Choosing Names for Characters

How do you usually choose the name
of the characters in your story?

Some come to me all formed. For some, I use a name dictionary to get a name that's related to the person (they do say that the name makes the person). For instance, one of my characters is called Demetria, after Demeter, the goddess of harvests. Demetria is a statistician. Scarth, one of my villains, got his name from a derivative of the word "black"

I used to use the old baby name book and a large city's phone book. It was time consuming to get a good, solid name.

Now I take advantage of the Spam email that I get and take their names. I have gotten some great names that way.

Before I delete bulk mail, I get out my trusty notebook and write down the good names.

Cheers!

ADDED: See there is something good about Spam! Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam . . .

#3

(off topic) I've been writing poetry with my spam! :)

Actually, I go to cemetaries a lot...

If it's a regular story--that is, not set in a fantasy world--then I use a name generator like the one mentioned above, or sometimes they just pop into my mind and they'll "feel" right.

Fantasy stories, though, I tend to go for foreign language names and their meanings. Once, I even named a character after a mythological creature, but played around with the spelling so it wasn't very obvious. I've also been known to type a bunch of gibberish without looking at the keyboard, and afterward, seeing if I find anything pronouncable in the jumble of letters. LOL

I write fantasy, so I'll either choose real-world names I like that happen to have a fantastical sound to them, (ie, Selena, Nahlin, Gavriel), or I'll make things up. Often, I'll decide I need a name that starts with a particular letter simply because I haven't had someone with a W-name, (or an E-name, or whatever the letter happens to be), for a while. From there, I'll play around with various sounds until I get something that sounds decent and fits the character.

And I've used the "bash the keyboard and see if there's anything pronouncable there" option once or twice. :)

I like crime, mystery and what makes a person mind "tick", so I look at TV shows like Criminal Minds, NCIS, The Unit, 24, Prison Break, etc. Even though these shows are fictional, there is alot of reality in them. My favorite for getting characters for a story would be Criminal Minds.

Sara Douglass gave a good tip on her website about fantasy names. Looking in old texts and seeing what names come up, and then stealing them from there often works wonders. She personally used the Song of Roland a lot. It is pretty useful for finding names.

The "other languages" method is also good, if you can find the right language. I'd suggest something in a totally different alphabet, like Hebrew, Japanese, or even dead languages from the ancient world. Anything most people wouldn't recognize, but that could hold a meaning anyway.

I'll admit I do have some that are totally random sounds, but you have to be careful with those. Some of them sound ok, and others are just meh. Changing the spelling of common names can also work, but it's another tricky area. Some, like substituting "i" for "y" at the end of a name, usually tend to work better than changing the consonants. I see way too many "Kris" or "Stef" in fantasy books, and get really tired of it. That said, I also see too many y's stuck in the middle of names that normally don't have them, like "Lyndyn" or such, which also drives me nuts. >_> That could be just me. It's a delicate process, trying to play with spellings. You're safer choosing an entirely different language.

I can't give much input on non-fantasy stuff, but picking something not overly common but not amazingly exotic probably sounds good. I recently read a sci-fi book set in the real world (it was mostly realistic) where the main female character was named Millie. I thought that was interesting.

I admit to going back to old school style of picking a character name. I have baby name books, Character Naming Sourcebook, and a few others that I poke through, looking for a name that means something close to the nature of the character. I have a character who was a servant to an Irish woman. His name translated to "Handsome Servant of a Redhead."

I quite like slightly unusual names, so when I hear of one, I note it down, along with surnames that are slightly off-beat. I also use a baby names book on occasion, as I sometimes like to match a name up to a personality trait, for example, a "dark horse" kind of guy might be called Kieran, or a girl who's obsessed with her looks might be called Linda (which means "pretty"). Other times, when I'm exploring an idea within a story, I try to link up the names with the character in a slightly more obscure way, for example, I recently named a very preening character "Jay" and all the discriptive words linked to him were birdlike - the character was also "caged" in that he was trapped in an elevator...

I work with how they sound. Mrs. Pruitt sounds as though her mouth is all pursed up, with a perpetually disapproving expression on her face. Gerard Smedgley sounds like his coat is done up on the wrong buttons and he might have a bit of egg on his lapel. That kind of thing.

I named some of my characters after old Dungeons and Dragon characters who never made it past Level Three. Naming a character is like naming a child, that person is alive in your imagination, so have pity on them. An immortal character in one of my books is called Malkalith. I was told by my DM that it meant "Son of the Reaper" in Elvish. His father in the book is not the Grim Reaper, but the Grim Reaper's brother, the Arcane Reaper, who harvests new magic, so it makes sense that he has such a name.

I'm also in favor of baby name books. I have one that traces each name's popularity throughout the decades, which is good for authenticity, I guess.

Like Scaryguy, I've used SPAM to find a great name. Sometimes baby name books. Sometimes I meet someone who has a name that just sticks with me. Occasionally, I meet someone whose name just doesn't fit them, and I rename them (mostly in my head). Once in awhile, my characters name themselves or the character's name creates the person he/she becomes (for instance, I have a character whose name is Crystal Ball - the whole backstory is about what kind of parent actually chooses such a horrible name to saddle onto a child and how it turned her into the dispicable con-artist she eventually becomes).

For fantasy, it's much more fun to semi-invent a language by mutating an existing language. Then choose something for the character.

