1. shambles

    shambles Member

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    I need names for my main characters...

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by shambles, Mar 15, 2016.

    I have been contemplating this for several days and I decided to finally bring it here.

    I am looking for two names for my main characters, one a girl and one a boy in a dystopian novel I'm working on. The government and economy has crashed and the people have split into two groups, the Elites and the Unfortunates. The Elites are 10% of the population and have 90% of all wealth and the Unfortunates are 90% of the population and have 10% of the wealth. I'll write the characters' descriptions below.

    The boy is strong and handsome and he's form the Unfortunates. The girls are always pining after him, but he never seems to notice. He always has more important things to do. He's a natural leader, although he is an introvert. He takes leadership positions solely out of a sense of duty. He's not a follower, but he would prefer to work all alone. He comes across as harsh and stern, but he is actually rather caring. He is overprotective of anybody who can't protect themselves well or is under his leadership. He is a go-getter type of person who gets things done. He has a hard time expressing his true emotions, especially when it comes to my female MC. He just wants to protect her, but she is stubborn and he hates when he isn't able to protect her, either from herself or some outside force.

    I want a name that has a harsh, sharp, and sort of hard sound to it and conjures up and image such as Tobias from Divergent. I was something when you say it, it has an obvious ending to it, something that isn't open ended and airy.
    Some options I have are: Zander, Liam, Ezra, Luke, and Ezekiel

    The girl is stubborn and independent and from the Elites. She starts out as sort of soft and weak, but gets stronger as the story goes on. She doesn't like people trying to protect her because she thinks she can take care of herself. She is very determined and sets specific goals that she aims to reach. Once she decides to do something, it is nearly impossible to convince her otherwise. Her thought process is more logical than heartfelt and she tries to keep her emotions in check.

    I want a name that is softer, more airy and conjures up the image of a rather small, petite girl, but despite her size, she is fierce. I want it to be more open ended than the boy's name.
    Some options I have are: Tess, Maia, Niya, Tara, Mae, and Ash

    Let me know what you all think and feel free to leave any suggestions of your own or about my options I've already come up with! Thank you in advance!!
     
    Seraph751 likes this.
  2. Seraph751

    Seraph751 If I fell down the rabbit hole... Contributor

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    Location:
    Texas
    Girl Names:
    Alice
    Amara
    Aria
    Athena
    Azaelia
    Azalea
    Cella (Pronounced: Sella)
    Chloe
    Cora
    Echo
    Eden
    Eliora
    Ella
    Emma
    Eva
    Ever
    Farrah
    Faye
    Freya
    Genesis
    Grace
    Guinevere
    Gwen
    Gwendolyn
    Gwyneth
    Hyacinth
    Ianthe
    Inna
    Io
    Iris
    Isla (eye-la)
    Jewel
    Julianna
    Liliana
    Lucy
    Lyric
    Margot (Mar-go)
    Mavis
    Melody
    Minari
    Nova
    Ohpelia
    Quin
    Rose
    Sasha
    Selah (say-la)
    Serenity
    Sonia
    Viola
    Willow
    Xanthe

    Boy Names:

    Ares
    Axel
    Bain
    Cadeon
    Cole
    Ezra
    Fox
    Gideon
    Griffon
    Holden
    Hunter
    Kade
    Kaden
    Logan
    Maddox
    Orion
    Otto
    Pax
    Quill
    Reed
    Rhett
    Rhys (Rees)
    River
    Ronan
    Ryker
    Soren
    Storm
    Talon
    Trex
    Vox
    Wolfe
    Wyatt
    Xander
    Xeno
    Zeke
    Zion
     
  3. La_Donna

    La_Donna Member

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    Boy's Name:
    Blake
    Cato
    Cole
    Elias
    Flint
    Jase
    Jem
    Jonas (pronounced Yo-nas)
    Julius
    Max
    Tom (for something normal, run of the mill)

    Girl's Name:
    Aliena (pronounced Ally-ena or Ally-ay-na)
    Amabelle
    Annabella
    Anya
    Celia (or Cecilia)
    Eleanor/Elinor
    Emilia
    Dahlia
    Diana
    Georgiana (pronounced George-ayna or Georg-i-ana)
    Helena
    Hermia
    Mariana
    Livia
    Primrose
    Rosetta
     
  4. LostThePlot

    LostThePlot Naysmith Contributor

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    Just pick names you like the sound of. Names don't really 'fit' just on the face of them. As you write you'll find that they come to own the name and you won't be able to imagine that character being called anything else.

    I'm a smart arse [citation needed] and I like playing games with character names. Everyone in my books has at least a couple of different things they get called by different people in different contexts because I love showing things through speech not narration. I don't want to say that these two characters are close, I just want them to use diminutives and pet names and even good natured insults and let the reader pick it up themselves.

    Playing these kind of games leads to weird situations with names though. I wrote a book set in a cult where the core characters are the cult leader's son and one of the followers who brings him up. His actually name is Elijah but he's never called that. He's always Ellie. He never met other kids to find out that Ellie is a girls name, and living in this weird situation he got babied for a long time still being called that quiet childish diminutive even as he becomes a young man. Her name is Judith but everyone she's ever really been close to calls her Jude or Judy. Her parents do and her friends always did. When she joined the cult she started out introducing herself as Judith because it's more biblical but her friends in the cult still call her Jude. The only person who's ever called her Judith is Ellie.

    So two main characters both stuck with names that felt a bit artificial to me when I started writing. I was happy with them but open to changing them. But by the end of the book they both own those names so completely that I can't imagine them being anyone else. It's weird to me that in my pitch letter I had to call him Elijah because to my mind that's like calling him Patrick. It's just not his name. His name is Ellie. It's not the best name, it's certainly not a fitting name for him as a charismatic, principled leader who people rally behind. But it's his name now, I can't imagine anything else.

    It's happened in all my projects. Melissa in my first book is militant that her name is 'Lissa' not 'Mel'. Elizabeth in another is doing her level best to get people to call her 'Beth' which her friends have picked up but to her mum she'll always be 'Lizzie'. And these two absolutely own their names now. Liss is this fierce, passionate, loyal young woman (and a heroin addict but that's another story) and that feels very natural. Beth is a troubled, struggling teenager trying to deal with a huge lie that comes to define her life. They didn't fit when I started but they feel so natural to me today.

    Don't worry about how names sound. By the end, those names will sound just right.
     
    Oscar Leigh likes this.
  5. Oscar Leigh

    Oscar Leigh Contributor Contributor

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    Liam is soft and warm to me. I would go with Ezekiel or Ezra. What about Gabriel or Alexander though?
    Girl I would go Ash or Maia. Maybe Samantha or Ivy though?
    Really, it's up to you and there's no way to make the choice other than what you feel is right to you.
     
  6. Mike Kobernus

    Mike Kobernus Senior Member

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    Go with Garret for the boy. Helene for the girl.
    Or, alternatively, just sleep on it. Names will come.
     
  7. JD Anders

    JD Anders Member

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    I like Brock. Seems like a strong name. I picture a guy with a chiseled jaw and a level of determination that would bring honor to an entire Asian country :p

    For the girl, I'm not so sure. Lylah or some variation is appealing to me, but I think my favorite is Skye.
     
    Oscar Leigh likes this.
  8. A lake.

    A lake. Member

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    Hillary and Donald?
     
  9. Oscar Leigh

    Oscar Leigh Contributor Contributor

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    LOL.
     
    A lake. likes this.

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