a stupid question of names

[dreampilot79]

I have often heard that there is no such thing as a stupid question, but that was before I asked mine.

Where do the rest of you find names for your characters?

My own practice is to close my eyes and open the phone book, then place my finger somewhere on the page. I reserve the right of veto to the name my finger finds. I pull the surname from the first attempt and the first name from the second.

There are two proviso's, It is somewhat more difficult to obtain female first names and one MUST judiciously use the veto.

Orthodontic Pepsi-Cola is generally an acceptable name for anyone.

Any other thoughts?

 

[razor_nut]

Well I pick names that I personally like or have special meaning to the story and/or character. A name can help bring out a character just a bit more, so I avoid just random assignments.

 

[DekeJeffery]

Believe it or not, I use a recall roster from work to find my names. I thumb through the pages until I find a name that I think best suits the character I'm developing.

I also try to take great measures to make sure my names are "normal". I think, for this type of fiction, that anointing characters with stereotypical "porn names" is a distraction, and removes a lot from the story that I'm trying to tell.

I have far more problems thinking of a title for my stories than I do character names. Out of all the stories I've published on this site, I only like truly like one title...and that was for the only non-erotic story I've submitted here. Go figure.

 

[dreampilot79]

I agree that the name MUST fit the character. That is why I use my veto power quite freely. If I don't like the name I get, or don't feel it fits the character, pick again.

I don't reject surnames quite as quickly as first names.

As to titles, yep they can be difficult and there is no random method for picking them.

 

[Boxlicker101]

The majority of my stories were written about specific female readers and I use their names for the central characters. For the narrator, because most of my stories are written in the first person, I use George Boxlicker, which is my own first name and my handle. I have had some complaints about this last name for a character.

Other female names are just common names, such as Linda or Judy. One character, since she is from a religious family, has the biblical name of Ruth. One character, who has appeared in several stories, is a TS and she was named Jack at her birth and now uses the name Jill. My main gay male character is actually a bisexual. The first story involved his using a dildo so I picked a common alliterative name and the first story was "David and His Dildo".

Two stories were written about my wife's nieces and the names were "My Cute Nieces" number 1 and 2. My wife is from the Philippines and we were visiting family there when I wrote the stories. There was an election in progress so I named the two women, both 18, Gloria and Loren. The former is the name of the president, who was re-elected and the latter is the name of a defeated vice-presidential candidate.

Otherwise, I give names that I think will fit the character.

 

[fogbank]

I'm usually very deliberate in chosing names, but I hate the idea of chosing names where the original meaning of the name fits the character. It's too obvious and unrealistic to have a prudish character named Chastity Vestigal, or a evil character who just happens to be named Judas Hellfire. (Unless you're writing a satire)

The most important thing about chosing names is getting the eras right. A name like Amber, for example just isn't a plausible name for a story set in the 1920s. Much of my non-erotica has a rural setting, so ethnicities of communities play a big part in determining the name. The first question is always 'Is it plausible that this person's parents would have given that person this name?'

 

[Varian P]

If you can endure the cheesy (um, I mean adorable) graphics and the sea of pastels, BabyNames.com is a stellar resource on which I'm utterly dependent. When I was a kid and wrote stories, I bought a little booklet of baby names at the checkout at the grocery store one day, but as with many things the Internet has revolutionized this handy little resource.

Among its features, it allows you to type in a meaning, such as "kind," or "strong" and provides a list of names, their culture of origin, and whether they are typically male, female, or "either."

You can also type in a name and get the meaning & other info.

I like this because I love giving characters unusual names, and also like there to be some substantive link between the name and the character. Of course, lots of very common (by my cultural standards) names come up as well.

I also, on occasion, link characters to literary references, whether they be other characters or authors, again with some meaningful connection between the inspiring story/character/author, and the story/character I'm creating.

-Varian

 

[MLyons]

I'm very careful about names for characters. I've used all kinds of sources, including the babynames website as well as the phonebook, but just like in life, the name takes on its own meaning and power when you've got strong characterization and personality to back it up.

I work hard to bring an inseparable link between my character's names and their personality by creating strong and deeply rooted characterization that will hopefully be hard to forget. The names "Kathleen" or "Cindy" only bring vague flashes of feeling or meaning when taken at their surface level, but to me, they have a very specific and visceral depth to them thanks to the effort I put in to creating the characters behind them.

To me, the character lends depth to the name, not the other way around.

 

[LustyLovers]

Sometimes we agonize over names. They have to be just right. It's actually taken me days sometimes to fit a name with a character. I'm so anal retentive.

 

[millieteases]

Hmmm- Sometimes I think about names, sometimes I use names from people in my past, but usually the characters just tell me who they are.

That said, I'm usually working out in my head motivations and plot and such, and the names just come to me as I write.