For real-world... I admit that while drafting, I often put down a placeholder name and change all of it when I serendipitously run into the right one.

And if I'm really stuck, I prefer asking friends for random names to looking names up in a baby name book/database/dictionary.

I usually choose names whose meanings, origins, or associations are relevant to either the plot or the character. For example, in a story I'm writing in which a vampire is stalking a particular human, I've named the vampire Diana, after the Roman Goddess of the hunt.

This is a good Web site for finding names by meaning. You can search the database either by name or by meaning, and it gives you the name, related names, and their meanings, genders, and origins.

I've used model language tools before. There are a bunch of tools for just randomly generating words or syllables.

Most of the programs I have used have been retired. You can wander around LangMaker.com for some chewy model language goodness...

Keperfecto,
A name book that traces the popularity of a name throughout the decades sounds like a great tool for contemporary fiction writers. Naming a grandmother Esther may passby a reader without a second thought were as naming a newborn Esther would seem contrived.

As for naming my characters, I usually start out with a phonic impression as some writers here have mentioned. I them move on to an online dictionary that gives me the origin and meaning of names. Being concerned with authenticity, I also use geneology websites when looking for last names. I wouldn't want to give a Cuban-American a name that is generally more common in Mexico (especially if the great grandparents were suppose to be from the Canary Islands).

the really good ones stay with you. i was driving in macon, georgia, with a friend one day and a sport car passed us with the tag DOY OTT on it. My friend said that is Doy Ott .........., a good old boy. Well, Doy Ott found his way into one paragraph of my first novel in 1990, and now he is the protagonist of my Everglades novel i'm writing. I've been carrying the name Dowrong Shagnasty around since 1968 and someday I'll use it!

Don't worry about the reader! He/She will adapt. I used the names Christian Peace (Chris) Amazing Grace (Mazie) and Ilya Beaute (french for there is beauty) in my first novel, and it is condemned as satanic.

go figure.

The only bit of advice I'll offer is a bit I haven't seen posted in this thread:

Avoid similar-sounding names. If you have two characters named Sam and Stan, be prepared to leave readers confused. It seems like such a little thing, but I'm not kidding. :)

Also try to limit yourself to one or two really unusual names per story, unless you're writing a comedy. If you have one Achille Cagoulard, you probably want to fill the rest of the tale up with Kevin Dillards and Chick Garcias.

Full agreement on nmelcher's hint. I've read plenty of stories wherein I've mixed up the Toms and Tonis, the Bills and Wills. Best to simply avoid the possibility of confusion.

Sometimes giving someone a first name that sounds like a last name works, and resonates. Example: Holden.

john_sunseri has a good point about the unusual name. Unusual names tend to draw attention to themselves, and smart readers will understand there's more there than meets the eye. But if every character has an unusual name? Well, then we're getting into the land of confusion! Or farce. Or fantasy. Or the upcoming generation of elementary kids named Apple, Bluebell, and fencepost.com. ;)

Yes, too much of the "unusual" actually dilutes the effect. E.g., the cumulative cheesiness of many soap opera character names.

What, you mean not every ruthless, ruggedly-handsome family dynasty patriarch is named Talon?

Alot of writers forget that many names are regional. If you're character is Irish (Collier, O'Donnell) there are images that connote that character. People imagine the South side of Boston or New York city cops or rugged hard headed boxers. If your character is Irish, they better have an Irish decended name or a derivative of what was once an Irish name as families do change them over the years.

This idea should bring you back to the premise - write what you know. If you have to reach too far to complete a story then it might be out of your grasp. Start back at your begining and ask yourself - What do I know for sure and where can I go with it?

Alex Hutchinson

You bring up an important point as regards ethnic names: you, as the writer, may simply throw a name like 'Rodriguez' or 'Clancy' or 'Di Napoli' into your story because it's the first thing that pops into your head, but those names DO carry a certain amount of freight, and you should always be aware that your reader may be subtly influenced by them.

You can use this to your advantage, of course. The name 'Clancy' (for instance, since you brought up Hibernian names) suggests 'cop' or 'priest' or 'drinker' or 'brawler', because we've been steeped in a culture which conflates Irish names with certain stereotypes. I'm Italian-American, and I'm acutely aware that when you throw a name like 'Galluzzo' or 'Delmonico' or 'Bruzzi' into a story, you're setting your readers up to expect gangsters or restauranteurs or tank-top-wearing wine drinkers sitting on their front stoops reading the racing forms.

So I mix things up whenever possible. In a science fiction story, for instance, I might call the FTL propulsion system 'The al-Ibrahim Drive'. Arabs aren't generally thought of as scientists or inventors (not for the last few centuries, at least), so this suggestion that an Arab created a warp drive hints at an interesting backstory and helps to richen my tale.

I wrote a story with a black hero and named him Gilbert (Gil) Franklin, and he's got a son called Marty. Which all sounds normal enough, because those could easily be white names--until you wonder what 'Marty' might be short for, and then you think that the kid might have been named for Dr. King, and that gives you a bit of insight into Gil's character. But only if you're looking for it.

My series hero is named Jack Dixon, because that seemed to me a manly, All-American name (like Dirk Pitt, or Jack Ryan, or Sam Spade). 'Jack' almost always evokes feelings of friendliness in the reader, as do several other names--how could you not like a 'Harry'? Or a 'Charlie'? Nicknames as given names suggest down-to-earth characters who are casual and fun in a way that 'Jonathon', 'Henry' or 'Charles' don't.

