I had the idea to make one of my villain's name a homage to HP Lovecraft, and I want to use either Alexander Zacharias Thoth or Azriel Thoth (referencing Lovecraft's monster Azathoth). But part of me thinks that's too obvious, like naming your villain "S.A. Tan" or something. What do you guys think?
Honestly as someone familiar with Lovecraft I wouldn't immediately have made the connection if the text was unrelated, or if I did I wouldn't have been convinced it was on purpose. It's not like you're calling him C T Hulu.
Depends on the setting but the last name "Thoth" may be a bit on the nose. Not due to the Lovecraftian reference, but the Egyptian god.
My first thought is of the Egyptian god Thoth as Lazaares mentions, above. Although I read Lovecraft and am familiar with Azathoth, seeing 'Thoth" by itself makes me think of Egyptian mythology before Lovecraft.
Call him H. Tohtaza... (like all of those villains called "Alucard", as if no one would ever figure that one out).
What the hell are talking about-... ... . . . *Note to reader: I actually had no idea Alucard was Dracula spelled backwards. My reaction is only partially a joke; most of it is genuine. Thank you*
I'm not familiar enough with Lovecraft to have gotten that-- I also thought about the Egyptian God Thoth. A question though-- are you writing in a genre where you'd expect familiarity with Lovecraft?
I'd feel it was a bit on the nose. I'm not a fan of foreshadowing (or whatever) in names, strikes of either predestination (if it was given at birth in the story) or pretension (if the character changed his name to "Dr. Evil Malevolent Nastynasty" before beginning his reign of terror.) That's not to say that it doesn't happen in the real world; taking for instance a certain recent political figure whose name implied victory and power, but most often names become associated with certain ideas because of what the person who bears them did. It can work in YA like what JK Rowling did, but for adult fiction I'd find the reference rather heavy.
Having some familiarity with your style, @Adam Bolander , I'd say your name choice might work quite well, if it's set in the Henry Rider universe—or a similar one. Everything seems a bit exaggerated there, and usually done for humorous purposes ...with a serious undertone. I'd say try it and see how it works. Nothing is easier to change during an edit than a name. It would be especially effective if the 'villain' is obviously a villain from the start, and not presented to the reader as a nice guy. But is this name a signal to readers only (who might be familiar with Lovecraft?) Or is it in a setting where the character himself will be aware of Lovecraft? In other words, would any of the characters have read Lovecraft? I hope this is a sequel to Henry Rider, Clown Hunter. I totally enjoyed reading that story (I've read it twice) and look forward to further adventures.
I agree with Iain on this one, I personally would not put much thought into the name, but it is clear foreshadowing for anyone familiar with the genre. Unless he had people in his life who somehow knew he was part of a prophecy, or it was his destiny, I doubt he'd end up with such a coincidental name. Not to say it's a bad name, I actually like the idea of Alexander Zacharias.