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Name Central



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Fri Dec 04, 2015 10:09 pm
Rosendorn says...



@MadWriter7

Time period, location, and ethnicity of the boyfriend? All of that will impact the name.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Fri Dec 04, 2015 10:36 pm
Charm says...



I already said all that. He is from present day, I don't know exactly what nationality he is and he is from the town in my novel. I guess you can say he is english.
  





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Fri Dec 04, 2015 10:48 pm
Rosendorn says...



Ah, sorry! I missed the "present day" thing when I was reading.

When it comes to location, I was more referring to the country and region it was set in. If it's set in the American South, it'll be different than if it's set in New York/just outside of, and it'll be different again if it's set in England.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Sat Dec 05, 2015 1:17 am
Charm says...



I guess England then. The thing is I don't exactly know what country New Haven (the town) is in.
  





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Sat Dec 05, 2015 1:51 am
Vervain says...



Madwriter, if you don't know what country your present-day story is set in, then you have much larger problems than simply searching for a name.

As it is, without knowing for sure which country or region he lives in, we can't very well help you with the boyfriend's name. We don't have the information necessary for looking up popular or common names in that region, nor do we know what his parents were likely to call him.

If you'd like, you can do the research on popularity and commonness on your own—I usually use Behind the Name when I'm concerned with picking a country-accurate popular name, though there are sites that have more specific regionally-accurate names depending on the region.
stay off the faerie paths
  





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Sat Dec 05, 2015 2:15 am
Charm says...



I know that it is in either in Northern USA, Canada or anywhere in the UK. Knowing the country doesn't effect the story in anyway so it's not that much as a priority as a character name. I understand your concern though.
  





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Sat Dec 05, 2015 2:42 am
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Rosendorn says...



So here's the thing. It actually does have a huge impact on name.

Take a look at Sites like this or this that break down baby names by state/province (respectively). You'll find that the lists vary wildly depending on the region, meaning each area has its own individual naming conventions. Compare it to England and Wales vs Scotlant vs Ireland.

Not to mention each one of these regions will drastically impact your dialogue, what "rich" looks like, the type of education (aka your setting, because high school is a drastically different experience in Canada, the US, England, and Ireland, what with how England has your last two years of education called "sixth form" which is basically nothing but preparation for huge exams, which are lacking in the US; high school also starts in grade 7 in England when it starts in grade 9 in the States), what all your other characters are named, and the weather (like how the UK doesn't really get much bone chilling cold over winter).

As a result, we cannot help you figure out what names are probable in your setting unless you give us an actual setting. Just take a look at all those lists and see how, yes, there are some similarities— but there are also drastic differences in how people are named and why.

You cannot simply take "generic rich town #24" and have it be an accurate setting. Considering plot is character goal+ setting obstacle, it's basically mandatory to have a location. Not to mention it makes the story so much better and more real to have nuances that are unique to the place the story is set in, and yes, that does include names.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Wed Jan 20, 2016 7:43 pm
TheStormAroundMe says...



My story centers around a world in which the Government specifically names children until a little before the main characters are born. I have used dozens of baby name books and records to find popular baby names in each country.

My main character was named a common Italian name at birth: Luciano. However, this character's mother decides to deny to Government and name her baby Talon.

Unique names are rising in popularity nowadays, so within reason you can make up your own. As long as you can think of a reason for why that name was chosen for the character, it should check out into a memorable piece of your story. Books with baby names are very helpful, because they include the origins of most names and what they mean. Also, they include dozens of names you've never heard of before. Dystopian stories obviously take place in a different society, so made up names that sound more futuristic are appropriate (I have a character named Marque).

Basically, when you find the right name for your character, you'll know. It's great to know what kind of person the character is before settling firmly on a name. You can work metaphors/hidden meanings into names as well.

-Grace
“La giraffa ha il cuore lontano dai pensieri. Si è innamorata ieri, e ancora non lo sa.” - Stefano Benni

TheStormAroundMe
  





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Wed Jan 27, 2016 1:01 am
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PancakeandWaffle says...