It's a fun process, and requires a bit of thought, but it's worth it. One time a read a novel by a guy named Thayer called 'The Weatherman', and the hero was named 'Rick Beanblossom', and that kind of bothered me throughout my reading. For all I know, that's a perfectly normal name in Minnesota (where the book was set), but it just kept hitting me in the frontal lobe whenever it popped up on the page, and I kept waiting for the author to explain how ol' Rick had such an unusual name...

Great book regardless, though, and I don't expect anyone else to be bothered by such a small thing. But it bothered ME, just a bit, and that perhaps made me not love the book as much as I should have.

On the other hand, some names are so absolutely perfect that they CREATE more love for the novels. John Shaft. Modesty Blaise. Arkady Renko. John Carter. Sherlock Holmes. Andrew 'Ender' Wiggin. Allen Quartermain. Cirocco Jones. Dave Robicheaux. All perfect, all wonderful, all exactly what their creators hoped they would be.

#29 - Wasn't Jack Ryan of Irish descent too? With a name like John Patrick Ryan and a Jesuit upbringing, I always assumed he was.

I often choose character names that reference other works that I'd like the readers just to hold in the back of their minds. For example, I'm currently writing a novel which owes quite a bit to V for Vendetta, so I've named two of the minor characters Gordy and Eva Fry. It's a bit convoluted, and not immediately obvious, but I like that it's there as a very subtle indication of where I'm coming from, so to speak.

Sometimes I spend days scratching around for the perfect name, trying different combinations until I come up with something that sounds right and fits with the character's ethnic background, etc. When I finally find it, it's a huge buzz before I've even put pen to paper!

One of my friends constantly steals the names of people he knows. Sometimes he tweaks them, and sometimes he puts them in as they are. He says he doesn't have trouble keeping the character distinct from the real person, which I think is quite impressive if true. He's never done it to me, but it think it must be very weird to be reading a story about someone with your exact same name.

Ryan is definitely of Irish descent.

I like this random name generator better than Kleimo:

http://www.xtra-rant.com/gennames/

Sometimes I name characters from people I know because the character is acting like them. I have to really love the character to name them after someone really in my life. Most times I want the name to have more then meaning to connect the character to the story, so then I reflect on past literature for names of characters that reflect the way my new characters behaves or looks. I always wanted to name a bouncer Moby!

Remember, though, that 'Moby' now means something completely different than it did twenty years ago. To us older chaps, you're talking about a gigantic white whale that may or may not be a metaphor for God or fate. To younger readers, you're talking about a skinny, pale white guy with two turntables and a microphone.

My characters "resist" the wrong names and when I finally settle on one they like there's a "click" and suddenly more of their natures and personality become apparent to me. That happened with my tale "Gumby Man", John, which I know you've read.

If I was writing a story and the name "John Sunseri" came up, what characteristics would come to mind? Hmmm... (devilish grin as he ponders that). Let's start a thread on that one, shall we?

Dear John_sunseri

LOL, That is so funny!

But you know, even us "older folks" can mistake the world as we know it now for a reference to another time. I think the writing should be able to guide the reader to make the correct conclusion.

My class actually made a wrong conclusion today about a mosaic of a biblical story and I thought the teacher was going to walk out! Thank goodness we could make her laugh about it afterward. I think I'll tell her your new-age metaphor story.

Anyway, I still think names are important even if they are just ordinary Tom, Dick, or Harry.

I mentioned to a co-worker the other day that someone had turned Lizzie Borden's house into a bed-and-breakfast and that you can now sleep in the room her mother was murdered in...and my friend got confused. He knew 'Lizzie Borden' as a rock band and had never wondered where it came from.

Funny, isn't it, how significant proper names can be? And significant in so many different ways--to certain people 'Hannibal' evokes ancient Carthage, while to others it brings to mind a certain cannibal played by Anthony Hopkins. 'Napoleon', 'Nicholas', 'Neville' --all carry the freight of associations and you're all damn right that it's important to consider them all before naming one of your characters. Imagine the difference in The Dead Zone had its main character not been named 'John Smith'. And imagine if Twain's masterpiece had starred a character named Thomas Finn instead of 'Huckleberry'.

As to my OWN name, Cliff, I dunno--it's obviously Italian, and it might subconsciously suggest 'sincere' (which word, in fact, it derives from). Perhaps the storekeeper on the corner, the nice old fellow who's always sweeping off the sidewalk and who occasionally gives the neighborhood kids a piece of Bazooka for free? Or maybe a fast-talking smoothie who wears cheap suits and always has an investment opportunity for you (in this case, the 'sincere' thing works in reverse--like Donald E. Westlake naming his hulking thug 'Tiny')? In that case, you might want to change the first name to 'Jack'--sounds a little flashier. 'Johnny Sunseri' might be the broken-down pug three fights past his prime, his nose two breaks past presentable.

Cliff Burns, on the other hand, is pure pulp action hero. Maybe a Tom Clancy spy, maybe a men's adventure character wielding a Desert Eagle and a couple of throwing knives...

John, you do me a kindness I don't deserve. With my genes it's more like a back-stabbing, throat-slitting thug with a mean streak that goes back to the bogs of Scotland.

Cromwell to a bunch of villagers including a handful of my muddy ancestors: "Who wants to be shipped off to Northern Ireland to slaughter Catholics?"

