I'm having a bit of a debate with myself about one of the characters in a story I'm starting to develop. She is a very strong character, a bit of a tough girl on the outside. I was thinking of having her friends call her Sage but to have her actual name be Sadie (revealed later in the book as she opens up to the main character) and she doesn't go by Sadie because she feels it's too girly. So I was wondering, does it work well to have a girl named Sadie go by Sage or should I use a different name? I have a lot of people say Sadie is a bit of an uncommon name, and is used for a dog's name more often. If you think I should use a different name, an example of one that you think would work well would be great. I would like it to start with S and to be a bit more of a common girly name to contrast with a tougher boyish character. Thanks
I see no problem with it. (Actually my dog is Sadie, but I also knew a Sadie in high school, so it certainly hasn't completely 'gone to the dogs.') Sage works well -- a very easy explanation would be if a younger sibling or some child called her Sage instead of Sadie, because that is absolutely a mistake a child could make. It could also work for other reasons -- it doesn't have to be a mispronounciation. She could like the spice.
I hope you're at least halfway through your story, if you're going to spend time worrying about a name: You'll probably end up changing it later anyway if not. Depends on the setting. If real world, either give her a name that has a masculine version or understone (Alex, Sam, Zoey) OR (and this could be more character relevant) give them a girly girl name and have them take on a completely different one (Chris... Why did they just call you Stacey?)
