Why is Megumin a weird name?

Question

When we are introduced to her in the second episode of the anime, Aqua and Kazuma mentioned that her name was weird. She further revealed her parents' names, Yuiyui and Hyoizaburo, which are apparently weird as well.

However, to the Western audience or at least to me, it's no more weird than naming yourself Darkness or Dustiness, the name of another character in Kazuma's party. The latter being even weirder than "Megumin" considering it refers to how dusty something is.

Why are the Crimson Demons considered to have weird names?

That's a good question. I assumed it was because of how formal the Japanese are, having a formal name that is essentially a pet name would be pretty strange. Imagine having a whole clan of people whose names are something along the lines of angel-baby, baby-cakes, booboo, dumpling, fuzzy-wuzzy, giggle bunny, honey-bunny, you get the point... — ton.yeung, May 23 '16 at 02:14
Agree with ton.yeung - "Yuiyui" and "Megumin" sound like pet names (whereas "Yui" and "Megumi" are real names). "Hyoizaburo", on the other hand, sounds like the name of some sort of mid-Tokugawa samurai, and is also remarkably silly. — senshin, May 23 '16 at 04:38
@ton.yeung That sounds like a Solid answer, considering the only other answer right now, anon's answer, appears to be pretty poor. — Ryan, Nov 21 '16 at 17:30

score 18 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 01 '17 at 15:06

I think there are two possibilities:

#1 Different to the world's normal names

As @ton.yeung mentioned in their comment, it's because it's so different to the other names of the fantasy world.

Look at some of the other characters in the world:

Aqua
Darkness (a.k.a. Dustiness Ford Lalatina)
Wiz

Kazuma and Kyōya are from the modern world so their names are probably odd, but normal for their origin.

#2 Odd due to her character (I think this is more likely)

Ho-ho-ho...

That we would meet is a fate chosen by the world itself.

I have anxiously awaited the arrival of those such as yourself.

My name is Megumin!

My calling is that of an arch wizard, one who controls explosion magic, the strongest of all offensive magic!

Fu-fu.. Do you, too, desire my forbidden strength, which is so almighty, I've been ostracized by the entire world?

Then show me thine resolve to peer into the ultimate abyss with me! When a man stares into the abyss, the abyss stares back.

I am Megumin, user of the finest magic crimson demons possess! My lethal magic demolishes mountains, smashes boulders...

After Megumin's huge character introduction and ever-chuuni speeches, one would imagine she would have a crazy name too. But it's just Megumin, with an n that sounds cutesy. Being short and young is usually something she gives out about too.

Some people on MAL compared it to Tim the Enchanter from Monty Python

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WObQK2vunAk

I think all Japanese names are considered odd in Konosuba. Extremely minor LN spoiler: We have access to a lot more character names in the LN, and almost none of them are Japanese except for Crimson Demon names. All of them are Englishy names. — Bryan Tan, Nov 25 '17 at 09:57

score 10 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:54

Adding the -n to the end of a name is typically a form of a "cute" nickname in Japanese. It's a contraction of the "-chan" honorific onto the person's name. Thus, Megumin's given name sounds like a nickname. (Note also that Megumi, without -n, is a given name in Japanese.)

This might be comparable to, for example, an American boy's given name being "Bobby" rather than "Robert". It's not odd to call him that as a nickname, but it might be somewhat strange for that to actually be his legal name.

(See also: Why does Konata call Kagami Kagamin?, and thanks to user Logan M for more information!)

score 4 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 25 '17 at 00:34

They are from a feared and highly known clan that produces arch-wizards that are feared - the comments made in the anime are as if telling a legend or myth about this group who can eliminate towns and their name is something childish like what two close young friends would use to call each other.

Imagine if trumpets were blaring and messenger boys would ride upon horses, rolling out a red carpet then throwing rose petals, opening a proclamation made from a rolled scroll and announcing that SillyBilly has arrived.

Why is Megumin a weird name?

3 Answers3