# Thinking of original names?



## Macifayo (Jun 18, 2013)

I'm working on a character named Macifayo (pronounced Mac-ih-fae-oh, like the i sound in rip. Sorry I don't know how to get the symbols over the letters for an official type pronounciation) who is a light dragon. Light dragons live in a distant galaxy (too far to be seen from Earth, though unsure of what time it takes place by Earth standards if past, present, or future). Macifayo is a completely original name, I came up with it by typing random letters and then removing them until I got something that was pronounceable. I did a google search afterwards to make sure it wasn't used too.

I have thought of a lot of names for the name of their planet/region they live in on the planet, and their species since light dragon isn't the best name. They can angle their scales, which are clear, and can change color by bending the light spectrum (because of their structure). They also have bioluminescent cells underneath which can make them glow, but they can change colors without glowing and vice versa. Because of this they have been able to study their own bodies and skip the combustion engine, using solar power since they store light in their cells to release later, and learned more about light developing things like holograms and similar things in recent development since they learned a lot already just from studying their own bodies and how light interacts with them and their scales.

I have considered the name Mazornia or Exsollar, the first mostly being part of a site called "amazornia", more of a clever name from amazonian if anything when I look it up after looking it up to see if it was original, but then there's a newspaper that mentions "midway between these two points near the villages of Kamens and Mazornia we succeeded in repulsing his attacks" as if it's an actual place, which I have yet to find any information on. The second is, of course, based on the word "solar", but it seems unlikely that a species that has never came into contact with humans JUST HAPPENS to be similar to their word for energy from the sun.

So, does anyone have tips for coming up with an original name? For their planets I've thought of words starting with Az that I didn't think would be real things but were taken already, and I think something starting with Az would be a good name for their planet but I have tried a lot of other variations and combinations of letters, all taken. The only thing I have for the species name other than "light dragons" is something that seemed like it would be better for some psychic group or species, or something.

What do others do to think of original names? Any tips? Do you know how others came up with original names? The only one I can think of is how the word Metroid was created (from the series of the same name).


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## philistine (Jun 18, 2013)

I never invent new names, as it'd never work for the genre (or lack of, really) that I write in. I simply find a more Dickensian approach to characters' names more agreeable. Names that have alliterative qualities, which may also be play-on-words, humorous aptronyms and whatever else. Think Sheridan's Mrs Malaprop. 

Concerning Exsollar, one of the names you were going for, ex is Latin for from, and sollar is very similar to solar, or sole. From the sun? If it fits, use it. As a reader, I always appreciate small details like that, especially if they allude to a characters deeper, more secular qualities.


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## Macifayo (Jun 18, 2013)

Yeah, that was what I was going for in that name, but it doesn't make sense for them to use names that come from our languages. I can translate all of the dialogue into English for the readers convenience, maybe it could take place in the future and some human scientists intercept transmissions or something and that could be an explanation as to why the reader is reading them in English, but names are always from their original language. I interpret their language as having a lot of Az sounds in it, and names similar to Macifayo, or Zenuroth. The planet name and their species needs to be original, like some of the names for the alien species on something like Mass Effect.


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## InkwellMachine (Jun 18, 2013)

First off, you seem to have some serious vendetta against names that have seen prior use. Why? Do you really expect to come up with something wholly original?  Because if so you're shooting kind of high. Even most of Tolkien's work was based on cultures, languages, and whole words that existed prior to his writing the LOTR and Hobbit. 

My advice to you would be to use the names that make the most sense and sound the most appealing to you. Why on Earth would you come up with a name by typing gibberish and whittling it down? Come up with a name that _sounds_ right. Even if you don't have language systems set up that would predicate naming rules for your cultures, there's no shame in just running with a good sound.


If you're not understanding what I'm saying, here's an exercise to help:

_Match the race description with the race's name

__Descriptions:
A - Graceful, winged creatures, covered in golden-accented tufts of pure white down
B - Scaled serpentine creatures who are extremely deadly warriors
C - Massive golems hewn roughly from granite
D - A race of undead creatures

Races:
A - Slisskarra
B - Gorad
C - Flenia
D - Drekrath

This _can _come down to opinion, but there are certain elements in each of these words that are indicative of the race to which they refer. Let's look at them in order. Answers:
*-Slisskarra* does not have any hard vowels, so it is a very fluid-sounding word. At the same time, the consonant pairings make it sound breathy, like a hiss. So, a fluidly-moving, hissing word obviously belongs to the snake people. *Description B = Race A
-Gorad *ends abruptly with 'd,' so it sounds very terse, not fluid at all. It's also only two syllables, which suggests a bit less eloquence. Finally, the simple construction and pronunciation of the word bring that eloquence level down yet another tier, leaving us with a very simple, aggressive-sounding word. Becoming of something of a stone with arms good for smashing, no? *Description C = Race B
-Flenia* ends with a vowel, which makes it sound open and graceful. The vowel preceding the final vowel adds a 'bend' to the word by placing a emphasis on the second syllable, which is indicative of movement. The F and the L at the beginning are of course reminiscent of the F and L at the beginning of the word 'flight.' So which creatures on this list are graceful, elegant creatures that have something to do with flight? *Description A = Race C 
-Drekrath *has two instances of an R being paired with another consonant  both of which make a sound in the back of the throat, similar to something you might expect to hear from some decrepit creature. The "rath" in the second syllable is of course reminiscent of "wrath," which suggests fairly evil-sounding creatures. So, decrepit and evil sounds pretty undead to me. *Description D = Race D*_

