# Character names?



## booker41 (Apr 7, 2008)

How much thought do you put into naming your character's? Have you ever based a character on someone that you know?


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## Sam (Apr 7, 2008)

A lot of authors (secretly, mind you) base their main character on a caricature of themselves. I think for a while about my protagonist and antagonist, but after that I just give the characters whatever name hits me first. 

I've based one or two characters on people I know. 

Sam.


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## Monkuta (Apr 7, 2008)

I usually think of names off the top off my head for most characters, but if it's the main character or rival or evil master of the story, I think about it for a bit and decide carefully if their names sounds like what they are. For example... I was thinking of a name for a high leader of a secret order in a fantasy story. I came up with Uthalas Deagon. Not sure what it is, but the name fits.

As for basing characters on people, I like imagining a friend of mine and making a character of their opposite.


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## lilacstarflower (Apr 7, 2008)

I've only based one character on myself was in a rom-com because the 'bad guy' was based on my ex.

As for naming characters I usually don't think too much about it. I just go for what feel natural, a gut instinct. In my teen sci-fi my main boy is called Noah. After a while this made sense because all the other characters in the story flock to him when the action starts

Just recently I've based a few characters on people I know but not using their actual names (because they're the baddies lol)


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## Sam (Apr 7, 2008)

Yeah, all the people you really despise, put them in your novel and make them suffer severely - poetic justice. 

Sam.


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## Katastrof (Apr 7, 2008)

I put almost no thought what so ever in naming. I name will just come to me and I'll keep it or change it later. Really names are just place holders; the characters actions and personality are what matters the most. 

Yes I have based character on people I've met, and most of my MC have a little bit of me in them. Not totally me, but some of my worries/problems/traits shine through them...


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## Monkuta (Apr 7, 2008)

Sam Winchester said:


> Yeah, all the people you really despise, put them in your novel and make them suffer severely



Damn straight.


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## CroZ (Apr 7, 2008)

Names don't mean much to me. If the story exists in a mundane setting I'll give them mundane names, in another setting I'll give them names to match that. Most of my characters don't have names and tend to hide behind an assigned nickname or tag based on their traits.


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## starseed (Apr 7, 2008)

I base all my characters on bits and pieces of traits Ive seen in other people, or myself, some positive, some negative. Most of my characters contain some part of me.

As for names, this part was so fun for me! I spent a lot of time on names. I got suggestions of random names, first and last, from lots of people. I spent time putting them in different combinations, relative to the character, their heritage and ethnicity, etc. At some point, a name just fell into place, a name which suited each character. For example my main character from the book Im working on now, weirdly, I just knew he would have a "D" name. Cant explain why, it just suited him. I based his last name. I knew his maternal family line was of French origin, so I googled French names for examples and found one that fit. 

When I pick my names, I also do google searches on them, just in case somehow that specific name combination is some famous person or character that I didn't know about, because that would make me feel stupid when trying to get published. If you google the name and nothing much comes up on the first two pages, I know I have me an original name and am good to go!


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## Ilasir Maroa (Apr 8, 2008)

This is the kind of thread that makes me want to don my "pro-necro" constume and picket sign. :cyclops:


Genre and themes are very important when picking a name.  In basic fiction, it's pretty simple to just use a common name, unless you want to add an extra touch and pick a name with specific associations.  

I've certainly based characters partly of people I know, but as a general rule, I try not to.


It gets more complicated in other genres.


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## CodeRed (Apr 8, 2008)

More often than not, I'll give a character a random name that's easy to use as I'm writing (sometimes just something really basic like A). Eventually though, I find that they will name themselves through their character.


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## HarryG (Apr 8, 2008)

If Ian Fleming had named his famous spy Nicholas Sweetflower, it would have been inappropriate, and we should keep that in mind when naming our main characters.   


 It doesn't matter as much with the walkers-on, but names are still important – they need to fit the character, and not be too obvious, I wouldn't give a tough guy the name Schwarzenegger.


