Naming your characters

[Christina]

So, I am just curious, because it seems to be one of my bigger problems!
How do you guys go about naming your characters, main and support and so on?
It's somehow my biggest writer block at the moment, as it is pretty challenging, naming everything and everyone, him, her, his, hers, or just ...'s!

How do you cross this challenging and evil path of writing?

[Julia]

I spend an inordinate amount of time here. If I'm super-stuck I go to a name generator until I find something I like or that is inspiring.

[Jess]

I gather names from all over and I keep a running list of first names I love, first and last that sound good together, sibling names that complement each other... all kinds of different things. I find that having that list there helps because if a name doesn't just jump out at me for a certain character, I have a pool of names I like that I can go pull from.

And like I said, I build this list with names from everywhere; I watch the credits sometimes on movies or tv shows, I browse baby name websites (that's helpful for when you're looking for a name with a specific origin), etc etc. I'm always adding to the list which means I always have some options for when I get stuck!

[Tatiana]

The most important thing for me - besides of course actually liking the name I choose - is the meaning of the name. My first step is to look up names that have meanings that match the essence of my character. For instance I look up "names that mean bravery" and choose my favorite from that list.

I like giving every character's name a purpose, whether that is to foreshadow something later in the book or simply to reflect a personality trait of that character.

I've always looked for the meaning of names first which is kind of strange but I'd love to know if anyone else does this.