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How do you choose your character's name?



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Mon Feb 20, 2017 2:18 am
DrLavender says...



I'm a bit curious about how everyone here chooses their character's name when writing a story. What sort of method do you use in order to have a name you like? And also, is naming your character carefully a priority for you?

For me, I often choose a character name based upon something which has a strong influence in my life. For example, in a novelette I had once written, my protagonist's name was Cassandra. I chose the name because of a song titled "Cassandra" by Thomas Bergerson, because it held strong relevance for me. Other times, I've named characters after actual people. And for me, it is a huge priority, as naming them something bland like "Bob" (no offense intended for anyone whose name might potentially be Bob) would make me just grow bored.

Anyway, hoping to hear some awesome responses!
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Mon Feb 20, 2017 3:24 am
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Kale says...



It depends on the story for me.

For fantasy (which I primarily write), I usually have an idea of the language and culture and such, so I snag the assistance of my favorite random name generator and plug in the naming rules, hit Generate, and then BAM. A whole list of names to choose from.

Sometimes I'll start with a name and build a character from there.

For more realistic works though, I avail myself of name popularity lists. Behind the Name and its sister sites are excellent for this, especially if you're working with meaningful or thematic names, though any baby-naming website will also suffice.

A lot of times though, I'll just come up with a placeholder name, and somewhere along the way, a more fitting name will appear and be adopted for the character. Sometimes the placeholder name winds up being the best fit though.

Naming characters is weird.
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Mon Feb 20, 2017 3:28 am
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Virgil says...



Interesting discussion topic! i don't usually write stories all that often, which is something that I'm trying to change eventually, but I do think names are important in stories. I don't think that it's the most crucial aspect that's more important than characters or plot, but it definitely leaves an impact on how the reader perceives the character.

For the characters that I use, I like to have context behind the name that I choose, and that can often depend on the meaning of the name, why the character was named that in-story, the origins or time period that the character is in. For example, if you have a French character, you probably shouldn't give them a Dutch name or anything of that sort.

While it takes research, the people who do realize that tiny detail or bit of effort that you put in there. Not only that, but it helps build in a sense of worldbuilding or immersion. I often use placeholder names like Kyll, but they usually end up getting changed once I find the one I actually want to use. Sometimes it just comes down to what fits or what sounds nice, but it depends on the story for how I approach naming my characters.

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Mon Feb 20, 2017 4:15 am
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Dest says...



I honestly just choose names I already like and assign them to a character. Most of the names are ones that I have considered naming my future children, so I usually don't have to think up new ones.
  





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Mon Feb 20, 2017 4:34 am
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Holysocks says...



Ohh this is my favourite part of creating a character.

For me, I'm very free about how I choose character names- but at the same time, I'm someone that believes there's a lot to a name and so it's very important that names fit my characters.

Because I tend to write stories in worlds/realms that I create myself, I tend to have a lot of room to do what I want with names. So for me, I tend to look on baby naming sites to see if there's any I like, and if there are ones that I think fit my character enough, then I'll name them that. Sometimes while looking at name sites a name inspires me to create my own original name, or I see a name within a name that I want to use- for instance, I may see the name "Cassandra" in a baby naming site, and end up naming my character "Sanra" or something.

Or sometimes I'll just come across a name randomly that I like and I'll realize it fits a character or I'll make a character around that. For instance I saw the name "Perry" in a town once and realized it worked really well with a character I hadn't bothered naming yet.

I take naming my characters very seriously, but at the time not at all, and that means I actually tend to find names for my characters quite quickly- like within a few minutes of going on a baby naming site sometimes.

I also tend to like giving male characters more feminine names, and female characters more masculine names. It's a habit of mine.
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Mon Feb 20, 2017 4:55 am
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Featherstone says...



Fantasy Name Generator or I google 'name meaning ...' With an element or animal symbolistic of the character. For instance, Agrona means the harbinger of death and Cornix means carrion crow. That kind of thing.
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Mon Feb 20, 2017 4:57 am
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PrincessInk says...



When I create names for my character, I often think about what type of person the character is. Like Featherstone above, I Google "names meaning [insert some word related to character]" and find some relevant sites. I also like to make use of an English to Latin translator (many words in English are derived from Latin and I'm also learning a few words of Latin).