Burns (from the back of the crowd): 'ow much booze are ya offerin'?

Cromwell: As much as ye can drink.

Burns: Count me in, Oliver lad...

Now Sunseri being some derivative of "sincere", well, that's more like it--and probably not far from the truth. Apocryphal, perhaps, but still accurate.

I choose names that fit in with the time period and nationality of the character - but my best ones are the ones I gave them the moment I created them. They just fit, and I get a headache if I ever try to change them.

For my major stories, I spent oodles of time developing a language (over two decades now, yikes!) with sounds, syntax, grammar, glossary, etc. I use all of those pieces to create names for my characters within that world.

My other stuff has names that are normally homages to books, authors, and/or scientists.

Sometimes though, just to have a bit of fun, I'll use the 'secret' names I would call people I didn't like (when I was about four years old) as characters. Pinkbear has been a recurring character as well as Doodoohead. (It's sooooo funny to me to have some big, bad, nasty gang of hitmen including the names Pinkbear and Doodoohead.)

For the most part, I try and give characters ordinairy names, often old friends or people I went to school with. I only have a few charactes with made up names, despite being a fantasy writer (one did come to me in a dream, which was weird, and I wouldn't reccomend it; one 'Vaughniter Fale' is enough).

I deliberately avoid giving characters 'meaningful' names; I want my readers to decide based on my writing, not my naming, whether characters have certain traits. Much as I love latin, and etmology in general, name meanings are hard to do subtly enough not to annoy bright readers. Having said this, I've stuck myself with a family in which all of the characters have 'virtue' names, but I've avoided giving anyone a name that obviously reflects/rejects their character; most are fairly generic traits (Trust, Earnest, Diligent and Valiant).

I'm also writing something a bit pulpy at the moment (50s action adventure sci fi!), so I made a point of giving the characters fairly cheesy names: Honey Smith and Dirk Miles. They were fun to name.

i almost never give any characters names...of course i tend to write (when i do) pretty short stories with a very narrow scope of characters (2 or 3 or so) and names are often cumbersome and arbitrary...if i ever get around to writing a long novel with more than just a few characters i'm sure i'd give some of them names...often, i think, people tend to name characters just because they think that's what they're supposed to do...so often names just get in the way, at least in the kind of stories i tend to write...

Main characters tend to come to me with their names. For minor characters, if I'm stuck, I'll often look at my bookshelf or at credits in software/gaming manuals, etc. Taking a first name from one person and a last name from another often works for me.

For me, it’s almost always subconscious. The first name comes to me. When I need it, the last name comes, but very seldom do the two come at once. Sometimes, after I know the character a bit better, the name changes. When I have to work for it, I have used the bookshelf method (43), the phone book, mythological names, or acquaintances and family (again combining two or more names to form one). Mostly, though, the characters tell me their names when they introduce themselves to me.

>22 I agree that names should not be too similar or two confusing. If you are writing about Russia, go for more known names (Alexandra, Ivona, Tasha) rather than ones that we can't keep track of! I remember reading one book where two of the somewhat major characters had the same first name. I couldn't figure out the author's purpose in doing that as the two women weren't connected or compared as far as I could tell.

One thing I like in a book with lots of characters is a list of names and their relations to other characters at the beginning (as long as this doesn't give away the plot!) Sometimes I've tried to write my own list while reading, but end up giving up because I'm noting down people who turn out to be one scene characters. That's why it's better if the author or publisher does it. They know who's going to be important to the story.

#45 skf: I love the lists, too, especially if the characters change names.

I like to use different ways to get a character name. Most have been listed here, cemetary and name dictionary are two I use a lot. I love the random name generator, too, And ripping off the spammers is priceless! Other than all that, I have a mystical way of naming them... I just listen and ask them their names. It's like listening to snatches of someone's conversation, or a radio station you can't quite tune in.

So, your characters talk to you? I have a friend with that, too. It sounds dead useful. :)

Anyways...
I use a variety of sources for names:
Graveyards
Maternity websites
Random name generators
Baby name books
Translators

Yeah. I'm a bit of a name freak.

Usually I will already have some sort of a name, first or last picked out and create a character for that name, or just keep the name till the character comes. But I'll go to a name generator and take a look everyonce in a while. I'll steal a name from a old movie or show, or take a part of a name from a actor or author I adore.

I am horrible at picking character names. In my short stories, I never name my characters and generically refer to them as boy or girl. For longer stories or novels, I usually use the middle names of people that I know. One day this is probably going to get me in trouble with a family member who thinks that I'm writing about them when I'm really not. If I can't come up with names, I whip out the phone book and flip around till a name pops out.

Kurdish is my favorite language when it comes to fantasy names. I like Russian names too.

If the names don't come to me on their own I use a name generator or a baby name book. Or I name someone after one of my cats... I'll use the phone book for last names. Unless my character's nationality is important to me, I dont care about last names.

Most names just come to me: I hear them mentioned, see them in scrolling credits, I find one while looking randomly through baby-naming sites, etc.

I found a name today, Alina, I looked it up and discovered that it was Dutch for 'alone'. It fit perfectly for a character I had brewing in my mind.

I love Russian names too. Although, I also like using common names with stereotypes attached to them. Then, when I use the name for a person opposite of the stereotype, it seems exotic (to me, at least).

