k-frances: Naming a character can be difficult. Everyone wants that special vibe that fits your...

Naming a character can be difficult. Everyone wants that
special vibe that fits your character
just right, but how does one know if the name they’ve chosen is a good one?
Well, the fact of the matter is, there are really no wrong names at the plane
black and white of it, but there are some
guidelines you can follow, depending on the type of novel you’re writing, and
especially its setting.

For more helpful guides, tips, tricks, and inspiration, check out my blog, or go strait to my Writer’s Library.

Earth, but not now
Hello research. Do
not just make up names if you want your time setting to feel authentic. My
motto is, if it already exists, don’t make it up.

is a resource
for popular names throughout the decades. This sight only goes back to the
1880s and is only useful for Unites States, or probably European names since they
tend to be very similar.

If you’re looking
to go farther back or deal with a different country you must do your research.
Read Earth, not your culture section
for more.

Earth, current/ish
times, your culture
Literally google ‘baby
names’ and you will get hundreds of sights like .

Baby name sights
are fine to use as long as you’re only naming based on a Eurocentric culture. See
the Earth, not your culture section
for more on that. And yes, some people in real life name their children names
from cultures that are not their own, but honestly they probably shouldn’t, and
therefore you probably shouldn’t put it in your writing. As with all things, there
may be exceptions, but in general, just don’t.

The name should be
a normal name, not some weird made up
shit you just thought was cool, unless that is relevant to the character. Ex:
In The Raven Cycle, one of the main character’s name is Blue, which is not a
normal American name. But her mother is a psychic and sort of a hippy, and other character’s react to her name reasonably.
If it’s an unusual name, people are probably going to make jokes about it or
ask about it in some way or another.

Do not give normal chick X with normal
white/Christian parents a name like Falling Star Magic Lover unless there’s a
good goddamn explanation behind it, like her mother was at a concert when she
gave birth and Ringo Starr named the baby. I know this is sort of a repeat of
the last rule, but it’s important. You might be thinking; but I want to name my character something cool,
they’re unique. You’re next door
neighbor John is unique, and so are you even though you’re name is probably Heather.
You don’t need a special name to be a good character, and odds are your parents
didn’t know what you were going to be like when you were born, which is why
your name has no hidden meaning in relation to your personality.

Names with hidden
meanings (ex: naming the farmer George which in its Greek origin means farmer) are okay. They can be kind of cool, but
don’t get frustrated and feel like you can’t come up with a good name for your
characters because you can’t find one that sounds right with the right hidden
meaning. I repeat, parents don’t know that their new born baby will be a secret
assassin one day, so they probably won’t search for a baby name that actually
means shadow death in its Latin
origin. It’s okay, you can go with Danny if that feels right to you. Most
people will never know the secret meanings behind your name so don’t sweat it
unless it’s your thing.

Since you are naming
someone from within your own culture, you can also just go by personal experience.
You can sometimes use this for other cultures you’ve come into close contact
with. For example, I used the name Tamera for a black character because one of
my favorite shows growing up was Tia and Tamera. I used the name Deja for
another black character because there was a black girl at my high school who was
named Deja. So personal experience is okay, but be careful about using it for
different cultural names. More about that in the Earth, not your culture section.

Earth, not your culture
Do not get culture specific names
(Chinese, Indian, Native American, etc.) off of baby naming sights, they are
not to be trusted. You need to go much farther into your research and make sure
that whoever is posting these names is an authentic resource for the
country/culture they are talking about. You will look stupid to people in the
culture you’re writing about if you skip this step. You might accidentally
end up looking stupid one way or another, but at least you tried, which is more than can be said for many other media creators of all kinds.

It’s okay to give a
Chinese girl and English name if she lives in (as in is from/ was born in) America.
This goes for other cultures as well, many immigrants name their children
American names, so if you would like to do that, it’s fine.

You can use
personal experience, with caution. TV
and other mass media should not be trusted
unless it is actually made by the
culture you are writing about. So if you take a Japanese name from a Japanese
movie (maybe do some research to make sure that’s actually a normal name first)
that’s generally okay, but do not take a
Japanese name from an American made movie without really doing your research
first. TV and movies are not very good about getting correct info on other
cultures before slapping it into their stuff.
However, if you had a neighbor from India, by all means use their name, or
better yet, ask them about common names from their culture if you can!

Not Earth or Altered Earth
If you are writing
in a fantasy setting, or your earth has been heavily altered by something (post
apocalypse for example), it’s actually still okay to use English names. You’re
writing it in English, so it’s probably not going to take people out of it to
use English names as long as you aren’t also making up cultural terms for other
things. Like if a group of people are called the Yaddagadees you probably
should give them fantasy names. But if a group of people are called the
Wanderer’s, Heather will do just fine.

Using a name
generator to come up with fantasy names is okay in my opinion. I don’t really
use them, and a lot of people oddly object to it, but it’s not a big deal in my
opinion. I would say, try and come up with your own stuff, but if you’re really
struggling, the generators or lists can give you good inspiration at the very
least.

In completely fantasy
worlds, there are basically no rules about naming. Do what you want. But
consider using names as a form of culture. This might be difficult if you aren’t
a linguist, but there are some easy things to consider. How do people get their
names? Is it at birth or later on, are they named after things in nature, after
a past relative, or do they have made up sounding names like most European
names? Avatar the Last Airbender does a great job of using specific sounds to
make names feel cultural. Sokka, Katara, and Korra are all water tribe members,
and their names all have a strong K sound. Mess around with some ideas, and if
you can’t come up with anything, don’t sweat it too much. If everyone is speaking
the same language, it’s likely their names would also be similar.

In an alternate
Earth scenario, just make sure if you’re going to go with crazy names, that it
makes sense to do so. If it’s not very far in the future from nowish, then
people probably would still have normal names. Make sure there’s a good reason
for unusual names. Either it’s been a really
long time, or the culture has been changed for some reason (Like Mad Max
Furry Road having names such as Furiosa).

Nicknames
Nicknames, no matter
what type of work you’re writing, are fine. Depending on how you use them, they
can really add to characterization. If a specific person has a friendly
nickname for your character, it shows depth in the friendship, and if the
nickname is Stinky-Pit, there might be some sort of story or characterization
to draw from the nickname itself. Nicknames can also be a cultural thing (you
get a new name once you join this group, for example).

Make sure the name
makes sense. If you give a character a really cool nickname like Smoke, there
needs to be something to back that up in the story. No Heather, I will not call
you sparkle just because you asked me to.

You should
generally stick to one name for the
narrator to use. So if your character’s full name is Johnathan but mostly goes
by John, that’s fine to use in narration as long as you’re not going back and
forth between names. It might be a little weird to call your character Stinky-Pit
in narration, but then again, if that is the only name your main character ever
uses, it might be equally strange to use their real name in narration. You make
the judgment call.

General tip and conclusion: I get complemented a lot on my
names, and the secret is simply that I don’t think about it too damn much. For
a story set in modern America, I usually just come up with the first name that
pops into my head. For fantasy names I just play around with syllables until I
hear one that sounds good, and then I slap it down. A good story name doesn’t feel
contrived, and that’s really the most important thing if you ask me.