Character names

[Ann]

I wrote a blog post about picking character names and how I do it a while ago.

How do you pick character names? Is it instant? Or something you take alot of time over?

What is the meaning behind your main character's name?

[G.G.]

Instant naming isn't for me. I've got problems deciding. Big problems. Before I name any, I check websites with baby names, name's meaning, name's popularity by years, names by nationality etc. Still, I had to change a few names after everything was written. They simply didn't fit with their personality. Although sometimes, they fit too well. A general in my book was named the same as a real US general and I had no clue about it until I did a search on uniforms. Surprise-surprise! (I had to do a last minute change for him also.)

For my main character, I always had in mine to call him Alex, but it didn't have an alien feel to it so I played with the sound and it became: LX. The problem was to find a name that would give those initials: Lutnalind Zhendar Xavelk. The female character, Mellie was instantaneous. The word processor doesn't like the name so I tried to find something else but I just couldn't. For me she was a Mellie, end of discussion. I entered it in the dictionary so word would leave me be.

Also, after reading my book, an internet friend of mine told me it would be an honor for him if I could use his alias for one of my characters, which I was more than happy to do. That's how I got one named Kheldarren.

[J]

I really don't have a system. The characters from my first novel go wayyy back--I can't really remember precisely where they came from. I saw the name Nelly on the Internet once, and I it popped in my head when I had this character to name. :3 Sometimes I hear names of people at school or wherever and I steal their names. :3

[Ann]

I like names with Y and IE :3 One of my best friends is called Nelly :3 She's russian, but my mum had an aunty called Nelly too :3

Emerald was chosen for two reasons, I really like the word I think its pretty, and because of a conversation I had with a friend who worked with the children of drug addicts. She reckoned the children's exuberant names were of objects the women valued but couldn't have. Champange, Diamond, Mercedes etc.

Interesting, but really quite sad.

[Brian]

I usually pull interesting names from other works I've read. Different last names of course. I also tend to give characters nicknames and use those more often. The nicknames are often more memmorable.

[Harmony]

Most of my names are instantaneous, but then others are well thought out and have a specific meaning. A lot of the time they are already fully grown in my head, with a life of their own, before I put them onto the page where they can live and breathe ... :)

[Claire]

A mix of both. Some names are just so difficult to find, you search and search and finally one day it just clicks. I've changed a few names over and over. Others just come to you and you KNOW.

[Jack]

Sometimes a name just "sounds" right (or wrong). I actually keep track of character names on a spreadsheet to ensure I don't have too many first names beginning with "J" for example, or too many last names beginning with "S." The protagonist is my current mystery novel was originally named Crawford but I changed it to Randall because it sounds "tougher." Occasionally I'll do a little bit of research regarding ethnicity and heritage.

[Mark]

I used my wife's name for my lead character, best way I knew to honor the woman I love.

[Ann]

@Mark d'awww! :]

[G.G.]

@Mark How sweet!

[Carl]

I study baby name lists that I keep bookmarked on the laptop. I also write down names and words that sound interesting. It's not necessary but helpful if names' meanings help drive the story.

[Michael]

I use baby name lists as well. Or sometimes I'll just stare at my bookshelf for a while and mix and match the first and last names of authors I see there. Back when I was doing more screenwriting, Final Draft had a names database that we could pull from, but most of those were pretty ridiculous.

I'm also always thinking of underlying meanings for the names, and I'm careful to make sure that no two names in a book sound similar enough to cause any confusion. Naming characters is actually a really big deal, and I can spend a lot of time trying to come up with the right ones. And I have a hard time writing a story until I've settled on the character names. I can't just write Xxxx and Yyyyy and fill it in later.

My recent book was a real pain for names since my main characters are Chinese and the setting is the 19th century. We spent a lot of time trying to come up with names that a) would have been appropriate for the era; b) were appropriate for the regions the different characters came from; and c) had some appropriate meaning. This was all especially difficult considering I don't speak the language.

[J. David]

I've used baby name lists from the year my characters were supposed to be born, but usually I just start writing and something will pop in there. Occasionally I sit down and think about it and ponder over names and what they mean. And then once in a while the name comes to me in a dream, had that happen twice this week.

[Claire]

I've used a site called Name Meanings (or something) at one time or another for the more exotic names I choose. I mean, if I'm writing about a servant I don't want to give him a name that means king, unless he is actually a king in disguise.

[Kiri]

Hey guys
@Mark thats really sweet
My names come to me like this: the character is named after the person its based on or if I'm trying to cover my tracks I use their middle name, the character is an alter-ego of mine so comes with a pre-existing name or the name just comes to me out of the blue.
Undertow though I had to google some names. For instance Nox, he's an obvious one as he is the Greek God of Darkness. A lot of the characters have American Indian names which I felt reflected the character: Mai means Jackal, Dasan means Cheiftan and Shilah means mother/queen.
As for the novel I'm writing at the moment, Danger Days no one has actual names, they have Killjoy identities some which are anagrams such as FeltOwl whereas most are based on their personalities or have links to the people they are based on like MadMonster, VikingAxe, NightRaven and so forth
:)

[J.]

Good morning all!

I've found from writing my last series I was googling "strong boy names" or "feminine girl names" but because the series is a paranormal romance the "odd" names I would have to come up with I would find words and spell them backward!! For example, the term of respect for the higher beings in the other Realm is "Dohtem" (my hand soap Method!)

[Carl]

Kiri, I like the anagram idea.

[Kiri]

@Carl Hey it works for me lol

[Ann]

That is too awesome :]