Naming characters
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floweringquince
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Sometimes names just suggest themselves. The character who's built like a truck and loves to fuck (urgh - that wasn't meant to rhyme) has got to be named "Ryder," right?
Sometimes names serve a plot point. One of my characters is called "Johnny" so that he (and I) can reference the Black folk hero Johnny Conkeroo/High John the Conquerer.
Sometimes names get changed. I came up with "Wick" for one character only after thoroughly combing my brain and www.urbandictionary.com for something better than his old name, which I now can't remember.
The way I choose names is in keeping with the tone of the story. A mainstream comedy farce about a American girl who really wants to be Japanese features "Gaijin Wannabee", and her arch-enemy is Viscount Nemesis. (Yes, he's really a Viscount. No, he has no given name: that's what drives him to commit his evil deeds.) (It's a very silly story
My super-duper-highbrow mainstream novel to be set in medieval Scotland doesn't have a name for the main character yet. It need to be an appropriate 15th Century Gaelic name, and I'm currently begging some knowledgable people for help with getting that right.
(Well, okay, she's had two names so far: I discarded "Girny Greer" for "Hackit Maisrie" because I liked the sound of the second one better; but I doubt either of them will fit the historic time and place well enough to use).
Sometimes I pick names to avoid associations: I'm working on a (very dark) mainstream short story about how it might feel for starving parents in the throes of a famine, already watching their existing children slowly sucumb to malnutrition, to commit infanticide when the mother's milk fails to come in. Since the topic is so fraught with horror and indictment, I wanted names that didn't seem to imply any existing human culture.
I picked No'e for the mother, partly to imply the denial and "nullification" she is suffering and feeling. The father is D'lei; to sound vaguely, but not very, paternal.
I had to give them a lot of living children; and to show how intensely they cared about them I wanted them to think of their children by name (rather than as "our second son" or "my third daughter"). So I had to come up with a lot of names. I hope these don't sound too much like the tortured quasi-Japanese-ification of counting to five in Latin that they are: Un'e, Bis'e, Turto, Ku'ar & Q'in.
(Dang, that's depressing - why don't I write stories about happy bunnies and fuzzy yellow ducks?)
A friend of mine was somewhat miffed by my referring to upbeat romance stories as being all "butterflies and buttercups" when I was saying they weren't very much my thing. It turns out that *he* writes upbeat romance stories (ooops!).
So, in a much longer (mainstream but racy) story that winds up with some actual upbeat romance, my herione will fall in love with a man named "Butterfield" and his two adorable children form a previous marriage: "Mariposa" (Spanish for 'butterfly") and "Link" (short for "Lincoln," which was picked because of "Schmetterling" - German for "butterfly").
(You say that's all a very nice conceit, but they're lousy names for the poor kids? - Hey, it was his ex's idea: she insisted on those names
- Quince (so named because I couldn't think of something better right away, when "Scherazade" turned to have been taken already
PS. Now what's driving me crazy is titles. (...No, not titties - titles!
Usually I have a title as part of the story idea - often the title is the germ of the story idea (erotic stories-in-waiting include "His Majesty", "Shivaree", "The Way of a Man with a Maid", etc.).
But for my Scots story - nothing, nichts, zilch, nada.
(Well, not quite nothing. Stella had an absolutely excellent suggestion which is perfect in every way - except that I'm not quite sure I like it (...yeah, well, I don't understand that either
So I'm stuck with "the Scots story." Kind of like "the Scottish play" - it almost might as well *be* "Macbeth."
(Hey, there we go! I could make the heroine "Elspeth MacBeth, the Beaton of Ben Buie" and that'd be my title, too! I'd just have to completely change her character, the plot, the setting, the era, and everything else about the story... ....then again, maybe not...
Sometimes names serve a plot point. One of my characters is called "Johnny" so that he (and I) can reference the Black folk hero Johnny Conkeroo/High John the Conquerer.
Sometimes names get changed. I came up with "Wick" for one character only after thoroughly combing my brain and www.urbandictionary.com for something better than his old name, which I now can't remember.
