Google your character Names People!

[MillieDynamite]

That's why the writing gods created disclaimers.

NOTE: This tale is a work of pure fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously—any resemblance to actual persons, whether living, deceased, real events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

I'm still not sure how far this goes. For instance, one of the names I came up with for a work that I'm doing final polish on and plan to submit later today or tomorrow is "Sophia McMillan". I google and apparently there's like one or two articles about some rising soccer star. Is THAT enough to try to find a different name? Where's the line?

 

[iwatchus]

I'm still not sure how far this goes. For instance, one of the names I came up with for a work that I'm doing final polish on and plan to submit later today or tomorrow is "Sophia McMillan". I google and apparently there's like one or two articles about some rising soccer star. Is THAT enough to try to find a different name? Where's the line?

No I would worry about that.

I found a match for my character in my novel this summer -- a supporting role in a TV show (Angie Lopez) I ignored it. It's a common enough name and not such a famous usage that it's not a big deal.

 

[TheExperimentalist]

That's why the writing gods created disclaimers.

NOTE: This tale is a work of pure fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously—any resemblance to actual persons, whether living, deceased, real events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

That's not my question, though. No matter what name I pick, SOMEONE is going already exist with that name. My question is "how famous does a name need to be to make it worth trying to find some other one?"

 

[Writer61]

I'm still not sure how far this goes. For instance, one of the names I came up with for a work that I'm doing final polish on and plan to submit later today or tomorrow is "Sophia McMillan". I google and apparently there's like one or two articles about some rising soccer star. Is THAT enough to try to find a different name? Where's the line?

I would not bother unless the character could be confused with a real person.

In your example, that would mean finding a new name if the character plays football.

 

[MillieDynamite]

You don't, their name is shared by others, unless, maybe Tru Valentino is one of a kind. But the disclaimer covers you. Use the name you want, put the disclaimer, and you're covered.

That's not my question, though. No matter what name I pick, SOMEONE is going already exist with that name. My question is "how famous does a name need to be to make it worth trying to find some other one?"

 

[iwatchus]

That's not my question, though. No matter what name I pick, SOMEONE is going already exist with that name. My question is "how famous does a name need to be to make it worth trying to find some other one?"

Is that someone REALLY famous?
Is it an otherwise common name?
Is the famous person important in the social groups present in the story?

I worry about the name feeling off to the reader much more than any potential litigious issues. I wouldn't name a character Albert Einstein. Too many connotations for the readers. Googling catches ones people outside of a domain you might miss. Don't name your character Tom Brady, but there are probably readers here who don't know who that is. There are certainly current cultural icons to young people (you know, anyone under 60) that I wouldn't recognize. That's why it's worth googling. To catch the really blatant ones.

 

[MillieDynamite]

This is Doctor Einstein, no, not that one.

Is that someone REALLY famous?
Is it an otherwise common name?
Is the famous person important in the social groups present in the story?

I worry about the name feeling off to the reader much more than any potential litigious issues. I wouldn't name a character Albert Einstein. Too many connotations for the readers. Googling catches ones people outside of a domain you might miss. Don't name your character Tom Brady, but there are probably readers here who don't know who that is. There are certainly current cultural icons to young people (you know, anyone under 60) that I wouldn't recognize. That's why it's worth googling. To catch the really blatant ones.

 

[IWroteThis]

This is Doctor Einstein, no, not that one.

Actually, I can't recall every hearing him referred to as Doctor Einstein, so I didn't immediately go there. Unless, of course, you meant a different Doctor Einstein that I'm not familiar with.

 

[Writer61]

Actually, I can't recall every hearing him referred to as Doctor Einstein, so I didn't immediately go there. Unless, of course, you meant a different Doctor Einstein that I'm not familiar with.

The point of the "No, not that one" is to tell any readers who do make a connection that they are wrong.

 

[MillieDynamite]

It's from a play I saw; I don't remember if it's in the movie. Arsenic and Old Lace, Jonathan Brewster introduces his plastic surgeon to his brother, Mortimer Brewster.

Actually, I can't recall every hearing him referred to as Doctor Einstein, so I didn't immediately go there. Unless, of course, you meant a different Doctor Einstein that I'm not familiar with.

 

[iwatchus]

It's from a play I saw; I don't remember if it's in the movie. Arsenic and Old Lace, Jonathan Brewster introduces his plastic surgeon to his brother, Mortimer Brewster.

yes it’s in the movie I love the movie. I have only seen mediocre(amateur) productions of the play

 

[ICantLeafYou]

I've never given any character in my stories a full name, only a first name.

 

[Writer61]

I've never given any character in my stories a full name, only a first name.

Generally, I avoid family names, but I find there are some circumstances where they are unavoidable. Then, I like to have fun with them.

 

[TheExperimentalist]

I've never given any character in my stories a full name, only a first name.

Generally, I avoid family names, but I find there are some circumstances where they are unavoidable. Then, I like to have fun with them.

For some stories (generally shorter and/or first-person ones) I find I can manage this, but often it just feels like a forced omission, if that makes any sense.

 

[Writer61]

For some stories (generally shorter and/or first-person ones) I find I can manage this, but often it just feels like a forced omission, if that makes any sense.

I think surnames are hard to avoid in exchanges such as introductions in formal/semi-formal situations, e.g. "this is Senator Bloggs".