Now I'll probably start thinking about it...

 

[rydia57]

names...

Hi,

I use the baby book too, and I like the thing about using movie books too. Some lists their names before they changed them as well as their movie names. I also use the graveyard thing. Not that you constantly go walking thru a graveyard, but I go visit my mothe sometimes, while I'm leaving I look at the other stones there. You have a bevy of old and enteresting names! I found one female name that stuck in my head... Veleska. I havent' used it for anything, but hey, there's always something. I also play alot of RPG names so I used the baby and movie star registry to name my characters. It's neat! In erotica, the as well as other fiction, the names don't have to fit the person. You could give them a really gentle name like angel, or eve and have her turning tricks at sunset and teaching sunday school at sunrise... whoa... that's a story. Hmmm...

 

[dreampilot79]

Just want to thank you all for the ideas... guess it still boils down to lots of rejecting names until you come up with one that fits and works.

 

[zephrbabe]

If you can endure the cheesy (um, I mean adorable) graphics and the sea of pastels, BabyNames.com is a stellar resource on which I'm utterly dependent. When I was a kid and wrote stories, I bought a little booklet of baby names at the checkout at the grocery store one day, but as with many things the Internet has revolutionized this handy little resource.

...I like this because I love giving characters unusual names, and also like there to be some substantive link between the name and the character. Of course, lots of very common (by my cultural standards) names come up as well.

I also, on occasion, link characters to literary references, whether they be other characters or authors, again with some meaningful connection between the inspiring story/character/author, and the story/character I'm creating...

When I read this, my heart did a little dance: that is exactly what I do! (BabyNames is even on my Favorites.) When I was younger, I'd go through the books with a highlighter and a red pen; the highlighter was for names I liked, the pen for meanings I liked. When I'd gone through the book, I'd compile a list of all the names that had highlighter and pen marks. (I know that sounds dumb, but I'm a list and factoid person, so it was very entertaining.)

Now, I have a cache of names that I like using. I also love using unusual names. I've even made up names; it's really easy- sometimes you just throw sounds together or piece together parts of names to make a unique one. (Example: Cazander. Two names: Calix and Alexander, meaning, respectively, "handsome" and "protector of mankind." Cazander now means "handsome protector," which works pretty well with the character.)

I also choose name meanings to coincide (or contrast) with the character's personality. An Ariel (meaning "lion of god") would be a strong character, maybe a little harsh; or a Megan (meaning "soft or gentle") would be a haughty, high-maintenance woman who bleaches her hair too much.

A long post, but I like names too much to be brief.

-Kathryn


PS. When I was very young, I was so wrapped up in myself and not being completely normal, that when my Brownie leader asked us to discover what our names meant, I immediately decided that Kathryn meant "warrior woman;" in reality, it means "pure," and to be a "warrior woman," my parents should've named me Gunda, Ouida or Luella. *shudder*

 

[Mark James]

Name's the thing

Hi Dreampilot:

I use various methods to find names. The phone book is one of them. Watching the news is another way. Since my work tends to be more fantasy than not, I like the exotic sounding names that are on the news these days.

Another method I use is baby naming data bases on the internet. Some of them have literally thousands of names. They're really my best resource when it comes to names.

The names of my characters are very important to me. If I don't name a character right, they won't "come through" for me. I don't see them well, or hear them well if I didn't get the name right.

One thing I've learned to avoid like plague is naming charcters something like "Charles" or anything else that ends in "s". Forming possessives becomes my personal nightmare.

Mark

 

[dreampilot79]

Mark

I have to agree with you about the names being everything.

Left to my own devices however I tend to pick the same names over and over.

I use the phone book just for fresh thougths but do much more picking and pointing than selecting.

The phone book seems much better to me than baby names. Think I get a more random selection.

 

[cloudy]

Sometimes a name just comes to me, other times I start out with one name, and then by the end of the story realize that I'm really not happy with it, and have to change it.

Here's a list of links to character naming resources, and here's one to Onomastic naming resources. Both have been extremely helpful to me.

 

[OliverTwists]

context context context

a plumber gets to be called Bob
(yes there might be plumbers called Alex or Fiorello but it would mean they're not boring)
a clubber gets to be called Crystal
(met one with that psudonym)

Phonebooks are bad. It would take me ages to find a name I want in one of those so I just rely on my WITS!!

Baby naming books aren't half bad since they give the meaning of the names.

Andrew means man

Androgenous
Polyandry

Sylvia means living in woods.

So all you feary folk out there might want to stop calling yourselves Ellowayn

Best bet is to get yourselves an Etymological dictionary and start pulling words apart.

 

[fairysong]

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". - (Act II, Scene II, Romeo and Juliet)

Well, i say the what's in a name depends on the context, the situation, the story. While a rose may be called a Lily it still retains the same smell but calling a character from 1400's in Ireland Joe just won't cut it.

