Origin of Gatekeeper's name....

Okay, don't make fun of me. I already do that to myself enough, but I have a serious question.

What is the origin of Gatekeeper's name?
a) Guarder of the gate

b) Ride is designed to keep people in the park and spending more money.

A

They mention the name, but the whole documentary is still awesome.

Hey my buddy helped make that doc!

I was very skeptical on the name when it was announced because it just didn't seem to flow for me but the name definitely grew to something I enjoyed.

My wife told me she thought GateKeeper was the dumbest name ever, even worse than just Ride of Steel at Darien Lake. Then she saw it in person and said "Oh. I get it now. That's pretty cool."

So I have to ask this, I'm genuinely interested. It seems as though the majority of people I see posting these days (not just here, mind you) really have a problem with some of the coasters names at Cedar Point. I remember not long ago when everyone was crapping on the names Valravn and Rougarou...and now it sounds like Gatekeeper is being brought up as not a good name at times. What kind of names do people actually like for roller coasters? As I said before, I thought Valravn and Rougarou were excellent coaster names, because they seem unique to me and also have a sort of mythological meaning and background to them. Gatekeeper sort of follows suit in that same vein...

I understand everyone has different tastes, but I truly would like to know what others think make good coaster names, and why?

To be honest, I really don't care what the name of a coaster is, as long as the thing is operational when I want to ride it.

Now they need a ride named Keymaster, to go along with Gatekeeper.

In my opinion, while I like all of these names (especially Rougarou, since it really fits the swamp creature vibe), is that it is caused by one of a couple things:
1) Gatekeeper sounds generic (it isn't, but it sounds that way). Despite the fact that it describes the coaster for what it is, and, for all I know, is an original name, it just sounds as if they didn't put a lot of effort into it.
2) Rougarou and Valravn are both names that most people, at least this side of the pond, didn't know existed. For one thing, are we just making up names now? And, for another, the names look hard to pronounce at first glance (though they are verifiably phonetic).

That said, I do not personally hold these opinions. What I think makes a coaster name great is that the name describes what the coaster is, while being original and not generic. Think Gemini. Gemini, being the twin constellation, evokes an image of, well, twins. Twin track layouts, in this case. It describes what it does, and isn't unoriginal or generic. I mean, they could have just called it "Racer" and be done with it. In the case of the last 5 years, all three check the boxes I've mentioned. Gatekeeper: it guards the gate. Rougarou: swamp creature (very fitting for the location). Valravn: a swooping death bird (perhaps the death thing doesn't belong quite as well, but it's very good at swooping).
Another thing that can make a name great is a story or mythology behind the name (again, check this box). How about The Beast: an unknown creature, stalking the backwoods of King Island's Rivertown.
Anyway, just my two cents, but, in the end, as stated a couple posts above, just make sure you spend more time making sure the thing actually works than you spend on the name (Looking at you, Top Thrill Dragster).

Why not just scrap all the names and call them coaster number 1, coaster number 2, etc., in the order they were built. But then people will complain about that also.

Under that scenario what number would RMCMS get? Considering the numbering starts with the very first coaster way back when.

^ Yeah, kind of like numbering Apple I-phone models or Microsoft Windows systems. Always need updates.

Most park guests cant even get the names right anyway.

Names I've heard people call them:

- Calyps--streak (blue streak?)

- magnum force

- "Valiere" (Valravn)

- air-max (maxair)

- sky-falcon (Skyhawk)

- Millennium falcon (star wars.....lol)

- Drag top thrillster, top drag coaster, Top FUEL dragster, top thrill dragon, and Iron dragster

I've been calling it Iron Dragster since opening year

Draggin' Iron is also a popular name I've always used.

Iron Drag Queen.