Naming Characters

[KillerMuffin]

Pain in da ass.

Here are a few I absolutely loathe:

Kimmy
Jenny
Jessie
Jessica
Jennifer
Jen
Kim
Kimber
Kimberly
Brittney
Amber
Kitten <--- I really hate this one.
Kitty
Angel
Jack

I also loathe any name that was plucked from the Badly Written and Wildly Cheesy Romance Handbook for Wannabe Authors.

That's pretty much anything that you won't find on a birth certificate. This tells me "I am the author in his/her fantasy life or the author's lover in his/her fantasy life. I have nothing in common with reality. I don't even like it."

Most of us probably roll eyes at the above list except for "Jack."

I don't like Jack because people misuse it. Jack is such a common noun that it doesn't feel bad to use it with the comfortable frequency we use pronouns for.

I am one of those people that like characters to be "real." I want to think of a character as someone I might actually know in real life because they're real enough to exist. I want them appropriately named, as well.

When I name a character, if s/he wasn't created with one already, I go to a baby name site, plug in the adjective that best describes the character and pick an American sounding name that is as ethno-neutral as possible. I won't name a person Shanequa or Annaliese unless the character requires racial identity.

Most of my characters have no more racial or cultural identity than I can assign subconsciously. I like that my readers can read the same story and assign a character the race and appearance of their preference.

Anyway.

If you write a story and name your female character "Kitten" I'm not only going to give the monitor a dirty look, I'm not going to read it. Gawd, what happened to originality? Just about every female is a fucking "kitten" these days.

bitch bitch bitch rant rant rant

 

[wildsweetone]

rofl

feel better Killer Muffin?

hmmm i wonder how Rolf would sit in one of my stories... better than Ralph, that reminds me of that goof on Happy Days way back in the dark ages.

 

[Monazwx]

YAY!

KMuffin,

I do the same thing; plugging in adjectives to find the perfect name. Character names should have meaning, even if the character has a name that is totally opposite his/her disposition to add humor or a twist or something.

Those names you listed are so generic, I don't how they make it into some stories. Brittany is the worst.

Hope writers keep this thread in mind.

 

[TheEarl]

Kimber?

Wow, insight into Killer's psychoses. I usually just pluck a name out of air that sounds right. What site do you use?

Sad truth is that (in England at least) in 10 years lots of women will be called Britney. Unimaginative (or unnecessarily cruel) parents name their brat after whatever cheap and tacky pop star is famous at the time. Hence the flood of Kylie's when I was at school, who are just passing jailbait now. Just imagine who would be cruel enough to name their new-born Dido or Aaliyah.

Mind you there are the nice parents who come up with Austin Healey, Rip Torn, etc.

The Earl

 

[TheEarl]

even if the character has a name that is totally opposite his/her disposition to add humor or a twist or something

There's a Ben Elton novel which includes a boy named Judy, pretty much casting his character for the entire book.

The Earl

 

[Uther_Pendragon]

Well, I don't know.
Some of those names are horrible; some of them are just
KM's pet peeves.
I named a character Kitten, although she wasn't sexually
active. My favorite couple, Bob and Jeanette Brennan,
named their baby Catherine Angelique. They started to
use the nickname, Cat. But she was so small, that they
called her Kitten instead.
I've hunted in "What shall we name the baby" books.
I don't believe in fitting names to characteristics;
real parents dono't have that option
(American Indians excepted).

 

[Coralee]

Re: Kimber?

Wow, insight into Killer's psychoses. I usually just pluck a name out of air that sounds right. What site do you use?

Sad truth is that (in England at least) in 10 years lots of women will be called Britney. Unimaginative (or unnecessarily cruel) parents name their brat after whatever cheap and tacky pop star is famous at the time. Hence the flood of Kylie's when I was at school, who are just passing jailbait now. Just imagine who would be cruel enough to name their new-born Dido or Aaliyah.

Mind you there are the nice parents who come up with Austin Healey, Rip Torn, etc.

The Earl

Just curious...

What don't you like about Aaliyah? I can understand Britney and Dido, but what do you find cruel about naming your kid Aaliyah? I think it's a beautiful name.

 

[KillerMuffin]

Psychoses??? What in the fuck did I ever do to you?

 

[Weird Harold]

I've been known to drop a phone book on the fllor and then drop a pen on the page it falls open to. It's a quick and simple way to pick a "realistic" name for a character.

 

[DVS]

Did we forget...

Bart, Hank, Max, and Buzz? Not that they are terrible, but when looking for a masculine name, they tend to come up in stories.

