# Character names



## Xander416 (May 20, 2020)

What's your stance on naming characters? Are you meticulous about deciding on the "right" one or do you just use a random name generator and call it a day?


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## EmmaSohan (May 20, 2020)

I just think of a name, but then I get attached to it.


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## indianroads (May 20, 2020)

Main characters usually have names right off the bat. Other characters often don't. What I do is do a search for common names for various periods of history - old style names are unique, yet familiar, making them easy for the reader to get used to.


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## undead_av (May 20, 2020)

It all depends for me; sometimes a name just comes, other times I'm scrolling through baby name lists for hours trying to find the right name. A lot of times I give the character a name based on ethnic origin, e.g. I look up Swedish names for a character with Swedish descent. Along with this, I try to find a name with a meaning that fits the character or has something to do with their journey or personality--maybe a name that means "lion" if they are courageous, or better yet, start out afraid and then grow in courage throughout the story. A lot of times it's not that deep, though. Sometimes it's just, oh, his name is Cecil, I guess. (And I can't change it even if I hate it).


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## Sir-KP (May 20, 2020)

Major characters: with meaning

Minor characters: pick applicable random ones (so that no Japanese will be named Alfredo or Johnson, for example)


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## indianroads (May 21, 2020)

Sir-KP said:


> Major characters: with meaning
> 
> Minor characters: pick applicable random ones (so that no Japanese will be named Alfredo or Johnson, for example)



My best friend is Chinese, but has an Irish name.


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## Sir-KP (May 21, 2020)

indianroads said:


> My best friend is Chinese, but has an Irish name.



It's normal for Chinese ethnicity (includes Mainlander, Cantonese, Taiwanese) and also Southeast Asians (Thai, Vietnamese, and Southeast Asian Chinese, etc) to have 'so-called' English name, officially or made-up nickname.

While Japanese people usually keep their name as is.


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## BornForBurning (May 21, 2020)

Naming is a holy thing. It's closely connected to the ancient conception of curses and blessings, and spellcrafting. When you name, you speak order and identity into the universe. A lot of times, names just come to me. I see a character and I think, 'she's Elizabeth.'


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## Olly Buckle (May 21, 2020)

I don't think about it greatly, just hit on something that seems appropriate.
There is a short story I wrote called 'Pipe Dreams', that I sometimes put up at Christmas. The Backward Ox wrote me saying the wife and sister in law had the same names as his wife and sister in law, 'How did you know, you described the sister in law perfectly'. Got that one right.


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## Xander416 (May 21, 2020)

All insightful answers. I can appreciate the practice of using names with meanings appropriate to the situation, but it's not something I do very often since it seems a little too coincidental to me when the one random person capable of saving the world from demons, angry gods, aliens, or whatever great threat, just happens to be a girl named Ramona, which means "wise savior."


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## VRanger (May 21, 2020)

I spend very little time on names. I want the main's names to be unusual without being far out, so I'll often just slightly alter names we're familiar with to something which sounds similar but is unique. I pick a name out of the air, and play around with changing a vowel or a consonant until I get a sound I like, then write it. Example: Teven TacMarough, one of the mains in my heroic fantasy series.


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## Periander (May 21, 2020)

Well, you know the saying from Proverbs 22:1, "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches".

Personally, I find the "coming up with names" bit rather difficult.  Matching the right name with the right character is sort of like choosing a specific wine to pair with a specific meal.  It has to work for you or nothing flies.

That being said, I don't think that a name necessarily_ has_ to be a great fit.  I think that some of the most memorable character names in literature take on an ironic purpose.  Sometimes, they seem so incongruous that they actually become charming in their own way as the story unfolds.  Oliver Twist is the example that comes to my mind.  Early in the novel, a secondary character speculates that the boy "will hang", a darkly humorous prediction suggested by the surname that Mr. Bumble invented for him - Twist.  Of course, we learn at the end of the novel that Oliver, in fact, does _not_ hang.  In an ironic twist (no pun intended), the villain of the story inadvertently hangs himself.


