I use the first name which pops into my head. For some reason one of my last main characters had an unusual name and i'm not sure where it came from. I was able to work an explanation for the name into the story and it's uniqueness became important to the plot.
I think about what I want my character to represent and what kind of person they are. Then I pull up a number of name meaning websites and I piece together names until I have a created name I like with the corresponding meaning I want. But, if I am lucky, I find a name that fits perfectly that I don't have to change or add to. Sometimes it's hard though, I don't always like the name even if it has the correct meaning behind it. But that is why I use many different name meaning websites for as many cultures as possible. I have yet to be stumped completely.
I think it's a bit like using saidisms correctly. You don't want the name to stick out too much, you almost want the reader to skip over the name as they read. Take lost for example, Jack, John, Kate, Ben, Jacob, Claire, Charlie, Michael, Walt. It's just my personal preference speaking here though, I like it when names are sort of in the background. It's a tougher task to achieve when writing fantasy though because you'll probably be making up a lot of names, but I'd just want them to blend in and not take away too much attention from the rest of the text.
No process. No outlines. I didn't name any of them. As my story developed, my characters told me their names.
This is an interesting point. I write fantasy and I generally want my names to be different enough that they don't jar you back into reality. For example, if I named one of my characters Bob, Joe, or Katie it would feel all wrong... On the other hand, a lot of fantasy seems to fall into the trap of using names that are so outlandish that they also jar you out of the story except this time it's because they're making you go "WTF??" I don't care how evil the villain is, Mordarth is not a legitimate name unless your story is really a LoTR meets Star Wars fanfic... I tend to find that trawling through existing names from other time periods and cultures and then judiciously editing by changing a few vowels around or mixing the first half of one name with the second half of another has the best success rate for creating an end product that still feels like a name - ya know, one that a mother in your fantasy world would legitimately consider giving to her child. Still, it's very much a touch and go process.
For me it really all depends on the setting of your story. Most of my stories are not on earth, well, the earth we know at least, so i have to assume that the culture is different. Depending on your setting, the whole theme of names will be different. I try to think of different sounds that the human voice can make, and use certain sounds more than others, sometimes even omitting certain sounds. Also i could use a theme of a certain letter combination, more use of "th" or "shi" etc. I rarely if ever would look up baby names and names of lineages online unless i was portraying a story that took place in our realistic timeline as humans.
I'm the same way-I hate coming up w/ names. I don't stress about it. I give my character a name, realizing that one 'control-F' will change it for me easy if I later decide.
If name of character is given based on his role in that character.. ,would be much suitable rather than just giving a synonymous name.
One of my biggest weaknesses, in my opinion, is making up names for my characters. I usually think of my basic story idea first, then who the main characters involved with the story should be and any, "extras", which will be required. I then usually just google search, "Names meaning x" and go through the lists until I find a name I quite like. It's impossible for me to find a name I like off the top of my head, honestly. Failing this method, I just translate keywords of my character, and maybe put them through an online translator and see if I can see any parts I like and put the pieces together until it looks right. Minor characters can have more common names, if they are in a limited amount of scenes, but I'm still overly fussy for some reason and may spend ages trying to find the right name for a character who may only appear in one chapter.
I definitely agree with Warde that you have to find the balance with Fantasy names. A lot of them are too far out there and I can't figure out how to pronounce them or what they might mean - and it takes me out of the story. And modern names don't sound right. But, depending on your exact setting, old names tend to work well. And many ancient cultures the naming centered around the father and/or the occupation. Keep your society in mind when naming things. Another thing to consider in fantasy worlds is building consistent patterns for different peoples. Just like the real word, Nordic people have names different than Africans, Spanish is different than Portuguese. Similar types of names can help identify characters and allow the reader to make connections easier.
I'll often look at credits for a movie I like and pick out a name from the credits, like a random associate producer's first name and an editor's last name. Sometimes I'll use baby name websites and see what jumps out, or the same with finding last names on surname websites. The screenwriting software Final Draft has a names database, so you can look up names starting with R and maybe on that day, thinking of a particular character, one of the names on the list jumps out. I'll also change names mid-manuscript if I see a name that jumps out at me. My first novel is about a guy who has escaped from prison three times. Halfway through the second draft I read a news story about a man whose surname was Farewell, and it seemed so appropriate for a guy who always escapes and runs away that I did a find/replace and made Farewell my MC's surname.
Here's a copy&paste from a rough I did the other day for a short story: "Today, she would be ____ and she would be a grieving mistress. Yes, ___ “Call me ____” would be perfect. I finished several hundred words before I had the name. Today, she would be Janet Weston and she would be a grieving mistress. Yes, Janet “Call me Jane” would be perfect. The name was important to the story, especially this scene, but I wanted to get my thoughts down before I struggled with a decent name that fit my conventions. If I had become too bogged down in choosing a name, the rough for the story would have never gotten done. However, there are times when you do need a name, but it has more to do with the type of character you are trying to portray and, as you point out, whether or not you wish the reader to bring along any cultural references associated with the name and attribute those to the character. Sometimes, names can be awesome story devices. What about a character named "Santa" that is an axe murderer? Nice twist, huh? When you get stuck on a name, insert whatever hokey reference you can think of at the moment, as long as it doesn't influence your own interpretation of the character, and then continue on. Get the words down on paper, first, then sit back after you have fleshed out the character and dig around for a good name. Don't submit yourself to any more mental speed-bumps during the creative process than are absolutely unavoidable. Lastly, there are plenty of name generators out there as well as stacks of baby-name books. Use them when necessary. Someone else mentioned tombstones and that's a pretty good idea, not only for unique names, but for creative inspiration.
Agree Agree Agree! To me, it hardly matters what you name a character. 'Sally' will become a sinister name when attached to a sinister character. By the same token 'Sally' will connote sweetness and sunshine when her character is the plucky girl next door with the straw hat and the dog who dances. Character makes the name. Not the other way around. In other words, Dickens' names are great, but 'Scrooge', the name, only really came to be associated with bitter misers because the character of Scrooge made it so.
Just call them whatever names you can see or think of, the name doesn't matter and doesn't have to be a representation of the character. When my mum named me she didn't know what kind of character i would be. If your character is strong enough then they will begin to represent that name in the readers mind and it won't even matter anymore anyway. Some of the best characters in books I've read have been called things like Matt, or Mrs. Jones.... I don't think it is important.
My process: - Go on baby name sites. - Find name with interesting meaning (I do this just for fun though) or relevancy to where they come from. - If I like, it chose it. - The end. No trouble. That is all. Besides, I've got a lot more things to be worrying about rather than the characters names
I just pick names off the top of my head that suit the social/economic class of the person's family, and that I like enough to keep in my head for months on end.
Somehow i just randomly come up with names and they just fit. Try to mix 2-3 names together and see the results.
