Cliche Names..?

How, oh how, do you stop your character's names from sounding cliche?
I generally don't give my characters names unless I absolutuely have to, to avoid the reader getting negative (or positive in some cases) connnotations. But sometimes characters just need names.
I find it really difficult to find a balance between making them too normal and too weird, any tips?

Thanks for any wisdom that you can impart.

Techni

*thinks* Names can be cliched?
Erm, well, maybe naming a hot vampire 'Edward' would be cliched.
That's the only type of example I can give ._.

What do you have in mind?

Try to keep the styles of the names consistent. So if the village is full of bobs and janes and millys, don't throw in a Vyrenix or suchlike.
Try not to use overcomplicated names, as the reader, if faced with a name he or she can't pronounce, will just end up naming them something else in their heads anyway. I am a classic example, as a nine/ten year old I pronounced Hermione Hemmerine. Don't ask me why, I got to her name and just renamed her.
I was an interesting kid.
Anyway, I digress.
I've started to try and avoid replacing 'i's with 'y's in fantasy stories.

The best way to get a good name is to search a list of appropriate names for the time/place/ethnicity of the character for something that sounds right. It helps to use a name meanings type site, because then you can search for characteristics.

At least, that's what I do.

Well, that depends on what genre you're using. For romance, using anything overly frilly (like Louise, Marie, almost anything French-sounding) is generally a bad idea. For fantasy, that's really based on what type. Urban, D&D, alternate universe, parallel universe, et cetera.

My rule-of-thumb with names is that less is more. Shorter, plainer names give the reader a blank slate at the beginning of the story; no preconceived notions based on name. (Fatima must be a chubby girl, and the names Adolph and Judas will never be able to shake their bad rap.) A good way to sort of sidestep this is to have the characters have long names with nicknames. From Matthew to Matt, Tabitha to Tabby.

If you're making up names, try to restrain yourself. Not too many apostrophes or silent syllables or much else. KISS. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

I prefer to use already-coined names, my favorite repository by far being Behind the Name, which has names by year, names by ethnicity, meaning, masculine/feminine, a random name generator, name themes, the whole enchilada and a lot more. I recommend this place at least once a month. XD Use it well.

Without further specifications, however, that's about as far as you get. Could you be a little more specific?

Thanks so much for your help guys! That website is especially helpful.

I can't really be more specific, I got a review on This Piece which said that the names are a little cliche. Considering that they are all normal names, it got me thinking about how I could actually make them less cliche, that maybe they were so normal that they came full circle to being cliche again.

Don't ask me why, I got to her name and just renamed her.

Same with me when I was littler!
I also use Behind the Name, and for surnames I usually find census results and grab a name between positions 10-100. Occasionally further down. For minor characters, sometimes I just get an A-Z listing and find any random name.
Some precautions I use with naming:
1. Make sure not too many names start with the same letter.
2. Make sure not too many names end with the same letter.
3. Avoid too many names starting with Z, X, Q etc.
4. Avoid too many names starting with vowels (for some reason, I always overuse these).
5. In real-life fiction, avoid very, very exotic names except for perhaps one character. I think the best bet with this is to give main characters names that are heard-of, but not overly common. But occasional common names are good too.
6. Of course, make sure names match the character's time period etc.
7. An author I like says names in science fiction etc are good if they're real, short, but not too common words.
8. Easy-to-pronounce=good. All other things aside, if the book's published and people really like it, it makes it easier to recommend/describe the plot to friends.

That seems to be all I know about naming. Sometimes character names just pop into my head as well, and these tend to stick for a long time.

Using proper name choices is good, but don't forget to have lowly names be in there as well. One of my characters is named 'Cliff' and another is simply 'Red'. Yet I find that because the names are tough like the characters it actually works very well over fancy names like Edgar and Vincent. Both of which are names for aristocrats in my story as well.

I have some tips about how names can be "cliched"

1. Do not name the mean girl Ashley, it's been done to many times.
2. Do not name the bad boy Ricky, this happens in a lot of novels and TV shows (aka, The Secret Life of the American Teenager)
3. Do not name a vampire Edward, or anything else for that fact. Let the Twilight hype die down before you start using that name again.
4. Bella, same thing with Edward.
5. For twins, just because they are twins doesn't mean they have to have the same first letter in their names. (Take Fred & George for example. They are the most well known twins, and their names don't start the same.)

Something that's more prone to fantasy then anything else is to name your character based on their element. Names such as "Aria" for an air element user, for example, are cliched.

But, in general, it's a good idea not to make your character's names link too closely with their personalities. That's when things get annoying, and cliched.

Try not to name your character(s) using a name's meaning that fits their personality, as Rosey Unicorn said above. Place/time effect names.
I always consider the personality of whoever named the character in the first place, i.e. their guardian. (For example, a romantic young girl would give her child a more formal, fancy name.)

Also, I used to pronounce "Hermione" Her-mee-ON.

I typically use a random generator and then just use whatever name seems to fit and sounds good ^.^'
But for some reason, the main character in two of my books have Spanish names. I have no idea why, either. I guess I just thought they were pretty O.O

Another strange thing that happened (and no, I didn't plan this) is that two sets of two related characters have names that start with the same letter Ruby-Ryo and Amber-Aqua. I's very strange if you ask me...

Anyway, back on topic... I feel the best way to avoid cliche names is to not just pull them out of your brain, because your brain tends to get them from a different source, e.g. the books you read. Random name generators I think are your best bet.

-Lydia <3