Usually a character's name is one of the first things I come up with, but for this particular novel I seem to have gone completely blank. I'm looking for two names, one of the protagonist and one for another major character. The protagonist is sixteen years old, female, and appears very ordinary, so I guess I'm looking for a name that is more traditional and doesn't stand out too much without being completely boring. The other character is a seventeen year old female and is very antisocial and moody. She's the teenager that gets drunk, smokes, and does drugs on occasion and is clearly mentally unstable. I'm thinking I want something really uncommon but more on the old-fashioned side rather than futuristic, but I'm really not sure. I guess I should also mention that these characters are in a relationship with one another. The MC has generally thought of herself as straight, while the other girl is an established lesbian, but I don't want either of their names to fall into stereotypes. Any suggestions?
I immediately thought Anne for the protagonist and Sable for the other. Some others for the protagonist could be: Kate, Beth, Ellen, Megan, Sophie, Brittany. For the other: Margo, Lenore (could go by Lennie), Jemma, Emogen, Astrid. My great grandmothers name was Millie.. But I dont know if that's too old fashioned for you or not. lol Good luck!
There're stereotypes for names that sound gay? What might those be?? Beth is a nice name, sweet and innocent and ordinary, quite traditional but without being all that common nowadays. Olivia is a beautiful name too. Maybe the girl who gets drunk etc could be Julia? Or Julie. Lexie (short for Alexandra) might be nice. Steph? Kay? Vanessa is another nice name - I feel this one could go for either character maybe.
I like Lea'Brooks suggestion of Sable for you wild child. A sable is a weasel and these animals have (undeserved) reputation for ferocity, cunning and viciousness. Sounds like your second character? But the name is subtle. I usually let the character tell me their name as they flesh out in my mind - I find I get spin off ideas that my logical mind would never come up with. I have a mercenary in a project right now and his name is Jackson. That is it. A couple days later I realized there is no last name for him to ensure anonymity. And then a couple days later I realized even Jackson in a fake name. I could not have come up with this just by sitting and thinking of names. Let your mind wander and see what seeps in
The first names that came to me were Bianca (which means white) and Evangeline (could be shortened to Evan) or ... Belinda and Vera, Claire and Aubrey, Emma and Vivienne, Mia and Imogen, Ella and Harley, Liz and Tabitha, Renee and Harriet, Samantha and Faye ...
Names are given by parents, not choosen by their owner. You may want to decide their family background first. The antisocial girl may had faced very strict rules at home and ran away. In this case she has a usal name but may pick up an interesting nickname. To produce such a nickname choose a word which sounds the way you want the name to sound (soft or hard) and change the order of the letters until you get something useful (or choose another word).
@Jack Asher - forgive my lack of media knowledge but I don't get it. The guy's meant to be gay and tired of people calling him Jimmy cus that's supposedly a "gay" name? @Robert_S - the Obviously Gay Duo!!? Seriously, what? I hope that thing's been banned now. Well, these are times when I think my ignorance is actually a healthy thing. No such ridiculous stereotypes, at least not regarding "obviously gay" names.
For the main character, Jane? Sounds ordinary and kind of traditional. For the other wild-typed kind of girl I would suggest Tania.
No, Alec Baldwin is playing a super-conservative. He's calling James gay for using such a non-traditional name.
Ruby and Kitty, Nell and Alexis, Iris and Mercy, Honor and Kew, Francesca 'Frankie' and Asa (AY-suh), Carys and Lotte, Liv and Thea, Bryony and Venetia.
Off the top of my head and for no reason at all other than reading your descriptions and the fact that I've been researching names myself tonight.... I'm naming your protagonist Ella St. Clair (make the last name interesting more than the first). And I'm naming your other character Linda Thomas (there are almost no Lindas among millenials - it's a 60s name that's old enough to be old fashioned and not old enough to come back into fashion - it sticks out as a "mom name" and might be decidedly uncool). Probably not the best names but they're the first two I got - so whatever.
