It usually just comes to me, but I will look up family names for certain regions, especially if the character needs a family name, but isn't a core character.
To generate names, sometimes I use lists of baby names or generators like Seventh Sanctum. Sometimes I babble gibberish until I make a sound that I like, then I spell it phonetically and adapt it as necessary. To choose names, it is a requirement that at the time of writing the story, a search for the character's full name does not return Google results. Even better if the character's first name (e.g. in a fantasy story) is not in Google. The purpose of a name is to identify. A Google search is the ultimate measure of an identifier's success at identification.
I usually look for names that have meanings that make sense for the character. For example, if I have a timid character, I'd want to find a name that means "timid" or "fragile" or something that could be described as such.
I have a baby name dictionary that I flip through until I get something. Also, I will ask two people and combine their best answers.
I keep a file with cool/unique/interesting names, first and last, on my computer and phone. I'm always adding to it. I'm currently outlining a story about sports, which required me to come up with over 150 names, none repeating, all interesting enough to stand on their own. No John Smiths allowed (sorry, John). Sometimes, names just come to me when I'm running scenes through my head. If my subconscious provides the name Charlie, I go with Charlie. If not, I look through my list and pick out whichever suits the story and character the best. But I always try to have a reason for giving a character a name. Not having a reason for any story or character decision makes no sense to me.
I actually never really think about a name. I always choose names that pop up in my head. Mostly they are really simple names like Daisy or Eliza. I also take names I like from movies a lot.
I love http://www.behindthename.com because it lists so much information, and has tons of cultural and foreign names. I also do like to take a name and alter it, or, if I think of a really good one, write it down and wait for the perfect character to come along and snatch it.
I go on Internet and I'm looking for an english names' list, male and female names. I choose the name in according to the sound. When I find a name with a good sound, I'll use it for my characters. Many times a name can give me impressions and mental connections and in according to these I'll link them to a character. For example, I have a female character called Daiana. Daiana is a name derived from Diana, the greek goodness of nature. My character, Daiana, has a kind of magic linked to nature and to earth and has a strong and decisive character. For these reason I think that Daiana is perfect for her, because it recalls Diana (the goodness) and the sound of name is decise but harmonious like her character.
For one, there are no 'Greek goodnesses'. You mean Greek goddess. And two, Diana is the Roman interpretation of the Greek goddess Artemis, the goddess of wilderness and the hunt. But everything else seems legit
I generally use my grandma's maiden name or her married and my last name for character last names for first names I use the names of family members who I loved very much or I will look through a name book and last but not list I consult my bible as well.
Sorry, my mistake! I thought that the word nature can be a synonymus to express the ideas of wilderness and the hunt... I see it ad a think linked with animals and nature. But, no problem! Thanks for your corrections. I'm sorry for my bad english.
Sorry, my mistake! I thought that the word nature can be a synonymus to express the ideas of wilderness and the hunt... I see it ad a think linked with animals and nature. But, no problem! Thanks for your corrections. I'm sorry for my bad english. I can use this kind of forum, sorry... I'll learn.
@Nisa Hawkins You weren't completely wrong with the nature/wilderness thing, just a little too general. The wilderness is a part of nature, but it's more of a specific subset of it. A tended park or cultivated field are a part of nature, but are definitely not wild. Basically, the wilderness is part of nature, but not all of nature is included in the wilderness. Welcome to the forums, by the way! And not to let the thread get too off topic- I love using those baby name websites but whenever I'm feeling uninspired and need to brainstorm something from scratch, I usually just don't feel like scrolling through page after page of lists. Instead, I like to break out a map. People love naming things after themselves or even other people. Several of my characters and made-up places in my stories share names with streets near where I've lived. I've also named multiple characters after towns or landmarks in my state. It makes for great inspiration.
Well, I'm already really excited about the various parts of this forum I am discovering. I'm realizing that not only do I need to finish my draft, but that the revision process will be extensive. I'm now contemplating changing some of my characters names. I especially liked the suggestion to use seventh sanctum and to find popular names for various birth dates. I've been one to use the 'stare ahead until a name pops up that sounds right' method.
I usually just improvise. I always had the belief that it's not the name that makes the character important, it's how you write it and how you use it in your story that makes them interesting. That being said, I confess that I find a little irritating when authors (usually fantasy authors) name their characters like something pulled out of a drunk guy's mouth.
I usually pick names that represent the character and their story significance. For fantasy works, I tend to use words from ancient languages or languages that are not well known here in the west (Latin, Gaelic, Teutonic, Arabic, African languages, Maori etc) that mean what the person represented. The word list I search tends to be from the kind of background I've loosely based their culture or philosophy on. For modern words I trawl the name pages on the net looking for names with the origin that represents the person's culture or background and meanings that represent their purpose in the story. I do this for both forenames and surnames. For futuristic names I tend to use both these methods as well as sometimes using names that today would just be words but in the future might become names or nicknames more commonly. Again, they tend to be representative. Be careful, whatever you do though. Don't make the mistake of One-man-bucket's parents in the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. Here he explains his name and that of his rather unfortunate brother in Reaperman: “Why are you called One-man-bucket?” "...In my tribe we're traditionally named after the first thing my mother sees when she looks out of the tepee after the birth. It's short for one-man-pouring-a-bucket-of-water-over-two-dogs." "That's pretty unfortunate." "It's not too bad. It was my twin brother you had to feel sorry for. She looked out ten seconds before me to give him his name." "don't tell me, let me guess. Two-dogs-fighting?" "Two-dogs-fighting? Two-dogs-fighting? Wow, he would have given his right arm to be called Two-dogs-fighting."
You could choose names that have meaning for the characters and give your story more depth. Particularly interesting with round characters like Obidiah Elihue in "Parker's Back" by Flannery O'Connor. The name basically means something along the lines of "he who got dwells within and shines through" which would not be at all relevant at the beginning of the story but definitely fits him at the end. Very interesting literary use for character's names.
I named a secondary character after a vegetable recently. Changed the spelling to make it seem a more logical name and actually it works. Mind you, I didn't call him Zucchini or Capsicum...
I'm guessing this is what they call peppers in places where everyone walks with boots on their head and hats on their feet.
I actually have trouble with names, maybe it's an over fixation or something but finding a good name for my character, or at least one I can tolerate, actually takes me a while.
I'm not too bad with names. If I get stuck, I will look up the top 100 from the area and timeframe the character was born or I will ask for suggestions on my FB page. I've never looked up the meaning of a name until a long time afterwards, and even then, I've only looked up one.
