Googling character's names.

[gunhilltrain]

Ever Google a name you created for a character? Even if it doesn’t seem like a common name, a surprising number of people may have it. I already mentioned that Holly Sykes is also a character in the novel The Bone Machine. I swear, it’s a coincidence.

Julie Kirschbaum is also the head of the San Francisco Transit Authority. Of the Lynn Fortiers, one of them is a deceased male.

I haven’t found any Lenore Rojets yet. Her father is French Canadian, so I picked a soldier’s last name from the movie Paths of Glory.

Julie Kirschbaum

Lynn Fortier

Lt. Rojet, in the helmet, as played by Wayne Morris.

Lt. Rojet

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I do, if I've used a surname, to make sure there isn't a prominent person with that exact field who could be assumed to be the one in the story. Or to ensure a name is common enough it wouldn't matter. I have scientist characters whose field is glossed over somewhat but didn't want an unusual name combo to match a real person - a couple of them I had to go through a few combinations before finding satisfactory ones. There's a lot of molecular biologists called Morgenstern, it seems.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

I have googled, and changed a name or two when I realized it was a name I shouldn't use. I try to go for something pretty common, or skip the last name so that no one would be bothered about it. Same thing if you want to give a name to a business like a B&B or any kind of company, it's hard to find one that doesn't already exist.

 

[JakBird]

I tried that once, but when I googled "Joe" all I got were references to cups of coffee.....

 

[RetroFan]

One funny one of mine is my story 'Grumpy Humphrey's Easy Wife'. I chose that title because it has a nice ring to it and is amusing, but had no idea when I published it that there is a celebrity pet - a small dog - called Grumpy Humphrey. He isn't as famous as the late Grumpy Cat who came to fame in the 2010s, but still has a big online fan-base. I just hope that some nice wholesome Christian family when looking up cute and funny videos about Grumpy Humphrey the dog don't stumble upon my mean-spirited story about a floozy Jezebel of a wife who makes a fool of her husband (Grumpy Humphrey) all over town.

 

[MrPixel]

I go with common-ish names and don't worry about it. I have one main character with a semi-famous surname (and a business named after her paternal great-great-grandfather), but still don't see any harm. It's fiction.

I did however, name another important character supposedly at random, just a pleasant-sounding name, only to discover that it was the real full name of an acquaintance of three years whose surname I wasn't aware of until a month ago. Spooky! That was changed within hours!

 

[Smuttyandfun]

I'm careful never to use family names or the names of close friends. I'd hate to think of someone one day reading one of my stories and wondering if I'm writing about their son or daughter. Or even if I'm secretly lusting after someone's spouse. Lately, I keep a record of the names I've used, mostly so I don't repeat them, but also to be sure I'm not using a name I shouldn't.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I have googled, and changed a name or two when I realized it was a name I shouldn't use. I try to go for something pretty common, or skip the last name so that no one would be bothered about it. Same thing if you want to give a name to a business like a B&B or any kind of company, it's hard to find one that doesn't already exist.

I figure that the real-life people named Lynn Fortier are never going to find it, and if they do, so what? I've used the names of many real businesses, but some are long gone. I think the Riverdale Diner is still around.

 

[Priscilla_June]

Typically I use the “popular baby names” list to find first names, and after that I either go non-sense (just make up a word that sounds good), unusual (using words that arnt usually names), or super common (like Anderson).

Hasnt failed me yet

 

[Smuttyandfun]

Yeah, I go through names that were popular, depending on the age of my character. I might use a more common name for secondary character like Mike or Diane, but I try to use more interesting names for the main two in the story.

 

[Salacious_Scribe]

I play with names. One story my main character is Jon. His brother and wife mention their surname Bonjovee.

Another character is a female, Rikki Rocetta her husband is a music aficeanado.

I have another story with a lot of Wizard of Oz references. One teacher is Mrs. Hamilton, all the students call her "That old Witch. Another teacher is Mr. Ebsen, all the kids think he's a buddy. Twin girls are Judy and Dottie, there's a dog named Africa (there's a story reason, but Africa is a song by TOTO) They all go to Bert Lahr High, snd every time the schools name is mentioned someone yells GO LIONS.

Sometimes I put a hidden message in names. The meaning of names is a great place for foreshadowing, or hidden meanings. Agatha means great, her last name is Allbut. So her name is Great Allbut. Lots of jokes about that.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

Very clever!

