Young Writers Society

What goes into choosing character names? Do you use aptronyms (words that sound like the character's personality), ironical names (such as Will Dormer in the film Insomnia) or just anything that comes to mind? Do you always try to create a specific picture of the person when you create a name?

I planned to call one of my detective characters Jack Russell but some people said because it would instinctively remind people of the terrier, then that was a bad idea. I might change the first name to Daniel or Max; what do you think?

Definately change it. Jack Russell is... ew.

It's like someone on here said about their character called John Mills. I remember it, because of that. >.<

Personally, I just choose names I like.

And I don't like names that appear on the top ten names of the past however many years.
Which generally makes them relatively interesting(not mad or strange).
Which I hope means other people find them interesting.
To be honest books in which the characters have names, like Jack, it doesn't get me as interested. It doesn't mean I wouldn't read the thing.
But a character with a cool name would draw me into a book.

I always just choose normal names that I like; my characters are supposed to be normal people so if I gave them really unsual names it would just be weird.

Most people in real life don't have 'unusual' names. In fact I don't know anyone who does have a strange name.

Actually, I'd almost say that I didn't really choose names, they just seem to fit themselves to my characters.

The only influence I had in my recent novel was that the main characters had to have names that came from Hebrew because they were Jewish, and I realised half way through that one of them had a name that wasn't actually Hebrew, and I hadn't checked. It took me changing it several times before I found one that fit.

Actually, I like a lot of biblical names because they're simple and not overly fancy and you can play around with variations that already exist (i.e. so they're spelt differently, pronounced differently, are shortened).

I'm actually really put off when I read the blurb of a book and the character has a 'cool' or 'unusual' name. It's actually sometimes enough for me to put a book down. Especially if it's something clichéd like their name describes them.

Heidigirl666 wrote:Actually, I like a lot of biblical names because they're simple and not overly fancy and you can play around with variations that already exist (i.e. so they're spelt differently, pronounced differently, are shortened).

Like Gideon in Criminal Minds!

Would you consider Tara(my name) to be a strange name?
Or Kali?
Or Hester?
Or Dee?
I would.

'Cause in my "wee group" there are five of us(yeah I know that's only four but Hannah isn't really unusual) but yeah, so for me that sorta says people do have weird names.

And my friend Eli too.

My style is to either use a common name or totally make something up. With the second, though, I find a lot of them are already done. *shrugs*

-Save-Ferris- wrote:Would you consider Tara(my name) to be a strange name?
Or Kali?
Or Hester?
Or Dee?
I would.

'Cause in my "wee group" there are five of us(yeah I know that's only four but Hannah isn't really unusual) but yeah, so for me that sorta says people do have weird names.

And my friend Eli too.

No, not really.

Not very common (like the sort of names where there's usually at least two or three in just your year/grade at school), but not unusual.

I like to Gender Bend with names.

For example, in my one story, the guy's name is Jordan, which is generally associated with girls, and his best friend (a girl) is named Austin.

For another story, I have three characters with exceptionally long names; the main character's name is Deanna Joann Elizabeth, with Deanna Joann being her first name. She goes by DJ. The other characters are Christoff Raphael Archibald Septavius Hampton, he goes by Crash, and his little sister, Melissa Ingrid Natasha Tyana, who goes by Ingrid.

Names are always fun. I always like picking them, but it's the last names that I have issues with. Other then that, it's all good.

*shrugs*

It depends on various situations, most accordingly with the genre I've chosen, the origans of my characters or both.

One example is in my Fantasy. My vampires immigrated from Normandy to the States, so their names are Norse. The weres' names however are Latin because the pack wants so much to be reconized as wolves, not superior. Thus the proper way to accociate distinction is by Latin with the animal kingdom, and that is why my werewolves have accepted the language.

Another example would be when I write HF, I stay in colonial American, my preferred era. These character's name can range from the Old English to the less common by today's standards such as, Freelove or Mehitable. If the char is from Highland Scotland, then his name will mostly be Gaelic and likewise, if the char is from Britain, their name would be standarized British or Old English, pending.

As I said, there are lots of variables I go through when choosing names as well as surnames.

Jake, Vanessa, Dax, and Serenity just kind of popped into my head - I don't know why. Marc's name was very strategically chosen - go look up "Marcella" on babynames.

I'm really into picking names that's meanings have relevance to the character (please ignore any disgusting grammar. It is 12 at night here.). And yes, I know, totally corny, but hey, as long as nobody googles the names, they'll never know, right?

I'm also a big fan of biblical names, Gabriel, Malachi, Micah and Hannah being my faves right now. I like odd, out-of-place names too, but after 3 years of torturing my parents and sister by saying I was going to name my kids Sunshine and Galahad, I think I'm over those kind. (I still love Galahad, just not for a modern kid, lol)

I can't say as I've ever chosen a name for any one specific reason. The characters just kind of named themselves.

Okay, so that isn't totally right. I am looking for a name that means "beauty" or something along those lines for my retelling of "Beauty and the Beast." I don't want Belle, so don't even suggest it. That rings too Disney.

But that would be the one instance I have actually wanted a name to mean a specific thing. Normally, I just am writing a character and I write down a name and either the name fits or it doesn't and I toss it aside.

I've gotten lucky with a few names before:

Gregory = watchful (he's kind of paranoid and is constantly looking for things that may or may not be there)
Burton = fortified (he's a 6'7" royal guard)

Has this ever happened to anyone before?

~GryphonFledgling

Hey, Gryph - the name "Brea" means "beauty beyond sight." That would be highly appropriate for a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

And that has happened to me before! Like, I had an angel in one of my stories and her name was Selah ("quiet interlude") and she only showed up for like five minutes to speak to a few kids and explain to them like their 'purpose.' But that was cool.