I like Russian names too. This is the great thing about writing - you can give your characters names you'd never be able to give your children. (Also, it's a lot less painful to create a lot of characters!) Although you do then have to have legitimate reasons why your character would have a Russian / Japanese / Italian etc. name.

#52: Before our son was born, I suggested to my wife that we call him Velimir or Vsevolod - both good Russian names - but she wasn't having any of it (and we named him Gareth).

Still, as someone who speaks Russian (a little), seeing a Russian name applied to a seemingly non-Russian character in a story looks quite odd to me.

#41: Meaningful names can be a lot of fun to subvert. It can sometimes trip the expectations of a bright person when the character acts against their own name, adding some small extra depth for the perceptive reader.

I also have a love for truly obscure meaningful names, particularly from rare words. One example that I've used a few times is Smatchett makes for a reasonable sounding last name and its meaning of "a small and nasty (brutish) person" is somewhat hard to come by, but the insult can be very evocative of a character's attitude and persona, even if very (very) few readers catch the meaning.

The Phrontistery (http://phrontistery.info) is one interesting haunt for useful old English words.

I have some characters that still don't have names--most glaringly in a novel I wrote where every character had a "brain-twin", somewhat like a doppleganger. I had wanted to see how close I could get these two characters without anyone picking up on it (they had different ages, socioeconomic thingums, life experiences and sometimes genders, so I used those to confuddle readers) but when it came time to name them I realized that my main pair were both, personality-wise, pure Katrinas. So one of them is Trina, and one of them is waiting on a name.

Usually I do the radio-tuning thing--think about what my characters would act like if I met them on the street. My friends and I practice on the subway ("She looks like a Megan," "His last name is definitely complicated and Swedish--Holgersen?" "You look more like a Wallace than a Charles") I wish I could take character-naming lighter than I do, but it bothers me if I haven't hit it quite right. Probably the easiest is when a character comes with an ethnicity, because it limits the scope of available names.

Sometimes be best character names come to me through the TV, while eavesdropping... I mean, just being aware at cafes, or just looking for good names on a map.

Post #21 mentions Macon, GA. I pulled Macon as a name after going to Macon, MI ages ago. Towns usually work best as last names, but sometimes you get lucky!

Sigh. Audacity reminds me that I once wrote about Katy Hockley, a girl whose parents moved to Hockley, Texas and lived on Katie-Hockley road. They told her the road was named after her. The two cities and the road are real, the rest I am ashamed to admit, was my invention. Luckily, that one never got published.

So, this is another post I feel like I should have begun, “Hi. My name is Lee, and I’m a writer…”

hermit_9 -

Ironic. I was named Audrey after the road my dad grew up on - Audrey St. - in Warren, Michigan.

That’s cool. Thanks for letting me know., Audacity.

Sometimes I recieve names from other stories, family members, friends, newsletters, and sometimes I create them just from the deep depths of my mind.

I use an online multicultural name database to find names. I write a lot of fantasy and this is a good way to find unusual names without having to make up my own (I don't like whipping up fantastical names out of nowhere, for some reason. Just personal preference. I prefer names that have an established history and etymology, even if that history and etymology is useless in a fantasy context).

I work in a bookstore and whenever I ship books for customers or order books I always note their names. I've come up with some real gems this way and I often find they have an authenticity I lack in developing on my own.

For historical fiction it is relatively easy. Historical names are there waiting to be plucked. Geography or trade often determines surnames of the fictional characters, and first names common for the era can be selected as necessary.

For contemporary, it is usually difficult for me until I know my characters more thoroughly, and i often change them during the course of writing the first or second draft.

The kids have developed a new game that is applicable here. They combine the names of pairs—be they couples or good friends—to refer to the pair-unit instead of the individuals. Generally, the take they first syllable of one name and the trailing end of the second name. So a Dave and Kathleen becomes Daleen. One clique is Nictraca Kyvaic.

I don’t know how well this would work outside of the SF/Fantasy realms, but it works—as long as you aren’t looking for etymological consistency. And it’s fun.

#64

Bennifer? Brangelina?

Its a good idea. *Small shudder* While I am sure this works, the media has abused it some.

Depends how serious I'm feeling. Lists that show name popularity by year can be incredibly helpful. If I just want a quick throw away name, I'll go on facebook, pull up one of my friends, look at this friends, pick someone I don't know and borrow one of their names. I tend to pull first and last name from different people. I also have my graduation book and an old register from high school that do the same job. I don't like to spend a lot of time picking names with 'meanings', since the entomology of the name and it's official 'meaning' is often not the meaning people will actually associate with the name. What a name actually means to your reader will vary depending on the people they've known and the feel of the name. I will try and name out for feel before using it. Does it feel right? Is it a name her mother would pick? I do tend to just go with things that feel right though.

With fantasy, I have to admit I don't write it often but, honestly, I just use common names. There's no reason why high fantasy characters have to have horribly unpronounceable names you'd never hear in real life. I'd also be hesitant to use foreign names, just because, say I stick a load of Japanese names over a word modelled loosely on medieval Europe, anyone vaguely familiar with the names would probably find that jarring. I would anyway.

#62 >I work in a bookstore and whenever I ship books for customers or order books I always note their names. I've come up with some real gems this way and I often find they have an authenticity I lack in developing on my own.

I love this.