Of course, if you can come up with a decent world history with languages and all, that would be the more sensible thing to base your names on. The point I'm trying to make is that it's not about originality, it's simply about what is _right_. You can judge this by the sound of a word the way I have described, by the logical conclusions based on your world, or simply by the name you like best. It doesn't matter, so long as the name fits.

Never ever create a name from gibberish again. Not unless it is absolutely necessary. That's like throwing a green bespectacled robot flamingo into the middle of one of your scenes because you needed something random and 'original' and that's the first thing that came to mind.


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## Macifayo (Jun 18, 2013)

InkwellMachine said:


> First off, you seem to have some serious vendetta against names that have seen prior use. Why? Do you really expect to come up with something wholly original?  Because if so you're shooting kind of high. Even most of Tolkien's work was based on cultures, languages, and whole words that existed prior to his writing the LOTR and Hobbit.
> 
> My advice to you would be to use the names that make the most sense and sound the most appealing to you. Why on Earth would you come up with a name by typing gibberish and whittling it down? Come up with a name that _sounds_ right. Even if you don't have language systems set up that would predicate naming rules for your cultures, there's no shame in just running with a good sound.
> 
> ...



Okay, sorry, nevermind then. Should I not use the name Macifayo anymore then? I thought it looked kind of cool and would be a good name for a dragon. I was also looking for something that had a certain sound to it, of a planet similar to Earth but with a certain exotic or alien quality to it that would indicate its inhabitants.


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## InkwellMachine (Jun 18, 2013)

Well, by all means do whatever you'd like. What I said was mostly an admonition, not a command. If you like Macifayo, if you think it's the appropriate name for the character, then use it. In the future, though, create your names to suit the characters.

About that second part: to determine the qualities and sound in the name you're looking for you must first determine the nature of the thing that you're trying to name. Figure out the cultures and geography and other attributes of this planet, _then_​ work on giving it an appropriate name.


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## Macifayo (Jun 18, 2013)

InkwellMachine said:


> Well, by all means do whatever you'd like. What I said was mostly an admonition, not a command. If you like Macifayo, if you think it's the appropriate name for the character, then use it. In the future, though, create your names to suit the characters.
> 
> About that second part: to determine the qualities and sound in the name you're looking for you must first determine the nature of the thing that you're trying to name. Figure out the cultures and geography and other attributes of this planet, _then_​ work on giving it an appropriate name.



Okay, thanks.


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## Jeko (Jun 19, 2013)

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."

-C. S. Lewis

Also, what a character does in your story is a lot more interesting that what they're called. You don't need original names.


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## Macifayo (Jun 19, 2013)

Cadence said:


> "Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."
> 
> -C. S. Lewis
> 
> Also, what a character does in your story is a lot more interesting that what they're called. You don't need original names.



Okay ^^;


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## tony0310 (Jul 7, 2013)

Personally I find all of those invented names in Sci-fi to be a turn off and if there are many of them I start to get them confused - are the Drogoths good guys or bad guys and is Stortang the name of a place or something they eat?  Who cares!  The important element is the character and you can have a hero from Venus called John Smith but no-one will care so long as he seems real. The genius of Tolkien is that he did just that and gave us names based on our own cultural influences that sounded genuine to us even when they were not.  His use of the word Hobbit reflected the half-man, half-rabbit idea of gentle little folk with large hairy feet and Boromir, Aramir etc were taken from Norse.  Words like Mordor evoked Arthurian references to Mordred as well as the Latin root of the word for death, from which we get the word murder.  When I read something about a character called Angwat of Targ, I just wince and close the book.  But I am sure many other people like that kind of thing.


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## Skodt (Jul 7, 2013)

If you are worried about original names; then stop with that worry at one book series, you may recall it, "Harry Potter" if this is not the most unoriginal name then call me Sally. - no really don't ;-) - What I mean by this is; if you worry to much on one aspect your not writing, and that is what is most important. Calling him jimbob probably isn't your best idea, but on that same note my main characters name is Lou. It is easy to say, easy to remember, and makes sense for his character. Don't over think things and dig yourself a hole. Get a ladder climb out; look down, and say to yourself man that is a deep pile of nothing. Let's try to build instead of digging. It will all fall together as you write.


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## Kehawin (Jul 7, 2013)

tony0310 said:


> But I am sure many other people like that kind of thing.



Count me in that last grouping.  And from the amount of fantasy and sci-fi books out there that do it, I would say I am not alone.

