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For me, the process of naming characters varies from character to character. Sometimes I come across a name that I love and I build a character around the name, while other times I work out just about everything about the character and still don't have a name by the end of my brainstorming.
Naming characters isn't always as simple as it sounds, because there are many different factors that must be considered when choosing a name, such as...
- Setting. Are you writing a fantasy novel based in a time period similar to the medieval times? Then your main character's name probably shouldn't be Cayden Smith or Taryn Brown or Xander Johnson. The names you choose for your characters should fit in naturally with the world you've created. Severus Snape, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin all sound like they come from the same world as do Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark and Finnick Odair. Try putting any one of them into the cast of, say, The Lord of the Rings, and they would sound pretty strange standing next to Aragorn son of Arathorn, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.
- Meaning. How much stock you give the meaning of your character's name will vary from person to person, but as we get to choose everything about our characters, it's not uncommon for writers to take a good look at the meaning of a name before choosing one. If you're unsure about the meaning of a name, here are a lot of great websites that will show you tons of information about names including 20000-names and behindthename.
- Personality. Regardless of whether you want the name to fit your character or if you want your character's name to act as a contrast, personality must also be taken into account. The names you choose should fit your characters one way or another.
Naming your characters is a process that should be given plenty of thought, and it's not always an easy decision, but with the help of some brainstorming, research and sometimes feedback, you'll know when the right name for your character has presented itself.
How do you choose names for your characters? Do you have any character naming tips?
41 comments:
For me, character names seem to be one of the strengths I actually have in writing.
I don't know. I usually don't have problems choosing names. Sometimes I make up names and they sound well with their characters. Then sometimes the character chooses their own name. I once had a name I liked for the villain, but my protagonist was like, "No! You have to give it to me! It should be mine!". So, I listened and when I looked at how it fit, I thought it fit much better than with my villain. Then sometimes, you get a strong feeling for a certain letter. Like sometimes I have a gut feeling that my character must have a name starting with this letter. It always seems to work out, and I always have a name I think flows together well. Sort of like Harry Potter in a sense. It's pleasing to the ears and flows rather well. Sometimes I base it on personality too. I have a character that's really weird and odd, so I want a name that flows good that starts with weird letters like 'u' or 'x'.
I do not seem to have much of a problem with character names for a reason. So, I guess a tip is make the name pleasing to your ear and make sure it flows well. Lord Jane just doesn't seem to sound well. Also, if you have a gut feeling about a certain letter, I would say go for it, because it usually always works out.
For me, it's about knowing my character and then naming them, every time. I can't just hear a name and see a character, I have to get to know them first. Which isn't always easy :)
I play with my character names a lot. It really has to fit them and help me get a feel for that character. That's why sometimes my names change as the writing of the book progresses and I get to know them better.
One thing I try to be careful about, especially when choosing a fantasy-type name or a foreign one (I use a lot of Turkish names), is that it's still a name that the reader can hear and pronounce correctly.
I love naming characters. Such fun! Try not to name two with the same starting consonants, it can be confusing.
Getting to know your characters can be tricky sometimes, but it's a fun process. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! :)
I also play with my character names quite a bit both during brainstorming and writing. Sometimes it takes some swapping and trying out a couple names before one seems to fit, but it's definitely worth taking the time to get the right name.
That's a good point about choosing a name readers can hear and pronounce. I've read a couple novels where I wasn't entirely sure how to pronounce character names, and while it didn't kill the story or anything, it still felt funny trying to come up with the right pronunciation every time I came across the name.
That's a good one--I read online somewhere about keeping track of all the names you use by letter to make sure you don't end up with too many names with the same letter, because as you said, it can very quickly start to get confusing. It's something I've had to become more conscious about in my writing.
I actually have post in progress about kind of the same thing. Since I have a huge interest in nameology my character's names mean the world to me. There are so many websites dedicated to name meanings and when certain names came to be, both of which I use for all of my story characters. Never is a characters name picked at random for me.