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## ScorpioJoe (Apr 9, 2008)

For the most part names are completely arbitrary.  You, as the author, have to know when something you are working on requires a name with some kind of meaning (Willy Loman, Jim Casey,ect).  I, personally, can not tell when that is, but I think the "sixth sense" may develop with the more prolific of a writer you become.


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## Surinderjit (Apr 9, 2008)

I consult books or websites for the name, and naming the characters whatever.. oddly the characters end up suiting the names i give them, subconsciously.

Names are powerful things.


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## Judith Tramayne (Apr 9, 2008)

Well if you're writing a Murder Mystery Suspense Thriller like I did, I named my hero Stone.  Hey he's an FBI agent -- it had to sound masculine.  Now I wouldn't name a computer expert that but Stone fit.

I ended up using family names - second or third removed.  My heroine -- was given a name I would have like to have and she is my alter-ego (LOL).

Yes I think names are extremely important because as your writing and letting the movie run in your head, the characters become very real.  Almost like friends and I want them to enjoy their names.

Makes writing their story a whole lot EZ-ier.


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## omginternetlord (Apr 11, 2008)

Yeah all my characters have meanings in one way or another. Could be a reference to someone from other stories or something which hints at their personality.


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## Noirllyn (Apr 11, 2008)

I don't think I've ever NOT based a character off of someone I know.  I always have, at least subconsciously.  I used to joke with my mother that I'd never have to write "memoirs" because my entire life and self would all ready have been documented in my other writings.


Naming is a big ordeal to me.  I started studying name etymology when I was ten or so.  I always take some sort of care when naming people and things.  One of my business teachers would laugh at me for picking such "obscure" names for my fake employees, until I explained that they all meant what the person needed to be for their job (Sales associates had names meaning "nice", the guys who unpacked the truck and stocked the shelves had "strong" names, so on.).  Fake business plans and real stories are a bit different, though.  I'll often give a character a temporary name until we have a good chance to get to know one another, then they'll be baptized into their true name.  I don't sit around trying to get names that match the main personality trait of my character--that'd just be ridiculous, typically.  If it's a minor character I'll try to give them either an ironic or a "well duh" name.  For protagonists and antagonists I try to stick to the "sound echoing the sense" thing.  People should know the name to be the character and the character to be the name (Ever sit around with friends and say, "You don't look like a Brittany."?).

I also put heavy emphasis on the origin of surnames when I'm laying out character palettes, to add depth.  One of my stories takes place in a Northern Maine community, the protagonist is from an English family who, for the most part, had been in Anglo-America since its birth, while the majority of the antagonists and most other characters have Québécois background.  This is never introduced as a point in the story, it's never explained.  The protagonist's struggle revolves mainly around poor communication.  It's not as though people are speaking an entirely different language, but the small difference in the name origin (which most people will pick up on) will reinforce the boundary between the protagonist and the rest of these people.


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## seigfried007 (Apr 11, 2008)

I haven't intentionally based a charcter off anyone I knew since my first novella at the tender stupid age of seventeen (was a very bad story). Everyone since then has been an amagalmation of different people people I know, and I think it's interesting to find out what they got from who as they develop and I get to know them.

More recently, I think every man I've ever known has been reincarnated into an army of 523 dog-men with names like Reno, Tonka, Spazoid the Small and Annoying, Jungle Bunny, Chef, Gunther, Seigfried the Dragonslayer, Alf, and Qwerty the Gnome. I would have never thought to name people these things on my own--they just pop into my head like that and give me this look like, "Yeah, my name's Spic. What you going to do about it?" Turns up they like calling themselves racial slurs as a sociopolitical statement, random human names because they either like them or because they wanted to be accepted by humanity, or something random that would get them recognized as eccentric.

Other people aren't so easy to name and a lot of the time I have to start with one name until the person tells me "Hey, by the way, I HATE that name and This is my real name."