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## Kallisto (May 23, 2020)

I just use a random name generator and call it a day... sort of. I'll throw names on characters, and most of the time, they just become synonymous with the character. There have been a few times when the name just didn't work real well. Maybe I needed a plain name like "James" or "John" to emphasize the "every day man" character. Or a name is too difficult to remember. Or it's too similar to another character.


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## JJBuchholz (May 27, 2020)

Xander416 said:


> What's your stance on naming characters? Are you meticulous about deciding on the "right" one or do you just use a random name generator and call it a day?



A good question. Personally, there are usually two main ways that I figure out a character name.

1) A random name pops into my head without warning. While I am preparing a story board or idea sheet for a new WIP, I will sometimes have
one or two names at a time appear in my mind out of nowhere. They could be completely random, or similar to names I have encountered in
a recent book, TV show, or other media. In this case, the name comes first and helps me to come up with an image in my mind, using said
name, as to how the character should appear.

2) Research. On the other flip of the coin, I already have a light description jotted down of the character (or a face floating around in my head
at that time), but am unable to come up with a name. When this happens, I go on websites that show baby names, and let myself gravitate to
which ever letter comes to find first (names depending on whether or not the character I am creating at that moment is male or female), and
look at the various names until I find one that fits said character.

I guess character names can be an adventure all on their own.

-JJB


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## indianroads (May 30, 2020)

One of my WIP characters is named 'Simon', and I didn't realize the problems with the name until lately.

Simon said, sounds too much like 'Simon says' from the children's game. SO - I'll be changing that.


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## Olly Buckle (May 30, 2020)

indianroads said:


> One of my WIP characters is named 'Simon', and I didn't realize the problems with the name until lately.
> 
> Simon said, sounds too much like 'Simon says' from the children's game. SO - I'll be changing that.



To 'said Simon' ?


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## indianroads (May 30, 2020)

Olly Buckle said:


> To 'said Simon' ?



Easier for me just to change it - this is just the first draft.


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## Tryon (May 31, 2020)

I've only written a few short stories, and I think I used the same naming "process" in all of them.  I use names of people I know, usually mixing and matching the first and last names.  Pretty simple and it works for me.


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## Rojack79 (May 31, 2020)

For me a name will come to me and I the  check out the meaning of the name. The male main character is named Alexander which means defender of man. The main female lead is Sophia which means princess of wisdom. They both fit the characters so I guess I got extremely lucky.


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## Foxee (Jun 15, 2020)

I like running through name generators sometimes to see what I get but it's probably more procrastination than actual work. After all, this is a spam-account that tried to friend me on FB. Preeeeetty sure an AI tossed out this name:



Bayesaa Ayetaa? Okay, sure...not.


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## ironpony (Jun 15, 2020)

When it comes to choosing names based on meaning, I thought that this is not a good idea, and a writer should choose names based on the sound of the name, to define a character, rather than the meaning of the name, unless I am wrong?

For example in my WIP, the main character, a cop, I originally named Lamont, because Lamont means 'lawman'.  But I was told by others that Lamont sounds like a butler name, and just doesn't sound like it fits the character, and should choose something else.  So perhaps sometimes the sound of a name is more important than the meaning?


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## Olly Buckle (Jun 15, 2020)

ironpony said:


> When it comes to choosing names based on meaning, I thought that this is not a good idea, and a writer should choose names based on the sound of the name, to define a character, rather than the meaning of the name, unless I am wrong?
> 
> For example in my WIP, the main character, a cop, I originally named Lamont, because Lamont means 'lawman'.  But I was told by others that Lamont sounds like a butler name, and just doesn't sound like it fits the character, and should choose something else.  So perhaps sometimes the sound of a name is more important than the meaning?



