Sometimes I feel like the only one who is completely incapable of coming up with good names, so I created this thread to share my problem with all of you. What names have you used for characters? What names really bug you in a story?
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Surnames! Surnames are my waterloo! I usually get good names...but I really can;t think of a unique surname. I then use cliche last names like -son, -s and -er (just add a random word in the hyphen). Although, there are times when I think of great names, although those names are for prompts and rarely from my own theme
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I usually come up with the right name early on in the story, but sometimes I can't think of it for the longest time. I still have a character that I've had for about 4 years and I don't know his real name; I just use a placeholder name. So annoying. :p I also for some reason use a lot of names that start with "e" or "r," which drives me crazy because I feel so unoriginal! My characters often have the same initials too.
But I really hate it when I can't figure out how to pronounce a name, and that I can't use a feasible mispronunciation in my head (meaning, any pronunciation I make up doesn't work either.)
For example, this was the reason it took me forever to read "The Wizard of Earthsea." The main character's name was "Ged" and it really bugged me that I couldn't figure out if it was pronounced "ghed" (like "get") or "jed" (like "gem.")
Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.
If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it! Wanna change the world? There's nothing to it.
I've never had too much of a problem coming up with names, for people, places, animals, or really anything. The reason behind this is that I *love* names, or at least ti think that's the reason. Perhaps a little too much. In real life, I'm constantly sourcing names back to their heritage language or culture. You can't show me a surname without me wondering where it came from. In addition to that, I'm always breaking down names--and words--into their constituent sounds and otherwise having fun with them. The only time I have a problem is when I have to name something without knowing its history or culture or personality. I can't go "Presto chango NAME!" and then have one that I like on command...names carry things with them. History of a language, of a name, of a culture, of a family, of a person, of a time and a place and an attitude on the future.
The names I use... For the ones I have to create, I use a combination of real world languages as inspiration--preferably ones that have nothing to do with each other, because it makes no sense why fantasy characters would have the same name as real world character, at least not to me. For read world, characters... I pull on names relevant to the culture or country or language.
In names that I read... I dislike blatantly symbolic or obvious names. The names in The Hunger Games bugged me for reasons I won't go into. I also tend to dislike the aforementioned real world names in an intense secondary fantasy setting. Worst of all, though, I dislike names that violate basic principles of language, or that disrespect real world language and cultures.
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I usually use names I like or I use a baby name generator. xD I also ask another person to recite the alphabet in their head, and I tell them when to stop. That includes names like Negmo. O.o
take normal names and pull them apart and slap different pieces of different names together. Not only may you find interesting names you'll have fun too! Example- Take Ashley and Layton= Ashton. Or Belle and Ariana= Aribelle. Or better yet- Lester and Enjolras= Legolas (I don't know how those get that, but hey)
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@RachaelElg Yeah, I couldn't get into the HG names either, although I just put it aside to read the books. They just felt like they didn't fit... the only one I really liked was Prim, and even that's a nickname.
Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.
If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it! Wanna change the world? There's nothing to it.
I have the hardest time coming up with character names. Often I'll just browse sites like Behind the Name and jot down all the names I find pleasing to the ear. Then, when I'm writing and I get stuck, I'll look back at my list and find a name I like.
And sometimes I just call the minor characters Bob and highlight it orange to remind me to come back and change it later.
There are two kinds of folks who sit around thinking about how to kill people: psychopaths and mystery writers. I'm the kind that pays better. ~Rick Castle
I have an obsession with names. I usually try to never go with ordinary names unless it is absolutely necessary for the character. The websites I usually use are thinkbabynames.com and babynames.com
For snobby nasty girls in real-world settings, I usually use "Jennifer" for some reason.
Despite currently going through a major creativity black-out, I'm still reasonably good with names. Usually I'd feel the name of the character once I start writing about them, but on some occasions, I have started with just a name and built the character from there. (Take note that I usually write fantasy.)
Here area few names off the top of my head: Tiromin Hindara Anali Roseth Karmon Sunders Eretha Vality
(I don't know how those get that, but hey)