I am always deeply analyzing names of my characters myself.  Even in my jaunt into historical romance, each character's name had to be not only one that was somewhat common in that time frame, but all of the various connotations of the name had to be meaningful.  I had a set of twins, the cliche' goodtwin/badtwin - and their names were Ezekiel and Zachariah (Zeke and Zack for short) and the last name of Steele.  The main character was named Charity Rose and a last name that is often associated with old money on the East Coast.  See, even in historical romance, I am obsessive about finding the right name.

In my current work, I am experiencing much the same issue as the OP.  The culture is based on a real historic language, but one that has been "dead" for a long time.  It's proven to be very difficult to come up with character names, because they have to sound modern but have to have a basis and a meaning relevant to that dead language.

Every author has their own way of doing it.  Just like tone, voice, narration, etc., you can get advice from others but ultimately what makes your work unique is taking what feels right _to you_ and disregarding the authoritative opinion of others.

I personally like your character's name, and got a kick out of how you came up with it.  Especially the Mac at the beginning, which in our culture refers to "son of.."

If it isn't too late, I have a suggestion for your Exsollar.  Again, it's cliche', but how about using a glottal stop - aka an apostrophe - to make it look different but pronounced the same?  
e.g x' Olar

Hope you see this, and aren't too discouraged by the advice given here!

EDIT:  Skodt, it's funny you should mention Harry Potter.  With the exception of the title character, whose name was from a childhood friend, JKR admitted to making up many names, as well as collecting them from various sources.  So I don't think she was too nonchalant about her names either.


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## Robert_S (Jul 7, 2013)

I like names that have hidden meaning. Dante, the MC in my screenplay, means "enduring." BES' name is thought to be an acronym, however, it's actually a shortened form of her name when she was a living, mobile sentient.


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## Skodt (Jul 7, 2013)

JK Rowling used names such as Ron, Fred, George, Katie, susan, Dennis, Cedric, Vernon, Dudley, and many more common names. Without digging to much into the others she mostly took them from other books. Trelawney was from a classic music book. Albus just means white( As in white wizard) many more were taken from other spots. 

What I mean by your common approach was that she didn't go out of her way to come across as snazzy with names. She just did what fit her characters.


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## Kehawin (Jul 7, 2013)

Skodt said:


> What I mean by your common approach was that she didn't go out of her way to come across as snazzy with names. She just did what fit her characters.


oh well, we will have to agree to disagree.  Severus, Lupin, Filius, Fenrir, Mundungus... the list goes on and on of characters that had names that may have been real words (some, like Lupin were based on real words) but weren't just drawn out of a hat.  I guess because I have a daughter who is not only a Harry Potter fan but became one because before reading them she was very interested in mythology, I hear about the associations _all.the.time. _even all these years later.  JKR and her HP and my now nearly adult child's dissertation-level research on the symbolism it contains are a big reason why I have become even more obsessed with naming of characters with many layers of meaning.  <shrug>  To sum up the above posts, some people don't think it's necessary, some find it one of the things that takes the story to the next level.  So, again, each author must do what feels right to them and their goals.


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## Sandy (Jul 7, 2013)

Some really impressive ideas here!  I'm afraid I'm nowhere near some of the care for finding just the right identity, but I know of authors who play on meanings endlessly and so subtly that their work is layered with "oh, wow..."  You go along, a happy reader, and then it starts to really sink in and you want to start the book all over again to see the depth they worked so hard to create.  Me, I just go for the right sound (first name, last name) that sort of rolls off the tongue with a sound that reminds me of the character's nature... and then make sure I'm willing to type it easily about five hundred times.


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## OurJud (Jul 7, 2013)

There's a ton of name generators out there, many of them geared specifically towards fantasy.


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## Dictarium (Jul 8, 2013)

On a side note, wasn't the name "Wendy" completely made up by J. M. Barrie for Peter Pan? Boy, wish I could make up names like that. I mean I'm sure it only sounds so good because people actually use it now and I'm used to it, but I think it just sounds good on its own merits too (unless, like I said, I'm just a brainwashed sheep in which case... oh well).

e: I would probably ignore this post, further five seconds of research seems to tell me that I have made up having heard that anecdote and am probably insane.


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## Robert_S (Jul 8, 2013)

Dictarium said:


> On a side note, wasn't the name "Wendy" completely made up by J. M. Barrie for Peter Pan? Boy, wish I could make up names like that. I mean I'm sure it only sounds so good because people actually use it now and I'm used to it, but I think it just sounds good on its own merits too (unless, like I said, I'm just a brainwashed sheep in which case... oh well).
> 
> e: I would probably ignore this post, further five seconds of research seems to tell me that I have made up having heard that anecdote and am probably insane.



No, you are correct. 

Behind the Name: Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Wendy


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## Skodt (Jul 8, 2013)

That is a really neat fact. I never knew that.


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## tony0310 (Jul 9, 2013)

Dictarium said:


> On a side note, wasn't the name "Wendy" completely made up by J. M. Barrie for Peter Pan? Boy, wish I could make up names like that. I mean I'm sure it only sounds so good because people actually use it now and I'm used to it, but I think it just sounds good on its own merits too (unless, like I said, I'm just a brainwashed sheep in which case... oh well).
> 
> e: I would probably ignore this post, further five seconds of research seems to tell me that I have made up having heard that anecdote and am probably insane.


