Soap Name Origins

For part of our research, we devoted a sufficient amount of time to coming up with an appropriate name for our soap. To find a simple yet effective name is definitely one of hardest tasks to complete. To create a name, we originally looked at the origins of current soap names to discover why they're so simple yet effective. Generally speaking, most Soaps are named after places, or locations. This helps to give a sense of relation to Soap from the point of view of the audience, which is an essential Code and Convention with Soaps.

EastEnders is named after the area of London known as the East End. However, the decision to choose this name was not this simple. The name EastEnders for example originates from the East End of London, with the people originating from this area, being know as EastEnders, much in the same way that people from Liverpool are called Liverpudlians. There are however many factors that went into the creation of the name EastEnders, at least in the sense of it being used as the name of a Soap Opera. Considering the fact that the Soap recently celebrated its 25th Anniversary in February of 2010, it would seem logical to assume that the name has played a large part in ensuring the Soaps success. There are many factors involved in the creation of a Soap name. For example, the EastEnders location is set in that of an urban town square, with a pub, and other standard outlets. Although these outlets seem like trivial locations, they all represent the nature of the East End in that it has closely linked together communities. We will try and recapture a similar aspect in the choosing of a name for our Soap Opera. One notable element of EastEnders is how 'Enders' has a capital E. As irrelevant as this appears, it is a major cause to take note of. A cast member of EastEnders once said that 'Eastenders' looks irregular when wrote down, and as a result suggested that it be given a capital E instead on a lower class E. Once again, seemingly trivial features such as this should be taken into account when creating our Soap name.

In a similar aspect to EastEnders, Coronation Street is based upon the fictional area of Whetherfield, with Coronation Street being the curved road in which the cast lives on. This as previously mentioned is very helpful in creating a good relationship with the audience, as they can relate to the area, and make the soap feel as if it is their second home which is vital for any relatively new Soap in ensuring that it continues to have success.

Emmerdale to has a similar agenda to that of EastEnders and Coronation Street, however its name is based upon a location Yorkshire, rather than an urban area within London or Manchester. This however reaches out to a different type of audience, considering the name Emmerdale. This is something we will have to take into account when developing our ideas and names for the Soap. The locations and the audience will greatly effect the final outcome. For example, it would be completely illogical to have a Soap set in the far reaches of the new Forest, with the name of the Soap being 'The Suburb'. We will have to think very carefully about what names not only are simple, but also have a meaning behind them and create the story for the soap without giving to much information, which requires you to watch the soap to find out.

Unlike the three major soaps however, Hollyoaks takes a different take on the way in which a Soap Opera is reprsented, ultimately effecting its title. The name 'Hollyoaks' is the name given to a sub-urban town on the outskirts of Manchester. The title of the Soap itself gives a warm and easy going atmosphere to the soap, with Holly and Oaks being that of plants, a typically peaceful element. Of course, considering the location of the Soap, it would be irregular, as previusly mentioned to name the Soap a title which does not relate to the Soap in a relatively obvious name. 
The Soap itself is actually aimed at a teenage audience, primarily focussing upon teenage matters, such as Health, Sex, Relationships and Education. Therefore, the name Hollyoaks almost has a sense of being slightly clichéd in that they're well aware that in order to get the targeted audience to watch the soap, they need to give the Soap an attractive title. For example, it would be illogical to name the Soap 'The Square' as although a potentially effective name, it comes accross as boring and unappealing to people of the teen age range. This is the primary reason that 'Hollyoaks' comes accross as a good name, purely because of the fact that its different and interesting. Whereas 'The Square' is a very bland and dull name, and doesn't suggest that time and thought has been given to create an audience attracting title.