How important are characters' names to you?

[cababge]

I thought this could an interesting discussion.

We all hold conscious or unconscious connotations and preconceptions about names from our life experiences.

How much do names matter to you when you're reading or writing erotica?

 

[mildlyaroused]

I often start stories with no idea what I will call characters. They come to me through the story, and I’m not entirely sure how: I suppose I draw on my own life, as you said, and subconsciously relate the storyline and its characters to certain names in my head, then use those ones.

Or (and consider me guilty here), on occasion I have named a character by a name I’m familiar with in real life, then edited in a new name after I’ve finished writing. This only if the experience is semi-autobiographical and I'm using it to process my own emotions around a specific event.

In general, I don’t think readers mind too much as long as there’s variation. Obviously some names are less stereotypically sexy than others, but this is still so subjective. I’ve had exes change the way I appreciate names. Names which I’ve always imagined in my mind to belong to old frail guys or girls now have loving, sexy, and naughty connotations.

I think generally I lean away from the most common of names (in Western society). I also lean away from (and this is highly subjective) harsher names for ones that feel soft and cosy. Basically, I don’t think it really matters but it is really interesting how our experiences shape our opinions on names.

 

[samhasstories]

They matter. It’s a subconscious thing to me, but they inform the characters in subtle ways. Less subtle I guess if the name is something like Master Blaster or Killmonger, but I haven’t used those ones yet.

I’m somewhat random when I choose names. I look over my bookshelves and will often lift an author or character name, or part of one, or one of those will spur an idea for something similar. But once they’re in there, I think they do have an effect on how I write that character. I don’t think I’d be able to define that effect precisely, but I know it’s there.

 

[karina_jayde]

Usually I don't think much of names, with the following exceptions:

-I have know so many creeps and jerks who happen to be named Dave or David that such a name can immediately take me out of the story. But if the writing is good enough I can usually just brush past it, but if a story is a 'stroker' with a character named Dave, it's a hurdle that's tough to move past.

-This is mostly a gripe with fantasy stories but I really don't care for super complicated, super fantastical names for regular characters. If a name has multiple apostrophes or umlauts, I just find it distracting. I'm more forgiving of weird names if it's a god or an eldritch deity or a weird alien, though

-As a writer, I just never use names that align with people I know well, even if it's a common name. Just a tic/habit I guess.

 

[Zootonius]

Not much. I aim for common names and avoid names that sound like porn stars, (e.g Tiffany)

As Samuel Goldwyn supposedly put it, "Why is the character named Joe? Every Tom, Dick, and Harry is named Joe!"

 

[mildlyaroused]

I think they do have an effect on how I write that character. I don’t think I’d be able to define that effect precisely, but I know it’s there.

This is a good way to put it. Whether we like it or not we have different feelings about different names, and we can probably never analyse why properly. We're too weird.

I guess to rephrase what I said: it does matter, but there's nothing you can do about it for readers. Their experiences are too varied. Choose them as best fits your own thoughts/connotations.

 

[samhasstories]

We should get that guy in here who scrapped his novel because someone told him his character names didn’t work. What’s that guy up to?

 

[EmilyMiller]

How important are characters' names to you?​

Quite important. I imbue certain character traits to certain names. Probably unfairly.

I try hard not to reuse character names, which gets a little tricky after a few stories.

Also, if I’m making up a character who is say mid-forties, I’ll go look up what names were popular in that time period.

I also religiously avoid the names of family members. No, someone with mom’s name is not going to have a gang bang, not on my watch!

Emily

 

[mildlyaroused]

We should get that guy in here who scrapped his novel because someone told him his character names didn’t work. What’s that guy up to?

This is as tragic as it is bizarre!

To be fair, if my editor told me to change the name of a character I've been writing for years I'd probably just cry about it.

 

[samhasstories]

This is as tragic as it is bizarre!

To be fair, if my editor told me to change the name of a character I've been writing for years I'd probably just cry about it.

I might, too. But I think I’d keep the character, if not the name.

 

[vzb]

When reading? Not very important. Only rarely will a name seem either out of place or notably clever.

But when writing, I put lots of thought into names. A name should be common enough for babies born the year the character was (ideally the name has a big peak right at that year so it feels like the character really comes from a certain time & place), and also seemingly appropriate to the character's background or station in life (some names just "feel" more high-class, or religious, or hipster-y, or what have you).

It's also important that the name lends itself to one or two appropriate nicknames. Kimberly is a nice, refined name for an upper-middle class white woman, and her husband can call her "Kim" ... but her dom-to-be can use the childish/condescending "Kimmy."

But aside from that I like playing with the meanings of names. My uber-dominant young woman who's in the process of claiming the narrator's husband for herself? Mia (which literally translates as "mine"). The frat-bro that a character cynically enlists to serve as a wingman so he can more easily seduce his prey? Cody (which means "helper," and also just sounds like a douchey frat guy). The Latino gang leader who basically runs the whole prison he's in is named Cesar (duh). Things like that.

In other words, I put way more thought into names than I should, but it's something I enjoy working out.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Most often, it's kind of an 'Oh fuck, I need a name' kind of thing. I do overuse some names across my stories, but, OK. Sue me.