 

[BobbyBrandt]

For the most part, my character and business names are random, but I have used the names of friends and acquaintances as fictitious characters (with permission, of course).

I keep a list of male and female first names and randomly combine these with a list of surnames. If one of those pairings matches the name of a real person, so be it. Any resemblance is coincidental.

I did recently learn that a name that I chose for a fictitious company, which plays a prominent role in many of my stories (Brandt Consulting), is now a real company that was founded after my first story using that name was published.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

No but I did google for a web site where most of the names for my character and ships came from in Warrior One series.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I tried that once, but when I googled "Joe" all I got were references to cups of coffee.....

For the most part, my character and business names are random, but I have used the names of friends and acquaintances as fictitious characters (with permission, of course).

I keep a list of male and female first names and randomly combine these with a list of surnames. If one of those pairings matches the name of a real person, so be it. Any resemblance is coincidental.

I did recently learn that a name that I chose for a fictitious company, which plays a prominent role in many of my stories (Brandt Consulting), is now a real company that was founded after my first story using that name was published.

Since many, if not most, of my stories are set in New York and New Jersey, most of the characters (if I give them a last name) have some kind of ethnic identity which shows up in their names. Even being a "WASP" in New York puts you in an ethnic minority. I get quite a few last names out of my high school yearbook. I figure if someone in the city had that name, then it sort of proves that the name is - what, "viable?"

That can be tricky, however, because by the 1970s many Jews, Italians, and others had anglicized their names - or at least their parents or grandparents had done it. I had a friend whose family name was changed to Cohen sometime in the Twentieth Century. He changed his name to Colby because, as he admitted, he didn't want people to identify him as Jewish. Yet one could tell just by looking at him that he wasn't a WASP.

This amusing outtake from Godfather Part II shows how Hyman Roth got his name changed. He mentions his real name, but I can't even spell it.

Hyman Rothstein

 

[MadeleineSinha]

I use the first division football squads from 1976 to select names.

 

[shakna]

For my human tales, I go for common names, as much as I can. I do tend to avoid the names of people I know in real life, as that can colour the personality a bit. Rin, Jess, Hannah, etc.

I admit to thinking about names for a bit more than just a few seconds, however. I find people's expectation of the person often comes from the name. Hannah is more likely to be a girl-next-door type figure, than someone with something a bit more exotic like Lorelai, who is probably going to stick out a little.

It's just a first impression, which you can quickly redirect, but first impressions are how you drag someone into a tale. Of course, subverting expectations is also a fun way of doing that, so it probably isn't important beyond being aware of it.

As for nonhuman... I just have fun. My catgirl who managed to even terrify the gods by the end of her main arc, was called Toofy.

 

[oggbashan]

It is less of a problem on Lit than it can be with published books. One British author had used an uncommon name for his main female character but a person with that name existed and was furious. The book had to be withdrawn, pulped and another name used.

The book with the now-banned name is five times more valuable as a First Edition than the revised issue.

PS. One well known Western writer used my real but uncommon surname in one of his novels. None of my extended family were concerned. He was the gun-slinging hero...

 

[BarracudaSwordfish]

I only later found out that one of my favourite early characters shared a name with a famous American surfer. I have tried to be careful since, but nothing is foolproof.

Well, I may be safe with the alien girl in 'Beyond All Human Contact.'

I don't return too many web hits on 'Lightning Strike on the Thirty-Fifth Moon of the Sixth Planet from the Sun as its Rays Shimmer on the Saturn's Rings and Titan Rises in the West.'

Maybe one day.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I only later found out that one of my favourite early characters shared a name with a famous American surfer. I have tried to be careful since, but nothing is foolproof.

Well, I may be safe with the alien girl in 'Beyond All Human Contact.'

I don't return too many web hits on 'Lightning Strike on the Thirty-Fifth Moon of the Sixth Planet from the Sun as its Rays Shimmer on the Saturn's Rings and Titan Rises in the West.'

Maybe one day.

I don't care who they share a name with. I'm sure the surfer doesn't care even if knew about it, which is unlikely. People don't copyright their own names (unless it's something like Sting or Prince, the musicians perhaps).

Novelists like Robert Coover used fictionalized versions of people like Richard Nixon and Roy Cohn with their real names. The publisher chickened out after the book was released, but I don't think Nixon or the others ever mentioned it.