I often use baby name books and phone books, usually, like TPau, pulling first and last names from different places. I also keep a list of names I might like. First names often come to me with the first idea of the character (although I've definitely been know to change a character's name), but last names are harder.

I sometimes use friend's names, too, usually asking permission first, unless it's someone I know will be pleased. My friend Fred Klein accused me of trying to kill him: he was reading The Wednesday Sisters in the bathtub when he read the agent character's name - Fred Klein - and nearly drowned. Or that's what he claims, anyway, and it does make a great story.

A useful site: Behind the Name.

I’ve used Behind the Name. It is an excellent etymological site.

This guy actually made a random name generator:

www.kleimo.com/random/name.cfm

I just returned from a month long trek to Independence, Missourii and read the bits from John Sincere and Rocky Hott (Cliff Burns). Okay. Sure one shouldn't go off the deep end, but in the south all soiuthern bred are known by two names. I am Andy Ray, nee Campanaro. Doy Ott Briscomb is a real Georgian and, by God, we are not gonna let you damned Yankees shove your styles down our throat. There are some names that actually write the book.

In 1967, a black student came into our editorial room at college and said he wanted a job writing, probably sports. His said his name was Dowrong Shagnasty. We hired him. There is a belief (this may be southern, too) that a strange name is required for a writer, especially a writer of joiurnals.

you go guys lots of interesting stuff

I like to choose a name that's related to the character so I usually a baby names dictionary. Sometimes I pick names that relate to certain situations though.

On a political bent, PoliTsk has a Sarah Palin name generator. It is probably not useful for writing, but it is amusing. Depending on whether I give it my usual full name or my real full name (I am one of those blessed with three given names), I get either “Missle Blunt” or “Moose Roadster.” I kinda like Moose Roadster…Hmmm.

usually names I like. Babynamesworld.com and lastnamemeaning.net. Sometimes I wikipedia for names proper to the time period.

Sometimes I like the sound of a name, but usually there is a meaning behind the name. Sometimes it is a play on words -- there was one shot story with names like Apricot Leeves and Bud Augley. Other times, I just like the sound of a name or it is fitting for that character.

I'm in a Jake rut. Every time I need a new male character, my first inclination is to name him Jake. Which is a name I like well enough, but not even well enough to have given it to one of my two sons.

Favorite guy names, anyone?

Get out your local whitepages.

Storywebber uses the obits from the newspaper. I also use my ancestors who are long gone to heaven or wherever. Sometime my muse tells me their names. Sometimes it is just a nickname and sometimes it is just their first name. Also doctors name are good and really amusing. My dentist name is Dr. Pain so that is the name of the doctor in my novel.

A slight digression that may have some pertinence. In the 1950s, the humorist Roger Price wrote a book titled What Not to Name the Baby. He postulated that we grow into our names. Perhaps our characters may as well.

Examples: Name a boy William and call him that, he will be a stuffy person.

Call him Bill and he will be a regular guy.

Call him Billy, and he will be immature all his life.

Howard will marry Nancy and they will live in the suburbs.

Vince or Vinny will hang out in Pool Halls.

While researching for my 17th century HF novel, I came across the names Brianda and Violante. I cannot imagine women with those names ever being victims.

Alas, Violante was violated in the violet time in the vilest way she knew.

megwaiteclayton mentions she hasn't even named her sons Jake - personally, I woud never give a name to a character I might use for a child (or belong to a member of my family or close friend).

I know some people like to name check friends, but given the kind of fiction I write it might not go down too well! Even when I'm writing cosy stuff for mags like Woman's Weekly I avoid friends' names unless they're particularly common, just in case that person thinks I really was writing about them, inventing a fantasy life for them. I've renamed a few characters as a result of this, whether because a friend with that name becomes more likely to read the piece or whether the minor character I've given it to takes a more significant role.

Am I alone in this, or does anyone else get paranoid about names?

I actually like to name minor characters after friends. In my first novel, I named a drunk at a cocktail party after my husband. :-) We celebrated 20 years of marriage last summer, so as you can see he has a good sense of humor.

I went with the old adage write what you know and used names of people that I had heard in passing. I have to admit I really had to work on my American Indian Character to get his name.

Do I dare confess my character's first name came from a misspelling? And the second from the bottom of his boots?

I come up with names all the time, but for some reason I always want to name secondary characters names starting with D... since I write fantasy, I can use outrageous sounding stuff! Also, I love Arabic and Norse names, which I just printed off etymology.com

Now that I have answered the question, I can tell my funny story. I had characters named Adil and Basir, but couldn't keep them straight! So I changed their names. All was well, until I realised I named one something that rhymed with the main characters name - I got them in a scene together, and Jale and Gael just sounded really stupid. Sick of renaming this guy, I just decided to call him Guy.

There are so many ways to choose character names. No matter which way you chose, do not chose similar/easily confused names, multiple names that start with the same letter, or names that do not fit a characters gender/culture/age (unless there is a very good reason for it.)

I have long since given up, in most cases, on pulling names out of thin air. I have a large database of names on my computer that can be searched by definition or randomly generated. The definition of a name can be wonderfully discreet symbolism.

For example, I had a Greek character. I chose a more interesting Greek first name, I tend to lean towards less common names, and chose a last name whose origin and meaning were unknown. This character was born while her mother was dying. The only thing her mother said was that name. It was uncertain if that was the mothers name, or the baby's name.

