Naming is pretty much one of my biggest challenges when I write. So, I have a character who has chosen his name (though you don't find this out in the beginning, and I have decided whether to reveal it later on). He's based it on a merge between the name of a TV character and the actor who plays him. Most readers would probably not recognize the source of the name (it's a little-known sci-fi series called Firefly), but for those that might, do you think it's a tacky or cliched way to name him? (Imagine if you encountered this type of situation in a book - would you say, "Oh, that's interesting," or snort at the blatant show of uncreativity of the author?)
To be 100% honest, I'm not completely sure. If it was something a) extremely recognisable or b) totally perplexing, I'd probably think it was tacky. For example, calling a character Jack DiCaprio is too recognisable, but something like Aqua Green is a little puzzling and far-fetched, unless your character was purposely going for something of the sort. But to be honest, I quite like the idea of this technique.
I give full props to all Firefly references. Most of the names on that show were pretty original and names can always be changed later on down the road.
I remember Firefly on Fox and that movie based off it called Serenity right? I think it's awesome as long as it sounds cool. The whole combining names thing isn't cliche at all if it doesn't sound obvious where it came from or confusing like Lucy stated above. Some people actually go for that kind of way to name their characters and they actually pull it off without people realizing where it came from. To be honest I didn't know the character Yen Sid from Disney's Phantasia was actually Disney spelled backwards^^
Ok, thanks very much guys! As a side note, I am pretty much certain that I'd like to name him Nathan Reynolds - it sounds common enough that most people shouldn't catch it (hopefully). Also, I meant to say in my earlier post that I hadn't decided whether to reveal the meaning behind his name.
Nathan Reynolds sounds like Ryan Reynolds to me but that's probably not where it came from huh? That's the first thing that popped into my head
I don't think it's tacky at all. Sometimes I recognize when authors have done this and if I'm familiar with the original source, usually I laugh or I'm excited they've given props to something I really liked in the first place. The show Lost does this a lot, though they generally just rip off names first and last. One episode one of the main characters gave his name on his fake passport as "Dean Moriarty." And I thought, awesome! Props to Kerouac. A lot of non-readers wouldn't catch the reference and it made me feel special. I say go for it.
I don't think it is tacky. The most important thing when coming up with a name is to have one that sounds good. What the inspiration for that name was is irrelavent.
As long as you go with Nathan Reynolds i think you will be okay. Malcom Fillion just sounds gross anyways. Major props on the firefly reference!
I do not think it is tacky either. If you see that the name fits the character that you picture, then you're fine.
I don't know... that's a pretty popular show within a given demographic, so a larger percentage of your readership might get the reference as compared to the regular population. If the name is something common sounding, like "Alan Washburne" you might be okay, but if you go with "River Glau," someone might catch on.