The craziest things sometime happen with naming too. In that same group of dog-men, I had a guy named Ira who usually took point and was often used as a scout (as well as all-purpose badass). Turns up the name means "Watchful, vigilant".


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## jon_snow (Apr 13, 2008)

I pick names the sound right for the characters. I frequently get names from movies or video games, but I also look at naming websites and books also.


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## Vorrec (Oct 9, 2010)

I have several main characters in my novel...all of whom I base on some different part of myself. Oddly, though, the character who has my middle name as his name ended up as the one that is least like me. I also base minor characters who die (only) on people I don't like. As Sam W. says, poetic justice.


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## 72ZX (Oct 9, 2010)

I'm pretty much a complete otaku, so my character names generally tend to be Japanese names. As for actually choosing what names to use, I look for names with a meaning that fits the character's personality.


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## WolfieReveles (Oct 10, 2010)

I can put hours into every name. First off year and place. I research to make sure the name I give my character existed in the region at the time. It may not be relevant t 99% of the readers, but I pride myself in knowing that if my character lives in 19th century Ireland he will have a name that corresponds to this historically. I've used everything from church records to historical figures to name my characters. When it's something contemporary and the setting is my own country and town names become easier, but I still go through books, pages and any source I can find. I allways research excessively when I write, for fun more then anything. I'll sit with google maps and pick out the street my character lives on, learn about the musicians he adores or research my characters field of expertise. I choose names as meticulously as everything else, but that's just my style.

As far as personality goes, I believe we always project some sides of ourselves into our characters, even without realizing it. In general I always have a general idea of how my character is and then I build him out of traits I observe in others. Often this implies borrowing traits from people I know and the character becomes a collage of various people and myself. Perhaps with my sisters infantile personality but my sense of humor and so on. However, once this character is formed, which usually takes a matter of minutes, and I begin to get to know the character as a complex individual, it begins to live on its own and before I even begin to write the character will already have its very own internal mechanics and a logic exclusive to its mind. It grows out of real people but just like a kid has bits of its parents it also develops into a unique person beyond these inherited details.


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## Katie D (Oct 10, 2010)

My characters often have several name changes as I'm writing my drafts. I recently named one of my characters and whilst writing the draft, a peadophile with the same name was convicted and all over the news. I had to change it immediately!


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## Ambrivian (Oct 10, 2010)

I use this website

Behind the Name: Random Name Generator

And just make one first name and three last names. I usually base the last name after one of the middles or the first. I mix and match untill I get the right combination. Like Christina Emiliana or Marco Cesare.

I used to be really good at making fantasy names but have since lost that talent.

Ambrivian

P.S. For example, my online name is Ambrivian Dutorés Malocian Tirenth Brikés. It was a name I made up for a grade eight short story.


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## Stephanie J. (Oct 11, 2010)

I think the names are very important, at least for stories where the characters are going to be addressed/indicated by their name. I'm currently working on my first novel, and still haven't decided on the names of the main characters. Everything I've come up with sounds too common, or overly _un_common.


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## nytweetie (Oct 12, 2010)

My husband and I just finished writing a one act play. One of the characters is based on someone we know that is loaded with drama, but we changed her name and made her more of a wackjob than she already is. Is that bad to say? lol


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## Katie D (Oct 12, 2010)

Stephanie J. said:


> I think the names are very important, at least for stories where the characters are going to be addressed/indicated by their name. I'm currently working on my first novel, and still haven't decided on the names of the main characters. Everything I've come up with sounds too common, or overly _un_common.



I know what you mean. Especially if writing a non fantasy, you want something believable.


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## WolfieReveles (Oct 12, 2010)

I find fantasy names, at least high fantasy, even harder. There's nothing to grab from and it so easily sounds pretentious. Normal names can sound odd when given to a fantastic creature, like the scaly, three-headed, infernal dragon Joseph or an elf mage named Bob... but at the same time these elf names with 78 apostrophes and dashes and not even half as many vowels, or anything ending with -on, -or, os-, will easily just sound a bit overboard. At least with non-fantasy or even low fantasy you can pick from names that sound believable, and if they are real names they probably will, so you task simply becomes picking the one that fits your character rather then making it up out of the blue.