But sometimes, when I just start writing a scene and I find that I need a character (or if I'm lazy or away from a computer), I just pick a name randomly.
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Mon Feb 20, 2017 5:10 am
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crossroads says...



Honestly, most of the time they either come to me with a name already, or the name sort of reveals itself to me as I think about them or write them. For SB characters, I might use generators, or do some sorts of clever word plays, but for novels/novellas/etc it's usually just quite instinctual. This leads to characters of all genders having names that may not at first sight correspond with their gender, too-- which I actually really like.
That said, if I have a specific culture within a world or I set the story in a specific country, I do make sure the name fits -- or, alternatively, that I have a good explanation as to why it doesn't.

Personally, I stay away from searching names based on their meaning. It's interesting sometimes, especially if you want to learn how many different names can be associated with a thing, or if you have to decide between two names you like/fit equally well... but otherwise, it's a tricky thing. If the story is set in this world, and I name a character something heavily-based on the meaning, I have to wonder what whoever named them was thinking, if they knew the meaning, and (if the meaning corresponds with the character's role in the story) how far I can push that without it being too cliche or too unrealistic. If the story is not set in this world, all those things come with the addition or wondering whether whoever named the character thought the name meant the same thing it means for us in this world, and if so, why... Amusingly enough, several times I'd named my characters based on intuition alone, and then looked up the meaning and realised it fit them. When a name fits, it just fits, I suppose.

Also, I never use placeholder names! I use character names as working titles for stories/novels, but never placeholder names for character. I'll sooner have them unnamed for half the book (I've done this once - it was a mysterious stranger type of character, though, so it worked well) than give them a placeholder name or a wrong one. Until they're named right, they just don't feel right.

I feel like I should mention that I have a strange relationship with names and naming things in other areas of my life as well :P
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Mon Feb 20, 2017 5:16 am
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Mea says...



I actually have a really hard time developing a character's personality until I've named them. So I usually pick a random name generator that fits the setting of the story (Fantasy Name Generators is my favorite - they have every type of name imaginable) and generate names until one jumps out at me - either it immediately puts a personality in my head, or it "fits" what I've already developed. That being said, I'll still sometimes change characters' names multiple times after that.

I also mostly generate names for fantasy novels, since I'm not good at making up new names. When I write stuff set on Earth, I actually find naming a lot easier, and it just sort of happens as I get to know the character.
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Mon Feb 20, 2017 6:05 am
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TheStormAroundMe says...



Most of the time, I already have a name that I want to use. For Adonis (in my LMS Anthology), I read about the language of flowers a couple months earlier and became fascinated with that flower as a name. It means sorrowful rememberance. Sometimes, I'm watching a TV show and a name pops out at me. Sometimes, I just totally make one up and am like, "Wow, I should use this in a story." I tend to fall in love with the characters who I name in that last way though, which becomes a problem when they're not my MC. :)

Last names are a different story. Most of the time, I use a website where you can type in a first name and recieve a random last name. Occasionally, I'll have a premeditated name, but that's rare.
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Mon Feb 20, 2017 8:18 am
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GoldenQuill says...



What a great topic! I really appreciate it!

Names used to just come to me. They'd flow in and out of me, but a lot of time they wouldn't make much sense -- as in, for example, I'd have a huge family of characters with names that didn't relate to each other. (I guess this could be seen as potentially more realistic, but sometimes internally it comes off as sloppy.)

As time went on, it was more about how a name FELT and READ than what it really meant. I'd spend time asking employees with names on their nametag that looked interesting how to pronounce their names and jot them down for a future book.

Now, it's a mixture of the two, but I more heavily rely on actual meaning. I decide how my character will look, act, and feel first; their ethnicity also plays a huge role in the name I choose. Sometimes I choose a name that isn't actually that character's root ethnicity (as I write fantasy and can get away with such), but has a name that feels and makes sense with the character.

I sometimes use this humorously; for example, the main character of one of my books was once named 'Anna', which means 'favor' or 'grace'. She, however, was probably the least favorable or graceful character, and often acted out of spite and hatred.

I also use names to foretell themes for any In The Know of what the name actually means. (In some ways, I also use it to highlight the character's true self; for example, if a character with a name that means 'happy' gets sad, I guarantee that they will be happy once more.)

