# Knowing a Character's Name???



## Marthix2011 (Aug 13, 2014)

How important do you treat naming a character as you're writing?  In other words, how do you go about naming a character?  I know some of you like to refer to mythology or other languages to come up with ideas.  For my novel, I'm trying to think up original or seldom used names (not your typical Dave, Aaron, Todd, etc., you know...common names) for my characters but it's forcing me to stall on my story a little.  If I say Character A is prevalent in Chapter 1, how important is finding his name at the time of writing?  Do I give him a temporary name or do I spend time researching and everything to come up with his name and then move on?  How should I go about doing this...naming characters in my story?  Of course, the important ones (major protagonists and antagonists) will have to have spot-on names; but how important is it to know a character's name right away as opposed to finding it later?  Thoughts?


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## InstituteMan (Aug 13, 2014)

Search and replace is a wonderful tool in modernist word processors, so I would give everyone a name and write. One of my works in progress has a town on its 4thname at the moment. Another has a villain on her third name. For me, getting hung up on those details bogs the whole writing process down.


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## shadowwalker (Aug 14, 2014)

I just hit (randomly) baby books, phone books, and spam. If I like the name I hit on, and it's not totally outlandish, I go with it. Most people don't really "fit" the name they were given at birth (which explains nicknames) so I don't worry about the name "symbolizing" my characters. I should note, I write action/adventure; some genres, like fantasy, tend toward more symbolic naming.


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## Terry D (Aug 14, 2014)

I take character names very seriously. It's one of my first links with that character and it has to 'fit'; even secondary characters. I also like to play with names, sometimes just for my own enjoyment. For instance, in my first book, the protagonist remembers his high school gym teacher, Mr. Leshard. His name, pronounced in my head as 'less hard', was a tribute to my high school biology teacher, Mr. Maurizzi ('more-easy'). Also, one of the primary characters in that book is Kalman Geist, who, for much of the novel appears in the form of a ghost (Geist in German).

In my second book there is a character who is a 70's, stoner, pot-growing, Viet Nam vet. This old hermit only goes by the name, Spiro Agnew to the book's 13 year-old protagonist, but in my notes and in my head he is Emir Olther. I was originally going to introduce him as Emir, but it didn't work out that way during the actual writing. But, to me, he'll always be Emir Olther, aka, Spiro Agnew.


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## Deleted member 56686 (Aug 14, 2014)

You can try one of those name generator pages. Just watch out for those pop up ads.


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## aj47 (Aug 14, 2014)

It depends.  If I have a Message, I might choose a name based on that.  Otherwise, something that sounds good.  And IM is right, you can search/replace if you decide you like something else better.


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## Nickleby (Aug 14, 2014)

I tend to use placeholders for character names. Right now I'm writing a scene featuring Stooge 1, Stooge 2, and Stooge 3. When I've finished my research, I'll come back and decide who those people are. In the rewrite I'll replace the labels with actual names. Stooge 3, for instance, is probably Richard Nixon, the distinguished gentleman from California.


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