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## tony0310 (Jul 9, 2013)

Contrary to popular belief ( and yes I heard the story about JM Barrie inventing the name Wendy too), it is not true. Wendy has been a shortened form of the name Gwendoline in England for centuries and was most popular in East Anglia.  I have visited the cemetery bear the ruined Norham castle in the north of England and I saw the gave of Wendy Dacre who died in the 14th century.


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## Armada (Jul 9, 2013)

I make up names all the time, but I don't have a specific strategy. I just go with whatever sounds right for the personality. I had Rezu/Rezun. Rezun was his last name that means cutter in Russian, and he is Russian. Rezu became his demon name, as his soul got twisted and he forgot who he was in life. 

That's about as much thought as I've put into a made-up name. Usually if it's someone with fiery personality, I go with something along the lines of Charden, Frierzon, Fearden, and so on. If it's a very calm, shy character, I go with names like Glodan, Floren, Aquaznar... It's names that just pop into my head and they simply sound right for a certain character.


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## Shadoe (Jul 9, 2013)

I write in a fantasy world. I made up the name of the world and the characters I write completely out of my head. Still, I've found the name of my world is in use in other places, some of my character names have shown up in manga (which I have no experience with), and sometimes I can't help but wonder if someone out there is downloading my brain.

The best you can do is come up with names that work for you and stop worrying. There's only so many sound combinations human beings can come up with. They're all bound to be used somewhere.


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## mlcampbell (Jul 11, 2013)

InkwellMachine said:


> Well, by all means do whatever you'd like. What I said was mostly an admonition, not a command. If you like Macifayo, if you think it's the appropriate name for the character, then use it. In the future, though, create your names to suit the characters



Agreed.  It comes down to what feels right to you.

Sometimes, I create names just to have a name down, but they often change as my character develops.  Have you ever met people who look their name? 'Oh, he looks like a Dan,' or 'She looks like a Wendy.'  As you develop your characters, you likely have an image of them in your head.  Create a name that you can contribute to the image.

I like to tell people not to force anything either.  Let the names come to you.  It's your story.  Nothing is set in stone once you start the book.


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## voltigeur (Jul 11, 2013)

I don’t do fantasy so this may not work for many on the forum, but I Google baby names and sir names. 

I choose the nationality of the character and good (example: “German boy names”) that will take m to a baby name site and I have hundreds of names to choose from. It this example I would then Google sir names (Example: “German sir names”) that yields a list of last names and meanings. 

I make sure I bounce up and down the alphabet so not everyone ends up with names beginning in A or B. 

The worse name I came up with was Jeremiah Jeffries, ok so I had a Stan Lee moment. 
:roll:


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## Jeko (Jul 11, 2013)

I never use outside resources to get names for my characters - I think about what they're like, and any name that I know suits them, or a word I could change slightly so it sounds like a name that suits them. That way, the name either comes from my knowledge of names or my vocabulary; either way, it feels more natural to write with it.


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## Jared77 (Jul 17, 2013)

Whatever you do....just don't use a lot of apostrophe's.  Anyway...I think a good example of good sci-fi original names is the Hunger Games books. Whatever you think about the books themselves, the names were creative, simple, pretty original, sci-fi-ish, and not too weird (and not many apostrophes). Copied here from wikipedia:



1.1 Katniss Everdeen
1.2 Peeta Mellark
1.3 Gale Hawthorne
1.4 Haymitch Abernathy
1.5 Primrose Everdeen
1.6 Finnick Odair
1.7 President Coriolanus Snow


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## Macifayo (Jul 18, 2013)

Kehawin said:


> Count me in that last grouping. And from the amount of fantasy and sci-fi books out there that do it, I would say I am not alone.
> 
> I am always deeply analyzing names of my characters myself. Even in my jaunt into historical romance, each character's name had to be not only one that was somewhat common in that time frame, but all of the various connotations of the name had to be meaningful. I had a set of twins, the cliche' goodtwin/badtwin - and their names were Ezekiel and Zachariah (Zeke and Zack for short) and the last name of Steele. The main character was named Charity Rose and a last name that is often associated with old money on the East Coast. See, even in historical romance, I am obsessive about finding the right name.
> 
> ...



Wasn't there a well known quote from an author about apostrophes in names saying to "stop doing that!"? The thing about Macifayo though, if I want to keep using that name, is even though it looks good and seems fitting, that I might need to use apostrophes for people to pronounce it how it's intended, like Mac'ih Fayo. Maybe the entire story will be written as logs found from a long time ago, and that they were translated by finding patterns and the context they're in, into English. This would explain why they're talking in English but still have names that don't have an Earthly origin, because names aren't changed in translation.