The way I choose names is in keeping with the tone of the story. A mainstream comedy farce about a American girl who really wants to be Japanese features "Gaijin Wannabee", and her arch-enemy is Viscount Nemesis. (Yes, he's really a Viscount. No, he has no given name: that's what drives him to commit his evil deeds.) (It's a very silly story
My super-duper-highbrow mainstream novel to be set in medieval Scotland doesn't have a name for the main character yet. It need to be an appropriate 15th Century Gaelic name, and I'm currently begging some knowledgable people for help with getting that right.
(Well, okay, she's had two names so far: I discarded "Girny Greer" for "Hackit Maisrie" because I liked the sound of the second one better; but I doubt either of them will fit the historic time and place well enough to use).
Sometimes I pick names to avoid associations: I'm working on a (very dark) mainstream short story about how it might feel for starving parents in the throes of a famine, already watching their existing children slowly sucumb to malnutrition, to commit infanticide when the mother's milk fails to come in. Since the topic is so fraught with horror and indictment, I wanted names that didn't seem to imply any existing human culture.
I picked No'e for the mother, partly to imply the denial and "nullification" she is suffering and feeling. The father is D'lei; to sound vaguely, but not very, paternal.
I had to give them a lot of living children; and to show how intensely they cared about them I wanted them to think of their children by name (rather than as "our second son" or "my third daughter"). So I had to come up with a lot of names. I hope these don't sound too much like the tortured quasi-Japanese-ification of counting to five in Latin that they are: Un'e, Bis'e, Turto, Ku'ar & Q'in.
(Dang, that's depressing
- why don't I write stories about happy bunnies and fuzzy yellow ducks?)A friend of mine was somewhat miffed by my referring to upbeat romance stories as being all "butterflies and buttercups" when I was saying they weren't very much my thing. It turns out that *he* writes upbeat romance stories (ooops!).
So, in a much longer (mainstream but racy) story that winds up with some actual upbeat romance, my herione will fall in love with a man named "Butterfield" and his two adorable children form a previous marriage: "Mariposa" (Spanish for 'butterfly") and "Link" (short for "Lincoln," which was picked because of "Schmetterling" - German for "butterfly").
(You say that's all a very nice conceit, but they're lousy names for the poor kids? - Hey, it was his ex's idea: she insisted on those names
- Quince (so named because I couldn't think of something better right away, when "Scherazade" turned to have been taken already
PS. Now what's driving me crazy is titles. (...No, not titties - titles!
Usually I have a title as part of the story idea - often the title is the germ of the story idea (erotic stories-in-waiting include "His Majesty", "Shivaree", "The Way of a Man with a Maid", etc.).
But for my Scots story - nothing, nichts, zilch, nada.
(Well, not quite nothing. Stella had an absolutely excellent suggestion which is perfect in every way - except that I'm not quite sure I like it (...yeah, well, I don't understand that either
So I'm stuck with "the Scots story." Kind of like "the Scottish play" - it almost might as well *be* "Macbeth."
(Hey, there we go! I could make the heroine "Elspeth MacBeth, the Beaton of Ben Buie" and that'd be my title, too! I'd just have to completely change her character, the plot, the setting, the era, and everything else about the story... ....then again, maybe not...
floweringquince
Really Experienced
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TE999 said:
Don't forget maps. Place names are often surnames, and maps give you a great mix.
I also use baby name sites, especially if I want something very specific I can't think of (e.g. "an Italian man's name that doesn't start with 'P', isn't either remarkable or stereoptypical, and is sexy.")
And I write down names that I like. NPR has a reporter named "Quinn Kleinfelder" - is that a great name or what? And there's a German reporter named "Eugen Freund." I may have to write stories around both those names
I once worked with a contractor named "Chip Hauser" - but that's *too* perfect to use for a fictional contractor. Maybe I'll name an accountant or a bank manager "Chip Hauser" someday
- Quince
starrkers
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Some names are too good to be true - the night security guard where I worked was named Dick Head.
Really.
A politician in my home town is Richard Face.
You could never use them though. Just too good.
My current nameless girl is a "Me and Bobby McGee" type. Damned if I know what her name is though.
Really.
A politician in my home town is Richard Face.
You could never use them though. Just too good.
My current nameless girl is a "Me and Bobby McGee" type. Damned if I know what her name is though.
Vermilion
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Sometimes it makes me laugh how many of the characters in stroke stories have high-falutin or made-up names, especially the girls. it's like Amy, Hannah or Jane just aren't 'sexy' enough, so the author has chosen polysyllabic, hard to spell, harder to pronounce names that just make me giggle.