I am new to writing, (infact i just submitted my first story)but i soon realized how important a name can be. Its ok to just pick popular name or ones that you like if your story is in the present but even then you might think of names that make a character come to life.

As for my first story character, i spent a good 15 mins trying to think of a good Celtic name, I ended calling him Cathal. Unique but definately fits my hero from the past. So, in my humble opinion "what's in a name" is definately something a writer should ponder.

________________________
I wish you well and so I take my leave,
I Pray you know me when we meet again.
William Shakespeare

 

[dreampilot79]

While it seems right to have the name fit the character, I wonder if in reality names have to fit a character's character?

There may be a certain incongruity in the leader of the pack at an orgy being named Chastity, but in real life, it may indeed occur.

In saying that I have a certain (not too young, not too old) lady in mind.

Should we work so hard at finding names to match ?

 

[Rainbow Skin]

Realism demands that most of my characters should have realistic names. This means they should be mostly common names, and they shouldn't 'fit' the character. Sarahs don't look like Sarahs, Ians don't behave like Ians. The next time you meet a Kathy, she won't have any particular resemblance to Kathys or Cathys you already know.

So my names are just plucked from the common pool: Sarah, Karen, Jessica, Susan, Liz; Tom, Andy, Mike, Brian, Graham; etc. etc. With females there is more of a tail of less common but still normal names: Hazel, Melanie, Jasmine, etc etc.

Now I know one Hazel and numerous Sarahs well enough to have strong impressions about the names, so the answer to that is to just give them distinguishing details: the Hazel I know is dark and shortish, so if I created a Hazel in a story she might need to be tall and blonde. This is a sort of 'anti-fit' to get over personal impressions that are irrelevant to my readers.

I also find that a bare name such as 'Sarah' in my stories tends to pick up on other Sarahs from my other stories, so to avoid that I would give them surnames. Just as in real life, Sarah McCarthy and Sarah Holloway and Sarah Baines are quite different people, and you virtually never conflate your friends or even acquaintances on the basis of their names.

 

[fairysong]

Hey there dreampilot!

Let me just say that your question is one that has been debated throughout time. Philosophers have questioned the importance of names, parents have researched baby names or chosen ones that have meaning to them, (eg. that of a grandparent, aunt, best friend) but in the end just because you name you child Prudence does not mean as an adult her character, actions etc will be a reflection of her given name.

So, in reality Prudence or Chastity may not fit the meaning implied by their names. Having agreed with you, I must point out that one must know when to try hard to find a name and when not to. The situations that it is logical in is when your story is not in everyday modern setting, the era, the society, and culture of the character needs to match a name but not the character’s actions or personality.

Should we work so hard at finding names to match? Well, the answer is yes and no. Cause there can not be just one correct answer. It all depends on the author.
So, that certain lady you have in mind, feel free to name her as you please.
________________________
I wish you well and so I take my leave,
I Pray you know me when we meet again.
William Shakespeare

 

[JohnMorrison]

When i am making characters i like to envision them in my head, then think of what character in a movie/book they remind me of, then i use that name. Or i just pick names from actors and characters in my favorite movies, but not necessarily based on that character. Does anyone else make subtle movie refrences?

 

[The Mutt]

A lot of my stories are about fantasy versions of people I know, so I just name them something that is similar. Trish = Tess, for example.

But the main thing to do is think about who the character is. When was she born? Where did she come from? What did her parents do for a living? What would they have named her? If you can't answer those questions about a character, you haven't made her a fully rounded person. You might as well just call her "the girl."

 

[postobitum]

If you can endure the cheesy (um, I mean adorable) graphics and the sea of pastels, BabyNames.com is a stellar resource on which I'm utterly dependent. When I was a kid and wrote stories, I bought a little booklet of baby names at the checkout at the grocery store one day, but as with many things the Internet has revolutionized this handy little resource.

Among its features, it allows you to type in a meaning, such as "kind," or "strong" and provides a list of names, their culture of origin, and whether they are typically male, female, or "either."

You can also type in a name and get the meaning & other info.

I like this because I love giving characters unusual names, and also like there to be some substantive link between the name and the character. Of course, lots of very common (by my cultural standards) names come up as well.



I also, on occasion, link characters to literary references, whether they be other characters or authors, again with some meaningful connection between the inspiring story/character/author, and the story/character I'm creating.

-Varian

ooo! I never really thought about it, but the baby names thing is awesome! I usually just think around until I hit a name I like, or until a name pops in my head and won't leave me alone until I use it. Thank you for the great suggestion.

 

[BlackSnake]

I try to use common names, and try to match them with the characters personality. Sometimes it doesn't matter.