 

[Phantom300]

Not overly important. Only one that I can think of where a name was vital to the story was in Boner Check. The Protagonist (Antagonist? I forget which is which) had to be named April.

I have written a story almost to completion, then changed a name at the last minute because it sounded better. In Going Back to School, The MMC was originally named Sebastian. I changed it to Andrew pretty deep into it

 

[cababge]

But aside from that I like playing with the meanings of names.

I've never had this skill. I like it though, as long as you don't pull a JK Rowling for anyone of a different nationality, do away with all your careful work and love for language and words, and name one of your only foreign characters Cho Chang.

I'd add that for me once a name is chosen and written for a few thousand words, it stays. It fuses with the character in my mind and there is no hope of changing that.

 

[intim8]

Theoretically, I think it is pretty important. Realistically, I'm often too lazy to put much effort into it. On the gripping hand, if I can't think of a good name, it probably means I don't have the character fleshed out in my head.

Names carry stereotypes and biases. especially in the context of these kinds of stories. I try to work with those, and sometimes to subvert them. Maybe Tiffani is the slutty stripper, maybe she's the studious bookworm virgin (going against the stereotype). But she's never in the middle.

I try to include at least one unusual name per story. Sometimes that is using a different shortening than usual, like Beatrice becomes Triss instead of Bea. Or Percival become Per instead of Percy. I've got one story working with a Jeb and a Sharl and a Fee (Charolotte and Fiona, though I am considering changing it to Charles). I do that when I want to avoid any preconceptions.

I get tired of Amy and Sandy and Jennifer all the time.

 

[alohadave]

-I have know so many creeps and jerks who happen to be named Dave or David that such a name can immediately take me out of the story.

Sorry.

 

[alohadave]

We should get that guy in here who scrapped his novel because someone told him his character names didn’t work. What’s that guy up to?

His self-fulfilling prophecy came true and he got himself banned.

He's probably on some other site moaning about how he always gets banned.

 

[alohadave]

It's also important that the name lends itself to one or two appropriate nicknames. Kimberly is a nice, refined name for an upper-middle class white woman, and her husband can call her "Kim" ... but her dom-to-be can use the childish/condescending "Kimmy."

I don't specifically pick names for nicknames, but I do try to have different characters use different forms of names depending on the context.

 

[Djmac1031]

Depends on the story.

Early on, it was definitely "insert random name here." And honestly, most times that's still the case.

There are a few were I put much more thought into the names.

In my story The White Room and its sequel The White Room Revisited, I chose names with specific meanings for each character. Although I was pretty sure readers would never bother looking them up, I still felt it important, especially on a couple of key characters.

In my Angels and Demons stories, there are several characters with a lot of history behind their names. Especially the Supernatural characters.

 

[NotWise]

I don't recall reacting much to names while reading, but I don't read much. I think most of us tend to pick names that are common in our setting, and those names often don't carry a lot of connotations.

In my writing, I use different names for different reasons. Variety is the biggest reason, but I might also name them after someone I've known or try to communicate something about the character. I had an antagonist named "Niles" in one story, and I didn't expect people to like him. I have an Hispanic protagonist in another named "Claudia" after one of the most memorable women I've ever known (also Hispanic). In my WIP the protagonists are Hector and Shezu (she's the ghost of a long-dead Geisha).

I look at the huge variety of names I see in the real world--the obituaries, for instance--and shake my head at the monotony of character names on Lit. I'll never come close to writing enough stories to make a dent in the enormous variety of common names.

 

[KeithD]

I thought this could an interesting discussion.

We all hold conscious or unconscious connotations and preconceptions about names from our life experiences.

How much do names matter to you when you're reading or writing erotica?

I don't start writing until/unless I have character names devised that I think fit. (Of course, I often add characters as I write. When I do, I pause and search for the character name I think fits.)

I don't know about how important it would be to me in reading erotica--probably important if the names seemed well off the character, e.g., a Chinese name for someone who was supposed to be mainstream Philadelphia. I don't read much erotica.

 

[theWriterInTheNude]

Main characters are very important. I sometimes start writing and find a name as I go, but they don't really coalesce until I have a proper name for them. Other times, all I have to start with is a name, and that's enough for them to start forming in my mind. Secondary characters, though... I always have a hard time getting the last few of them figured out when I'm writing.

When I'm reading, I don't think it matters.

 

[Priscilla_June]

Idk that they are important to me, instead I think I am really just OCD about them, like making sure they sound right. What that means, not sure. The more important characters I feel like it takes me a while to get a good feeling for their name. Lots of back and forth with name generators to find that right name.

 

[EmilyMiller]

In my Angels and Demons stories, there are several characters with a lot of history behind their names. Especially the Supernatural characters.

I spent several weary nights poring over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore before naming Emma and Lily .

To be fair to myself, all my other she-demons have the real names of Jewish demonesses. Or have been fabricated to sound like them.

Emily

 

[bestkeptsecret678]

My character names are random. I aim for something interesting sounding without being too unusual. Story just submitted yesterday involves Carson, Serena, Terrence and Lydia. Oh, and I avoid names with whom I have a frequent or meaningful personal connection.