I'm still working on it though. So far the story consists of a warlike species that may or may not be another dragon-like creature (thinking maybe red scaled dragons but might make it something different entirely) with a very militaristic society would be trying to steal technology from the light dragons for their own purposes, and so the once-peaceful light dragons (which will be renamed, possibly into Azulians which is a name I thought of recently, or maybe they should be something else like Azulian light dragons, with Azulia being a mountainous region with ponds and caves surrounded by various types of vegetation they are from) who are forced into war with them. I'm thinking Macifayo would either be a scout of some kind with a stealth suit and a wrist-mounted energy weapon or other light weaponly, or a prince, but I'm thinking that second one is a bad idea considering the type of government I have as much progress on already. I have more about the story but I'm just trying to explain the naming, which I think sound really well with what I described, and would like to hear other people's opinions on this.

And thanks, I was thinking Fayo could mean of the light and i is the transition between the names, plus it sounds better. I thought that might be too cliche though, but maybe not. I actually thought it looked and sounded like a combination between Macbeth and an Italian name after I created it.



Kehawin said:


> oh well, we will have to agree to disagree. Severus, Lupin, Filius, Fenrir, Mundungus... the list goes on and on of characters that had names that may have been real words (some, like Lupin were based on real words) but weren't just drawn out of a hat. I guess because I have a daughter who is not only a Harry Potter fan but became one because before reading them she was very interested in mythology, I hear about the associations all.the.time. even all these years later. JKR and her HP and my now nearly adult child's dissertation-level research on the symbolism it contains are a big reason why I have become even more obsessed with naming of characters with many layers of meaning. <shrug> To sum up the above posts, some people don't think it's necessary, some find it one of the things that takes the story to the next level. So, again, each author must do what feels right to them and their goals.




Yeah, maybe I am thinking too much about this... but then maybe not, I don't know. I can't just pick something without thinking about it either, for the reasons you said.


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## Macifayo (Jul 18, 2013)

OurJud said:


> There's a ton of name generators out there, many of them geared specifically towards fantasy.



Aren't the names used in those already taken from another source, though? The ones I have found are when I searched for some.



Shadoe said:


> I write in a fantasy world. I made up the name of the world and the characters I write completely out of my head. Still, I've found the name of my world is in use in other places, some of my character names have shown up in manga (which I have no experience with), and sometimes I can't help but wonder if someone out there is downloading my brain.
> 
> The best you can do is come up with names that work for you and stop worrying. There's only so many sound combinations human beings can come up with. They're all bound to be used somewhere.



I guess it's possible since some words in different languages mean different things but sound exactly the same anyway though had no relation to eachother. But...



mlcampbell said:


> Agreed. It comes down to what feels right to you.
> 
> Sometimes, I create names just to have a name down, but they often change as my character develops. Have you ever met people who look their name? 'Oh, he looks like a Dan,' or 'She looks like a Wendy.' As you develop your characters, you likely have an image of them in your head. Create a name that you can contribute to the image.
> 
> I like to tell people not to force anything either. Let the names come to you. It's your story. Nothing is set in stone once you start the book.



...like others said too good names can add some depth to it, but I guess it's possible since some words in different languages mean different things but sound exactly the same anyway though had no relation to eachother.



Cadence said:


> I never use outside resources to get names for my characters - I think about what they're like, and any name that I know suits them, or a word I could change slightly so it sounds like a name that suits them. That way, the name either comes from my knowledge of names or my vocabulary; either way, it feels more natural to write with it.



This is why I'm leaning against using any name generator, and any generator out there probably pieces names together from different sources anyway.



Jared77 said:


> Whatever you do....just don't use a lot of apostrophe's.  Anyway...I think a good example of good sci-fi original names is the Hunger Games books. Whatever you think about the books themselves, the names were creative, simple, pretty original, sci-fi-ish, and not too weird (and not many apostrophes). Copied here from wikipedia:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



The problem with the name Macifayo though is it's likely to be mispronounced, like saying Maci like Macy or Macie, or using a short a sound in fayo. I could use Mackifaeo but that looks stupid, and Mack doesn't look as cool as Mac, plus there's the possible meaning behind Mac which I talk about in my previous post. The only way I could think of to solve this without making the name look completely unappealing would be to use an apostrophe, I think Macifayo is too good a name to just scrap completely. It's pronounced Mac-ih-fae-oh btw, with the "ih" being like the I sound in Rick, I don't know how to make symbols over the nouns to do a better pronunciation key. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it being mispronounced wrong either? Has it happened in popular works with character names?


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## Kehawin (Jul 18, 2013)

Macifayo said:


> Wasn't there a well known quote from an author about apostrophes in names saying to "stop doing that!"?


Probably.  Just like the blog I saw today, regarding cliches in fiction, where the author claimed, with quite a bit of authority,  that it was cliche to state that a character controlled a horse with his thighs.  He claimed that it is much more appropriate to describe a person controlling the horse with his lower legs, then claimed that if an author used this device they had not watched real equestrians (or movies about them).  All of this was crossed out, and an author's note added to say that he stood corrected, and then included a very detailed description from someone who knew horseriding intimately who stated that indeed a person long familiar with horses *did* control the horse with their upper thighs and bottom, but that it wasn't visible if done correctly - and that someone controlling a horse with their lower legs was either riding a stubborn and untrained horse or was going to get thrown by a trained horse!

