Yes, I know; it's hardly a new question. But with all the characters I've created, I seem to go one of two ways with names: either I know them right away, or I struggle to come up with one that fits. So I thought it would be fun to talk about character names this week.
Let's start with the obvious: Shiloh means 'chosen one', which was a meaningful name back in Skyborne, less so in The Accidental Warlock, and not at all in The Book of Lost Runes. I did consider changing her name because of the meaning, because I've talked here before about how much I don't like the concept of the chosen one, but I also just plain like the name. I don't know what Alexi's name actually means, but I chose it because when I first wrote her (back in 2002), I worked with someone named Alexis and someone named Lexi, and decided to split the difference for someone who was supposed to be a bit part character.
I had no idea what I was getting into back then.
As for Shiloh's sister Bethany, there's no greater meaning there; I just needed something that sounded formal and humorless. Bethany's sarcastic to a point, but she never smiles. She's also a lot of fun to write.
Two other significant characters in BoLR are the Figaro brothers, Edwin and Gerald. Their names are simply an extended reference to Final Fantasy VI. Edgar Figaro is a king from that game, the dashing sort who's suited to life on an airship, and he goes by the name Gerad at one point, hence the brothers' names. I was going to name Gerald 'Samson', for Edgar's brother Sabin, but didn't want to have two characters' names start with the same letter, and Gerald's really not a fighter of any sort. I went with them both because of the importance of airships in BoLR, and because I wanted a good last name for a rich family. Once I decided that 'Figaro' would work, the rest just fell into place.
For the crazy dream book, only two characters' names have any significance, and I'm not telling. One is a spoiler, the other is something no one but me will get unless I get a whole lot of books published.
The next book I'm hoping to write is something I've been plotting for a while, and I generally describe it as "The Amazing Race" meets "Guardians of the Galaxy". The two humans in that are Chris and Phoenix; Chris because I needed something ordinary and Chris Pratt starred in GotG, and Phoenix because of reasons I can't say here. The others are Durgard, a biometallic dwarf-like being with four arms; Zin, the pilot, whom I decided today needs to be replaced with something small and fuzzy and lovable; CAL-KX-0314, a wargolem who will likely have a nickname for the rest of the crew to call her; and Sarai, who's only humanoid from the waist up. The ship is called the Starwind, from an anime that was a major inspiration on this story. Bonus points for whomever can name the anime. No fair using Google. :P
As for my other significant plot-in-progress, the one about dragons and all that, I can't really say anything about what the names actually mean. But I can say I've had more fun naming these people than anyone else in a long time. Without giving too much away, some of the current cast names include: Threnody Starhands, Rael Slitherscale, Zoila Cronin, Desdemona Skullwalker, Kya Cryoblade the Pure, Thresh Palewing, The Mimir, Haze Discord, Byron Stormhammer, and Tara Bulkhead the Immovable.
I really need to make this plot work, because damn, this one's going to be fun.
So! Let's hear some names from the rest of y'all. Do you actively give your characters names, or do the names show up in your head along with the characters themselves? Do you worry about name meanings, or does that not matter? And what's the worst, best, and/or oddest name you've ever used for a character?
Sorry, don't know that anime.
ReplyDeleteSome names show up, others I leave blank until I finish the story. Then I just brainstorm simple but alien-sounding names and match them up. For my last book, I looked for British names and then warped them to sound alien.
Oddest name? Ernx. Had that one for a long time. I'm sure many readers have stumbled over how to pronounce it. (Urnks is the best way to describe how it's pronounced.)
Whenever someone asks me how an unusual name is pronounced, I usually say, "Like it's spelled." This never works, but it amuses me. :P
DeleteAnd yeah, I've left characters' names blank in plots before, and hoped I figured them out before it was time to write the story. So far, I always have, but...
Most names come with the characters, but for the ones I have to invent, it's all about symbolism for me.
ReplyDeleteI think that symbolism works, because there's always someone who will catch it, and those people make good readers. ^_^
DeleteSome characters get names right away, others change until the last revisions. I usually try to build in some symbolism, but other times, it's simply that a certain name feels right. There's no formula for me.
ReplyDeleteSometimes symbolism works out, like it did with Shiloh in one of the books I mentioned above, though I never intended it. And once I changed a book's plot to fit the symbolism in a character's name. :P
DeleteI sometimes go for regional names so my characters sound like they come from somewhere, even if that place isn't an 'earth' place.
ReplyDeleteFor example - Ten Mai is a 'probably lives somewhere green where rice is grown' sounding sorta name. Whereas Javed Samaar might live somewhere hotter and have seen a camel at some point. Our own earth kind of colours names for us a bit, so I use that to indicate where people might come from on my own worlds. Javed and Mai are the lead's parents, so it hints at mixed parentage, and that there are people of "her kind" (she's not human) in a few different places around the world.
Besides which I also like meanings too, Javed means 'eternal' for example, pretty appropriate for a race with a really long lifespan.
Other names just sorta pop up. Roz for example, when I wanted to put Jo Brand in my story because I completely love her humour I couldn't call her that but when I saw her face I thought "She's gotta be a Roz." Soon as I thought of the tomboyish fun little niece of the lead I just knew she had to be a 'Freddy'. I have no idea why. It was just there and suddenly she couldn't be anything else.
Other names it takes me forever to think of. Alaine's brother I'm only calling Dylan because of some guy off telly who was likewise a bit wild and silly, but I really don't know if it suits him. I get stuck on minor people's names, usually just flicking to the credits page of whatever I have lying around until I see something remotely useful hahaha.
Sometimes I hit up pages of postcodes, which contain useful surnames and first names specific to certain regions. Those can be quite handy for making a name that sounds like it 'belongs'.
I usually try to cram an Eli in somewhere too. The old gods names I basically mashed the keyboard and looked for 'words' in the mess. Which is how Maev, Aren, Joev and Luda got named. Order from chaos. Haha. Ugh. Anyway I should go.
I've done the word-mashing thing before, and the "this name is sort of like this other person's name, so I'll use it" thing too. ^_^ I once named a character after a misspelling of a co-worker's name, but I had to change it because I kept imagining the character as that co-worker, and believe me, that did not work out. >_<
DeleteMost of my main characters arrive in my head with their name already attached. Since some of my books are historical, I sometimes make a list of historical names from that time period -- and it's as if some of the name appear on the list circled in red ink. *Pick me! Pick me! Or else!!!!!*
ReplyDeleteOccasionally, there will be a minor character whose name doesn't come through as clearly. In a recent manuscript, I knew there was a problem when I kept typing the wrong name for the character. A sure sign I haven't got the right name!
In another case, I realized that a minor character's name began with the same letter as a major character's name and was causing some visual mis-identification within scenes where they both appeared -- even with the author!!! I changed that girl's name 3 times before hitting upon one that both fit her and didn't interfere with comprehension!
So long story short (too late) it depends on the character (major or minor) and the gut instinct of the author!
Yeah, mistyping the name is a definite sign that it's not the right one for that character. As is forgetting it. >_< I went through three different names before settling on 'Chris' as I mentioned above, so it usually works out eventually.
Delete...usually.
I have a "names" spreadsheet where I list names I like. When it's time to pick one, I go through the list and find one I haven't used before that fits. It doesn't always click right away, but when it does, it's magical.
ReplyDeleteI have a text file of odd names I picked up here and there at my last job. Sometimes I can find one that perfectly fits the character I'm working on - that's where Sarai came from. Other times, I read through the list and... nope.
Delete