Space Pulp

Well... that's... hm... the position they are calling prime minister is.

So of all the poison monkeys we've met, their parents have given them names like Iridium, Aegis, Dragon, and Rhythm.
And the one with a hereditary position important enough to warrant bodyguards for offspring, just names theirs "Next"?
This dude is either unimaginative as hell, or has an odd sense of humor.

LET THE BETTING COMMENCE! (Psychers barred from participating)

Odd sense of humor is probably a safe bet - after all, we are talking about Poison Monkeys here. :D

Well, an absolutely banal poison monkey would be completely unexpected, so I'd expect it.
Maybe I'm just too tuned in to Homestuck.

My vote goes towards the happyiness due to her being an "open" book ;P

:P :P: :P :P

Welcome! Watch out for papercuts.

How does the process by which Poison Monkeys choose their names work? And at what age does it happen? Do they choose a name in childhood and stick with it forever, or do they change to an adult name at some point, or is it an anything-goes individual-by-individual kind of thing?..

It's complicated. It's vaguely a plot point, except I don't think it'll make it into the comic.

Basically, their first name is assigned by their parents. They take on a last name sometime in their teens depending on which family they get into.

Each family is kind of like a corporation, school, or religion - they have very different standards, ideologies, and functions. The King family is a very different sort than the Riot or Lake families.

Next doesn't have a last name because he doesn't really care about getting into a family. He could always create a new family with an untaken name, like Sunday. He could be "Next Sunday"!

Not so much in the naming, but the family break down sounds very similar to the break down of Hopi clans/families.

Huh, that seems like a reversal of shadowrun's setup where corps are like family.