Sometimes I'm just living my life and I meet someone or see something that has an interesting name and I think "I'm gonna take that, thank you." of course, I tweak it a bit, it can't be exactly the same. I also used to look up names on baby name sites, i find it so interesting that our seemingly normal names apparently have different meanings.
I base characters off people I know, either IRL or through people I have seen on the internet. Internet people often come from far away lands (such as a few minutes away from my warm house ) and their names are often cooler, and easier to type, than the ones I think of
I have a less scientific method of choosing names. I hit the 'I feel lucky' button on Google and choose a random first name from a random web page. Then I hit another random page for a random last name. Sure, I come up with some loo-loos, but if I don't like the name, I can always choose another.
I use behindthename.com frequently. There is behindthesurname.com as well. It's good if you want names from (almost) all over the world. Usually I don't have a specific location or a specific country in which I set my stories (it's often vague), therefore I try not to choose names that sound like they're from a certain place, though sometimes it's hard to avoid. I try coming up with names that are a bit ambiguous. What I do is I take inspiration from a name and alter it somewhat, or at least that's what I try to do. But of course I also use familiar names. And I like short names. What's really difficult for me to do is use Norwegian names ... I don't know why. But it seems in my latest story I'm overcoming that fear a little bit, though it still feels weird. Anyone feels the same about using names from their own homeland?
I choose names that describe my character's personality or appearance in the name's translation or sound. I do like unique names. Not off the chart weird names like the ones in ancient myths and legends, but unique ones. Their usually short and if they do approach the line of off the chart weird, I usually can create a shortened version that's one or two syllables. It still sounds unique, but not insane and impossible to pronounce. I only use dedicated name websites for looking up the meaning of a name. I never use name generators. Some examples of my character's names are: -Mark DiAngelo - meaning Mark of Angels, literally. -Elysia "El" Cain - using the Greek underworld's Elysium "heaven", and Cain being a Welsh name meaning water. -Aidan Stern. - Aidan, a Celtic name meaning fire, and Stern meaning star in German. (No, I have not named the character after myself, rather I named myself after the character.) If I can't find a meaning of a name, I use my favorite sounds to find or create a name. Some of my favorite sounds are 'l, s, ah, ee, and ahee'. So I created Emma Liasi, and Esmerelda Hope.
I create first names sort of out of thin air, no generators here. Characters may go through three or four if I can't quite get something that sounds good on them. It's a wonderful feeling, when you have a name that fits a character to a tee. When in doubt, go with Greek mythology. There's this pair of twins in one book I'm writing named Euryale and Stephen. Their last name is Gorgwane. Kudos to all who gets it. A kind of stoic guy got stuck with the name Troy, and it really fits him. For fantasy names, the key is something short and sweet. Sometimes, I'll just go with a different spelling of a real-life name. That ensures that it's pronounceable. There was a character of mine nicknamed "Drewbie" and his name is Drew. So when I put him in the fantasy world he's a part of, his name became Drubi. A character I had originally designated a witch got the name "Incantica", derived from the word incantation. She got turned into a prophetess instead. Ironically, her niece was given the name "Photesy", which I derived from prophesy. For last names, screw them. They get something that sounds good with the first name, and that's usually it. Though, I did give a character the last name "Cadenza", and it makes some sense in relation to the character, since singing is a hobby of hers.
I just started a new novel. My current sci-fi uses names that project a certain feeling. Like my MC is simple Jake Rhodes. But it has that tough, quiet kind of vibe to it. (At least to me) Anyway, if any of you have matched NCIS, Tim McGee writes a book, a fictionalized memoir where the characters are based on real people (real in world) Do legal issues arise with this method? I am writing something similarly based on a real life incident (Think Serpico). I'm actually doing this more as therapy, but I tend to do things right from the get go, so before I even started with an outline of the plot, I created an excel spreadsheet with each character, history up to the point where the novel starts, birth dates (I don't believe in astrology but I don't believe in coincidences, and certain traits are connected to when a person is born) education, military or LE background, etc. Some people are put in a very good light and others less so. Changing names via anagrams or other things that could be easily recognizable could pose issues, won't it. AB
There's someone on the UK TV at the moment whose first name, Colin, is an anagram of their surname, Nicol. I've gotta use that concept!
Historical reference, mostly. I'm very selective when choosing a name for a character and I'm alos a huge fan of history. I want names that fit the profile of the character in question. It helps to set the mood. But since it doesn't work for characters from other planets, I usually go with a compromise; a similar sounding name. I've even gone as far as to create a quick historical reference, in the manuscript, to back up the alien names.
I normally look up names and their meanings. My last characters all had Italian names, and the meaning of each related to the characters personalities. My most recent project is set in the future and I googled something like 'unusual baby names' and got a few that way. And sometimes the names just appears.
Good one, I don't spend too much time on names when I start writing. I let that one simmer for a while until I decide what the character's personality is all about. I kind of like the fact that Harold Pinter uses A, B, C... letters until making a final decision.
I just realized that one of the main characters had the same last name as the unabomber. So that definitely has to be changed, but lucky that word can search and replace, because her name shows up quite a bit!
I have no idea the reference point of how I would read that as Eefah. It read A-oy-fa. And your example as EE-fah. I just concoct them, dependent on the story. Tridgarn is a quick name I just thought of. He is a Petty Officer Third Class, assigned as brig guard. In detainment is Lt. Maruman. Lt Maruman struck Commander Horsley, while the two argued about orders from Admiral Bellionux. ..Shooting from the hip
I think it's a Welsh name, and in Welsh, most things are pronounced way, way different to the way it's spelled.
It reminds me of a kid I went to school with in the 8th grade I think...He used to say "Gokajzzziuejszz" was how he spelled his name. He pronounced it George. It was just a stupid thing he used to say and for some reason I remember, but hey, look at French names, they don't follow French phonetics at all. Although in a book its kind of hard to differentiate between spelling and dialogue without it getting confusing...
I just line up random syllables in my head until I get something vaguely resembling a fantasy name (which is a very broad category). "Bo-Lo-Tee-She-In-La-Kam-Lam... Kamlam. Kaimlan... Fuck it, it'll do."
When I write, I feel the need to be completely original and creative so I can say it's all my mind that created it. Does that make me weird? lol
@Beloved of Assur I personally dislike names with meaning that refers to the plot in literature - indeed, names with heavy, weighted meanings in the first place. For example, I abhor an English or common loan-word as a character's name.
The pronunciation becomes clearer when you see the classical Irish spelling - "Aífe". Neither, by the way, should it be a trochee "EE-fa". The name "Aoife" - or "Aífe", or "Aeife", or, even, as one of my classmates jokingly anglicised her name, "Eef" - should be pronounced as a spondee, with stress on both syllables. And, as a final point: it is Irish, and Welsh, and Scottish.