For example, currently my character's names in the book I'm writing are:
Maeryn - means "bitter". Her character is continually bitter, always angry, and rather unhappy.
Mirtus - means "chosen one", as he and my main character are the ones that will ultimately have to fight many evils to protect others.
Selam - means "peace", as he is intended to be Mirtus' gentle companion, and is always looking to resolve issues with kindness rather than argument.
Na'imah - also means "peace", but also means "gentle" -- she is the most soft-spoken and kind person so far in the story.
Mamo - means "descendent", as he turns out to be the descendent of an important character.
Matka - means "mother", as she becomes the motherly influence and takes care of everyone.

HOWEVER, the two main characters -- Azalee and Majesty -- have absolutely no meaning to their names. None. I just like the name Azalee. I think it looks and sounds pretty and seems to capture her as a character. It means nothing beyond it, to my knowledge.
(Upon Googling just now, I found that Azalee's name means 'singer' and Majesty's true name means 'rainbow'. Azalee does sing occasionally, but she's quite poor, and Majesty is literally black and white stone. I GUESS I HAVE MORE ANTI-NAMES.)
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Mon Feb 20, 2017 4:47 pm
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StellaThomas says...



Great discussion topic! It's so interesting hearing everybody's thoughts on this.

I kind of hate the process of finding the right name for a character, but when I hit on the right names I absolutely love it. I used to especially hate making up surnames - I thought that they all had to be a little bit ugly like mine, the kind of thing the character was always having to spell for people and then it would get mispronounced - I don't know why, I just thought that was the way it worked. But I realised it didn't have to be, and now I have surnames I really love.

I use a lot of placeholder names, and change them later on, especially for side-characters. The majority of side characters in Unruly are, in some way or another, named after YWSers, or SB characters from YWS, or in-jokes among me & other YWSers - all of these are so old they're barely worth going through anymore (but see: King Sinclair, Queen Anneliese, Charlie Ribbon, Laurel Sigrid). My original MC's name was Flora and I said to Demeter, "but I don't like the name Flora for her" and she said, "then you should name her Astrid" because I had recently said how much I adored the name Astrid but hadn't found a character worthy of it yet. Calling her Astrid Race came quite naturally, it's just a really nice sound to me.

My other MC's name, Pip Starsfall came almost immediately out of nowhere. Weirdly the backstory to his name came a long time after the actual name - Pip is short for Felipe, as he has a Spanish-ish mother, and his father changed his originally dull surname to Starsfall in his ambition to become one of the greatest merchants in the country. It just suited him; it suited the Victorian era (see: Great Expectations) and I loved it, and still love it.

The only MC who has a name that has any particular 'meaning' to the story is in the companion story to Silk (Linen), where the MC's name is Poppy MacTarriff. A steampunk retelling of Sleeping Beauty, it's going to involve a lot of opium, and Poppy thus seemed wildly appropriate. And MacTarriff as her family are Scottish-ish. She'll be living with some ladies who changed their own boring names to Honeysuckle, Dahlia and Sweetpea.

I'm a big fan of characters who change their names like that, or nicknames. I really love nicknames, and playing with who calls the character what, it's a fun way of working out relationships.
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Mon Feb 20, 2017 5:11 pm
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crossroads says...



StellaThomas wrote:I'm a big fan of characters who change their names like that, or nicknames. I really love nicknames, and playing with who calls the character what, it's a fun way of working out relationships.


Can't believe I forgot to mention this. Yes! Nicknames and name changes are great things, they can really help strengthen the characterisation in all kinds of ways.
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Tue Feb 21, 2017 3:59 am
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DrLavender says...



Wow! I wasn't expecting so many responses on this thread, thank you all deeply for your input!

Kyllorac, I love that you write fantasy! I've always wanted to give it a go, but have confined myself to realistic fiction for now. Too many plots I want to write, too little time to do it. Using a name generator is pretty cool! I recall a website in which you'd also get an automatically generated background, which I thought was pretty cool! Never used the site for any of the actual writing though, I think I should just for inspiration.

Nikayla, you bring up a great point! Character names aren't the most vital aspect when developing a story, but they definitely do leave an impression. Many of my stories are generally set in the modern world in the US, so I can't say I've ever put in the time to fully research the origins of a name. I think it certainly does show the amount of work one puts in though in developing their story. And you're right, it significantly adds immersion. On a sidenote, never thought about placeholder names....should probably invest in doing that so I don't waste all of my time in picking a name rather than developing the plot.