That seems ridiculous to me, a butler name would need some sort of soft ending to it, like -son, as in Dawson, Robinson, that sort of thing, the hard consonant at the end sounds perfect for a cop, a sharp cut off, nothing subservient there. La as a beginning seems right as well, a French Canadian could almost be La Mountie   Seriously it has action to it that you might expect from a cop, not just following someone else's agenda. In fact if you are not going to use Lamont I just might, about time I wrote something with a good action hero in it.


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## ironpony (Jun 15, 2020)

Oh okay, well I'm not sure if I will use it or not.


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## ST Kennedy (Jun 17, 2020)

I just pick names that feel comfortable to say/ get stuck in your head.


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## ironpony (Jun 17, 2020)

Olly Buckle said:


> That seems ridiculous to me, a butler name would need some sort of soft ending to it, like -son, as in Dawson, Robinson, that sort of thing, the hard consonant at the end sounds perfect for a cop, a sharp cut off, nothing subservient there. La as a beginning seems right as well, a French Canadian could almost be La Mountie   Seriously it has action to it that you might expect from a cop, not just following someone else's agenda. In fact if you are not going to use Lamont I just might, about time I wrote something with a good action hero in it.



Oh okay, maybe they thought it sounded like a butler name because of the soft opening cause of the L?


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## Olly Buckle (Jun 17, 2020)

I have a character called David Sybil who says strange things that sound like predictions, but nobody takes a lot of notice, I am wondering how many people will spot D Sybil equals The Sibyl. It will probably remain a little private author's joke.


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## Foxee (Jun 17, 2020)

Olly Buckle said:


> I have a character called David Sybil who says strange things that sound like predictions, but nobody takes a lot of notice, I am wondering how many people will spot D Sybil equals The Sibyl. It will probably remain a little private author's joke.


Well not for us, if you know you know!

I really struggle with naming characters. I struggle even harder with place names.


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## Smooth Jazz and 45 ACP (Jul 15, 2020)

I'm usually of the opinion that characters don't need special or symbolic names in most circumstances. Odds are, your name isn't anything symbolic. My mom picked my name from a TV show she liked. I name most of my characters after people in my life (never directly, usually just borrowing surnames and the like). If you go too overboard with the names, it can sound downright corny. I recently replayed Grand Theft Auto 4, and the main antagonist's name (Dimitri Rascalov. Get it? RASCAL?) just made me cringe the whole time. 

If the character is done right, his name could be "James Smith" and readers would still cling to his otherwise boring name.

Not to say a more symbolic or selective name can't be done tastefully and well, it just usually ends up being a detail picked out by literary critics and tends to have little basis on the story at-hand.

However, my most recent project has me going somewhat symbolic with the names. Pretty much every surname in the story is named after a firearms manufacturer (Jack Ruger, Paul Browning, Barb Wesson, etc). No particular reason for it, I've just had my other hobby on the brain and thought it would be fun.


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## Joker (Jul 15, 2020)

Smooth Jazz and 45 ACP said:


> I'm usually of the opinion that characters don't need special or symbolic names in most circumstances. Odds are, your name isn't anything symbolic. My mom picked my name from a TV show she liked. I name most of my characters after people in my life (never directly, usually just borrowing surnames and the like). If you go too overboard with the names, it can sound downright corny. I recently replayed Grand Theft Auto 4, and the main antagonist's name (Dimitri Rascalov. Get it? RASCAL?) just made me cringe the whole time.
> 
> If the character is done right, his name could be "James Smith" and readers would still cling to his otherwise boring name.
> 
> ...



Ah, nice to see another shooter on the board.

Yeah my MC is just named Dzesika. It's Jessica in Polish. I like the sound of it. That's it.

Another character is Jefar. It's just an African name that sounds like Jeff. He used to be Jeff. It sounds funny. That's it.


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## noisebloom (Jul 15, 2020)

I avoid using names of people I know. People I know that beta-read my stuff tend to assume that characters with their names are based on them, and then I feel self-conscious about one of my characters that has his/her _own identity_. I also have the completely irrational (and stupid, to be honest) fear that if one of my characters has the name of someone I say, dated, and said work were to one day be publicly distributed and they found out, they might read into it and try to contact me or something. 