If writing contemporary stories with characters of ethnics groups out of your comfort zone, please make sure you look into the names of your characters. I really enjoy the Irish names of Aisling and Aine. I was told they are very common, comparable to Jennifer and Sarah. That makes a difference.

Baby naming books are great for writing! I use them all the time!

For realistic fiction, I often pull names (usually surnames) out of the bibliographies of nonfiction books, just because I usually have those on hand. Of course, you have to be aware of the biases of your collection – otherwise I'd have a whole lot of Levi-Strausses, for one – but I think it's a good method.

I wrote a computer program once that generates random strings of phonemes. It then generates an n-length list, so you have some to choose from. That works for me, usually, as I don't write stories involving people with inherently anglo names.

Phonebooks.

When I was researching historical details for Fire at Midnight I happened to come across a very old document in a local library listing French surnames, and I liked the name Falconer for the hero and his brother.

During another research session, I came across another reference from that time period with a family Bible first name listing of Sebastien, with the accent mark over the second 'e,' which might have been some sort of clerical error when the name was added to the Bible, because, technically, if there's an accent mark on this name, it should display above the 'a'.

When this novel was on the contest circuit prior to be acquired by a publisher, judges would occasionally mark me down, assuming the accent mark was a research error rather than something I'd done intentionally. I never changed it because I always felt a quirk like that lent authenticity to the character. I mean, Oprah's name was actually a documentation error that stuck!

Of course, the reader cannot possibly know it was a bit of eccentricity on my part, so I've left myself open for criticism over the name. It really fits the character perfectly, though, because so much bad happened to my hero that it seemed reasonable that his name might have been misspelled on the family records, just to add insult to injury.

Previously, in past works, I have always chosen a name that popped into my head, 'that character seems like a ????' but a new idea came into my mind just a couple days ago.

I wanted the female to be Heavenly. So Celeste became the name. Since I had the first character with a name with meaning, I started to search for meaning for the male hero. I have the meaning, just don't like some of the choices I am getting.

#93

Christian, Evangelist, Obstinate, Pliable, Help, Worldly Wiseman, Formalist, Hypocrisy, Discretion, Piety, Prudence, Charity, Apollyon, Faithful, Talkative, Mr. By-ends, Hopeful, Giant Despair, Diffidence, Demas, Temporary, Sagacity, Christiana, Mercy, Matthew, Joseph, Samuel, James, Reliever, Mr. Great-heart, Watchful, Grim, Maul, Mr. Brisk, Old Honest, Mr. Fearing, Gaius, Giant Good-Slay, Heedless, Too-bold, Madam Bubble, Standfast, Mr. Feeble-Mind, Mr. Ready-to-Halt, Mr. Mnason, Contrite, or Valiant-for-truth

Ateolf Not sure where all those names came from since I had not advised you on what my Heroes name signifies.... Or the genre that the story is in.

Would you really want to read a story about Madam Bubble, when Madam was a guy?

Sorry about the two deletes, I made an error:-) and couldn't figure out how to edit it.

My characters find me and usually their names are already attached to them. In Megan's Way, though, I had to change a character whose name was Jake to Jason because I already had a Jack and they were too close.

>94.

Those are names from Pilgrim's Progress.

Aether, then some of those are names that one of the character calls the other in their mind? Not the name they would go by? I don' think to attack my story that way... No internal thought nicknames...

>100.

Pilgrim's Progress is an allegorical story in which those are actually the characters' names. Christian is the main character, who becomes a Christian, journeys to the Cœlestial City (heaven), and meets a wide variety of characters with names describing their character traits and personalities.

It was written in 1678, before that sort of thing went out of vogue.

But all those baby naming books... If we still did that, then we wouldn't need the books. We would just call spades a spade... You would have to be a blacksmith to be named smith...

>102.

You're preaching to the choir.

That's why I use my phoneme generator (http://www.librarything.com/topic/8893#1450881)

#102

or celestial to be named Celeste?

Well that affinity, heavenly, celestial, celeste was my character choice for that main character... I am targeting YA so why not be obvious...

i've started a lot of books and the hardest part is always choosing the name for my characters. i always end up using a name i already have.

this topic is a favorite of mine to ponder. My novel takes place in and around Iceland, Ireland and the UK. So what I did was go online to genealogy websites and go back to the approximate year my character was born, and look at the most common names. It only takes a minute and yields a large number of suitable names. Usually I scroll through that and one just grabs me as being appropriate. When it 's the right name, you just know it!

One of the joys in writing is that of selecting names for our characters. I like unusual names, but blend the ordinary as well so as to convey a realism. I do use the Internet for exploration to broaden my horizons so to speak.

I usually use baby-names.com or something and just browse until I see one that is THE name. It takes a while, but I usually end up happy.

I have to admit, I'm trying to get into the habit of googling names after I think of them. This especially goes for books set in foreign countries, where you suddenly find you've given your character the same name as a huge rockstar or sginificant historical figure. Better to get that out the way before anyone points it out!

Like many others, I too use the baby name books or online resources for my characters. Writing YA fantasy, I want something that sounds unusual, but isn't difficult to pronounce. As an adult, if I struggle with names in fantasies and can't pronounce them, the kids may not be able too.

I find that if I can't pronounce a name, I have a hard time getting a mental imagine of that character and making a connection - and if I can't do that - I stop reading. If it's too much trouble to figure out the character's name, why do I care or want to know what happens to that character?