I loved this post Ava, once again, keep up the good work!
Hudson x
nothingthemorningdew.blogspot.com
Great post, as always. :) I am notorious for inventing names for my fantasy stories that are hard to pronounce; I'm trying to work on that, because I know that while unusual is good and stands out, hard-to-pronounce can also be a turn-off or stumbling block. I do try, though, even with a lot of unpronounceable names, to make sure they all begin with different letters and/or look totally different.
Right now I'm working on a fantasy novel that's based on Finnish mythology. So I haven't actually made up most of the names; however, Finnish names are about as hard to pronounce as some of my best made-up stuff, so the end result is the same, I guess. :-P
Like many writers, I give thought to who the character is and their personality. But, I do keep a journal in my car and write down street names all the time. I love finding new names this way, especially for short stories. One of my latest is Cauldwell Ganz.
So far, I like to do a combination of both researching the names meaning and making them up as I go. But the best ones are often the kind that land in my head on the fly. The majority of my character names are like that… Either way they make it to the page, I love them all! :)
My editor had suggested I change some names. That was nearly impossible for me because of how difficult it had been to choose them, accounting for all those factors you mentioned. I ended up keeping most even though I saw her issues with them. As simple as it is at first, with more characters it gets more complicated, like not having names start with the same sounds or contain similar stems which are likely to confuse readers. Especially finding a name to match a certain personality after you write it is probably the hardest part. Best advice I can add to your bit is to try to get it right the first time! Plan ahead and figure out what conflicts might arise in the future, and certainly don't make them hard to pronounce!
I find it very hard to find names. I usually end up remembering that I know or have known someone by that name and that this person isn't at all the like character I have in mind. Whenever this happens the name loses a little bit of its magic to me.
One thing I find often very disturbing, because it always confuses me is when one character has several (nick)names that are used interchangeably. I think that apart from naming characters it's even more important to be consequent and logical in how characters address each other.
Ah, Finnish names...yes, they are certainly not the easiest to pronounce (unless, of course, you're Finnish, in which case I imagine pronunciation is a breeze).
As I said in a previous comment, difficult to pronounce names in my opinion never make or break a story, but they can certainly be stumbling block while reading, especially if the reader can't get the pronunciation down after coming across the name a few times. Some genres are more forgiving than others when it comes to weird names--in fantasy novels it's almost expected while in contemporary, we expect the names to be fairly normal. It all depends.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and the kind words, Grace! :)
That's really interesting--I hadn't thought of stealing street names for characters. Hmm...
For me, naming characters requires a relatively big amount of time for me. I know I'm going to spend a lot of time developing and changing them, so I feel like I have to start off on the right foot with a suitable name for them.
I like to research meanings behind names a lot, as I believe it helps me get a stronger idea of what I want my characters to be. Right now, I'm taking a strong liking to Oriental names, since they structure their names differently to Western countries.
I've also made up names as I went along, especially with minor characters that I didn't plan out ahead of time. Sometimes the names stick and sometimes they don't, but it's fun to see what we can come up with. :)
I once had a crit partner suggest that I change the name of my main character. I resisted it at first--I mean, it was my MC's name, not some side character only mentioned a couple of times--but in the end, she put up a very valid argument and I changed it. I'm glad I did--the new name fit my MC more than his original name and it fit the story better as well.
With that experience behind me, I agree that it definitely makes life easier if you get it right the first time and putting the extra time to find a name that fits is certainly worth the effort.
I choose character names the same way as my kids's names -- I dither over a list, then eventually pick one because they are born and/or I must begin writing.
I have been known to change names later -- my characters though, not my kids (yet).
