Young Writers Society

Hey guys,
I'm currently working on a Fantasy novel and I've got all my characters laid out, but now I've got to come up with cool, intriguing names for them. Would you guys mind telling me if you think these in particular sound good?:
-Cedric Veron
-Logan Donovan
-Alexis Rain
-Destiny Riley
-Aimee Wood
-John Wayne
-Warren McMillan
-Mark Abbe
-Woodson Von Delle
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So, what do you guys think of these? Any comment or suggestions of possible changes are appreciated! Feel free to Message or Email me if you want more info on my story's plot to help you decide...

Hey!
This is my person opinion, it doesn't really matter, but you asked for it. I don't generally like names that end with the same sort of sound like... Logan (My name! Whoo!) Donovan, or Destiny Riley. I do Like Warren Macmillan, though. And John Wayne? Like The John Wayne? I've got four tips for you;
1.) Say them outloud to yourself. If it feels right on your tongue, then that should translate into reading it.
2.) Be careful to avoid names that are impossible to pronounce.
3.) Google it to make sure you aren't unknowingly naming your characters after famous people. (Like my mom accidently named me after the criminal wife of Machine Gun Kelly)
4.) Make sure it fits in the context of your story. Think about why the character's parents would name them that. I write alot of fantasy and most of my characters come from a culture where they are named after ancestors they are supposed to strive to be like, so they have alot of old fashioned, odd names. Plus, nothing can throw the reader out of a story like a unicorn named Bob.

I hope this helps. Mostly, just go with what feels right to you, because you know that character better than anyone else.

Well, what kind of fantasy are we talking about here? The names you've listed don't strike me as being typically fantasy-ish, which is fine if you're writing urban fantasy or a similar genre, but isn't so good if you're writing more generic fantasy.

Talulahbelle wrote:Hey!
This is my person opinion, it doesn't really matter, but you asked for it. I don't generally like names that end with the same sort of sound like... Logan (My name! Whoo!) Donovan, or Destiny Riley. I do Like Warren Macmillan, though. And John Wayne? Like The John Wayne? I've got four tips for you;
1.) Say them outloud to yourself. If it feels right on your tongue, then that should translate into reading it.
2.) Be careful to avoid names that are impossible to pronounce.
3.) Google it to make sure you aren't unknowingly naming your characters after famous people. (Like my mom accidently named me after the criminal wife of Machine Gun Kelly)
4.) Make sure it fits in the context of your story. Think about why the character's parents would name them that. I write alot of fantasy and most of my characters come from a culture where they are named after ancestors they are supposed to strive to be like, so they have alot of old fashioned, odd names. Plus, nothing can throw the reader out of a story like a unicorn named Bob.

I hope this helps. Mostly, just go with what feels right to you, because you know that character better than anyone else.

Oh my gosh, thank you! Your advice helped a lot! Do you maybe have any other tips on writing Fantasy that you might can share with me? I usually do Comedic Fiction, and I'm new to the whole Fantasy thing, so any advice would be welcome!

I like all of the boy first names apart from John(too plain). As for the girl names, they just aren`t my favorite. Alexis isn`t bad, but I don`t like Aimee, especially with the modern double e spelling. Also, the first and last names seem too matchy matchy.

Don't give your character a name because it sounds "cool". Give it to them because it fits and because you like it.

Cedric? Ew. Too Little Lord Fauntleroy.
Donovan as a surname just reminds me of the singer.
Alexis is okay, but "Rain" as a surname? Nah. Destiny, no. Just no. Too pretentious and "look at me! I've got a cool name!" Aimee Wood, yes. It sounds good without being over the top and sensible without being mundane.
John Wayne -- dude, that's a cowboy's name.
Warren McMillan has too much of the same sound in. Mark Abbe. Well, how do you pronounce the surname?
Woodson Von Delle, nope, definitely not. Just looks made up.


I actually think a unicorn named Bob is the right way to go. I didn't like the one Charlaine Harris I did read, but the one good thing about it was that the vampire was called Bill and not something soppy like Carlisle. Remember, these are real people with real lives. They're eating, pooping, drinking, puking, farting in bed people, and personally, nothing puts me more off reading a story, than characters with arty-farty names. I do read a fair bit of fantasy, and I can tell you there's no rules about naming, just go with what fits. Don't do one of those things, though, where you take a normal name and spell it in a completely different way with loads of extra letters to make it look different. It only gives extra points against you in the Mary Sue tests.

I like these three:

-Warren McMillan
-Mark Abbe
-Woodson Von Delle

Mark Abbe is a simple name, the sort of boy-next-door, seemingly nonthreatening and not an issue, until BAM, he wows us with his super genius or street fighting skills or some sort of something...

Warren McMillan seems like a name for a good bad boy.

Woodson Von Delle makes me think of a guy with a slight foreign accent trying to act like the perfect, traditional gentleman--keeping himself neat, probably because of his parents.

The girl names I don't like, however. The craze of 'Destiny' and 'Aimee' and all names with too many y's, k's, and q's is a craze started by young, stupid middle-class mothers, I'm afraid, who think they're being so 'unique' when if you give a girl a traditional name--like Elizabeth--or a guy a name like 'Robert'--that's unique. Different. Because you're not acting like each baby is a speshul snowflake when they're going to be corporate coffee-runners nonetheless for the rest of their mortal lives. *blinks* Ya, I'm extremely pessimistic.

Anyhow, I suggest you go with names that suit the people you are trying to create, nonetheless. So if those names work, use them. However, I do wonder what sort of fantasy you're writing--urban fantasy? If it isn't modern and it isn't set in America, look up names that would work for the era/country. If it is set in America, modern-day, I'd suggest looking at Behind the Name and looking at the most popular names in America FOR THE YEAR YOUR CHARACTERS WERE BORN.* Go down the list to the hundreds, maybe, and pick what names you think could work.

*This is very important. If you're using names that are popular now, that's not good. See, if your characters are say, sixteen, they're probably going to have names used sixteen years ago. And back then, computers were newer (somewhat) and there were fewer sites, so they probably used baby-naming books, or named them after people they knew at some point. This narrowed down what sort of names they had. Also, look up last names that suit the ethnicity of the characters you're working with. A white kid probably won't have an East African last name and a kid from East Africa probably won't have the last name 'Smith'.

Otherwise, I hope that was helpful and if you have any questions about fantasy, that's what I normally write (...not that I have much of it posted here). And, anyway, as I am also a fan of fantasy, I'd like to keep tabs on this new project...

Here's the wonderful thing about Fantasy --- it's YOUR imagination!

As to your names, I agree with the poster(s) who said to say the name(s) out loud to see how they flow. You'll also want to try to match the character's name to their personality, social standing, wealth, etc. I'm writing a fantasy novel myself and in this particular one, it's got a medieval feel to it, so when choosing names, I looked at names with a British, Scottish, and Welsh origin. Sites like www.babynames.com can give you thousands of names with many, many different origins. Picking names is the fun part, so enjoy it and good luck! I hope you post your story once you get started!