I never put much thought into picking names. But then I don't write fantasy or historical stories. There doesn't have to be a meaning or reason behind my characters' names because I write stories about random people with random, ordinary names. So if I see a name in a book or on tv, I'll try and remember it. And once I start writing a character, I'll pick out one of the names in my head. If I feel like it suits them, if it feels right, well then that's it.
I don't entirely know where I take my name inspiration from. Because I write primarily modern fiction, I don't get the chance to invent anything crazy. I generally think of the character first and what traits I want them to have, then I consider what names would be suited to them. I knew my MC's name was Simon since I started my second chapter, but it took me a long time to find his surname, and I'm pretty happy with what I came up with. So far I'm pretty comfortable with all my names. Time spent online can help you as well. Real names you see around the internet can give you some suggestions.
It depends. If I want to write story about people from Africa, then I try to find some African names. If I want write fantasy, then I try to find names in different way - I used existing names, and I change, or add letters, or mix one name with second name. But very often I have like that, I think about character and I just have name without effort. Straight away I had in my head word which is perfect name, perfect to this character. And this is the way which I like most
I have a school visit this week to chat to them about my book, so I have set a competition for the school kids to name my cave boy character in my next book. Currently he's just Cave Boy. I'm hoping for something really original... fingers crossed!
I hope you really impress the kids with that character. Then, when they grow up, they'll all name their sons Cave Boy. Cave Boy will be on the lists of most popular names. So writers twenty years from now, when they're trying to name their own character, will consult these lists and say, "I'll name him Cave Boy. That's a nice, common name these days."
I hope you really impress the kids with that character. Then, when they grow up, they'll all name their sons Cave Boy. Cave Boy will be on the lists of most popular names. So writers twenty years from now, when they're trying to name their own character, will consult these lists and say, "I'll name him Cave Boy. That's a nice, common name these days." Who knows? Maybe?
It is mostly staring into space for me too. However, I then edit and redact in order to minimise any sloganism in the name. I like names to be quite random and not have character relevant meaning.
The people in our writing group use all the methods already described here, as well as, for example, going through Greek or Latin or Sanskrit dictionaries for words that mean something that seems to fit the character (Such as Sanskrit words for "flower" or "conquer.") Then most of us like to tweak the names and make them pronounceable for our readers who literally hear words in their heads as they read and go insane while reading if a character's name is long and awkward to pronounce. Then, as suggested, we use a search engine to see if what we thought was a brilliant original is not actually an undesirable word in another language, a trademarked name, or a name already chosen for a well-known character we were unaware of -- perhaps in a genre we never explore. As an example of not researching other meanings first, a nearby lavender farm allowed a dayspa to open up on the farm, using lavender products from the farm. The dayspa owners thought the word "Lavendera" was a beautiful name for their dayspa. Turns out it means washerwoman or laundromat in Spanish. (Could have been worse, though.)
For my dark fantasy novel I take inspiration from 16th-17th century germanic names. My MC is named Erhart, his wife Anneke and his daughter Ayla. Other characters will draw inspiration from English names depending on where in the made up world they're from.
I had a name i liked the sound off, so i used it in one of my books, did sound familiar, did not know where from.. then after some time, i heard the name on the news.. Amanda Knox.. So i changed the first name of the chartacter and kept the Knox part.. I do have a list of names male and females, sometimes seeing credits on Tv and Films, you see interesting names.. write down, a first name or second name, then you just play around matching up first and second names, until you get any that sounds good. I have this character i created, Sphinx Kozlzowski, and a rough out line of a back story.. His mother was an Egyptian, and his father was a Russian. he has a missing younger sister, and is ex military.. and he has contacts all over the world.. He has a best friend who is a technological wizard. Its just a matter of coming up with a right story to put him in.. i am thinking a series of mythical mystery novels, ?
Usually I like to have some meaning to my name's, or I just find one that I like the sound of. Sometimes I use anagrams or sometimes I just put random letters together and find I like it. An example is that three of my main characters have names that are anagrams of the three fates. I wanted to do that because they "hold the fate of the world in their hands." Another group of characters have names that are either based off or anagrams of the first 5 planets because they work for a chapter whose name is based off the world Sol.
I find baby name books work swimmingly. There are tons of different categories in those books. I have a book that has 100,001 names and it's separated into boys names, girls name, top tens from different countries, what famous people have named their children. And like many others name generators found by googling character name generators, so Seventh Sanctum is on that list.
For normal every day names I use a random name generator. Just click away until one comes up that you like. Particularly good for minor characters.
I just choose the first thing that sounds good. I see all these blogs talk it up like it's a big deal, like names gotta have some sort of deep meaning behind them. My ass. That's a lot of work for readers who won't know the onomastic difference between Rachel and Melissa.
Take a characteristic of the person, put it through google translate and change the word up a bit. Or just combine multiple letter sounds, for example, O and N = Owen.
Being a lover of history I typically think of figures in history and slightly change their names to fit the context. If I want a treacherous character I do something like Ephialtes of Trachis ( the traitor from the battle of Thermopylae) or Benedict Arnold. If I'm feeling lazy I just choose what sounds nice.
I sometimes find meanings in names that I hadn't put there intentionally. For example, a character whose surname is Fox is a bully who chooses her victims and then attacks quickly and viciously. I find myself using lots of predator/prey imagery. There's also a character called Ophelia who, while she doesn't drown herself, is rather tragic.
I seriously struggle with names. More so than anything else. It slows my writing process and I regularly go back and change names because their first didn't feel right. I use baby names from places that have unique, but familiar names, sometimes I tweak them. I try to draw from one single country's for each culture in my story, it feels more real when the names share a similar heritage. Sometimes I create my own names, but like I said - I'm not good with names. I too often think of a name I love, before realizing its a name from a book I've already read. Sometimes I steal them .
I'm rather fond of the books by Bruce Lansky such as the New Baby Name Survey... they include what sort of impression the name makes according to surveys done on online baby name sites (especially good for minor characters where this can help with making a wanted impression fast without too much infdumping descripton)
It truly depends on the "idea" behind the character, which takes a couple of days to actually pop into existence. Sometimes, I'll sit in meditation and it'll come to me. Other times, I name characters after special people I've met or known. An example would be a traveling gypsy I named after a dear friend who helped me get through depression. Mostly though, since special friends are a rarity, I simply let the idea of the character marinate in my wild mind. That probably sounds pretentious.
I often use names that suit the themes of my book. My WIP has central themes to do with societies' seperation from religion, and movement in materialism. For instance, I have used a lot of names from the enlightenment period, as this was the first big leap away from religious values. I've used names from famous athiests, mixed in with names derivative from the Bible and the Torah, to highlight this tension.
Search my mind until I find one that fits well enough. Then flesh out the character more, pick a few defining traits and search "names that mean <insert defining trait>." Then I may end up finding something more appropriate, or sticking with what I had at first.
I have a couple books of baby names. I close my eyes, flip through the book randomly, stop, point to the page and open my eyes. Boom. Name.