I can't say I've read too many novels in which a character had several nicknames that others characters used interchangeably, but I could see how that would get confusing quickly. Thinking back, I tend to avoid names of people I know, but if I noticed it after I've already settled on a name and the name fits the character well, I'd probably leave it as is.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Naming characters can definitely be time consuming, especially if you're being careful about the names that you choose. I agree though, it definitely helps to start off with the right name for your characters before diving into your story (and I also enjoy researching name meanings as well).
The nice thing about writing is that you can change your characters names if you feel the need to. As I understand, the process is much more difficult with children's names. :)
I have a huge list of names (male, female, last names, full names, town names, etc) I've collected over years, but for me I know I've found the right fit for the character when the name is just there waiting for it to be put to paper. As strange as that sounds.
I am really amazed.
Today I spent a lot of my spare time trying to find something interesting on
this topic. Finally I found your site. Thanks for that!
That's interesting. So you mean the names you choose are often not ones on your list?
Happy to help! Thanks so much for stopping by! :)
Good post. I've always felt strongly that name choices can aid world building, so I especially enjoyed your point in the Setting section.
I agree that names definitely can add to world building--Lord of the Rings certainly wouldn't be the same without names like Boromir, Gimli, Gandalf and Eowyn.
Thanks for stopping by! So glad you enjoyed the post. ^_^
It might just be me, but I feel as though some names have personalities in themselves. When you find that name that sounds and feels right and also fits the character, it's really a great feeling, isn't it? On the other hand I could be totally crazy. :)
Thanks for the post!
I don't think you're crazy at all. I once did this exercise with a bunch of other people where we would write a name on the top of a flashcard, then pass them around and each person would add something about the character based only off the name. Just for fun I chose a character from my friend's work rather than a random name, and to my shock the description everyone came up with was pretty dead-on, even though no one else knew about the character. So basically that's my long way of saying I do believe some names have personalities in themselves and you're not crazy. :)
Also, I absolutely agree that finding a name that sounds and feels right for a character is a wonderful feeling.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, Caroline!
Wow, you're right, that is a huge change. Degree of attachment to characters definitely makes it harder. Ultimately, most advice is good advice and usually works in your favor if you apply it the right way.
It certainly did in my case. And I agree--degree of attachment to characters makes a big difference. But it also makes a bigger impact, when you make changes correctly. :)
Ah! Your comment got caught in my spam folder...sorry about that.
Anyway! I've also found websites to be particularly useful when researching names (both first and last). It can be really interesting to see not only meanings for various names, but information about the origin of the name as well.
So glad you enjoyed the post! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, Hudson! :)
Whenever I write poetry, I'm addicted to the sounds I can make and how they recreate texture in a reader's mind. A friend called me an "audiophile". So I've always given characters names that have a matching sound. How the name feels on your tongue can tell you something about the character's personality.
That's interesting. I'd never really thought of names in that context.
I wrote an entire story once using a text macro because I couldn't come up with a good name for the protagonist. A month later when I did, I just used ctrl+f to replace every instance of "%name%" with their name. :P
Huh. I don't think I would have been able to handle not knowing my protagonists' name throughout the first month of writing, however, that is a clever way of handling it.
Thank you for the great post. As a historical American writer I need to find names that are correct for the period I am writing. I just wrote a post called "Name That Character! Best Way to Find the Correct Name for Your Western Novel" I showed how I find my character names by using census reports. They are available free online! Check out my post for all of the information and links! Kateri :-)
You're welcome, Kateri! And thanks! :)
That's one of the things I struggle with a lot. For some characters, it's instant- They just come with their name, and it's not even a question. But sometimes it takes me months to come up with the right name. It's not always convenient either- once I had a character with the name of someone I knew, and I got a lot of questions on that one. There was a lot of," I didn't want to name her that! She insisted. Do you think I choose these things?". Im pretty sure people think I'm a little bit crazy...
I agree it can be instant or...not ha ha. I also get confused when I have to change character names after a draft or two—in my head they tend to stick with their original names until I've worked through a few drafts with the new names. Writer problems. lol
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