Help naming characters

[KMB2476]

hi everyone.
I have long struggled with naming fictional characters. I just never seem to be able to come up with names that seem natural. Sometimes I decide on the age of the character and look up what the most popular baby names were that year but I find that kind of limiting.
Does anyone have any tips about the best way to name your characters? Where do you draw inspiration from? How does one come up with believable, natural-sounding names for characters of varying ages and ethnic backgrounds?
I would appreciate any tips people have.
thank you!

 

[NuclearFairy]

I look up lists of popular names by year or state, sometimes both. Or I look up a name by ethnicity, or meaning. Sometimes I want to have a name that starts with a certain letter and so I look up names that go with that letter until I find one I like.

Oftentimes if I'm looking up a name by meaning I don't yet have an ethnicity in mind for the recipient and so once I've picked a name I like I work backwards to find out where that name is actually popular and what kind of person is most likely to have it. That's how the MC in my sci-fi WIP wound up being a third generation Turkish migrant.

 

[NotWise]

Your problem may be "believable, natural-sounding names."

There are so many names available to you that is boggles the mind. For the most part, you need to open your mind to possibilities. "Believable, natural-sounding names" is an artificial limitation. Real people often have names that don't meet that standard. For some locations and ethnicities, a realistic name can be an appealing mix of syllables.

I use baby-name lists, but mostly for minor characters. For major characters I usually look for a name that I associate with traits I assign to the character. That means I have to know something about the character before I name them. The names come from anywhere and everywhere in my background. Some of them are unusual--especially if the character is unusual.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I look up lists of popular names by year or state, sometimes both. Or I look up a name by ethnicity, or meaning. Sometimes I want to have a name that starts with a certain letter and so I look up names that go with that letter until I find one I like.

Oftentimes if I'm looking up a name by meaning I don't yet have an ethnicity in mind for the recipient and so once I've picked a name I like I work backwards to find out where that name is actually popular and what kind of person is most likely to have it. That's how the MC in my sci-fi WIP wound up being a third generation Turkish migrant.

namecensus.com lists nearly every name in the US, both first names and surnames by commonality, and aa breakdown by ethnicity.

I give a lot of thought to finding just the right names for my major characters, but for minor and incidental characters, I will sometimes just use it randomly, like "This guy will get the 74th most popular first name and the 569th surname."

 

[MelissaBaby]

I will sometimes just use it randomly, like "This guy will get the 74th most popular first name and the 569th surname."

Dylan Nash, for what it's worth. Pretty good name.

 

[Nynah]

I have a document where I keep a running list of names I find nice-sounding. Sources are from literally everywhere (a decent chunk came from browsing baby name sites but a not-insignificant number also came from real life inspiration like a nice person you happened to interact with or something you read).When I write a story, I'll peruse it to see if any of them feel right for the characters I'm creating and so far it has worked fairly well for me. Sometimes it's as simple as picturing the character in your head and then imagining them being called by various names until one feels correct.

I tend to prefer names that are easily truncated into nicknames as that tends to feel more natural for characters who are often in the throes of passion with each other.

 

[AchtungNight]

Pick names that sound cool to you or something that sounds right for the character. Don’t be afraid to draw from real life acquaintances if you want- I know you write celebrity fan fiction too.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I tend to prefer names that are easily truncated into nicknames as that tends to feel more natural for characters who are often in the throes of passion with each other.

A minor benefit of this is that it fucks with story thieves who rely on a quick search-and-replace to change the character names.

 

[VallesMarineris]

I have method that may generate some hate mail, but it works for me: I use AI for character names.

For example, I'm working on a near-future sci-fi story set a few decades in the future. What will be popular names then? I asked Claude: "Given trends in naming children, what do you estimate will be the most popular boys and girls names in twenty years?"

Claude replied:

Based on current naming trends and patterns from the past several decades, here are my predictions for the most popular names in 2045:

Girls' Names:

• Luna - Currently rising rapidly and fits the celestial/nature trend
• Aria - Musical names are gaining popularity, and this has been climbing steadily
• Maya/Maia - Short, cross-cultural names with ancient roots are trending
• Zara - International appeal with a modern sound
• Elena - Classic but not overly traditional, fits the global naming trend

Boys' Names:

• Leo - Short, strong names are popular and this has been rising consistently
• Kai - Simple, international, nature-connected (means "ocean" in Hawaiian)
• Atlas - Mythological names are trending, and parents like strong, unique choices
• Ezra - Modern names like Ezra are seeing increased popularity
• Rowan - Already dominating for both genders and likely to continue

Key trends shaping these predictions:

1. Global influence - Names that work across cultures are increasingly popular
2. Nature and celestial themes - Luna, Kai (ocean), Atlas (mythological/geographical)
3. Short, punchy names - Three to four letters are trending over longer traditional names
4. Gender flexibility - Many of these names work for multiple genders
5. Literary and pop culture influence - Names from popular books like those by Sarah J. Maas continue to climb significantly

Currently, Liam and Olivia have been the top names since 2019, but by 2045, I expect we'll see a shift toward names that feel more internationally minded and less traditionally Western, reflecting our increasingly connected world.

