The same character names

[EdgySubMic]

Not saying that you do this, but it always amazes me when an author doesn't do a robust word replacement of the working title name for their main character. Sometimes it's not enough to do a simple Ctrl+F. The editing process should be more thorough. Another shout out for Text-To-Speech when editing!

Same here. I once read a Lit story that I enjoyed quite a lot until in the one but last paragraph a central character suddenly changed name once. That totally ruined it for me.

I don't remember the exact names now, but they were not even similar. It was something like the only woman present in the story had been called Sarah several dozen times, and suddenly she was Lisa in the key sentence of the entire story arc.

 

[Dreamerman77]

I have this same problem. Seems that coming up with English names is quite difficult for me.

 

[iwatchus]

I have a current series where I had two side characters who originated in different chapters, both named Mary. I had not really planned out the story arc and now they are both becoming more central characters. This is starting to make some of the storytelling harder. Add in that I have significant side characters named Maria and Marty and the proof reading gets much harder.

 

[SkyBubble]

Just started work on a new story. Automatically named the main character "Dave".

Then I realised I've got several stories already with the main character Dave.

Do you do this? Accidentally use the same name again and again?

Do you read stories and find the same first names everywhere, regardless of the author?

I have two characters named Mary.

One here:

https://www.literotica.com/s/gretchens-unexpected-passion

And one here:

https://www.literotica.com/s/virgin-mary

 

[SkyBubble]

I use Elizabeth and the variation Beth in a few of my stories. I'm not sure why, and I don't care all that much to find out.

Thankfully, Elizabeth has about as many nicknames as any name I know of. Beth, Betty, Betsy, Libby, Bess, etc., etc., etc.

 

[SkyBubble]

You are not on your own, Shakespeare had the same problem Henry IV part 1 & 2, Henry V, Henry VI parts 1,2&3 and Henry VIII. He did well enough.

Those were real people, however.

 

[SkyBubble]

I often call characters A and B or similar, if I'm not immediately inspired with a name.

When I was a kid, the lady who lived across the hall named her kids in alphabetical order: August, Belinda, Christopher, David, Elizabeth, and Frederick. She said it would help her remember who was the oldest and who was the youngest.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Barb, Barbara and Barbie have been showing up in mine. Similar to each other, but not (necessarily) the same person and no where even remotely close to the one I used to know.

 

[Writer61]

When I was a kid, the lady who lived across the hall named her kids in alphabetical order: August, Belinda, Christopher, David, Elizabeth, and Frederick. She said it would help her remember who was the oldest and who was the youngest.

I understand that's a thing in Thai culture. Kids called Aum, Bee, and so on.

 

[Writer61]

I don't like reusing first names because they are a key part of my mental filing system. When I realised that the MC from one series shared a given name with a secondary character in another, I started a spreadsheet to avoid such confusion.

 

[Writer61]

Same here. I once read a Lit story that I enjoyed quite a lot until in the one but last paragraph a central character suddenly changed name once. That totally ruined it for me.

I don't remember the exact names now, but they were not even similar. It was something like the only woman present in the story had been called Sarah several dozen times, and suddenly she was Lisa in the key sentence of the entire story arc.

That happens a lot. It's understandable, but distracting.

 

[Dreamerman77]

There are some interesting ideas about character names in this article. https://thejohnfox.com/2021/08/how-to-create-character-names/

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Once I got over about 30 stories, I stopped caring all that much.

I do reuse characters all the time, and so when names repeat they're very likely to be the same person. But not always, and I don't bother keeping them straight. Meaning, I doubt my readers care a whole lot more than I do.

In real life, lots of different people have the same names. So when you write in a "universe," as I do, the same should apply. I don't find myself "defaulting" to certain names, though; that's a new one on me.

Great point.
I've got a friend who works in a relatively small office with 3 different guys named Mike.

At some point it would be unrealistic to not have some repetition.