan cat gets their name changed. This change can happen because of injury, a wrong choice by a previous leader, or an individual's dislike of their current name. A Clan leader is the cat to perform this ceremony, as warriors generally do not choose their own names, with the exception of Crowfeather, who chose his suffix in honor of Feathertail.
==Process==
Names are important part of Clan culture. When a cat's name no longer portrays who they are, a Clan leader can perform a ceremony to change a cat's name to something different. The main cause of this ceremony is likely due to a life-changing injury, and is not always taken well by the cat being renamed or their family. Some cats have been known to embrace their new name and use it to their advantage, and not letting their name define them. This process is not always welcome in the Clan, and given that warriors do not choose their name, it is considered disrespectful to ask for a new name and to reject what the Clan leader has chosen for you. While a leader can compromise with a request to change a name, they do ultimately have the final say in what a cat's name will be due to Clan tradition.
===Ceremony===
A Clan leader calls for a Clan meeting, and can use the following words to rename a cat by speaking to StarClan:
:Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the name from the cat you see before you, for it no longer stands for what [they are]. By my authority as Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give this cat a new name. From this moment on [they] will be known as (new name), for (description of the reason). 
==List of cats who have changed their names in the Warriors series==
Name 	New Name 	Book
Hopkit 	Deadpaw 	Tallstar's Revenge
Stormkit 	Crookedkit 	Crookedstar's Promise
Sparrowpelt	Halftail 	Bluestar's Prophecy
White-eye 	One-eye 	Bluestar's Prophecy
Lostface 	Brightheart	The Darkest Hour
Flameheart 	Nightheart 	River
===Reasons for name changes===
Examples of cats getting their names changed:
*During Hopkit's apprentice ceremony, Heatherstar names him Deadpaw, believing that a name like his would trick his enemies into thinking that he could not fight. Deadpaw embraces his new name and uses it to his advantage, eventually becoming one of WindClan's deputies under Tallstar's leadership.
*Rainflower speaks to Hailstar and demands that he change Stormkit's name to Crookedkit due to the injury to his jaw. This name was not accepted well by Shellheart, Rainflower's mate, and the two subsequently broke up due to Rainflower's treatment of their son.
*Sparrowpelt gets his name changed to Halftail some time during Bluestar's Prophecy, due to his tail having been injured and losing half of it because of a badger attack.
*Due to White-eye's failing eyesight, she had her name changed to One-eye when she retired to the elders' den.
*Firestar is asked to change Lostface's name to something less cruel after a dog attack, as Bluestar had named her to spill her hate of StarClan, believing that she was dying. Firestar then names her Brightheart to honor her brave spirit and the light that shines within her.
*Nightheart rejected his warrior name of Flameheart since he felt it did not properly represent him and to cut off his connection with his great-grandfather Firestar. While wanting a completely different name, he compromised with Bramblestar and accepted the name Nightheart, in honor of his pelt color and his father, along with the qualities he shares with his ancestor, Firestar. Nightheart did not have an entirely new ceremony, due to his name change request being during his own warrior ceremony.
==Quotes==
==See also==
*Cat names
*Ceremonies
==Notes and references==
ru:Смена имениde:Zeremonie der Namensänderungnl:Naamveranderings ceremoniefi:Nimenvaihdon seremoniapl:Ceremonia zmiany imienia
Category:Ceremonies