Why would "Violet" be rejected as an inappropriate name on Nintendo 3DS?

My daughter has a Nintendo 3DS and recently purchased a Harvest Moon game for it. She made a purple-haired character and, when prompted for a name, tried to name her Violet. The name was rejected by the game as “inappropriate”.

Why in the world would the name “Violet” be inappropriate? It doesn’t contain any inappropriate words that I can see (as in the “Scunthorpe” problem), it’s the name of a color and a flower (seems innocent enough to me) and it is a legitimate girl’s first name to boot! It just doesn’t make any sense.

Does the word “violet” contain a rude word in some other language? Is it slang for something I’m not familiar with?

I did some googling, and all I found was a post on another message board asking the same question and coming up with no results.

I apologize to anyone I offended with this post :slight_smile:

My only guess is some conflation with “violent.”

I just did a quick search and discovered that ‘viol’ is french for ‘rape’. Other than that, no ideas.

Well, OK, but it is also French for violet.

I go with this. We are talking about a Japanese company here, after all.

We’re just trying to limit violets in gaming. Violins, too. But mostly violets.

Could it be a character’s name in-game? Like could there end up being on-screen dialog with Violet and Violet, where Violet just doesn’t understand what Violet is saying, no matter how much Violet tries to explain to Violet?

Or is it an admin level name?

It’s not an online game. The game is Harvest Moon 3D: A New Beginning.

Other Nintendo games have the same restriction. It’s not just that one.

It’s this. They block for embedded words.

You have of course hit on the reason behind the demise of big band music: too much sax and violins.

Do some science!

Try

Vi
Vio
Viol
Viole
Violin
Violent

Especially violins on tv.

Well, it’s my daughter’s game, and, unfortunately she doesn’t want me to start over in the name of science. I do know “violent” would not work because it is too long (that’s the reason she didn’t use her real first name.)

Is “viol” a particularly sensitive word to French speakers, that even seeing it embedded in another unrelated word would be offensive? I mean, it would be like me getting upset over the word “grape”.

My daughter told me she would try to name her next chicken “Grape” and see what happens.

It doesn’t make sense. “Violet” is even in a nursery rhyme.

Roses are red.
Violets are purple.
Sugar is sweet.
And so’s maple slurple.

Gratuitous violins are the worst.

Well, violins can be used (non-violently), like against this guy who talks on his cell phone during an outdoor public concert. (About 20 seconds into this 42 second video.) And good for those performers!

First off: Your daughter is brilliant.

Second: . . . Holy crap! In both French and English there is a word for “a shade of purple” that contains the word for “rape”? That is just too bizarre. Having seen two examples, I can only conclude that this must be true in every language.

I’m in the middle of reading “The Signal and The Noise” and this line just cracked me up.

This post has violated by the Violet.

Why the hell did you name her “Violent?”