 

[TheExperimentalist]

I think surnames are hard to avoid in exchanges such as introductions in formal/semi-formal situations, e.g. "this is Senator Bloggs".

"I know you're concerned about your wife, Mr. Same-Last-Name-As-Sheila, but Dr. Brian is the best neurosurgeon in the state."

 

[iwatchus]

I've never given any character in my stories a full name, only a first name.

I don't always include them in the story, but I choose them before I write. I've had a number of times where I needed one at some point in a story for some reason. If I don't choose it explicitly, I'm never sure if I included it somewhere already. I just had to search through my 40K draft to fine one of my MC's last names because I suddenly needed it and couldn't.t find where I had written it down.

 

[TheExperimentalist]

I don't always include them in the story, but I choose them before I write. I've had a number of times where I needed one at some point in a story for some reason. If I don't choose it explicitly, I'm never sure if I included it somewhere already. I just had to search through my 40K draft to fine one of my MC's last names because I suddenly needed it and couldn't.t find where I had written it down.

I keep a series of 'quick detail' notes at the bottom of every WIP that I delete before publishing. Not just names, stuff like the layout of the house, any established dates or days of the week of significance, and even includes random stuff like favorite flavors of ice cream, and other quirks like that. Otherwise, it turns into a total mess (especially with my ultra-ADHD approach to the two-dozen WIPs I'm sitting on).

 

[YmaOHyd]

I don't always include them in the story, but I choose them before I write. I've had a number of times where I needed one at some point in a story for some reason. If I don't choose it explicitly, I'm never sure if I included it somewhere already. I just had to search through my 40K draft to fine one of my MC's last names because I suddenly needed it and couldn't.t find where I had written it down.

Yep. I always know what they are even if they don't appear in the story. The one time I was sure I didn't need them was in my holiday entry... and it turned out I did, because of the way I chose to format an IM conversation over Microsoft Teams.

 

[iwatchus]

I keep a series of 'quick detail' notes at the bottom of every WIP that I delete before publishing. Not just names, stuff like the layout of the house, any established dates or days of the week of significance, and even includes random stuff like favorite flavors of ice cream, and other quirks like that. Otherwise, it turns into a total mess (especially with my ultra-ADHD approach to the two-dozen WIPs I'm sitting on).

I usually put all that stuff in a separate file, in case I write a sequel if nothing else.

I appeared to have named the file something different than my usual pattern. Or I'm just blind. Which is also easily possible.

 

[IWroteThis]

I don't always include them in the story, but I choose them before I write. I've had a number of times where I needed one at some point in a story for some reason. If I don't choose it explicitly, I'm never sure if I included it somewhere already. I just had to search through my 40K draft to fine one of my MC's last names because I suddenly needed it and couldn't.t find where I had written it down.

I use writing software called yWriter that allows me to enter multiple variations of a character's name and then it highlights all of them as they're used. Besides being a handy reference to determine if I've already given a character a last name, if a name doesn't highlight, I know that I've either misspelled it or it's a name from a different story I'm writing.

 

[iwatchus]

I use writing software called yWriter that allows me to enter multiple variations of a character's name and then it highlights all of them as they're used. Besides being a handy reference to determine if I've already given a character a last name, if a name doesn't highlight, I know that I've either misspelled it or it's a name from a different story I'm writing.

I had no problem search on the character's first name until I found Sara Noble in one of the mentions. It wasn't especially hard or even particularly time consuming. Just annoying when I was in the middle of writing an important scene.

 

[TheExperimentalist]

I had no problem search on the character's first name until I found Sara Noble in one of the mentions. It wasn't especially hard or even particularly time consuming. Just annoying when I was in the middle of writing an important scene.

That works if your story actually lists them by full name at any point. Something I'm writing literally as we speak (took a brief pause to respond here) has the character's name mentioned a few times separately, then "there was already a booking under the name 'Malinson'." From context it's clear (or at least should be) that it's the character's last name, but they're not given as a unit.

 

[TheWorldBuilder]

If you search for my last name and 'science' using most of the common tools, over 60 different academics in multiple fields will appear in the results.

My mom went to school with Barbara Streisand.

My parents both went to school with numerous people who went on to be internationally famous, mostly in the pop and rock scene of the mid to late 1960s. I didn't, but various friends and work colleagues have had names that you can easily find online in other contexts: David Bailey, Norman Bates, James Brown, Jimmy Carr, Jack Carter, Phil Collins, Jon Culshaw, Tony Curtis, Peter Green, George Harrison, Bob Hope, Michael Jackson, Don Johnson, Peter Kay, Stephen King, Patrick 'Paddy' McGinty, Charles Rogers, Jean Simmons, John Smith, Mike Tyson and Natalie Wood.

Most of those people were born before their namesake became famous or searchable on the internet, one was named after the famous person concerned and one of them is who you've just searched for. In the C20th, John Smith was the most common name in the UK.

If it bothers you that much, do the searches and cross off virtually every name on your shortlist. If you understand the limited (but still vast) pool of Anglo-Saxon names, either give them foreign ancestors or live with it and include the disclaimer @MillieDynamite quoted.

 

[Writer61]

I was reminded of this when Audible recommended a detective story series featuring a lead character named Bob Willis.

If I read the book, I would always be reminded of the famous cricketer who played for England in the '70s and '80s. As the author is also English, I find the choice surprising.

EDIT: I like one of the author's other series, so I would have tried this new one, but not with this.