MY point is, everyone has their opinions, and no matter how much of an authority they claim to be, you have to consider the source before taking it as law.  

As for me, I wouldn't throw apostrophes into a name just to make it look foreign or exotic.  However, when a word has a glottal stop in it, the apostrophe is the appropriate punctuation to use to indicate that in many languages - most especially those which were not written down until Europeans began translating them (Native American languages, Polynesian languages, African languages, etc.)  Thus, the word Hawaii is incorrect.  The correct way to write it is Hawai'i.  And that gives the indication that the correct way to pronounce it is to stop your air between the two i's.  So it's not Ha-why-yee, but closer to Ha-vie  ee. 

But I also realize that only a very very small percent of people reading fantasy fiction are educated (or really even interested in) linguistics to that extent.  So, again, each author must do what feels right to them, and hope that their audience will enjoy or at least tolerate it.


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## Macifayo (Jul 18, 2013)

Kehawin said:


> Probably.  Just like the blog I saw today, regarding cliches in fiction, where the author claimed, with quite a bit of authority,  that it was cliche to state that a character controlled a horse with his thighs.  He claimed that it is much more appropriate to describe a person controlling the horse with his lower legs, then claimed that if an author used this device they had not watched real equestrians (or movies about them).  All of this was crossed out, and an author's note added to say that he stood corrected, and then included a very detailed description from someone who knew horseriding intimately who stated that indeed a person long familiar with horses *did* control the horse with their upper thighs and bottom, but that it wasn't visible if done correctly - and that someone controlling a horse with their lower legs was either riding a stubborn and untrained horse or was going to get thrown by a trained horse!
> 
> MY point is, everyone has their opinions, and no matter how much of an authority they claim to be, you have to consider the source before taking it as law.
> 
> ...



Okay, thanks ^^. I guess I could make Macifayo into a first and last name, turning it into Mac'i Fayo. If that's the only way people will pronounce it right in their heads when they're reading it, that'll be better?

Also, this is going to be more sci-fi than fantasy when I'm done with it, I have seen an article on "Meta materials" that are being used to bend light around objects in hope of using it for camoflage, but it's only been done on a microscopic level so far I think. I'm thinking that, either light dragons will have microscopic holes in their scales and they can bend light around them naturally, or more probable, they mostly just change colors from bending their scales but have learned from how their scales interact with light to create a stealth suit or something similar to "active camo" in the Halo series, that has a tiny computer embedded in it that improves on their own natural abilities and makes them nearly invisible. That's just one example though, I have more, like the touchable holograms that are being developed in real life.

The point is that this is going to have more sci-fi elements than fantasy. They somewhat like what we call dragons, but, if I ever do include "fire breathing" dragons (which might be what the opposing army in the story is, but might not be) then it will be explained by a gas they produce in their bodies and release that either immediately combusts when combined with oxygen or another gas in the air, or some other scientific explanation. People who are into fantasy can read this too, but I'm writing this for a different audience than what you have mentioned. The audience, though, might be different than intended, and there are other factors to consider with what it's going to be tying into, but other than that, it'll be more sci-fi than fantasy. Do you think they would think the same thing?


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## Macifayo (Jul 18, 2013)

OurJud said:


> There's a ton of name generators out there, many of them geared specifically towards fantasy.




Aren't the names used in those already taken from another source, though? The ones I have found are when I searched for some.




Shadoe said:


> I write in a fantasy world. I made up the name of the world and the characters I write completely out of my head. Still, I've found the name of my world is in use in other places, some of my character names have shown up in manga (which I have no experience with), and sometimes I can't help but wonder if someone out there is downloading my brain.
> 
> 
> The best you can do is come up with names that work for you and stop worrying. There's only so many sound combinations human beings can come up with. They're all bound to be used somewhere.




I guess it's possible since some words in different languages mean different things but sound exactly the same anyway though had no relation to eachother. But...




mlcampbell said:


> Agreed. It comes down to what feels right to you.
> 
> 
> Sometimes, I create names just to have a name down, but they often change as my character develops. Have you ever met people who look their name? 'Oh, he looks like a Dan,' or 'She looks like a Wendy.' As you develop your characters, you likely have an image of them in your head. Create a name that you can contribute to the image.
> ...




...like others said too good names can add some depth to it, but I guess it's possible since some words in different languages mean different things but sound exactly the same anyway though had no relation to eachother.




Cadence said:


> I never use outside resources to get names for my characters - I think about what they're like, and any name that I know suits them, or a word I could change slightly so it sounds like a name that suits them. That way, the name either comes from my knowledge of names or my vocabulary; either way, it feels more natural to write with it.




This is why I'm leaning against using any name generator, and any generator out there probably pieces names together from different sources anyway.




