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Tip #3: Naming Your Characters
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Farrah
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Jun 10, 2011 06:45PM
I heard a great idea for getting names for characters....walk through an old cemetary and read the names on the gravestones.
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Yep. I thought it was such a fantastic idea. But I like the occasional stroll through an old cemetary anyway.
The cemetery thing sounds like a good name to me. Also, I've tried a thing called "name generator". You can choose what language and gender the name is, and it gives a random name of that language.
I just did it, and got Olya Totty Aglaya Li Bellandini.
I also got Wim Hengist. Wim. That sounds wierd.
This is a great discussion guys!I too had difficulties in choosing names and that's when I decided that I will find names with meanings. That's when I had the idea of naming my characters according to their culture and timeline in which they are born. I got loads of new names like that!
I got the name Lara Milly Alecto from the link! I think I will use this name!
Oh, this hits me where I live!My early writing attempts frequently looked like this:
"The Royal Guard boiled into the throne room, swords at the ready. The lean, handsome man drew his rapier, ready to face them, twelve to one.
"Save yourself, ...."
Hmmm. Roger? No. Oscar. Nope. Two hours later, I would come up with something I liked and would move on to ...
"... yourself, Thaddeus!' exclaimed ..."
Another two hours down the drain.
My current solution looks like this:
"... yourself, !" exclaimed .
Boy, is that faster. I finished the first draft of a novel a week ago and did a search-and-replace for '<' with '#' and got 724 '<'s. People names, cities, animals, fish, money (I haven't got the conversion of dollars to zorkmids worked out yet), companies, distances, directions, technical terms, or anything else that would stop me in my tracks gets the < > treatment. Bless search-and-replace.
Now I'm in the grind of replacing them: even after I decide the villain's name is John Phillip Sousa, not everyone is going to call him that: John by his girlfriend, his full name for a first introduction, last name only for most replacements.
I have 8 computer bookmarks to suggest names. I particularly like this one because it asks for ethnicity: http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/gen-...
I also use Wikipedia: representatives to the UN (keeps me from using too many N. European names), members of Congress, South American leaders, members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
For aliens (I write scifi), I've been known to pick two disparate languages and look up a word. If I decide a henchman is a tool, I'll look up 'tool' in both languages, pick the first half from one and the second half from the other, or switch them around if I don't like the way it looks.
I'd appreciate any suggestions. This is a major hang-up of mine.
That's a neat idea Robert. I do the same thing for alott of stuff. My names come from all over sometimes I decide that my character sounds like a (insert name here).
I generally chose names based on names I like a lot. However (for characters from fantasy lands, etc.) I use a baby name book. I sometimes like to find names that have a meaning with my story and that helps me decide too.
Haley wrote: "I generally chose names based on names I like a lot. However (for characters from fantasy lands, etc.) I use a baby name book. I sometimes like to find names that have a meaning with my story and t..."Usually the name pops into my head, and then I run it through the numerology chart to see if they have the qualities of my character! I have been pleasantly surprised at the results!
Haley wrote: "Me too! It usually works pretty well!"Wow, I'm glad someone else uses numerology, it works pretty well. Uncannily so at times! In a coming book I have three dumb blondes, no offence meant if you're blonde, because I'm blonde too! Arabella Frimley Smythe, Samantha Lou Smith and Erika Schmidt. All my girls are blonde they are all named Smith and have four things in common! When I rolled them through a quick chart they were perfect they each had the qualities I had allotted them!
A lot of famous authors have used this in their books too. It's pretty cool! An example of this:Lupin in Harry potter- latin root associated with the moon, works since he's a werewolf
Haley wrote: "A lot of famous authors have used this in their books too. It's pretty cool! An example of this:Lupin in Harry potter- latin root associated with the moon, works since he's a werewolf"
I didn't realise JK used it too!
I like using symbolism for any names that aren't the main characters. I usually try to use names that have just been made up, but sound suiting to the characters personality.I had gone through my story with a name that felt wrong for a few chapters before I decided I'd take it out and I chose one that I was certain I liked.
Gabrielle wrote: "Sounds great!!!"That's good then! :)
I like using names in Elvish, because I'm writing a fantasy story, and those names go very well with elves, pixies, and faeries. Here are the websites:Boys names: http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/elvish/...
Girls names: http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/elvish/...
I also like to determine part of the character's personality first, and then choose a name that suits the personality.
I think that combining names sounds interesting, I think I might try it!
I had a pair of characters that I had a hard time coming up with names for, my toxic dragon and the human that works with him/her. I couldn't even come up with a gender! I was thinking and thinking and I finally looked up names of poisions, and I named one Sarina (after sarin gas) and the other Belladonna (which is another name for devil's nightshade). I like these names the best :)
Names are everywhere...e.g there's a file box named Crowley and I needed a name for a city gang leader in my new draft and so...I slight misspelling led to Croxley...I also research old legends and texts.
I also like misspelling names it helps...Abygayl...Edvar...so many names in my draft out of no where
Hey this is realy cool. I always struggle with names. Mostly they just come to me and I like the sound, sylable count or whatever.
babynames.com. Also cemeteries are an excellent source of surnames. last names KILL ME once I spent like two hours trying to come up with one. I would've given up sooner but I can be stubborn :p
I find a character's name to be the most important thing for me in getting to know him/her.I once read a book where the main character was named Waehey? It was just too distracting every time I read his name.
Thomas Pynchon has some of the best character names I've ever come across. They're a vital component of his work. Seek him out if you haven't already.
I think Michael Connelly's use of the name Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is genius. "Rhymes with anonymous". The way he has used Bosch's work as a metaphor for the world he has created give the books yet another layer.
The name also acts a s a further burden for Harry to carry around, constantly explaining it.
Giving a character a name of a real person speaks a lot. It gives some impression of parents who held great expectations which may or may not have been met. Calling a character Elvis or Barrack might be going to far, but it's fun to experiment with.
For me, I'm a huge fan of Jazz and it's hard to find a jazz musician without a cool sounding name: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Freddie Hubbard, Art Pepper, Charlie Byrd, Herbie Mann, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk ,Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, even Glen Miller! You couldn't make these up!
A couple of things that have worked for me:
- I'm working on a novel set in 1953 with a lead character in his 30's so I just Googled 'people born in 1920s' easy!
-While it's best to avoid names that are too generic - eg. John Smith - a generic last name with an antiquated or unusual first name works, Nathaniel Jones, Karmichael Smith.
-It's always good to mention what your character thinks of their name. In my novel Amother New York Murder, my lead character Julian Jones "loved his matching letters. Just like Walter Winchell."
It may take months to find the right name but it's worth it. It's like naming a child! Once you find the right one, you'll know right away.
Hope this helps!