I don't know, just my personal opinion I guess.


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## Asaji (Oct 12, 2010)

I have a habit of giving important characters names that only have five letters in them. If they're central characters, Five letters for the first name, five letters for the last name, ten letters in all. Nicknames/Pet names don't count. That's just a habit of mine though. 

If you're writing fantasy, a fantasy name generator is a good place to get ideas from. If you don't want to do that, mixing different words from different languages will produce exotic sounding names, that might even have a meaning behind them relating to your character. 

Little story about names, there's a Japanese Manga Artist who wanted to do a pirate adventure Manga. He ended up creating One Piece, with a main character named Luffy. He later found out, to his delight, that a 'Luff' is a sailing term. 

So you never know. Names have a funny way of working out in the end. 

(Since this is coming from someone who hasn't shown the names of his characters for nearly 41 pages, feel free to be skeptical at my advice)


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## Scarlett_156 (Oct 12, 2010)

I've had lots of pets in my life, also been in a few rock bands, and have found that naming a character is a lot like naming a pet or a band, to wit:  I come up with a lot of ideas that sound really crappy to my ears and end up going with the least-stupid-sounding name, OR come up with the best name in the world but my bandmates/roommates/editors won't let me use it, so end up going with a less desirable name.  Then I start to get used to whatever name got picked and after a couple of days it starts to sound good to my ears, and seems like the only logical choice. 

Lately--meaning in my case over the last 10 years or so--I have tried to incorporate the randomness of everyday life in naming characters that are of secondary or tertiary importance to the story.  I don't always succeed, but I try. 

In real life we often run into "characters" whose names do not fit their abilities, appearances, or personalities in any way whatsoever--do we not?  Also we tend to encounter such social awkwardnesses as finding ourselves in some group or another--like the office or shop--where two or more individuals will have the same name.  Often our friends or associates will change their names or nicknames, requiring us to take pains to remember the new handle so as not to offend.  (And so on!)  So when naming sub-characters I try to keep this in mind.  

My main characters usually arrive with names intact, or if by some chance there's a main character lacking a handle, one will soon suggest itself.  The process by which this occurs is somewhat of a mystery to me, I'll admit.  I make an effort to avoid attaching "meaningful" names to characters, and in fact in order to avoid attaching a "meaningful" name to a main character, I will often just totally make something up--just take two or three syllables that sound good to me, and string them together.  (I do, however, look the results up on Google just to make sure it's not an obscenity in some language I don't know.)



> If Ian Fleming had named his famous spy Nicholas Sweetflower, it would have been inappropriate, and we should keep that in mind when naming our main characters.



ROFL.  Though this is quite true in a sense, I somewhat disagree.  "James Bond" is, you must admit, an awfully common-sounding name when context is removed.  Through Fleming's masterful writing (and with the assistance of such movie actors as Sean Connery, etc.) the name has, over the years, accrued its own glamor.

As an aside, I'll note that as someone employed in the medical profession, doctors often have alarmingly appropriate names--for example, a surgeon will be Dr. Butcher or Dr. Cutter.  In one hospital I worked at for awhile (a LONG time ago) a gynecologic surgeon was named (I swear I'm not making this up) Dr. Hugh (as in "hew" or "cut") Ovary.  Yes, his name is/was "Dr. Hugh Ovary" and they were always paging him to the surgical floor.  (If you don't know what an "ovary" is, please look it up.)

(So are names sometimes like a self-fulfilling prophecy...?  I dunno.  I suppose that's probably another topic.)