Jared77 said:


> Whatever you do....just don't use a lot of apostrophe's.  Anyway...I think a good example of good sci-fi original names is the Hunger Games books. Whatever you think about the books themselves, the names were creative, simple, pretty original, sci-fi-ish, and not too weird (and not many apostrophes). Copied here from wikipedia:
> 
> 
> 1.1 Katniss Everdeen
> ...




The problem with the name Macifayo though is it's likely to be mispronounced, like saying Maci like Macy or Macie, or using a short a sound in fayo. I could use Mackifaeo but that looks stupid, and Mack doesn't look as cool as Mac, plus there's the possible meaning behind Mac which I talk about in my previous post. The only way I could think of to solve this without making the name look completely unappealing would be to use an apostrophe, I think Macifayo is too good a name to just scrap completely. It's pronounced Mac-ih-fae-oh btw, with the "ih" being like the I sound in Rick, I don't know how to make symbols over the nouns to do a better pronunciation key. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it being mispronounced wrong either? Has it happened in popular works with character names?

Edit: I have tried posting this in a previous post but for some reason it didn't go through.


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## Ghosts of the Maze (Jul 18, 2013)

You've got to think in terms of the screen adaptation. Is the name something that can be yelled or cried when grown men are screaming? Can it be said in hushed tones by women around a candlelit table at night? Is it the type of name that you can get halfway out before an old mother slaps the character on the mouth and says that thing is not something to be mentioned? Can children in the audience pronounce it, or come up with an adorable mispronunciation to be filmed on YouTube? Could you see a Six Flags ride titled "_______________ Revenge!"? If so, I believe you have your name.


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## Skodt (Jul 18, 2013)

^Unless your goal is not to be produced in a movie. In which case most of that don't matter to much. ](*,)

Though most names don't start out like that anyhow. Harry Potter became popular because of story. Now it just seems like it has always been a good name.


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## Kehawin (Jul 18, 2013)

me, I'd go with your original spelling (don't worry about if people mispronounce it in their heads - that happens even with the most obvious of names!) Change the C to a K if you are worried about Macy instead of Macky,  MakiFayo.  But I personally like the original best.

(My defense of the apostrophe for pronunciation was in principle only - not specific to your character's name.)


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## Greimour (Jul 19, 2013)

Ha. Somehow I agree with all points of view >.< ... don't know how that happened.

I used to be obsessed with original or snazzy names too. In one example, I was seventeen chapters into my third draft when I realized my main characters name was entirely unsuitable. It was harsh to say, read and held no meaning at all. I don't want to go entirely into the story, but Inkwellmachine has pretty much covered what I found to be the best approach personally through trial and error.

Even with the creation of two new species, I like one a hell of a lot more than the other. 

Craggyn [ Crag'een] 
From the name itself, as a species you would not have heard of... you can guess that they are made of stone from their name. Crag, Craggy ... both refer to rock.

Malanchuit - Malánchúit > various spellings right now I am undecided. [Mal-an-k-wee]
Gives no hint at all as to the species. Has no meaning and it is a bit of a pain to read. For reference, they are actually a race of spider... Think of the acromantula 'Aragog' from harry potter and you are sort of on the right lines. I have no idea where the name came from... I was probably thinking of ("welsh swearing") followed by "I quit" and with a vague combination of them both got Malanquit, which beacame malanchuit ... the welsh word that reached malan would be malu "smashing" but when combined with another word, has the same meaning as Tarw (bull) ... so you can guess what I combined it with and what I was thinking. 

Point is: I think being creative and aiming for some originality is good, breaking the mould is also good... but perhaps harder to do than just a new unused name. At the same time, dont get hung up on it.

I named a place Irtun in one of my stories. I was eating a Nutri-Grain bar at the time. Any guesses on where I got the name from?

I also called a race of creatures Trimera. I had been using the name for many chapters before I woke up one morning remembering where I knew the word. Tria Mera... had some myth involved regarding satan or 666 or some such... I would have to google it or something. I had read the Da Vinci Code or something not long before and an evil species I created ended up with the name Trimera - the name linked in with them, so it had worked until my realization. 
The tri meaning three because there was three visibly different 'breeds' 
Mera coming from spanish translating to "mere" in english ... pure ... because the trimera were a pureblood species and considered themselves to be "the best" other meanings from mere and/or mera included into their species being called trimera. All three breeds considered themselves the pure ones and "unmixed" - I wont go into more detail than that, except the species was actually bad... Goblin as closest reference without description.


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## Myers (Jul 19, 2013)

Have you ever met someone with a contrived name, one where you know the parents were trying to be clever or make a statement or demonstrate they aren’t like everyone else? You feel a little sorry for the person who gets saddled with that kind of name, and when you first meet him or her, it’s a distraction, something you have to get around. You say to yourself, what were they thinking? I feel the same way about character names and for about the same reasons.


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## Macifayo (Jul 19, 2013)

Myers said:


> Have you ever met someone with a contrived name, one where you know the parents were trying to be clever or make a statement or demonstrate they aren’t like everyone else? You feel a little sorry for the person who gets saddled with that kind of name, and when you first meet him or her, it’s a distraction, something you have to get around. You say to yourself, what were they thinking? I feel the same way about character names and for about the same reasons.



