How do you choose names?

Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Jack Asher, May 12, 2014.

  1. Pradipna Lodh

    Pradipna Lodh New Member

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    It depends on the storyline, the place where it is set in, the name comes from there
     
  2. Beloved of Assur

    Beloved of Assur Active Member

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    Usually I take the first name I can think of when thinking on a character because that give me as a writer, or so I think :p, the ability to get a firm association with that name which makes it easier for me to connect it with relevant associations for the reader.
     
  3. Justin Attas

    Justin Attas Active Member

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    Great resource you listed! I actually just made a writing course wherein I describe a few naming methods. They go like this.

    1. Use names you know
    2. Engage in wordplay (subtract and add syllables from different words until one sounds like a name)
    3. Use natural phenomena (like Blaze, Wind, or Winter)

    Hope this helps!
     
  4. Bluefire

    Bluefire Member

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    So what I do, is I go to a name generator, but I take and write down about 10 to 15 names, and then I mess with the names a bit. Take the name Brian Devo (Fake person), With just a few changes his name can go from Brian Devo, to Briantario Devatas, and it gives it a whole different sound and meaning. Sorry It's not the best name, I lost my creativity as soon as I went to answer your question... Lol
     
  5. Lazaares

    Lazaares Contributor Contributor

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    I use name generators; random names I like. Sometimes I run generators for a while and write down a dozen or so names, then use that as ammunition later on.

    The only conscious interference I do is avoiding likewise-sounding names (John, James, Jacob, Jonathan) and to make sure no two characters in the same storyline have the same initial for their given name (EG, no Charlotte and Christopher in the same sub-plot, or Lucas & Lawrence). This comes from back in High School where we all remembered character names in compulsory literature based on initials (and hated works where 3+ characters had the same initials).
     
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  6. Dogberry's Watch

    Dogberry's Watch Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023 Contest Winner 2022

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    The names come to me first and then the story goes to pieces around those names.
     
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  7. Lakemoron

    Lakemoron New Member

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    If set in the modern era, I go to google and ask what the popular names are. If placed in the future or fantasy, I like to use older names rarely used today (Agnes, Tabatha, Bessy, Louella, and Burl). I always have seven names out of nostalgia (Jennifer, Fritz, Martin, Mary, Hester, William (Bill) and Nancy). For last names, the phone book and my family (Lots Martins, Collinses, and Fritzes in my work) and any name Grammarly doesn't have any problems with me using.
     
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  8. Pazcore1

    Pazcore1 New Member

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    I’ve only just delved into writing recently. I’m very much the novice to the Extent that I’ve written one short story about my 3yr old daughter and her Grandma’s dog.

    the story involves her visiting space either the dog. I had to chose a name for a friendly alien she encountered. I just used the first few letters of her christian and surname ‘Olmor’.

    I think the names you give your characters should be relevant to what your are writing I.e my short stories will be just part of the names of people she knows smashes together e’g. John Smith = Josmi.

    If you need a more ‘normal’ name maybe look at your friend’s friends list on Facebook.

    (this is my first post, hope I’ve done it right)
     
  9. Samuel McKallan

    Samuel McKallan New Member

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    I think of random syllables, then I smash them together, and I figure the spelling out later. Ex- Kalyrah, Mjeri, Raziell, Nalla, Revan

    If I'm writing something less fantastical, then I use 20000-names.com
     
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  10. Mistress Spike

    Mistress Spike New Member

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    It all depends on what I am writing. If I am writing a story based on a real historical culture. I will look at names from that age period. If I am writing fantasy I'll may pick names that I sometimes dream about or names that I just like in general and put a spin on it.
     
  11. Justin Attas

    Justin Attas Active Member

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    I've done entire videos on this, but it's worth sharing here, too. Use wordplay! It's more like a game than most strategies, so it lends itself very well to encouraging unique combinations and a positive experience. Here's what I mean.

    Take a word. Slash one or more syllables out of it. Add one or more syllables from one or more words.


    EX: (Original word) Garbage
    +
    (Second word) Canopy
    =
    Garcan (could be a first name in scifi/fantasy, or a last name anywhere else[or just a REALLY weird name anywhere])

    You can mess around with nearly limitless combinations. You can also use letters, prefixes, or suffices instead of full syllables as your building blocks for even more variety.

    EX: (Original word) Salami
    +
    (Suffix) -ut
    =
    Salamut (great name for a dragon [or a person with very odd parents])

    If you're looking for unique names, try this technique. I've used it countless times and it's never let me down.
     