When naming characters of specific ethnicity--Latin, Mediterranean, etc.--I just use "search".  Like if the sub-character is Hungarian, I go to Google and type in "Hungarian baby names boy" or "Hungarian surnames" and just scroll down the list until I see something I sort of like, and pick that.  I feel this is a much safer, quicker route to go than sitting agonizing over a name for a sub-character.  (A phone book also comes in handy if you have a lot of characters to name.)

The best advice I can give about naming characters is:  Never give your characters names that are tricky to pronounce, especially your main characters.  This will I feel affect the saleability of your work.  While in real life we often encounter heroic or villainous figures with impossible- or incongruous-sounding names, or long handles of many many syllables, our literary creations will almost always suffer if we try to duplicate this phenomenon. 

I hope this was helpful!


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## sorenromuno (Oct 13, 2010)

As for creating characters, some of them share the same opinions of myself. They are probably better-looking, smarter, funnier, etc., but they share the same attitudes and ideas. I do, however, dislike writers who force their beliefs on me through novels. I once read a book where at the very end, the protagonist discovers an all-knowing person. When asked about God and religion, the creature stated that they were created due to panic in the human race. I immediately disliked the book: "Spider Star".  For creating names, I try to go with uncommon ones. (As in Soren Romuno)


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## Lamperoux (Oct 13, 2010)

well if all the characters are variations of you, that's a problem. 

as for names, i usually pick a name source based of the nationality i give them in my head, or off a medieval name of some sort, something that's not used too often, that will catch the user's mind. But, if your doing historical fiction, well not much name creativity there.


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## WolfieReveles (Oct 13, 2010)

sorenromuno said:


> As for creating characters, they are based off of myself. They are probably better-looking, smarter, funnier, etc., but they share the same attitudes and ideas. For creating names, I try to go with uncommon ones.


 
A funny thing I've noticed is that even the more realistic writers can seldom keep from doing this. All those "darn, I should have said..." moments become moments where they actually say it, and they omit that odd mole or huge nose. I try to never base anyone on myself to stay objective and anyone who can pull of a character consciously based on himself objectively deserves a medal


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## sorenromuno (Oct 13, 2010)

I was not clear enough in my previous text. I have edited it now.


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## Bruno Spatola (Oct 15, 2010)

Wow, I feel weird now. I put a ridiculous amount of time into naming my characters. I can tell when a name has been totally made up, and I don't like that. I want it to sound like a real person, with a believable name. Like, can you imagine a superhero who's real name is Bruno Spatola? It just doesn't sound right, so I put a lot of time and effort into naming my characters. I think it's very important, but hey, we all write differently.

Having said that, I also truly care for my characters as if they were family. . .so maybe I'm just a creep


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## Kat (Oct 15, 2010)

When I'm writing I generally put in a place holder name. Later I will figure out a better name. I try not to pick popular or common names unless the character calls for it. Heather brings up a certain image, kind of a preppy, popular snob. Names do carry a lot of weight and will effect how a reader views the character.


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## Ricky Jalapeno (Oct 15, 2010)

The characters in my story always have weird names. I almost always give my characters names that sound legendary and like....epic y'know haha
that sounds dumb but yeah haha

Skye was what I came up with one day in 4th grade. And now I almost always have a character in my stories named Skye ^_^


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## The Backward OX (Oct 15, 2010)

Bruno Spatola said:


> Wow, I feel weird now. I put a ridiculous amount of time into naming my characters. I can tell when a name has been totally made up, and I don't like that. I want it to sound like a real person, with a believable name. Like, can you imagine a superhero who's real name is Bruno Spatola? It just doesn't sound right, so I put a lot of time and effort into naming my characters. I think it's very important, but hey, we all write differently.
> 
> Having said that, I also truly care for my characters as if they were family. . .so maybe I'm just a creep


 
Even a cursory search found two other Bruno Spatolas, both of them real people.


