Hello, I Love You, Won’t You Tell Me Your Name: The Art of Naming Your Characters

Hello there, and welcome to Thursday #1 in a series which I like to call, Character Building Thursdays. Over the next few weeks, we'll be dedicating every Thursday to the specific area of character building. (Exciting, right?!) Today's topic: finding the right names for your characters.

If you're anything like me, finding names isn't the problem. I love names—their sounds, variations, and meanings. If anything, I have trouble narrowing down the possibilities, not thinking of them! To start off with, though, here are some links to my personal favorite baby name sites:

Moms Who Think

I like this site because they have some interesting names, as well as tips (for naming babies, but really, your characters are the children of your brain, so how different can it be?)

Behind the Name

This site allows you to search by meaning, so if you have a symbol or characteristic in mind for your character, this will give you options.

Baby Names

This site has a pretty good database of names, and I like that they’re color-coded—pink are girl’s names, blue are boy’s, and green are flip-floppers.

None of those sites doing it for you? How about a random name generator? You can find them here and here.

Need a fantasy name? Try this. This is a great and sometimes hilarious Victorian/ Steampunk name generator. Here is another one.

Randomly generated names are great for your smaller characters, the bit-players who come briefly to the scene, but what about your main characters? Your protagonist, romantic lead/best friend/faithful companion, and antagonist can’t get by on just any old random name. Their names have to be memorable, fit the characters, and, hopefully, have some significance in the story—even if nobody knows it but you!

A lot of the time (too often, probably…) I end up naming the characters in my books after people I know. For instance, in the book I'm working on now, Four Kisses for the End of the World, there’s a disgusting little mole-man who is named after someone I particularly dislike. This character might not even make it into the final draft, since he's not really important to the plot, but it’s a fun little bonus for me because it means that when I write, I get to torture him by giving him all the worst jobs. Right now he's been stationed to “guard” the restrooms, which are really just a pit of human waste, since all plumbing has stopped working. So, cautionary tale: if you meet me, try not to be a jerk to me, lest I someday have you shoveling dragon dung in my next book. Haha, just kidding!

(Not kidding. I will Taylor Swift your butt.)

The important thing to remember about your characters' names, especially your protagonist's name, is to make them memorable, recognizable, and distinct. Don't confuse your readers by giving two characters similar names—the human eye tends to just read the first letter of a word and fill in the blanks, so if you have two characters named Larry and Lanie,  expect confusion! (And not only over the fact that you named your character Larry. Seriously, dude, what were you thinking?)

A special cautionary note for all you fantasy writers who like coming up with your own character names: consider your choices carefully. Say the name outloud. Is it easy to pronounce? Does it sound crapping ridiculous? Kra'ached might look all menacing on the page, but when it's spoken out loud, it sounds like you've named your villain Crackhead. And I know you feel like you're so cool with your mid-word apostrophes, but everyone over the age of fifteen who reads your story is going to roll their eyes when they see that; it's a dead giveaway that you take yourself too seriously. Don't feel bad, though. Most fantasy writers do.

Have any suggestions for next Thursday? Feel free to leave questions about your own work, and maybe I'll do a post on them!