I also look for the meaning of a name, especially for critical characters. The meaning becomes a part of their personality, their actions and their destiny.

I'm writing this book about seven friends who also each control one element. I got their names from Thesaurus. I just looked up the word like Fire, then I looked through to see if I liked any of the names.

Seven elements? I thought there were only 4 classical ones, 5 if you count Aristotle's aether. The five elements of Hinduism and Buddhism are related to seven chakras though.

Yeah, I have fire, water, earth, air, light, darkness, and metal. :

I got a good name once when my wife voided a check to a place called the Strickland animal hospital. Misreading the checkbook I called her and asked, "Who the hell Strickland Void and why did we give him a check for $150?" The name became in the book Strickland Voyd who was, as his name suggest, a cool villain.

I honestly can't recall where I got the inspriation for the names from my first stories, it's been about 15 years for some and my methods are different for each story.
The plot for the one I just finished came from a dream and I just knew the names would be Herald and Acarna (which turned out to be part of the botanical name for Soldiers Thistle). After that, I searched wikipedia for plants to get some more names. Others just popped in as I went, and the rest came from my favourite baby name site (http://www.babynology.com/).
My current story is more conventional in the name department (if not the story itself), using the same site, and has led to Aleena, Sharmaine (which was also the name of a horse a neighbour had) & Eleanor Vale. There's also Scenalor (commonly mistaken by others as Sven Alore due to his accent), but that came along by what I consider my normal means (popped in).

Whenever I'm in doubt, I think of the character while staring at the keyboard, noting what letter I'm drawn to the most and go from there. I find if you know the first letter of the name it helps the rest fall into line. I did that with scene character Doctor Jaamal Johnson.

I've had it recomended to me that I should look in the obituaries. It's actually been quite effective. And the cemetary and old texts idea is good too.

I've just pitched a couple new novel proposals to my editor with main characters named Dritha. My editor's response was "What's with this name? I like it, but have never heard it." When I told her it's the name of my mom's best friend, she said basically, "Oh, good!" Maybe she thinks it's good juju, since my writing tends to be about motherhood.

I've become superstitious about names ever since The Wednesday Sisters - which includes a daughter character named Anna-Page, named after my mom (Anna) and mon-in-law (Page) - took off. Am I the only one?

I've been googling names I come up with to try to avoid using someone else's name, especially if the name is uncommon. The Matthew Bakers of the world must be used to having duplicates, but naming someone Capability Brown better have a good reason behind it.

My genealogy has been a good source of names, and I feel sort of entitled to them. I just need a good place to use Zorababel.

Capability Brown would be a good name for someone who hates gardening.

>120 I was thinking a sewer worker myself.

I get a lot from the credits at the end of movies, not the directors and actors but set nurse or 3rd best boy.

When I was about 10 I wrote a list of baby names I wanted to name my kid of the future. It was a huge list for both girls and boys. I still get from the list to name characters for things I write. I also add to the list for future references.

The names usually come to me based on the personality of the character and their background.

Myne Whitman

I tend to use names based on the people I’ve met in life, though I steer clear of immediate family. The name may be a mutation of the original. When I set out the plot of the book I create a card index (even though I’ve used computers since 1970) with a card per name/character in the book. I’ll describe their physical features, likes/dislikes and personality on the card.
For the important lead characters I’ll research the Internet to make sure the name is not too commonly used. Where possible, if it is available, I’ll buy the internet domain name matching with the name to be ready for the fan club when the books become a best seller...I wish!
I allow myself the indulgence of naming the bad guys in my book after school bullies or bad teachers.

I write Fantasy, and most of the time they just come to me (ex: Dreven, Ambrele, Chestica) but there are times were I'm as a loss and use Seventh Sanctum - http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php Even if I don't find anything there, it helps to give me ideas.

I take it Chestica is a nymph with a significant endowment?

I keep two baby name books near my computer for this very purpose. If it's for a minor character, I'll choose the name at random. If it's for an important character, I'll put a little more effort into it.

For surnames, I like to use name generators--Behind the Name and Seventh Sanctum are my favorites. Or, I'll pick two actors, authors, or characters from other places and mix up their names. I've also done that with two common words. Like Crab and bush to make Krabush. That one was actually inspired by a town in Oregon called Crabtree.

For alien names, Seventh Sanctum also has generators that are useful creating those. Also, I'll take one or two names in the Bible to create an alien name.

I too tend to use names of people I know for minor characters, though I did write a book using mostly old family names (from my dad's genealogy research). I also recently used an ex-boyfriend's name for an ill fated character. It seemed poetic justice to me...

Well, I have a thing for Irish names - and no, I'm not Irish - but it's not all about the green Isle, 'cause when it comes to finding names for, say, alien characters (alien as in sci-fi) I will just create something that feels and sounds right to me.

I used to make them up, but I don't do that any more. My judgment there is questionable. I loved the name "Eiello" until a friend started singing "Old McDonald" at me.

There are a few great sites that divide names by origin, so I try to go with the ethnicity of the character. I'll usually go for a reminder in the name of who the character is, but nothing too obvious.

"Kentaro" is Japanese, and it means, IIRC, "first son." As he was also the last child, is of Japanese descent, and is now an orphan, it works for me on many levels. "Rafael" means "God heals" but it also shortens to "Rafe," which to me at least hints of a smooth-talker with a killer smile. Which Rafe is.