I try and go with names that aren't too over the top, but yes, I agree that names are important and if the name doesn't fit the character it totally throws you when you're writing.
I have a particular problem at the moment in that I'm writiting a story from first person perspective so I haven't needed to give her a name, but when drafting I need to refer to her somehow, so I've had to pick a name and it doesn't fit - it's like wearing a shirt that's too tight across the shoulders: restrictive and constantly irritating. Luckily I won't have to call her anything in the actual story, unless one of the other characters chooses to call her by name, but I think I can avoid that...
Names do have certain implications that go with them, though. Either based on mass assumptions (what does the name Diana make you think of initially?) or individual experiences. For example the name of the girl I was bullied by at school is also the name of my best friend - makes things tricky for me when trying to sort out my feelings about the name.
Some names sound sweet, like Amy, Katie, Sophie (something about the 'ee' sound?) and you can either use them starightforwardly to make your character seem sweet or you can subvert it a little and make them not *quite* as sweet as they first appear...
OK... I'll quite rambling now. I need food.
x
V
I try and go with names that aren't too over the top, but yes, I agree that names are important and if the name doesn't fit the character it totally throws you when you're writing.
I have a particular problem at the moment in that I'm writiting a story from first person perspective so I haven't needed to give her a name, but when drafting I need to refer to her somehow, so I've had to pick a name and it doesn't fit - it's like wearing a shirt that's too tight across the shoulders: restrictive and constantly irritating. Luckily I won't have to call her anything in the actual story, unless one of the other characters chooses to call her by name, but I think I can avoid that...
Names do have certain implications that go with them, though. Either based on mass assumptions (what does the name Diana make you think of initially?) or individual experiences. For example the name of the girl I was bullied by at school is also the name of my best friend - makes things tricky for me when trying to sort out my feelings about the name.
Some names sound sweet, like Amy, Katie, Sophie (something about the 'ee' sound?) and you can either use them starightforwardly to make your character seem sweet or you can subvert it a little and make them not *quite* as sweet as they first appear...
OK... I'll quite rambling now. I need food.
x
V
Edward Teach
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I usually spend a lot of time on names because I think it's important. I think the name should show a little of the personality but not be over the top. Brad Nailer for a young stud is a little too much in my opinion.
I also try to keep the names separate enough to prevent the reader from getting the characters confused. Paul Jones and Phil Johnson are too similar.
On the other hand I sometimes link people with similar names. I once named a couple at a party Jeff and Jill so that the reader could readily identify them as a couple.
Just my $.02.
Ed
I also try to keep the names separate enough to prevent the reader from getting the characters confused. Paul Jones and Phil Johnson are too similar.
On the other hand I sometimes link people with similar names. I once named a couple at a party Jeff and Jill so that the reader could readily identify them as a couple.
Just my $.02.
Ed
TheeGoatPig
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I should probably point out that I try to use names that are easy for me to type 
Fallenfromgrace
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I have a huge problem with titles- names are relatively ok for me. I NEVER have a title for my works! EVER! my VE is who i turn to for that! lol...
See, full names...
Naina Varma and Stephanie Vaughan are a couple, but their surnames do not get mentioned (as of yet at least!) and because they are both of different ethnic origins i dont see there being any reader confusion.
Oh, except when i get them into a conversation about merging names and double barrelled names when they have a civil union ha...that could be interesting!
'Vaughan-Varma'
'Varghan' haha...
'Vaurma' LMFAO...oh god.
See, full names...
Naina Varma and Stephanie Vaughan are a couple, but their surnames do not get mentioned (as of yet at least!) and because they are both of different ethnic origins i dont see there being any reader confusion.
Oh, except when i get them into a conversation about merging names and double barrelled names when they have a civil union
ha...that could be interesting!'Vaughan-Varma'
'Varghan' haha...
'Vaurma' LMFAO...oh god.
Frank Noir
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These days I tend to start by naming the females F, F2 etc. and the males M, M2 etc. to get the story started at all. Then I go back and do a search-and-replace later.
Normally, my characters only have first names. I usually get them from movie stars - porn or otherwise...
Normally, my characters only have first names. I usually get them from movie stars - porn or otherwise...