I don't try to match a name with a character unless there is a specific characteristic I want to be pronounced. Kitten would maybe go for a sexpot, but Kitty may do better for a waitress. Brittney may work for an empty minded young victim with a great body, as would maybe Kimberly. Kim wouldn't work as well, though. Does that mean the 'ly' at the end automatically lowers their IQ a few points? Or is that just in MY mind?

But, I would rather use names that don't have a connection with the character. Let the name sort of take on the character.

 

[cybergirly]

Did we forget...

Bart, Hank, Max, and Buzz? Not that they are terrible, but when looking for a masculine name, they tend to come up in stories.

I don't try to match a name with a character unless there is a specific characteristic I want to be pronounced. Kitten would maybe go for a sexpot, but Kitty may do better for a waitress. Brittney may work for an empty minded young victim with a great body, as would maybe Kimberly. Kim wouldn't work as well, though. Does that mean the 'ly' at the end automatically lowers their IQ a few points? Or is that just in MY mind?

But, I would rather use names that don't have a connection with the character. Let the name sort of take on the character.

I don't think it is the 'ly' just the 'y'(or maybe just the 'y' sound).Think of Tammy as opposed to Tamara, Nickie to Nicole, Charlie to Charlotte. In general putting that 'ie-ly-y" on the end does make the person take on a less intelligent personality.

My personal pet-peev: Buffy

Girly

 

[JUDO]

...and all this time, I thought jack was a verb!

 

[Ray Dario]

If I'm going for symbolism with the character, in other words I'm not really writing about a specific character but a kind of person, then I name the character a name which somewhere along the line means the kind of character I'm writing about. I usually try to use names that are not common for this. No "Mercy"s or "Chasity"s

If I'm writing about a plot then the character's get names that read well in the story. I may pick them from a Baby Names site or I may look in a Baby Names book or I may just think of a good name.

Many of the names on KM's list are very common names in real life and I will use them. "Kitten" is one I don't think I'd use without my tongue firmly in cheek.

Ray

 

[Never]

I'm working on MU right now and my main characters are named:

Camilla, Deirdre, Jawahir, Yukiko, and Adalheidis (Alice).

When you say 'ethnic neutral', I hear 'Anglo-Saxon'. I cannot think of one ethnically neutral name - only names that would seem typical in a certain setting. At the school I am attending, I am surrounded by people with names that would be 'ethnic' in Mass. but are not in Texas.


The name should reflect the character and their environment, yes; I spent five hours picking out seven or so names. MU is set in a cosmopolitan city of a fantasy world.

If I were picking names for a modern middle class WASP background set in California or the Northwest then I would head for the Kevens, Jennifers and Jessicas. Why? Cause in my senor class of sixty we had five Jennifers, three Jessicas and three Kevens. I cannot roll my eyes at that.

When I lived in Michigan, the other students at my 90% black elementary school decided my name was too strange sounding and just called me Sheanaynay (they considered that a typical name). In the NW people were always asked me my ethnic background, in the NE people asked me how my parents came up with it, and at college no one bats an eye. Four different reactions to the same name. Names, clothing, and food are always 'ethnic' and local.

 

[Axeltheswede]

character names

I have to plead guilty on one count of "Amber". I didn't think it was that bad at the time.

I do have a little shortcut for naming characters. Watch the credits roll at the end of a movie. Sometimes first names jump out at you when they appear with a last name. Jot down the ones that sound interesting. Then you always have a list to use for character names.

Names do carry baggage. That can be something to use to develop a character. It can also be something to watch out for when it is time to name a character.

 

[Guest]

Familiarity

I tend to write about persons I know or have known so naming a character is not terribly difficult except in cases where the names have been changed to protect the innocent......

 

[Route66Girl]

What's in a name?

In the modern-day stories, I choose names pretty much at random. When I get to the juncture at which it's time to name the characters, I look around for any magazine, newspaper or anything likely to have a list of names on it, and go from there.

Sometimes the characters practically name themselves, though.

What's really challenging is picking out names for a Sci-Fi or Fantasy tale. It's not just character names; it's everything. Geographical, technological, cultural- the name of just about everything has to be created. There are so many choices and options. You can use symbolism, historical names, just make some up... I haven't made any up yet, but it would be fun to try sometime.

The story-turned-novella-turned-novel that I've been working on is a quasi-fantasy piece, and a few of the characters named themselves as they're based on archetypal figures. But the rest had to be researched after I decided to use genuine Celtic names, and it turned out that there were few that would fit the story.

