Names for characters

[Rainbow Skin]

(No-longer-quite-a-virgin no doubt rehashing old boring thread, sorry.)

Bad pron cliche: Brad and Chad; Brandi and Candi and Cyndi.

Real life: Room full of Andys, Daves, Petes, and Robs. Females have more variety but any one group contains multiple Sarahs and Kates.

Bad non-porn cliche: John or Mary, or little Timmy.

So how do you balance between realism and distinctiveness? I think as a matter of principle one ought to write the occasional story with two characters having the same name, but I wouldn't want to say the Petes and Kates should predominate in the same numbers they do in real life.

I tend to avoid the names that are just the Hebrew for 'physical object', and go for second-rank ones, common but not absurdly common: Martin and Graham and Helen and... oh wait, actually on collating my stories I find I use more variety: Vanessa and Fleur and Nora. But as I go on there will be more Grahams and Martins to give it realism.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I keep a calendar close by when I'm writing. I flip through it to find a name that best suits the character I'm writing about.

Better not use the phone book for this purpose - unless you won't your heroïne to be called Beulah Mehmenpouradah.

 

[Guest]

If I can't think of a name right away I use Google and depending on the story I look up "common Russian/Irish/Spanish/whatever first- or surnames" and sometimes diminutives or patronymics. It's actually fun seeing all the names to choose from though it can be a big loss of time if I get caught up reading about deriviatives or origins.

 

[Weird Harold]

Almost all of my characters start out as John and Jane Smith unless there is a specific purpose for choosing a particular name.

"Babysitting Aunt Agatha" is a title I trid to build a story around -- the title character obviously had to be named Agatha to get the alliterative title. (other characters wound up with names of people who would name their daughter Agatha.)

Another story tht didn't quite work out -- yet -- required themain characters be named Harry, Ron and Herminone because the story premise is a pun on the Harry potter series.

Everthing else, including my best story, the characters start out nameless until their personalities begin to emerge and a name just comes to me.

Perdita's method of searching for ethnic surnames is a good option when you're stuck for a name, but there's a much broader pattern to consider -- some areas or groups tend to biblical names and a character currently in their forties would have a "meaningful" or unusual name from the Hippy Culture influence in the Sixties.

A historical listing of common names to match the age of your characters would be a very useful find. Of course, not all hippies named their children "Moon Unit," "Dweezil," or "Chastity"; there were a lot of Janes, Marys, and more conventional names passed out in the sixties but children of that era were more likely to have uniques names or at least unique spellings.

Choosing the right name can give a character an "instant history" and save you thousands of words of back story.

Choosing the wrong name will require at least a sentence or two of explanation if you want the character to be believable.

 

[Alex756]

Popular names from back then ...

Something that I wanted to add to this thread ...

well My first suggestion with names are phone books and baby naming sites, but more importantly, several baby name sites have what were common first names going back to 1880 in the US. OK that only helps really witht he US, but some of that would translate to say Canadia (spelling intentional) and the UK as well.

Its nice is say upi have an older character to have him named something 'older'. The funny thing is I get occasional feedback from people on my story in the mature catagory saying something about how they could really identify because they were about the male characters age, and named Robert. When I checked a baby name site, it turns out for theyear range the character woulda been born, Robert was between #1 and #5 for like the 10 years I checked ....

Names seem to go in spurts, like the spurt of Jennifers I went to school with. You couldn't throw a rock and not hit a jennifer ... which was ogod cause I was aiming at one *giggle*

I find myself using very few last names in stories, most of mine are firts name only.

Alex756
http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=92151

 

[openthighs_sarah]

The name "Sarah" comes up a lot in my stories. I just like seeing it print, that's all. I'm a five-year-old at heart.

I like interesting names, though, as long as they're fun to read. There are books that I've hated because I couldn't hear the names right in my head. The names don't have to be uncommon as long as they seem to fit, and as long as they fit the style and cadence of the story. I'm always thinking in terms of sound -- how the text sounds in the reader's head, how the character names sound in dialogue or in narrative.

Finding the perfect name is like magic, though -- it can change the whole texture and direction of a story, at least for me.

 

[Chicklet]

Well with a few exceptions I've tried to stay away from any cliche. Definitely don't spell names how they aren't s'posed to be spelled...ie Jayne instead of Jane (although it does happen) and Bryan instead of Brian. I know both kinds of names, but somehow reading names with Y's in the middle doesn't seem right. Same with Cindi and Mindi and Mandi and Candi - the I just doesn't look right.

Most of my characters end up with J names (the men, at least) by no coincidence I've had sex with mostly J names.

SO...that's my secret. Stay away from weird spelling and all else is happiness.

 

[TheEarl]

Sarah comes up in a lot of my stories as well. I don't know why. I usually just steal sports player's names for my characters.

The Earl

 

[PaulX35]

But....

I often find myself really thinking about a name that will not only be non-cliche but also will match somehow with the character you're trying to paint. Am I the only one wasting my time on this?

Paul

 

[Rainbow Skin]

Some names are only given by certain groups of people: class or age or race. If you have a Gus or Virginia or Henry or Shakira you're saying a little about them.

But most names don't 'fit' the person. You might have one distinctive friend or colleague called Jessica or Graeme and associate the name strongly with their character; but as soon as you meet another Jessica she's quite different, and is very unlikely to resemble the first.

So it's better not to use names as shorthand substitutes for character-writing.

 

[Weird Harold]

PaulX35, no, you're not the ony one who does that.

Some names are only given by certain groups of people: class or age or race. If you have a Gus or Virginia or Henry or Shakira you're saying a little about them.

But most names don't 'fit' the person. ... So it's better not to use names as shorthand substitutes for character-writing.

