Names of characters.

[SailusGebel]

Another discussion about writing. This time, it is about naming your characters. When I started writing my first web novel and posting it here, one of the things that took probably the most amount of time was names. I was obsessed with making every name have a meaning. I spend hours doing research, thinking of an appropriate name and surname, before finally picking one. I thought that since it is fiction, it's natural to make everything(in this case name) have a hidden meaning and add little details.

This belief was shaken once I made a thread about real names. Some people from this forum got named without any consideration for the meaning behind their names, some were named after a movie character, and so on.

It got me thinking. Should I really spend so much time naming characters? Do readers even care? Even though I don't have a concrete answer, I decided to tone down my obsession with names. I know that since it's fiction, relying on real-life logic too much isn't the best decision. But now I have this idea in my head, to include a scene in one of my novels. A scene where a group of people discuss their names, and how all of them were named.

And this got me thinking even further. Won't it make more sense if you name your characters in accordance with the lore and setting of your novel? For example, your MC is a fantasy adventurer who was named after a legendary hero. Even though the name doesn't suit your MC if you look at the meaning of the said name, in terms of logic it can make a lot more sense. Or your novel is in a modern setting, and your MC was named after a popular actor\actress that you created for your novel. Again, the name itself might not suit your MC, but it sounds logical for some parents to not think as hard about naming their child.

What do you all think about this?

 

[Iamnotabot]

I agree

 

[Lloyd]

Another discussion about writing. This time, it is about naming your characters. When I started writing my first web novel and posting it here, one of the things that took probably the most amount of time was names. I was obsessed with making every name have a meaning. I spend hours doing research, thinking of an appropriate name and surname, before finally picking one. I thought that since it is fiction, it's natural to make everything(in this case name) have a hidden meaning and add little details.

This belief was shaken once I made a thread about real names. Some people from this forum got named without any consideration for the meaning behind their names, some were named after a movie character, and so on.

It got me thinking. Should I really spend so much time naming characters? Do readers even care? Even though I don't have a concrete answer, I decided to tone down my obsession with names. I know that since it's fiction, relying on real-life logic too much isn't the best decision. But now I have this idea in my head, to include a scene in one of my novels. A scene where a group of people discuss their names, and how all of them were named.

And this got me thinking even further. Won't it make more sense if you name your characters in accordance with the lore and setting of your novel? For example, your MC is a fantasy adventurer who was named after a legendary hero. Even though the name doesn't suit your MC if you look at the meaning of the said name, in terms of logic it can make a lot more sense. Or your novel is in a modern setting, and your MC was named after a popular actor\actress that you created for your novel. Again, the name itself might not suit your MC, but it sounds logical for some parents to not think as hard about naming their child.

What do you all think about this?

I always search around for significant names because I'm artistic.

 

[kaisei]

I think some people definitely think a bit too hard about the meaning behind their characters' names and not the meaning behind what they do or how they sound. I personally just go for choosing names that I think sound nice.

 

[Sleds]

Another discussion about writing. This time, it is about naming your characters. When I started writing my first web novel and posting it here, one of the things that took probably the most amount of time was names. I was obsessed with making every name have a meaning. I spend hours doing research, thinking of an appropriate name and surname, before finally picking one. I thought that since it is fiction, it's natural to make everything(in this case name) have a hidden meaning and add little details.

This belief was shaken once I made a thread about real names. Some people from this forum got named without any consideration for the meaning behind their names, some were named after a movie character, and so on.

It got me thinking. Should I really spend so much time naming characters? Do readers even care? Even though I don't have a concrete answer, I decided to tone down my obsession with names. I know that since it's fiction, relying on real-life logic too much isn't the best decision. But now I have this idea in my head, to include a scene in one of my novels. A scene where a group of people discuss their names, and how all of them were named.

And this got me thinking even further. Won't it make more sense if you name your characters in accordance with the lore and setting of your novel? For example, your MC is a fantasy adventurer who was named after a legendary hero. Even though the name doesn't suit your MC if you look at the meaning of the said name, in terms of logic it can make a lot more sense. Or your novel is in a modern setting, and your MC was named after a popular actor\actress that you created for your novel. Again, the name itself might not suit your MC, but it sounds logical for some parents to not think as hard about naming their child.

What do you all think about this?

I think it depend the characters and your story, for exemple if you have story with different country you can make different naming sense by each country or if it's reflect the real life, you already have a database for names in each country. For characters, if it's a character who have literraly 2 seconds of screen, why bother to search a name for 1 hour for it? But if it's someone who add something to the lore or are important for your mc, then yes you can take some time to think about it.

Personally, I think I have one of the worst naming sense out there, I have a hard time naming my characters, so when it come to guys we see 2 seconds, I don't bother giving their a true introduction who need to reveal their family name, they end up with just a name and that do it.

 

[AliceShiki]

My logic behind names is pretty simple. I just ask myself a single question.

Will the name matter at any point?

If there is a prophecy behind it, or some secret hidden meaning connected to the plot, or anything else like it, then it's important to take the time thinking about the name.

But otherwise... Why would I spend my time carefully thinking about the name? It's just a waste of time for something that won't matter.

So, in those cases I just use whatever name comes to mind, or use a fantasynamegenerator to get the name done if I'm out of ideas for it.

