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choosing names for your characters
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Well... I came up with a couple of unusual naming conventions for my "universe" (the Lunar Free State). I thought of the same issue you did (*by their parents*) so... on reaching adulthood and full citizen status (age 18) in the LFS, citizens are allowed to choose a new "given" name (first name) which will be their legal name from that point forward.Oh... and one other little wrinkle regarding surname. At birth, children are given the surname of their biological parent of the same sex - i.e. female children get their mother's surname, male children get their father's. Since women in the LFS do not traditionally take their husband's surname at marriage, this means that siblings will not always have the same surname; but this doesn't produce any weird sociological consequences -- after the first generation, it became accepted as the normal way of things.
So far, I haven't heard any complaints about this from readers, and I'm glad of that because it was just a crazy idea I came up with somewhere between the first and second books.
On my part, I choose characters names based on what ethnicity/country they are supposed to be from, then concentrate on names/surnames that are common in those countries. I want my characters to sound authentic, not to sound like excentric oddities. One example not to follow are the names found in Bond movies (Pussy Galore, Octopussy, Xenia Onotop, really?). Of course, if we are talking about some sci-fi space opera type book/movie, then alien names are another matter entirely, but even there I will not use names that are next to impossible to pronounce just so it would sound 'alien'. That I would consider a simple trope. No Xmulldozt-kind of names for my characters.
Ok, I'm cool with both of those, John and Michel. :)
I like names that sound normal — or at least normal given the world. I avoid anything where the name is so cutesy that it’s more appropriate on a cat than a person. For instance, any book that features a girl named “Nyx” might as well scream “This is a Mary Sue!”
I have a tendency to use placeholder names and then go back and change it one I decide on the name I want. I don't want to hold up my book because I'm stuck on a name.
Ok, that makes a lot of sense. But I'm curious, do you choose placeholders that are as neutral as possible? I mean, if I were a writer, I know for a fact that my characters' names would affect how I feel about them, what kind of behaviors I expect from them, what consequences I give them... so if I choose a name I don't like, for example, erm, Gertrude, she might wind up being a scapegoat or redshirt even though I had nicer plans for her.... But maybe I'm weird.
Cheryl wrote: "Ok, that makes a lot of sense. But I'm curious, do you choose placeholders that are as neutral as possible? I mean, if I were a writer, I know for a fact that my characters' names would affect ho..."
I’m reminded of the great Rita Rudner bit: "It gets harder to name children when you get older. Because by the time you’re in your thirties every name you think of reminds you of someone you hate. We have to hurry; we’re down to Jethro and Nefertiti."
Hah! Maybe that's why ppl name their kids Apple or Moon Unit....
So many different cultural customs pertain to naming that you can essentially make up anything you want. Jewish parents like to name a child after a deceased relative, so as to keep the name alive. If you asked Charles Dickens to be godfather to your son you probably had to include the name 'Charles' in there somewhere. Queen Victoria saw to it that all her sons and grandsons had 'Albert' as one of their names. Many immigrants have names that were the ones in the old country, Anglicized to make it easier in the US. Some of those were done for them, by the immigration people at Ellis Island. I've blogged on this subject, and the first one is here. Skate forward to find the next three, or put the term 'naming' into the search window. https://bookviewcafe.com/blog/2014/10...
This reminds me of a scene in the Star Wars movie 'Solo', when Han, who had no family name, presented himself to the imperial recruiter at the astroport departure gate. The recruiter, needing a family name for his records, took note that Han was alone and then assigned him the family name 'Solo'. Is it possible that this imperial recruiter descended from an American immigration officer?
In my case, as I made up a whole alien world with five different breeds very different among them, I had to come up with some naming conventions for each breed, so the lore of this world would have some consistency and coherence.A lot of my characters' names will not be found being used by any Earth inhabitants (ha!), but some of them will.
In general, I tried to make the main characters' names simple and easier to remember: Niza, Lino, Kira, Quince, Ulgier, Mina, Jantl, Kempr, Fizz. I decided this world wouldn't use last names.
In volume two, I started using the settlement of origin to do some kind of differentiation: Belgier of Zandar, for example.
After reading the first volume, some readers told me that the only Thinker I name in it (Plubont) sounded French. So, for volume two, which has a lot of Thinkers, I selected beautiful names for that breed: Solange, Nicole, Gormant, Amandine, Flabond, among many others. But the feeling you get when reading those names is 'yeah, this is a valid Thinker name'.
And that was only the characters' naming conventions... What about the settlements? (Lendl, Kontar, Mudraci, Shuntai...) That was a whole job apart, which also needed its own set of rules. It was a lot of fun! :D
I wholeheartedly agree with your naming methodology, Alvaro, as I practice something quite similar. I do hate it when sci-fi authors name their alien characters some jaw-dislocating names like 'Mirklfx', just to 'sound' alien. Human history, especially Antiquity, and names from isolated, ancient groups (like Australian aborigin names) can also be a good source of names that could then be slightly modified to sound like alien but realistic names.
Michel wrote: "I wholeheartedly agree with your naming methodology, Alvaro, as I practice something quite similar. I do hate it when sci-fi authors name their alien characters some jaw-dislocating names like 'Mirklfx', just to 'sound' alien."The 'jaw-dislocating' remark made me laugh out loud! Thank you for making my morning, Michel. =D
Michel wrote: "I wholeheartedly agree with your naming methodology, Alvaro, as I practice something quite similar. I do hate it when sci-fi authors name their alien characters some jaw-dislocating names like 'Mir..."Although lots of Earth names break the brains of people from other cultures. There are some Indian and Polish names I have no idea how to pronounce, for instance. I have a fairly straightforward Italian surname but people inevitably stumble over it. The Turkmenistan dictator Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov is in the news lately, and that’s a name I wouldn’t even attempt. (It also sounds hilarious when you do hear it spoken, which is a related issue. See the recent episode of Last Week Tonight: https://youtu.be/-9QYu8LtH2E)
Halrloprillalar from Ringworld looks impossible at first, but once you try it sounds pretty cool.
Trike wrote: "See the recent episode of Last Week Tonight: https://youtu.be/-9QYu8LtH2E)"Just watched it. You get used to the name pretty quickly, actually. The video is hilarious! =D
Here are a couple of apparently impossible to pronounce names: Nwabudike, one of the sons of Frankie and Sol (Grace & Frankie) and Mxyzptlk, one of Superman's enemies. :P
I’ve always pronounced Mxyzptlk as “mixy zipped lick”, but that’s not how the TV shows said it: https://youtu.be/VuRqVg6tHcE
Unless a book is very special, the author simply chooses a name that seems to fit each character. Sometimes characters will have externally applied nicknames, or adult names given to them when they come of age, or they will choose their own name to fit a persona. But usually names are chosen for vibe and euphony.
What I seldom see explored (even in children's books) is that most ppl are saddled with their name *by their parents.* This certainly can be less true in speculative fiction, but nonetheless, authors tend to give characters names that indicate something about them. Think of Harry/ Harold, very strong and traditional, with a vibe of royalty, and of Hermione, which one has to be scholarly to even know how to pronounce or spell.
So think about the parents of your characters (or have a different naming convention in your lore). After all, doesn't Hermione's name tell us something very interesting about her parents? I don't know what, exactly, but *something*. Lucky for her that she grew up to fit that name, and didn't grow up to have the characteristics implied by a name like, say, Krystal....