Hi, I want to write a novel for teenagers. Could you help me to find the best name for my character ? His personality : young boy, clever, brave...... Names to choose from : - Jack Tew - Jack Groom english is not my mother tongue, so I need your help. Thank !
Andrew, Aundre, and Barrett (though German) mean brave. I like Jack Tew though. The last name is odd, even though its meaning fits the character's traits.
Just give him a name. Names don't fit the people who have them. There's no way that parents are going to know that their children will grow up to be that way, so naming them that way is just tacky.
Neither - they both sound horrible and terribly made-up. Especially Jack Groom - that's really just awful - sorry! I can't help but start thinking of cats grooming themselves, or pedophiles grooming children, or perhaps a bride and groom. Either way, it's awkward.
i personally prefer jack tew, though i do agree that naming a character for his personality traits is a bit of a bad idea unless its quite abstract
ok very helpful for me. I will not choose Jack Groom You definitely prefer Jack Tew, but do you really think it's a pretty good name or I should look for something else ? other ideas for the last name : Grimble Kimble Womble Wint Pick Tosh Woo Thank you
Stick with Tew, in short, get to the writing of the story, names can be changed easily later on, and the character him/herself is far more important than the name and in long I think your probably taking too long over deciding your characters names. i love character creating, probably more than most on here. If i may make a recommendation. Write your story, use Jack Tew until something that fits better either crops up or until you get to your second/third or millionth draft (then use find & replace). Your characters need to be deep, meaningful, generate an emotional experience, His or her name doesn't. i say this because i too get pulled into these internal debates, researching names, ages etc before i knuckle down to the story, fifteen minutes into writing it usually all gets changed for example the main character of my current project has been: called Agow, Oro, Alexander, Borius, shien, and is now called Agaue until i finish the first draft at which point i may change it to something that fits aged 25, 37, 114, and is currently un-aged as he is too old to remember. again this may be changed again. my second main character has been: called shana, stefan, sheenla and is now Pagn aged 6 months, 5 years, 8 years and now starts at 8 and finishes the book at around 20/25 this is simply the way i write and its an evolving process. hope this helps, if it seems harsh, i just wish that when people had told me this to start off with i had listened good luck
Of these last suggestions I definitely prefer Jack Kimble, but - Where do you find those names?? Most of them doesn't even sound like names, but maybe that is what you want? Well, if he's chinese, I guess Woo could be an apropriate last name...
I think that would be 'Wu', if it's Chinese. Then again, neither were originally spelt using the Latin alphabet. Of the suggested surnames, the only ones I've ever come across are Kimble and Tosh (the latter is a famous historian). Definitely do not choose Womble, as that would just make most people think of subterranean mammalian scavengers (unless that's the effect you're going for...). Jack Tew has a ring to it, a bit like William Tell.
Thank you guys for your replies @ dave_c : thank you, very helpful @Tesoro : all of these names really exist in usa (find them in facebook maybe ) see you soon
Except that Jack is usually a nickname or short name for John, which means John Kimble, who is the main character from Fugitive, played by Harrison Ford, and when I think of that movie, I think of the guy who plays Janitor in Scrubs (also the Dad in The Middle) yelling, "Kimble!" and then J.D. sitting up and saying, "Janitor!" So every time I see the name Kimble, I see this face:
oops, sorry, didn't know any of those, I just thought the name sounded, you know, familiar. Now I understand why!
First off, depending whereyour character lives will affect the choice of name. Certain names are popular in certain countries. For example, Jack is this year's second most popular name for boys born in the UK. (Note: not as a derivative of any other name, such as John, but as a name in its own right.) Also in the UK, I grew up living next door to a family named Tew and my daughter is at school with a boy whose surname is Wint - so at least some of the names you're considering are valid. On the other hand, in the UK a Womble is a literary and TV character belonging to a family of Wombles that live under Wimbledon Common in London and collect litter. See YouTube clip It has also recently been adopted as a derogatory reference to the Community Support Officers and Highways Officers who work with our Police forces, but who have neither the training nor the status of 'proper' officers. For what it's worth, I'd consider where (and when) I was setting the story and look in public records (many of which are online) for surnames that are used in that specific region.