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## Bruno Spatola (Oct 15, 2010)

Doesn't prove that it sounds like a good name for the real identity of a superhero. . .or does it? *Adjusts cape*


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## WolfieReveles (Oct 15, 2010)

Bruno Spatola by day, The Spatolator by night!


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## Bruno Spatola (Oct 16, 2010)

"I spit in the face of crime, I drop ice-cubes down the vest of evil! I am no mere mortal. . .well I am a bit, but you don't know that." *Flies off*

:!:           :!:           :!:      

"Oh no, it's my bovine arch nemesis!"

*Will The Spatolator escape the evil clutches of Doc Ox? Tune in next time to find out!*

Any way - Peter Parker, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Scott Summers, Bruce Banner. . .Bruno Spatola. And that's why, I feel, names are important and should be handled carefully


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## Auskar (Oct 18, 2010)

Sometimes I use people I know or used to know as part of a name, but the characters are not based on those people.  Characters are brand new and take a life of their own.  Otherwise, I just think up a name.


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## Asaji (Oct 18, 2010)

Bruno Spatola said:


> Any way - *Peter *Parker, *Clark* Kent, *Bruce* Wayne, *Scott* Summers, *Bruce* Banner. . .*Bruno* Spatola.


 
Notice that all the first names have exactly five letters in them. My habit of creating characters with five letters for the first name is suddenly justified completely!


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## Jones6192 (Oct 27, 2010)

My method for naming is basically a hodgepodge of different methods. Sometimes I flip through a dictionary, or I borrow surnames from people I know, or (if your writing something fantasy-themed) take ordinary words and rearrange some letters to make a brand-new name, or take celebrity names and mix them together.


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## reyesryanmjaube (Oct 28, 2010)

Making names for me as very fun. One time, I named a Science Inclined girl "Mafy" and as I typed the first few chapters, I realized that it was such an informal name for a lab-gown wearing female. So I made it into an acronym. Her name is now "*M*aria *A*ngelica *F*austina *Y*sabela."

I am guilty of borrowing names and personalities from people around me. Of course they get molded somehow as the story progresses but yeah, a large chunk of personality came from a particular person. Also when picturing the scene in my head, the faces and body build of my characters are those of whom I took their names and personalities from. It that wrong? lol

I once named a character "Darbod" and I don't even know what that means. It's just a word that came out of my mouth and boom! He's now my leading character.

I also try to give funny and unique names for I think that those kinds of names will stick to the memories of my readers. Names such as Jonard Madlangtuta, Pepito Magbanhua and a lot more. It might not mean a lot to you but here in our country, if you know anyone younger than 20 and he has the name of "Pepito" then you'll know that his family lived under a rock for the past half a century.

I remembered also trying to give a character a surname "Dimagahasa" which means... ready? ... "Un-rape-able" or "Cannot be Raped" and before I get asked, yes, it's a true surname. Try googling it lol


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## Scrivener (Oct 28, 2010)

I used to use the "looks like" method most of the time.  I drew a lot, and would draw little sketches of faces until I got one that I thought fit the character description I was looking for.  When I had the "look" that I wanted the character to have, I then tried to decide what name fit the face.  It probably sounds eccentric, but I thought it was actually kind of fun to do it that way.


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## mgencleyn (Oct 28, 2010)

I use a range of name and identity generators to build lists, and from those I feel out what works. For a time, I followed the example of the lunatic from Steve Martin's _The Jerk_, randomly picking out a name in the phone book. But the bulk of people in this region have french backgrounds, so that was limited.

This is my quick toy: Name Maker LE


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## mgencleyn (Oct 28, 2010)

nvrmnd.

dubble posed.


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## Eluixa (Oct 28, 2010)

I love making up names, and using unusual names as well. Some are longer with apostrophes, but I try to make them readable and shorten them to use through the story, like many of us have nicknames. Names are crucial for me, and make all the difference in the world to my writing their characters.

So far I am just in fantasy but I think even in modern fiction I'd use less common names for my main, using something more common for a side character only if it just fit like a glove.


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