CeriseNoire
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Titles are an even bigger problem for me, so after I write the story or poem, I just go back and slap something lame at the top of the page. It's driven me nuts for years.
As for last names, I try to avoid them if I can, otherwise I end up going through the same frustrating process as I do for first names.
As for last names, I try to avoid them if I can, otherwise I end up going through the same frustrating process as I do for first names.
Stella_Omega
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Janis?starrkers said:
CeriseNoire
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I remember a girl back in high school who got caught giving a BJ to a boy in the bathroom. Her last name was Blose... poor girl, the jokes just wrote themselves.
Stella_Omega
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*diverted* Oh, I think Joni was far far more edgy than Janis, really...starrkers said:She's not edgy enough for Janis
HOw about Janice, then, the soft-focus version of the name
starrkers
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Stella_Omega said:*diverted* Oh, I think Joni was far far more edgy than Janis, really...
HOw about Janice, then, the soft-focus version of the name
In her work, definitely. But she looked so sweet...
I'm kinda thinking Ginny or Jenny but as a contraction of Imogen, just to make her different. And she works very hard to be different.
Jenny_Jackson
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For a primer on naming characters, read Ian Fleming. He was great with names - Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole... wow.
Tom Collins
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Yeah, that's me. The baby name book that I have is like a fucking phonebook, I swear to God! You could kill someone with it if you were determined...and on PCP.geekychick_76 said:I had the same trouble, so I purchased a "what to name your baby" book .... lots of names to choose from
It's got names in it from every ethnicity on the planet, nearly. It might take me as much as half an hour of flipping through it for my eye to light on one that strikes my fancy for this particular character, but it's yet to fail me.
Of course, sometimes the name is what forms the character in my mind.
Tom Collins
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My father went to high school with a guy named Richard Head. Either there's two sets of parents out there who ought to be publicly flogged, or it's the same cat. PMSLstarrkers said:
Last edited:
only_more_so
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Here's a fun link: Census Name File
It has the names from the US census and ranks them by order of occurance.
JAMES 3.318 3.318 1
JOHN 3.271 6.589 2
ROBERT 3.143 9.732 3
MICHAEL 2.629 12.361 4
WILLIAM 2.451 14.812 5
So 3.318% of men have the name WILLIAM. The second number means the number of names that are as common or more common than your name. So 14.812 percent of men have one of the top 5 names.
My name's in the 40's and my last name is in the 2800's. I did the math once and it implied that there were someone like 20 people in the US with my first and last name. I've actually been confused for 2 of them (one with my college application, and another lived near me in Virginia).
Oh, and doing the math for James Smith: 3.318%*1.006%*300M=100,137 people!
It has the names from the US census and ranks them by order of occurance.
JAMES 3.318 3.318 1
JOHN 3.271 6.589 2
ROBERT 3.143 9.732 3
MICHAEL 2.629 12.361 4
WILLIAM 2.451 14.812 5
So 3.318% of men have the name WILLIAM. The second number means the number of names that are as common or more common than your name. So 14.812 percent of men have one of the top 5 names.
My name's in the 40's and my last name is in the 2800's. I did the math once and it implied that there were someone like 20 people in the US with my first and last name. I've actually been confused for 2 of them (one with my college application, and another lived near me in Virginia).
Oh, and doing the math for James Smith: 3.318%*1.006%*300M=100,137 people!
TE999
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A urologist in my home town had the name of Richard Finder.
And I once worked with a guy named Richard Stalker.
Neither appreciated being referred to as 'Dick'.
And we had a surgeon in town with the last name of Carver.
But my all time favorite is a woman with the moniker of 'Toppie Smellie' on a commercial many years ago.
Who would name their kid 'Toppie', for pete's sake?
And I once worked with a guy named Richard Stalker.
Neither appreciated being referred to as 'Dick'.
And we had a surgeon in town with the last name of Carver.
But my all time favorite is a woman with the moniker of 'Toppie Smellie' on a commercial many years ago.
Who would name their kid 'Toppie', for pete's sake?
MagicaPractica
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I generally figure out what my character is going to be like then name he/she something that "sounds" right. Of course, that can change as the story evolves. When I'm first trying to come up with a name I'll sit down and write a list of names, one starting with each letter of the alphabet, to get me started.
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