That's how I handle it at least. Names just need to exist because the readers need something to associate with the character. If the name isn't important, then I'm not gonna waste time making it meaningful, I'll just go with whatever floats my boat.

 

[BearlyAlive]

As long as the names sound right, everything else is just an extra. If a character's name and personality either fit enough or contrast enough to work then everything's well.

 

[Lodur]

I once have read philological research about correlation between character's name and his / her role in fiction. (It was in Russian and was based on modern Russian literature.) I can't recollect exact details now, but it was stated there, that (purely for example) if the character is named Sergey, he will be devoted friend, and if some other character is named Leonid, he will be prone to cheat on his wife; etc., etc.
I can't really say if it's true or not. But some names have "baggage" either because of world history (there will always be more Alexcanders, Peters and Pauls, than Neros and Adolfs) or world literature (Romeo or Cassandra will always hint on some traits of the character). But I guess, you know this no less than me.

 

[laccoff_mawning]

Won't it make more sense if you name your characters in accordance with the lore and setting of your novel? For example, your MC is a fantasy adventurer who was named after a legendary hero. Even though the name doesn't suit your MC if you look at the meaning of the said name, in terms of logic it can make a lot more sense. Or your novel is in a modern setting, and your MC was named after a popular actor\actress that you created for your novel.

Theres a big problem with this approach... You first have to name your legendary hero / actress. How do you name them? :P

When I look for names, I either look at the actual meaning of the names, or I use names based on the sound. For example, I really, really like the fictional name "Misa Thorpe" hehehe... I feel like doing it sound-based is a lot faster than scrutinously looking through hundreds of names and trying to find their exact meaning and origin.

 

[SailusGebel]

Theres a big problem with this approach... You first have to name your legendary hero / actress. How do you name them? :P

You can give them whatever name you want without looking too deep into it. If you won't use them actively, they are just a part of the lore, worldbuidling. It doesn't matter what their names are. What matters is that their names have a different kind of meaning in your story. It's not a name that has a meaning of, for example courage or longevity, but a name of a popular person.

 

[Lodur]

For example, I really, really like the fictional name "Misa Thorpe" hehehe...

I presume, she is quite misanthropic, isn't she?

 

[laccoff_mawning]

I presume, she is quite misanthropic, isn't she?

Actually, no. Just an introvert. The name was just too good to pass up on when I realised it existed.

 

[John_Owl]

quite honestly, my naming is either wildly random or deliberately focused on a specific theme. for instance, in my stories, foxgirls are always named after alcohol (real world alcohol), and their personalities reflect the presumed traits of the alcohol. Bailey? shy at first, but once you get ehr to really open up, she never shuts up. Yaeger? Stubborn and hard to please, definitely an acquired taste that not everyone has the patience to tolerate. but if you can stick it out, she's loyal almost to the point of being clingy.

furthermore, wolfgirls are named after stones and metals, though not always directly. Instead of Steel, I'd name a girl Stell. or Leeticia, shortened to Leets. and again, they reflect the personality of their namesakes.

That said, humans and dragons/dragonkin are usually named from a name generator, usually with some form of alteration to the listed name. My current running story features Aise. the generator name was Æse. i went ahead and just made it Aise (pronounced the same as Ice. fitting, as he is the son of a Sea Dragon)

 

[SailusGebel]

quite honestly, my naming is either wildly random or deliberately focused on a specific theme. for instance, in my stories, foxgirls are always named after alcohol (real world alcohol), and their personalities reflect the presumed traits of the alcohol. Bailey? shy at first, but once you get ehr to really open up, she never shuts up. Yaeger? Stubborn and hard to please, definitely an acquired taste that not everyone has the patience to tolerate. but if you can stick it out, she's loyal almost to the point of being clingy.

furthermore, wolfgirls are named after stones and metals, though not always directly. Instead of Steel, I'd name a girl Stell. or Leeticia, shortened to Leets. and again, they reflect the personality of their namesakes.

That said, humans and dragons/dragonkin are usually named from a name generator, usually with some form of alteration to the listed name. My current running story features Aise. the generator name was Æse. i went ahead and just made it Aise (pronounced the same as Ice. fitting, as he is the son of a Sea Dragon)

This is a very interesting approach. Never thought of doing it this way.

 

[HungrySheep]

It really depends on the type of novel you're trying to write and the tone you're going for. A comedy-centric novel likely doesn't need to ascribe any relevance to the names of its characters whereas it would be more interesting for a detective novel to have thematic names or even names that foreshadow some sort of future event/interaction.

 

[melchi]

I just try to make the name be as easy as possible.

Like there is a tree nymph whose name is just the japanese word for tree.

There is a tribesman whose name is the nordic word for crafting.

If the name helps remember the theme of that character then you are doing it right.

 

[J_Chemist]

I use a mix- names fitting of where the character is from lore-wise and basic name generator titles. If I'm stumped, I name generate and then splice names together.

I'm stupid with names and feel bad for my children in the future. Hopefully the future wife is more capable.

 

[Kamelingil]

Nah, names doesn't matter, I just named them like Alderifugredor or something

 

[doravg]

Pick an option from the fantasy name generator, and roll with it. That is how I ended up with a name like Sextus Curius Bellus for a Male Love Interest.
(grins)
Writing Roman names is surprisingly fun. At least that is what I think.