This is really handy. And I don't care if the AI is hallucinating. I'm making stuff up too.

 

[KMB2476]

thank you for all the suggestions! This should be very helpful.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I sometimes look through my high school and junior high school year books (yep, I still have those things) for last names and then use another first name from the same sources. Since many of the characters are from the Northeast during the last few decades, that usually works pretty well. At other times, if I need an ethnic last name, I have used last names from movies: Baumer (German, All Quiet on the Western Front Front), Rojet (French, Paths of Glory). The latter character actually has French-Canadian ancestry and people usually mispronounce it as Roe-Jet, not Roe-Jay, which I think is accurate.

In the end, the name of the character will just become naturally associated with whatever they do in the story.

 

[Northstar4695]

I have used the popular names by year lists. That's been helpful. I have one fantasy setting story in the works. I decided to use Welsh as the language for some sprinkled in words and names, so I looked up popular Welsh names.

I have a document where I keep a running list of names I find nice-sounding. Sources are from literally everywhere (a decent chunk came from browsing baby name sites but a not-insignificant number also came from real life inspiration like a nice person you happened to interact with or something you read).When I write a story, I'll peruse it to see if any of them feel right for the characters I'm creating and so far it has worked fairly well for me. Sometimes it's as simple as picturing the character in your head and then imagining them being called by various names until one feels correct.

I tend to prefer names that are easily truncated into nicknames as that tends to feel more natural for characters who are often in the throes of passion with each other.

I also keep a list of names I like. Since I am a straight male, it tends to be women's first names that I think sound cute. I spend less time thinking about my MMC names, although I probably need to improve on that. I also second using names that can be truncated/made into a nickname. It seems to give them more texture as a person.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

This is always a problem for me, but thankfully, I developed a framework for it seven years ago, when I started dipping my toes into neon-noir:

• Write first. Either come up with a name on the spot, or go Hotline Miami style and use an adjective or a noun with a capital letter as a name (Jacket, Biker, Girlfriend, Beard, The Father, The Son, Henchman) that describes them. Keep them inside brackets so that it is a placeholder.
• Refine later. Spot the brackets, go to Behind the Name, use the Random Renamer a couple of times, or seek for names using their search filters. Since I like to have meaningful names, I make sure to have names that fit the character and aren't too rare.

 

[Rob_Royale]

The best way to do this is to avoid trendy names like Logan, Galen, Dylan etc. and just use Paul, Scott, Jeff. I avoid the most common names like Mike, John or Rob, but rather use names that are familiar but there probably aren't two in a room at any time.

 

[MelissaBaby]

This is always a problem for me, but thankfully, I developed a framework for it seven years ago, when I started dipping my toes into neon-noir:

• Write first. Either come up with a name on the spot, or go Hotline Miami style and use an adjective or a noun with a capital letter as a name (Jacket, Biker, Girlfriend, Beard, The Father, The Son, Henchman) that describes them. Keep them inside brackets so that it is a placeholder.
• Refine later. Spot the brackets, go to Behind the Name, use the Random Renamer a couple of times, or seek for names using their search filters. Since I like to have meaningful names, I make sure to have names that fit the character and aren't too rare.

This is good advice, but I’d like to refine it a bit.

If I don’t have a predetermined name for a character, or one that pops into my head right away, I will just call them xxx or yyy. I prefer that to calling them “Girlfriend” or “Biker” because I may use those words elsewhere.

When I have a name for them, I simply go to Word Search, find all xxx’s and change them all at one to the chosen name.

 

[THBGato]

Sometimes I just pick random names. Other times, the name is very important.