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  12. GraceLikePain

    GraceLikePain Senior Member

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    Lol, I use methods like that. In one of my short stories I named all the aliens after various sounds. "Miaul" is an old fashioned way to say "meow", "Terwa" is the middle section of "caterwaul", etc. Another thing I do is whenever I make a particularly funny typo, I save it to a file and use it for a name.

    Other than that, it's just whatever happens to come to mind. I'm not picky about such things.
     
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  13. Room with a view

    Room with a view Senior Member

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    I either pick names I secretly wish I was named at birth or I take out the Jack Reacher clause and name them after famous president,vice presidents or sports starts from around the world.
     
  14. Dalantri

    Dalantri Member

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    I agree with Justin and I’ve followed this trick myself. It does depend on the genre your are writing though. This works better for science fiction than romance. For more realistic names, I look at the character’s background: sex, race, culture, etc. Then I research names that feel/sound good to me as fitting the character. I have changed character’s names as well though.
     
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  15. Dalantri

    Dalantri Member

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    Exactly. For me, character names come from WHO the character is. If I’m at a loss, I’ll start with someone who my character reminds me of and then begin splitting and merging first/last names until something sticks.
     
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  16. Sergeant Mirror

    Sergeant Mirror Member

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    you could use names as metaphors for something such as Stephen Dedalus in James Joyce's Ulysses, Dedalus was a character in the greek myth about Icarus who flew with wax wings too close to the sun that he fell, there is a lot of symbolism in Joyce's work
     
  17. acermapleb

    acermapleb Member

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    My major characters usually come with names; I'm really not sure how that happens in my head, but I often just get a pretty detailed flash which can then be fleshed-out.

    For minor or throwaway characters, my go-to is an old phone book I have. (Once I was trying to find a name for a music teacher and actually flipped to a page beginning with "Singer".) If that doesn't work, then any combination of first and last names from authors on my bookshelf will do.
     
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  18. .Nameless.

    .Nameless. Member

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    I've had an idea for a group of knights & I want their names/personalities to be based on real-life moons, but I just can't decide how deep I want to go with that. I've looked at the names for some of the lesser-known moons & came up empty. Let's face it, naming someone 'Luna' or 'Phobos' or something commonly known like that is a little cliché. I don't wanna be another Sailor Moon, no matter how much we pervs want to perv-out on them.
     
  19. RaitR_Grl

    RaitR_Grl Member

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    What if you look at the real moon names, do some research into the meaning of the name, language of origin, etc. And then modify/adapt the name until you feel the sound meets your expectations? It's worth a try.
     
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  20. .Nameless.

    .Nameless. Member

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    That's what I did when I originally came up with the idea. Went to Wikipedia & did some Google-ing (which sounds slightly dirty). That's when I decided I wanted it to be more than just a name & more of a personality, but the ones I looked into (the lesser-known moons of Saturn, Jupiter & some large asteroids) just didn't have much info on the origin of the name other than "it was this [enter ancient civilization here] god/goddess, who was a descendant/relative of this god/goddess. At the time I actually had a day-job, so I didn't have as much time to kill as I do now with the virus & being the designated mooch.
     
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  21. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    ^ You know, I was JUST wondering—how does .Nameless. choose names? :confused: :cool:
     
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  22. Aldarion

    Aldarion Active Member

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    I have a list of latin names in OpenOffice Calc. Then I just close my eyes, randomly point finger / cursor at the screen and select a name from that.
     
  23. A_Jones

    A_Jones Member

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    I just think of a name that sounds right and then google it to see if there are any unfortunate connotations
     
  24. AASmith

    AASmith Senior Member

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    I choose names based on what I like and what fits the characters. I avoid character names that are too similar to each other, for instance, I would never have a Shelly and Shirley unless the story called for characters with similar sounding names.
     
  25. Birch Anderson

    Birch Anderson Member

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    I have a bad habit that I'm still trying to get out of, namely bogging down a story with symbolism and pretending that I'm being "subtle." This symbolism includes minor unimportant details as well as the names, and I'll spend hours going over my books for a good character name (particularly Llewellyn's Complete Book of Names) to add to the narrative. Eventually I force myself to see reason, and I'll just look at websites for long-past obituary records or just the phone book, patch-and-stitching first and last names until it sounds good in my head, and looks good in a sentence.
     

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