Young Writers Society

What inspired you to give your characters their name? Did you make up an entirely new name? Did you look up names based on their personality, or was it vice versa? Talk about it here. Talk about however many characters you want!

I actually don't remember the inspiration for these two characters' first names, but...

Avery Trent is the main character of my sci-fi novel (of the same name, currently) that was inspired by Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and the main character of that was named Arthur Dent? So I just went "huehue, make his surname rhyme". In my defense, AT didn't start out as a serious story. It was just a flash fiction thing heavily inspired by HHGTTG?

My other character is Jason Volks, and also from AT. His first name isss beyond me, but he was my answer to Ford Prefect (Arthur Dent's best friend in HHGTTG). Ford = Car? So I took Volkswagen and cut it down. Boom, Volks, perfect vague parody of Ford Prefect.

Now they're much their own characters, but I've kept the names because they're sooo connected to them? I dunno. Good thread idea, btw!

I try to shape my worlds before I start finding names.

For instance, it won't really do me any good to name my main character Ecclesiastes if he's from the fantasy equivalent of modern-day Earth where that's not a normal thing. Similarly, it would be out of place to name a 16th-century Spanish princess Ravynne.

The names you pick really have to mesh with your world on a very basic level. If they don't mesh, you need to have a good explanation for it. So it's often easier to start with pieces of the world and figure it out from there.

My LMS, The Autumn Door, is an urban fantasy set in modern-day Earth. The main characters have somewhat extraordinary names—Zelda and Jupiter—but there are explanations. Zelda's dad loves the 20s; Jupiter comes from a family of old magic, so her name is an especial portent.

Then you have some of the other names: Scott Key, who's a nod to F. Scott Fitzgerald in name only; Jovian, who's Jupiter's little brother and they basically have the same name; Justin, which is the Most Normal Dad Name Ever Because Why Not. The names in general range from "otherworldly" (like Mothwyn, Lyoth, and Nerissa) to "okay that's normal I guess" (like Fred Hawkins, Stephen, and Kaycee).

And then there's the name Rivence which I just absolutely love the sound of.

But anyway, I'm just an advocate of world-first naming systems. If you don't know the basic culture you're writing in, you'll probably be changing names a lot in later drafts.

I think <I>Piers</I> it was for the sound. As for <I>too</I>, sound too, but also suffix of a faux-slavic / Russian surname, and it means good in a few languages, which is a laugh.

I'll actually reply to my own question now lol.

Cedric Alfstan –
I don’t remember why I liked the name Cedric so much, but it turns out it fits him. It has various meanings including “amiable” and “love”, so you can gather he’s a pretty friendly person. I did choose the name “Alfstan” for a very specific reason. The Anglo-Saxon word for “Elf”is “Ælf”, and “stan” means “stone”. Together it means “Elfstone”. In The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn II’s name is Elessar, which is the Quenya (Elvish) word for “Elfstone”. So, I subtly named him after Aragorn. It’s not obvious at all unless you’re a geek when it comes to Old English words.

Tristen and Aria Evander –
I think I chose the siblings’ last name because of the sound of it. The same goes for Tristen and Aria, I just liked the sound, plus they fit with the older names I’m using for my story. Their dad’s name is Drustan, which is an older form of Tristan. Tristen/Drustan are Celtic based, and Aria is a Latin name. Aria actually means “melody”, which fits her. She’s kind of the peacemaker of the story. Tristen is the opposite, his name means “tumult” lol.

I have the Ulric siblings (the leaders of a band of theives) and “Ulric” means “wolf power” or something like that. Which works because they’re like a pack of wolves.

The names Carnae and Dezhor are completely made up and don’t have a meaning, I just thought of the name. Carnae probably was derived from the word “carnage” (gross I know) and she’s evil, so it also works. She was originally going to be an undead person, but I changed that.

Adar means “fire” (he’s a fire mage), Ciara (different story) means “little dark haired one” (she’s short and got dark hair, plus the name’s Celtic and she’s Irish), Frei (also different story) is Old Norse for “Lord”. That’s just what he says his name is, it’s just a nickname, and he thinks it’s hilarious that people technically call him “lord”. His real name is “Dazhbog”, which means “giver of fortune”. Though he is a “giver of fortune”, he’s an Irish Puca. The name is Slavonic and doesn’t match where he comes from, but it’s fine for now. I might change it.