For example, Priya in The Third Date is a useful name as it screams "of Indian heritage" to the reader, without me having to do a clumsy, trope-y description of her skin tone. Likewise the characters of Keke and Haile in Eve & Lucy are pretty obviously of African heritage - no need to spell that out, the names tell you. Phillipa's name in Pygmalion 3.0 was also important as it often two different ways to shorten it, which was a plot point. Cristina in Desire and Duende was so named to provide a counterpoint to Leila, whose nickname is "el moro", a nod to all the "moros y cristianos" festivals around Spain, where the story takes place.

Right now, I'm having fun writing a story with two characters called Dawn and Xīyáng who are very different, almost complete opposites. One translation of Xīyáng is sunset.

My point is that sometimes names matter as they (can) tell the reader a lot.

 

[NC_Coastal]

I set out to write a story about a Cassandra, for obvious reasons. Alas, it was sent back. I might rewrite it, but I think it's out of my system.

 

[ronde]

hi everyone.
I have long struggled with naming fictional characters. I just never seem to be able to come up with names that seem natural. Sometimes I decide on the age of the character and look up what the most popular baby names were that year but I find that kind of limiting.
Does anyone have any tips about the best way to name your characters? Where do you draw inspiration from? How does one come up with believable, natural-sounding names for characters of varying ages and ethnic backgrounds?
I would appreciate any tips people have.
thank you!

I pick names based upon several things and all of them are related.

First is the time period. If you're writing about the past, you need names commonly in use during that time period. Just search for "names popular in xxxx". If the story is in the future, make up a name that fits with the criteria below.

Second is what the name says about the character. I'm a firm believer that people either adopt a personality reflected by their name or they adopt a name that reflects their personality. What I mean by that is that a "Mary" probably wouldn't be a woman who would hop into bed with the first guy she meets. "Trixie" and "Randy" would. "Evelyn" might decide she wants to be called "Evvy" if she's more on the wild side. "Horace" is probably a wimpy guy with thick glasses. "Dirk" would probably mop the floor with any man and not break a sweat. "John" might like being called "Johnie" by his women, but other men had best call him "John".

Stick with names that are easy to read because they're easy to "sound out" as we used to learn in Phonics. "Margoliana" is going to make a reader stop instead of sailing on to what Margoliana does.

Pick names that correspond to the character's ethnic and regional background. You'll be using a stereotype, but there are a lot more Ramish's in India than in South Texas. In the South, many people go by both their first and middle names, like "Bobby Joe" or "Susie Ellen".

Lastly, to help in proofreading as well as helping the reader keep straight who's who, don't use similar names for the characters in a story unless you're intent is to make a particular point. It becomes very easy to type Joe instead of Joel or Joseph, and just as easy to miss the error when you proofread.

 

[Writer61]

I often start stories with characters named A~, B~, C~ etc. The tilde makes it easy to find & replace each as I find a name that fits the character.

The names themselves come from imagination, or where the character's appearance is inspired by a real person, a variation on their name. For other ethnicities, I consult baby name lists. There are also a few jokey names: puns and references to comedy sketches.

Once I have used a name I don't like to reuse it, so I have a spreadsheet listing them all.

 

[Trionyx]

European cities are a good source of surnames for white characters.
And please, do not have multiple characters with names starting with the same letter. (Susan, Sharon & Shannon, for example.)

 

[AchtungNight]

Depends on the reader. One of my favorite authors here has stories starring Susan & Sharon, also Toni, Terri, & Traci. I’ve never had any trouble reading them.

 

[Writer61]

My latest story, Naked Weekend, features villages named Compton Dennis and Compton Leslie, a reference to two brothers who played cricket and football (I know there's an extra 'n', it just looked better). Denis was a spin bowler, so the pub in Compton Dennis is called the Spinners Arms.

There are also some real village names that I am considering for future characters. Weirdly, they all seem to be baddies. Similarly, there's a French road sign that has inspired a future villain.

The point is that you don't have to create names from thin air; there is inspiration all around if you need it.

 

[WendyTrilby]

I use the names of local real estate agents. I take the first name of one agent and attach it to the last name of another agent. They feel real (because they are), and it's my private inside joke. My favorite go to agents are the ones who take out print ads eveyrwhere showing off their boobs like that's going to help close a sale. Give it a try.

 

[TheLobster]

Depends on the reader. One of my favorite authors here has stories starring Susan & Sharon, also Toni, Terri, & Traci. I’ve never had any trouble reading them.

The biggest (figurative) doorstopper in online erotica, Six Times a Day, has two female main characters named Susan and Suzanne. But hey, at least you have 2+ million words to get used to that

 

[MelissaBaby]

Give it a try.

The name thing, or the boobs thing?