You mean I should pick something without any meaning? That's originally what I was going to do if you look at the older posts.


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## Govinda (Jul 19, 2013)

Macifayo said:


> You mean I should pick something without any meaning? That's originally what I was going to do if you look at the older posts.




I take Myers to mean that sometimes names are overwrought.  They become an entity unto themselves that stands in the way of what is important, the person (or in this case, a character).  In Larry Niven's Ringworld series, he had a main charecter named Halrloprillalar and a minor one named Karawesksenjojak (that's spelled wrong but I can't find the right spelling).  Great books, but every time I came across those names it was like tripping during a marathon.


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## wancow (Jul 19, 2013)

It's funny I should find this thread, because the project I'm working on the names of my victims are very, very important, and play into how they're chosen by a killer.  I have to look very hard at Baby Names and correct spelling before I can name a character.  Thankfully, the web has an abundance of given and surname resources for a variety of cultures.


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## Greimour (Jul 21, 2013)

Wreybies said:


> I take Myers to mean that sometimes names are overwrought.  They become an entity unto themselves that stands in the way of what is important, the person (or in this case, a character).  In Larry Niven's Ringworld series, he had a main charecter named Halrloprillalar and a minor one named Karawesksenjojak (that's spelled wrong but I can't find the right spelling).  Great books, but every time I came across those names it was like tripping during a marathon.



I have found a similar problem with some stories; I have ended up abbreviating their names to avoid interupted reading. Like, Macifayo, I would just refer to as Mac everytime I came across the name. Halrlop... I would just call Harlie. Karawesks... I would just call Kara. 
The same was true in my story, when I started abbreviating my own characters, I changed their names. 

I still think Macifayo is a good name for a dragon. It some how rings in my mind somewhere - probably because it makes me think of Draco and Fire. 
With a Dragon language, mixed in with real languages here in the real world, you could have it mean "Son of Dragon Fire" - Poor example of a Dragon language name translation - but Mac meaning son of, you could link in that kind of stuff from the real world into your story.

I think what Myers said has the other side of the blade sharpened too. You can't always get away with a name that's too simple. If I met a Dragon named Frank I would probably smile before he ate me.


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## bookmasta (Jul 21, 2013)

Don't use names that are hard to understand or pronounce. Not only does it interrupt the flow of the story to me as I struggle to figure how I even pronounce the name in my mind, let alone figure out how someone came up with it but it can make reading the book intolerable if you have numerous names along those lines that are frequently repeated throughout the book which is inevitable unless you didn't have any dialogue. Just stick to names that are known.


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## Grape Juice Vampire (Jul 21, 2013)

I like Macifayo, it flows well and conjures up an image of a dragon. I wouldn't worry about it being mispronounced in someone's head, that won't really effect any attachment to the character and may even increase it. Also, I am fascinated by the meaning of names, and recently discovered that one of my MC's name means gracious and merciful, two things she rarely is. 

I must say that I disagree with the above "just stick to names that are known".  Reason being is that they don't always fit, and names like Macifayo can add much to a character or even take away as necessary. Yes, some names can be and are ridiculous ( and hard to understand or pronounce for some), and using an odd name simply for the sake of it is a no-no, but I don't think there is/should be a blanket requirement on it.


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## Greimour (Jul 21, 2013)

After thought due to G.J.Vampire reminding me.

If you are concerned with a mispronunciation of names or words in your book, just add a glossary at the back of the book. 
Many books do this when the author feels it is required. 

A How to for: pronounce names, certain words or meanings of alien or foreign words... or even words from a made up language. 
I have read a few books that had huge lists of language translators at the back. Eragon for example had a Dwarvish word at the back, follow by a Dwarvish sentence that changed what the word meant when used in that context. It also had much of the Dwarvish language and an Elvish Language. How to pronounce certain spell words and names... etc...


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## Macifayo (Jul 27, 2013)

Okay, thank you everyone ^^.



Greimour said:


> After thought due to G.J.Vampire reminding me.
> 
> If you are concerned with a mispronunciation of names or words in your book, just add a glossary at the back of the book.
> Many books do this when the author feels it is required.
> ...



I don't want to make an entire language, I want it to be mostly in English just for the sake of the reader, but the names will be different. I'm not going to make them too hard to pronounce though, like Neblar, maybe. That's probably one I won't use but just as an example. Maybe one like Azora too, or something. Still working on it, like I said. I know the types of characters I want in general to fit into the plot, but still working on the names. I might have a language by another species that's different but I don't think I'll get the bases of one created, just to say that the other characters can't tell what is being said or something.


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## Sparktheunknown (Jul 27, 2013)

I  just shove someone down a flight of stairs and use the noises they make as new names.


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## mlcampbell (Jul 27, 2013)

I just read a great article about using names cleverly such as Abe Truman for the name of a character who is honest (or, ironically, a dishonest).  The article did mention that if this is done, it should be done subtley.  It made me think of this post, though.


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