I try to just choose names that I'm neutral about that fit the character, and then the development of that character ascribes meaning/feeling to that "name".


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## Turnbull (Jul 16, 2020)

I usually either randomly think up names, or try to think of names that sound kinda like the character's personality.  Though I have done things like use a typo for a character or have an alien race have thematically related names.


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## Trionix (Jul 27, 2020)

Xander416 said:


> All insightful answers. I can appreciate the practice of using names with meanings appropriate to the situation, but it's not something I do very often since it seems a little too coincidental to me when the one random person capable of saving the world from demons, angry gods, aliens, or whatever great threat, just happens to be a girl named Ramona, which means "wise savior."



True, but I can see this kind of thing implying that there is always a higher power at work, or maybe it was fate or destiny that chose the name before the major event ever took place. Hmm... 

Interestingly, I’m about to write my first real story or novel, and one of the primary characters in it is named Xander. Coincidence?


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## AndreaStory90 (Jul 27, 2020)

Xander416 said:


> What's your stance on naming characters? Are you meticulous about deciding on the "right" one or do you just use a random name generator and call it a day?



For me, I tend to constantly use and reuse the same names over and over again, although this has begun to change recently. I generally tend to use the first name/s that come to mind.


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## thethreetearedeye (Jul 27, 2020)

When I'm naming characters I spend a lot of time finding satisfying combinations. For example, I have characters named Vivian Gray, Lillian Sternbourgh, Jessi Ito. I can't quite articulate why but the way they flow really clicks in my head. In science fiction, however, I don't tend to focus on last names, just a single name that can identify a character (because in the realm of scifi there can be some truly buck wild last names). For that genre, I tend to fixate on short uncomplicated names like Ginna, Hess, and Nido. 
I feel like just running through a name generator is a little lazy, but if that's what works for a writer that's what works for them. I just think that personally thinking up the name helps create the character and establish them more in the writer's head. My reasoning is that if you have this grand idea for a character but can't think of a name and a generator spits out Bill Sassafras, its just a little lacking in the writer's personality.


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## Twisted Head (Jul 28, 2020)

I give a great deal of consideration with main character names. In the stories I write, they have to really click. One way of thinking of it is, would Harry Potter have been the same if he was named Fred Jones?


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## indianroads (Jul 28, 2020)

You can look up boy/girl names from different eras online. Names from the 1600's or Roman, Greek, Egyptian, etc. I read through those and find something that sounds right.


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## TripleFade (Jul 28, 2020)

I write a lot of fantasy stuff, so I kind of lean medieval names or ‘fantasy’ names. That said, I usually find ancient weapons or parts of weapons that sound like names and use those.


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## Xander416 (Jul 28, 2020)

Trionix said:


> Interestingly, I’m about to write my first real story or novel, and one of the primary characters in it is named Xander. Coincidence?


No, I'm a hero and inspiration to billions even though they don't know who I am ... yet. irate:


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## Trionix (Jul 29, 2020)

Xander416 said:


> No, I'm a hero and inspiration to billions even though they don't know who I am ... yet. irate:



Right! I actually have not fully thought out the path of this character yet, but I can say this much, he is a law enforcement officer with a strong sense of duty, but is also beginning to undergo a disillusionment with the established status quo of the world he lives in, and will ultimately play a central role in righting the wrongs therein.


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## Xander416 (Jul 29, 2020)

Trionix said:


> Right! I actually have not fully thought out the path of this character yet, but I can say this much, he is a law enforcement officer with a strong sense of duty, but is also beginning to undergo a disillusionment with the established status quo of the world he lives in, and will ultimately play a central role in righting the wrongs therein.


Make him ruggedly handsome like Gerard Butler and a complete lady killer, then he'll practically be my doppelganger.


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