Whether you deleiberately use the name as a "shorthand substitute" or not, some names have a strong association in readers minds already.

Bruno, Butch, Moose, Igor, etc, all have long literary associations with Henchmen, Sidekicks, Toughs and Bullies. If you choose to use one of those or similar names, then you wind up fighting against literary traditions to make them sweet gentle men to the readers.

Sometimes, the contrast between the common literary associations with a name can make their real character traits stand out even more and is worth the effort involved to achieve the affect you want.

The right name can make or break a story when it has a long literary association with a certain type of character. It's good to be aware of how some names are seen by the reader, even if you don't deliberately use those preconceptions.

Using common perceptions is a good way to deal with "bit players" without a lot of exposition -- When I see a bit player named Bruno, I'll subconsciously assume he's a hulking brute until told otherwise. A secretary named Jane is usually a competent efficient secretary as a bit-player, and so forth.

Names have a lot of power in literature whether the author chooses to take deliberate advantage of that fact or not.

 

[English Lady]

You know,,names just happen for me, but then i daydream all my stories before i write them so i have a name for use in the day dream*L*

 

[openthighs_sarah]

But most names don't 'fit' the person. You might have one distinctive friend or colleague called Jessica or Graeme and associate the name strongly with their character; but as soon as you meet another Jessica she's quite different, and is very unlikely to resemble the first.

I agree with Weird Harold on this. There is power in a name, whether you use it or not.

Using both first and last names can help distinguish a character, too, and so can using only a last name for a character (Marlowe). The name itself is less important than finding a natural way in the narrative to identify the character. It may be subjective, but so are the great majority of the devices we use to evoke a response.

(edited to add)
I agree that finding a name isn't a substitute for character development. My way of thinking is simply that it's another device that's available if you want to make use of it. As a reader, though, I don't want to be so focused on a name that I have trouble falling into the story.

 

[oggbashan]

Sometimes I start writing with a short "vanilla" name such as John or Mary and do a search/replace when the character begins to take shape.

In desperation I have even used FFF1, FFF2 and MMM1 for female and male characters (usually the minor players).

I have half a dozen name books and a couple of books about naming frequencies for various countries and times so that I can check whether a story set in Wales in the 1960s has appropriate names for babies born in the 1940s.

I find that as the character grows the possible list of appropriate names becomes shorter.

Og

 

[MathGirl]

Them Rooshuns

When Count Leo, Fyodor, and Boris were writing their epics, I sure wish they had given characters names like Chad, Bob, and Alan. It would have made reading those wonderful novels a lot easier.
"The Brothers Jones" "Anna Smith"
MG

 

[gauchecritic]

I'm just thankful that Literoticans aren't following U.S tv and naming their characters with surnames (a Scottish tradition gives children their grandmother's maiden names as second name). The number of times I hear parents calling to their children names like Walker, Harrison, Jackson et.c. it makes me cringe.

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned the practise of authors using dliberately revealing names like Victor, Hector or Grant and even into surnames like the obvious Mrs Malaprop or Mr Smoketoomuch.

("Well you'd better cut down a little then."
"I'm sorry?"
"You'd better cut down a little then. Smoke too much? Cut down a little? I expect you get people making jokes about your name all the time eh?"
" No. It's never struck me before. Smoke too much?" [begins to giggle])

Gauche

 

[Guest]

Re: Them Rooshuns

When Count Leo, Fyodor, and Boris were writing their epics, I sure wish they had given characters names like Chad, Bob, and Alan. It would have made reading those wonderful novels a lot easier. "The Brothers Jones" "Anna Smith"

Dyevushkayayaya*: you almost made my latte come out through my nose (oops, is that OK to say?)

*dyevushka = girl in russki-talk

 

[Guest]

The number of times I hear parents calling to their children names like Walker, Harrison, Jackson et.c. it makes me cringe.

Omigod, seriously (if I can use that word here), a friend named her boys Jackson and Harrison (Jack and Harry) but only after San Francisco streets.

I'm telling the truth (as always).

Purr

 

[MathGirl]

a friend named her boys Jackson and Harrison (Jack and Harry) but only after San Francisco streets.

Dear P,
That's preferable to Van Ness, Geary, U.S. 101 South, or Market.
MG

 

[Guest]

Dear P, That's preferable to Van Ness, Geary, U.S. 101 South, or Market. MG

I can see a Mr. Van Ness, and we do have a Noriega and Castro.

I like that we have a Parnussus too; I go there looking for golden apples sometimes.

Purd

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Another story tht didn't quite work out -- yet -- required themain characters be named Harry, Ron and Herminone because the story premise is a pun on the Harry potter series.

Did someone say "Harry Potter"???

*quickly looking up from packing, staring around for the guilty one*

 

[SlaveMasterUK]

In my only story posted here (another shameless plug not required - can't be arsed to italise anything tonight) the name of a very important character is hidden until the very end of the story.

It wasn't until I reached that part of the story that I realised I didn't have a clue what to call her - OK I had a little lee-way as it was set a ~thousand years in the future, and I'd already made up some pretty interesting names (Keerenen Wells, Steele and Stetson Filks from my abandoned sci-fi tale all have cameos in this story).

In the end I turned to a few friends to see what name would readers be expecting at this stage in the story, already thinking they know pretty much all there is to know about her? I am pleased with the name I chose (with some much-needed help!)

The obligatory twist-ending in this story actually centres around character names... I'll say no more!

Ax

 

[Chicklet]

Re: But....

I often find myself really thinking about a name that will not only be non-cliche but also will match somehow with the character you're trying to paint. Am I the only one wasting my time on this?

Paul

yes

<grin>