Coincheann and Uisneach, for example, are so different from modern-day English that they seem a little clumsy to read. So I had to find original Celtic names that are still familiar to us. Oddly enough, most of them are almost too common to sound like they fit a fantasy story: Graham, Malone, Duane, etc.

But I found a few that will work and plugged 'em in.

Not that it matters. The novel's gone... buried in the graveyard of file losses caused by sheer stupidity. Believe it or not, a few days later, the floppy holding the rest of my projects was destroyed. And that was only the fifth worst thing to happen this month. With the luck I've had lately, I'm beginning to wonder if I did something really heinous in a past life.

I'm not complainin' But I really, really want to.

 

[Never]

Fantasy names can be tough. At some point, I lose all perspective. Is Niq'quiah a good name? Does it look like someone just brought together a bunch of letters? Does it make you think of the Nighttime sniffling, sneezing, running nose, coughing, aching head, sore throat, medicine?

 

[Whispersecret]

Well, shit. My realname is on KM's list. LOL. Does this mean you don't like me no more, Muff?

I read a book in which the hero was named Hawk Hawkenville. GAG me. There were, of course, all the requisite references to his sharp gaze and brows like wings, etc. I loved the book otherwise, but that name was just too hokey for words.

I'm with you on the name thing. Lisa is a name I see too often. Anything cat/kitten/kitty makes me roll my eyes. Ditto Amber. I will always think Britney is spelled wrong. In fact, any "creative" spelling of traditional names seems ridiculous. That's just asking for people to misspell it forever. Plus I'd rather show my individuality in some other more meaningful way, like with my writing, my sense of humor, or my personality and interaction with other people.

 

[KillerMuffin]

I still love you, Jack.

There are a lot of names in America that are anglo in origin, but are ethnically neutral because you have good odds of meeting someone who isn't angle with that name.

My definition of ethnically neutral is any name that can reasonably found on a member of one of a few races. Origin of the name isn't considered, just who it can be applied to know.

Darren
Maria
Donna
Jason
Sean
Denise

etc.

I've seen these names on a lot of different Americans.

 

[Weird Harold]

My definition of ethnically neutral is any name that can reasonably found on a member of one of a few races.

I think a better term for what you mean would be Ethnically Ambiguous.

Common American names are indded found attached to many ethnic backgrounds, but usually as a result of an attempt to "Americanize" the family.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

I assume, KM's "gag me with a name" reaction to certain monikers was limited to contemporary fiction and characters in their teens or early twenties.

If you're working with characters who aren't in that age group, then the naming process becomes even tougher. The difficulty with names and sci-fi and fantansy have already been mentioned.

There's another problem for characters "of this world". Many people have names which reflect their time and place of birth. For instance, during and after WWII, "ene" names were popular for girls. Therefore you might run across the likes of: Charlene, Darlene, Earlene, Jolene. It wasn't an accident that the TV show "Laverne and Shirley" wasn't called "Jessica and Kimberly."

Females born during the "Roaring Twenties" were in grave danger of finding themselves stuck with: Clarice, Nanette, Noreen, several flowers including Rose and Lily, plus Faith, Hope, and Charity.

Favorite Character Naming Story: At the last minute, a New York editor convinced the author of an epic tome to change the name of her lead character from Pansy to, Scarlette O'Hara.

And a fond goodnight to one and all from an old fart who way back when had a drop dead gorgeous high school classmate whose parents had given the name, "Kitty Lou".

Rumple Foreskin

 

[Kymberley]

Pain in da ass.

Here are a few I absolutely loathe:

Kimmy
Jenny
Jessie
Jessica
Jennifer
Jen
Kim
Kimber
Kimberly
Brittney
Amber
Kitten <--- I really hate this one.
Kitty
Angel
Jack

Oh Great! Now I will have to search for a new name. Never knew I was loathed before.

 

[jon.hayworth]

Well thanks KM you have just condemned every Cornishman and person of Cornish extraction to oblivion - (something the English have tried to do for 7 centuries)



The slang for Cornishmen is COUSIN JACKs or JENNYs

On a serious level names can sometimes be important to the story take a look at my story "MOTHER'S OLD PHOTOS".

Also culturally they can define a character here in the UK Wayne is probably a bit of a tearaway who drives a 10 year old car with furry dice dangling in the windshield. And his and his girlfriend's names on the sunvisor. His gf is probably called Michele or Lorraine.

jon

 

[TheEarl]

No offense meant Killer Muffin.

I just feel its a bit cruel to kids to give them a weird name just because you want to be individual. I've just discovered Aaliyah means "high exalted one" which is actually quite good.

The Earl