Heyo! I decided to post a bunch of cool names that you guys can cherry-pick from for your stories. Feel free to use any one of these!
Girls
Sophia
Emma
Olivia
Ava
Isabella
Mia
Zoe
Lily
Emily
Madelyn/Madeline
Chloe
Charlotte
Aubrey
Avery
Kaylee
Layla
Harper
Eloise
Ella
Arianna
Riley
Evelyn
Addison
Mackenzie
Adalyn
Ellie
Brooklyn
Scarlett
Lillian
Sarah
Audrey
Elizabeth
Leah
Annabelle
Kylie
Lucy
Savannah
Gabriella
Callie
Alyssa
Peyton
Samantha
Liliana
Bailey
Violet
Adeline
Eva
Stella
Keira
Katherine
Vivian
Alice
Camilla
Kayla
Sydney
Piper
Gianna
Paisley
Bella
London
Cadence

Unisex
Ainsley
Addison
Ash/Asher
Aubrey
Bailey
Bobbie
Brett
Brook
Charlie
Corey
Dakota
Daryl
Eli
Frankie
Gray
Harper
Hayden
Jamie
Jesse (Masculine) Jessie/Jessi (Feminine)
Kennedy
Morgan
Peyton
River
Rudy
Stevie
Tanner
Taylor
Tyler
West (East, South, North... You can go in all directions with this one)
Winter
Zeek

Boys
Noah
Liam
Mason
Ethan
Michael
Jacob
Elijah
Aiden
Alexander/Alex/Xander
Jayden
William
James
Logan
Matthew
Daniel (Unisex)
Anthony
Carter
Joseph
Lucas
Jackson
Benjamin
Gabriel/Gabe (Unisex, depending on the pronunciation.)
Christopher/Chris
David/Dave
Dylan
Sebastian
Andrew
Joshua
Christian
Lukas/Luke
Nathan
Zion
John
Ryan
Hunter
Samuel/Sam/Sammy
Caleb
Isaac
Julian
Jaxon (Same as Jackson, I know.)
Hope this was helpful! Note: I did not keep count of the names in each category.
Waffle~
  





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Wed Apr 13, 2016 11:27 pm
Merkava120 says...



One thing I do to pick names when writing fantasy is to write out the common letters of the language of the area, then fiddle with them until I get something that feels right. Coming up with a naming standard (for example, two syllables with every other letter a consonant) helps to name lots of characters quickly. I have to be careful, though - otherwise, before I know it, Darin and Salin are going on a quest to defeat Gyren and his minions, Norin, Loren and Ziran, who have taken Poran hostage and - you get the idea.
  





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Thu Oct 13, 2016 8:25 pm
PickledChrissy says...



The best names, and the worst, names I have ever used are always thought up on the spur of the moment. Like Eric. I pasted it on a character at the spur of the moment, more of a place holder. And he still is called that and there is no way I am ever going to change it.
A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed ~Second Amendment.

I love my guns. ;)
  





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Mon Jan 02, 2017 5:38 pm
AlyTheBookworm says...



Since my book's setting is a made-up fantasy world I have a list of made-up names on my laptop. If you create your own names, make sure you can write them down quickly before you forget them. Then, when you introduce a new character, you can simply scroll through the list and find a good one. Even if you don't make your own names, you can collect the ones you like.

Here's another tip if you make up your fantasy names. Make sure the word you come up with doesn't mean something else or could be confused with another word. Recently I came up with a name for a sci-fi short story and my dad pointed out that it was the name of a car.. (whoops)

I like to choose either short names or nicknames (one or two syllables) for my main characters. I feel like it makes them more relatable and it's easier to say.

Try not to make the names of your main characters too similar sounding. I watched a show with my family recently and we were all laughing at the fact that the three main characters were named Kou, Kei, and Kai.

One cheat I use when coming up with fantasy names is finding a normal name and switching the letters around to make it look special. For example: "Laura" becomes "Aura" or "Lurai".
  





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Sat Apr 08, 2017 5:45 pm
MrPhox says...



here a place where you can create a name or names for your character(s)

But its in French ^^

http://www.syl.vlana.fr/gen/generateur-de-nom.php

I don't know who created that website and I don't remember how I find out about this place?

But since its free and no limits, I use it to make names and now I have a list on my HD for names for the characters I commission to be drawn, so I don't have to find a name for its species and a personal name ^^
  





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Mon Apr 10, 2017 11:54 am
ShadowPrincess16 says...



My main character's name is Styxx. I don't actually remember where I heard it used as a name for the first time, though. I've always liked ancient mythology and the river Styx seemed perfect for his name. :)
“wanting what you could not have led to misery and madness”
― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince
  





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Tue Jul 04, 2017 7:56 am
Sassafras says...



My main character's names are Baird, Innya, and Cadburry (or Misha).

I really like Hewey (Hewie?) as a name as well, which would be Innya if she were a boy.
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