Of course, Jerry Falwell lost his lawsuit against Hustler magazine. It was a rather funny parody, but I understand why Falwell got pissed.

Hustler ad

"Mom looked better than a Baptist whore with a $100 donation."

 

[RetroFan]

I sometimes have a pattern of names in my stories.

For example in my story 'Sister In Law Surveillance' the characters have the surnames of famous spies. Most notably the Cambridge Five - Burgess, MacLean, Philby, Blunt & Cairncross - while another female character has the surname Wake, after Nancy Wake, a New Zealand born Allied spy during WW2 known as the White Mouse.

In my story series 'Crazy Cornelius & the Magic Pills' the main characters in the dysfunctional Hawkins family each have a first name starting with the first seven letters of the alphabet. The tyrannical husband/father is Alistair, the eldest and unseen son (a paranoid schizophrenic former junkie who never goes outside) is Brendan, the insane sociopathic middle son and titular character is Cornelius, the sluttish daughter-in-law (Cornelius's wife) is Danielle, the mousy daughter is Erica, the long-suffering wife/mother is named Faye while Erica's boyfriend is Gavin.

 

[TheRedChamber]

I just spent the last five minutes Googling to see if there was a professional dominatrix who is also a Princess Diana look-a-like.

Looks like I'm in the clear. I'm actually surprised that there isn't at least one.

 

[Nylonian]

Wasn't expecting a story this intriguing. Someone should do a podcast episode on this guy...

From Wikipedia (one of my protagonists):

Thomas Lynn Bradford (1872/1873 – February 5, 1921) of Detroit, Michigan was a spiritualist who committed suicide in an attempt to ascertain the existence of an afterlife and communicate that information to a living accomplice, Ruth Doran. On February 5, 1921, Bradford sealed his apartment in Detroit, blew out the pilot on his heater, and turned on the gas, which killed him.

Some weeks earlier, Bradford had sought a fellow spiritualist in a newspaper advertisement and Doran responded. The two agreed "that there was but one way to solve the mystery—two minds properly attuned, one of which must shed its earthly mantle". The New York Times ran a follow-up under the headline "Dead Spiritualist Silent".

 

[Lovecraft_Lore]

Names of businesses I would think would be the bigger problem.

I try to avoid last names or use last names with connections to water for Dagon worshippers, French or Polish for most others, the Orcs all have names based on the old Heathen Army in Old Danish when possible.

Names and locations of businesses are always a problem. Right now I have a 'Best and Greatest ice cream of Vermont' in Waterburg Vermont. That is the closest I have come to using a real firm.

I think the rule on literotica is no real people named in a non-con story.

 

[PennameWombat]

Names of businesses I would think would be the bigger problem.

I try to avoid last names or use last names with connections to water for Dagon worshippers, French or Polish for most others, the Orcs all have names based on the old Heathen Army in Old Danish when possible.

Names and locations of businesses are always a problem. Right now I have a 'Best and Greatest ice cream of Vermont' in Waterburg Vermont. That is the closest I have come to using a real firm.

I think the rule on literotica is no real people named in a non-con story.

It’s been claimed on this forum that you can use existing locations without any issues. In other words, set your ass pirates orgy on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. But, when it comes to trademarks, I take a less expansive view, mainly embodied in this article:
Using trademarks
I have a lay understanding of fair use and parody of copyright and trademarks, but parody requires a comment on the original. I prefer to not have my orgies be tied to real world owners. Not that I expect to get sued here, but just in my head I prefer to follow the same rules I’d follow elsewhere.

I’ve used a few existing places (or formerly existing) where the usage has been neutral or inline with what those do. Crown Burgers and Bill ‘n Ada’s are actual diners that I use. But my characters tend to do little more than meet there and eat and talk. Bill n’ Ada’s is described as a ‘24 hour dive diner’, but, that’s what it IS. Well, used to be. You hadn’t dined until you’d tried their “brains and eggs.”

But, mostly, I invent brand names and locations, that have parallels for their inspiration, but I try to ensure they differ in a few key characteristics. This allows me to tarnish and defame those businesses as fully as I need or want to. I also find it more fun to invent them, that way I’m not limited by any of their real world characteristics. Thus, when I need a casino/hotel in a Las Vegas in my universe, things get set in the Arista.

Cast your mind back to the halcyon days of the original CSI television series. The visuals showed the real Las Vegas, but somehow casino names weren’t highlighted and all crimes took place in imaginary casinos.