Do character names have stereotypes?

[chatbug]

When you're writing a story, and you name a character, do you consider any stereotypes associated with the name?

To give some examples of what I'm talking about, if I need a female character, a prim and proper woman that has sex only in the bedroom with the curtains drawn and the lights dim, then the name Susan comes to mind. If I need a wild, back seat of the car, anything goes kind of woman, then the name Susie seems more appropriate. If I need a solid, dependable man, then the names Mike or John come to mind. If I need a preppy man, then the name Brad comes to mind. If I need a preppy woman, then the name Jennifer comes to mind.

When I imagine a character, certain names come to mind that seem to "fit". I already have an image of the person that the name represents. I'm sure that those images come from my experiences, which I hope are similar experiences to the readers I'm aiming at. It helps me to keep the personalities of my characters in my mind as I write the story.

Is this an important consideration to you when you write a story? Do you work with your stereotypes, or do you consciously try to work against them?

 

[KillerMuffin]

http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=5367

Try that.

Of course names have stereotypes. Consider the following names, give a moment to picture the person they belong to.

Mitzi
Savannah
Ginger
Lisa
Ethel
Sarah
Michael
Stanley
Antonio
Jose
Walter
Rourke
Biff
Paddy

When I give names, I try to work with them. If I want to add a stiff, frigid librarian to my story, I'll name her Miss Withers. The miss conveys maiden status, and therefore a degree of unfriendly frigidity. A name is very essential to a person's character in a story. Not necessarily in real life, I've met a Damian who wasn't the least bit Omenlike.

[Edited by KillerMuffin on 01-06-2001 at 01:25 PM]

 

[MunchinMark]

It works the other way too. With a woman who has the name Susan, it would depend on her personality if she called herself Susan or Susie (or even Suzie). And who she is being called it by: "But you can call me Susie" or "It's Ms. Hardbroom to you."

 

[GuyJD]

BY ALL MEANS.....

I have suffered writers block many times because of names. I would have the story in my head for weeks and the history of each character. But I had trouble thinking of a name. I would never use the name Tyrone for a black guy or Julio for a Hispanic. It's just too common.

 

[Softly]

Phone Book

I will close my eyes and open a phone book to a random
page. It always gives me fresh name ideas for a character that I'm trying to put a name on.

 

[Weird Harold]

Re: Phone Book

I will close my eyes and open a phone book to a random
page. It always gives me fresh name ideas for a character that I'm trying to put a name on.

It all depends on where you live how well that works.

In the small town where I grew up, you'd have a fifty fifty chance of pointing at one of about 14 family names that dominated a town of just under 3000 population. Most of the names end in Jr. or a number.

 

[goddess_euphoria]

When I'm looking for last names I'll reach for a phone book, but when it comes to first names, I have a baby name book that I'll brouse through until I find something I like.