I've made another post in general but this focus' on my main character. I'm forming a main character, like many stories he will be the main focus.I want meaning in my characters names. Hes bold, witty with a dark sense of humour. No more than 15 years old, very mature for his age. An introvert but confident approaching others. An important factor - He has light, white shortish hair(Why white? because it represents that he is the 'light' in a bad dream, ones nightmare. I have a specific view of what he is like, alot like me really. I've done some research and the names i've came up with up to now which i like the most are Faust, and Chantry. Faust was a man who supposedly sold his soul to the devil, Very appropriate i think. Or Chantry/Chantrey, I think it means "singing" Hmm, what do you think? Any ideas? The story is about dreams, so i want something which is relevant to dreams. Perhaps something meaning "light"
As a reader, I would have a hard time separating the name 'Faust' from the great works by Marlowe and Goethe- to me, there's so much meaning attached to that name, of a sort different than what I think you want to portray. It would be as difficult as reading a book with a character named Hamlet or Medea or Judas outside of their more well known context. There is a mythological figure associated with dreams called Inguma or Mauma. Morpheus was also a god of dreams, although that is another name that at least at the moment carries too many other associations to work well as the name of a main character. I think Chantry could work as a name, though it might depend on the setting. My normal association with the word is as a type of religious institution.
Hi! i agree on PP's view on the name faust, but discarding its pre-attached works, i do lean towards it more than chantry. i don't know if you've thought of it, but i tend to stalk some of the baby name websites - most of them have meanings available, with some sites cross referencing search results so you can look up a particular characteristic etc and find the associated names that way. just a thought. Your character does sound very interesting though, good luck with your search!
When is this set? Because a name also has to be realistic for the setting and culture. When was the last time you ever heard the same Faust? It would just be too distracting for me in a contemporary setting. The other thing is, is this a name he chose for himself, or did his parents name him? Parents don't know what their children will be like when naming them. When you remember that factor, putting too much symbolism into names always seems silly to me.
Caleb, Gabriel, Sachael, Alastor, Gaderel. You could make your character have a name like Jack, but when he sold his soul he stopped caring about it, and was named one of the names above or any other angel or demon name (you can look for them in wikipedia). This way, those he meets call him (for an example) Sachael, whilst his friends call him Jack, etc.
Oh, hadn't read the last part. In that case, why don't you make your character have "no name" (for example, when asked he could respond something like "Names don't mean nothing for me, but they call me Rem). As I said in the example afore, you could call your character simply Rem. Why? I took it from 'Rapid-Eye Movement', which happens while dreaming. It strikes me as a good name, but I'll leave it to your opinion.