Dest, I never thought about naming my future children, presuming I ever have any, but that's a great method! What sort of names do you generally like?

Holysocks, this is my favorite part of creating a character too! I think it's really cool how you modify a name to make it fit into the worlds/realms you create. Again, always wanted to write fantasy, but never got to it! Now I'm curious, because I honestly think this is really cool, why do you give your male characters more feminine names and vice versa? Do you also have an example of some the names you've chosen?

featherstone9086, that's a great method honestly! Judging by your comment, I take it you write fantasy? Huh, didn't know the meanings of Argrona or Cornix. That's really cool!

PrincessInk, I often think about what type of person my character is as well. It's imperative to me to find a name which would suit that and even amplify it to a degree. I think the only times I've ever chosen a random name was for 2D or 1D characters who don't have a very strong influence on the plot and only are present for a single scene, or at most, three.

ChildOfNowhere, I love how you ensure that character's names fit in the settings they're in, and if they don't, how you create a reason. I love how you and Holysocks defy the gender norms and instead choose names which one would never expect to see with a female or male character. I applaud that, and I sincerely wish it would be more of a norm in the writing world. The most I've gone in doing that is choosing gender neutral names like "Sam" or "Alex", but then again, I've only confined myself to realistic fiction. I also have a strange area in my life when it comes to naming things. Waiting until I get my first car so I can name that as well :P

Mea, it's hard for me to develop a personality as well until I have a name. Which is why I always have trouble with placeholding names, I guess it's just not for me.

TheStormAroundMe, I love the name Adonis! It's beautiful how you describe the way you chose yours from a flower. I've never heard of someone doing that before, how unique! I generally don't spend too much time on last names, as I normally am referring to my characters with their first name through dialogue. There has only been one instance in which I used last names as a major factor, which is when I made a college professor overly formal and refer to his students by their last name.

GoldenQuill, I'm flattered you like the topic! It was just of genuine curiosity and I never thought I'd be seeing such positive feedback. I love how thorough you are in choosing the perfect name, and particularly admire how you used to ask employees about their names and write them down. And ah, another fantasy writer! Again, really need to get into that. Guess all the cool kids are doing it :P

StellaThomas, I'm humbled you like the topic! I hate the process as well to find the perfect name, but you're right, it provides great satisfaction when the right one comes along. I like the sound of Astrid Race, I'm glad you took your friend's advice! And nicknames and name changes are something I had never thought of before! Both you, and ChildOfNowhere emphasize on the importance of it, and you're both absolutely right. It can certainly help strengthen the characterization in all kinds of ways and make the story a lot more personable. I'm actually going to have to employ that.

Thank you all for your kind feedback! I'm going to follow all of you, in hopes that you'll return the favor but if not that's okay! I really enjoyed reading all of your responses and I hope I wasn't the only one who learned new things through it!
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Tue Feb 21, 2017 4:42 am
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jimss23 says...



Jimss here

It looks like I am a little late to the party, but I'll throw my opinion in here. (Putting my opinion were it probably doesn't belong is my specialty.)

My advice.

Other languages are so helpful. You can hide all manner of easter eggs in your story that way. ;)
Mix in some common names, a few unique names and you are set.

My two MC's
Shujaa-Swahili for Warrior
Chrys- an abbreviation of Chrysanthemum, which also happens to sound like "Chris"

My supporting cast:
Terrell: Common name
Nia: also pretty common
Ino: common in the Polynesian islands.
Batista: I like that name
Gao Xiao Yue: I take Chinese. That's my friend's name.

In realistic stories, or at least ones more closely connected to reality, diversity in naming makes your characters fell more real. Adding too many unique names, especially in stories that have any connection to reality, makes your story seem a little less believable. Not everyone gets a cool name. Some parents just hate their kids. (See any kid that has the name, Doris. or 'La-a' pronounced Ladasha) That's just my opinion.

In fantasy, go berserk. Use random names, make up your own naming system, or anything.

I also name all the characters I kill off with barely hidden connections to people I hate it real life because I am one of the pettiest beings on planet earth.

Ay-Lex is just another way to say "Alex", which is my ex's name. She's a piece of work. :(

God don't take my advice. Don't be me.

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