Since names are one of the most important things for our characters, I thought I'd post a thread where we can ask for help naming our characters when we draw blanks. Right now, I need a name for a heavy, obnoxious nurse, who thinks she knows everything about babies, which is where she works, and really gets on the MC's nerves.
Shay is the name of my MC. And I thought Berth too...I think I decided on Wanda. But I took all the suggestions into account.
Don't give her a name...give her a nickname! When my second child was born, fathers were not encouraged to be in the delivery room (1975 - before today's enlightened attitudes). The OR nurse was a capital B! I complained about her to the nurses at the nurses' station and they all started laughing as they explained to me that THEY all call her "The Sarge"! So, I'd give an obnoxious nurse a derogatory nickname that everyone calls her behind her back...The Sarge, General, Butch...or maybe a term that casts derision on her body parts...Thunder Butt, Dolly (if she's big chested like Dolly Parton), Liz (if she's had several marriages like Liz Taylor), Big Mama, The Mouth...give her bad breath and call her "Flossy". .....NaCl
Hmm...that's a good idea. Right now we call her "the nurse from hell." But now I need a name for the new nurse that they get. Quiet, complacent who is helpful and friendly, but not the degree that it gets creepy, fairly petite with long brown hair and soft features. Often seems a bit unsure of herself, but you still feel like trusting her.
Melody, Anita, something you might call a flower...hrm... Lily, Rose, Crys (like crysanthymum, which I soo didn't spell right)
Rosalie, Jenny, Chrissy, Dani, Naomi...those are the first names I thought of after reading your description.
Where is she from? Names are often regionally popular. How old is she? We named our oldest daughter "Jamie"...the inspiration came from the Bionic Woman that both Sue and I enjoyed. For example, a young woman from the south might have a given name like Becky-Ann but she might introduce herself as "Honey"...her family and friends called her that throughout her youth and it stuck as an adult. A woman from Boston might have a more formal name like Elizabeth Grace (Yes, she's Catholic...LOL) but she always hated her name so her friends call her Kitty, a name she assumed in Junior high school. This kind of name-nickname opportunity also provides good filler moments in the story as characters ask hey why her name tag (requiring her legal name) and her "introduced name" are different. These kinds of thought-provoking little things add depth to your characters and story. My wife's name is Martha Sue. She's from the US Midwest (farm country) and she feel names like hers should be reserved for pet livestock like 4-H cows. When I met her, she introduced herself as Marty, and by the time we got married, she dropped "Marty" for "Sue". This is a good example of the regional nature of names. BTW - her dad's name was Julius Irving...he went by "Bill"! When you consider names, ask yourself how those names can add character and depth to your story. .....NaCl
Wow...I hadn't really put that much thought into that. Well, I gave an infant the reverse name of his dead father...but that's about as deep as it went.
The way I do names is I go to sites, or baby name books. Look for some of the characters personality traits. Or things I see in them. I have a character in an OLD story named Nanook. She's from Alaska and is part native American. Nanook means Cute and kind. Two things that, though not visual on the surface fully describe her.
Big Momma, because she works in the infant ward. But I would go with power names: Burtha, Hilga, or the like. maybe make her nick name "Hell Ma" or something. However remember that some nurses take pride in the fact that they are "a force to be reckoned with" and might even take pride in their "Nick names" no matter how mean they might sound and in some cases even embrace said nick names.
