How do you come up with names for your characters?

Cadeyrn · Post by **Cadeyrn** » 18 Dec 2008, 10:19

UGH, I hate making last names. Though first names are easy. I base it off a mix between my own mind and names from the culture that the character comes from, using Behind the Name.

andr70 · Post by **andr70** » 05 Jan 2009, 09:06

I think, character's names should be very easy for rememeber. Sometimes, I read book, decide to retell it to somebidy but don't remember any name

Apples · Post by **Apples** » 05 Jan 2009, 09:29

I use a website called Behind the Name. It has thousands of names, tells where the name is from, and tells you what the name means. So, it is very helpful if you want the name to reflect who your character is or if you want your character to have a name from a particular area.

sharon.gmc · Post by **sharon.gmc** » 07 Jan 2009, 01:19

I also use baby books. They give you the meaning for the word which can add up to the character.

Akira · Post by **Akira** » 17 Jan 2009, 19:04

What's in a name?
I think, when choosing a name, just like in real life, it's important to draw on pre-existing archetypes. I mean, names develop from cultures, and always come with some meaning(s) ingrained. A name comes with certain beliefs regarding it.
That said, a name does not define us, but can influence or guide us. For this reason I find it easy to choose a very unique name for a very unique character, or vice-versa. Sometimes I will pick or taylor a name to play a part in a character's fate. A boy named Sue, for instance, plays a crucial part in said character's development. A name like Alexander holds history and legacy.
Usually I pick a name off the top of my head, as long as it feels right.

blue_doona32 · Post by **blue_doona32** » 28 Jan 2009, 21:47

Sometimes it depends on if I really like the name or I look for meanings. If you want something with meaning, there are plenty of websites that have names and what they mean. If it fits in your story, use it. If you like it, use it.

Nichod · Post by **Nichod** » 29 Jan 2009, 21:37

I see that a few people mentioned sources that I use....but the best recommendation is to keep in mind the origin of the characters and their location.

SoggyPeanutPatrol · Post by **SoggyPeanutPatrol** » 05 Feb 2009, 13:32

Watch the credits of movies. There are so many people involved there are usually some interesting names. Mix and match first and last names.

Nylar · Post by **Nylar** » 07 May 2009, 18:04

I use the drive around method see somthing that's diffrent and use or take an existing name and change it a little like ronnie I use rani. Things like that or people I meet I use there names just depends

Trying to get to 25 post to submit my story for the contest

lea454 · Post by **lea454** » 08 May 2009, 02:33

Usually I would used popular names that I like and sometimes names which is fit to the characters.
The names of characters are often quite important. The conventions of naming have changed over time.

chicklit · Post by **chicklit** » 14 May 2009, 17:28

Sheila wrote:I use baby name books for first names. And last names tend to just come to me although sometimes I just pick random words from things that around my desk, but I tend to change those later when sometimes comes to me. Unfornautely a chacater of mine had the last name Pentab for awhile.

I too use baby name books for the first names. I like to choose names that I feel match the personality of the character. I think the actual sound and meaning behind the name is important in character naming. Nothing too blatant, but something that totally fits. One of my all time favorites in naming is "Willy Loman" in Miller's Death of a Salesman. Or the "Breedlove" family in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye (the irony of naming this highly defunctional family breedlove, as there wasn't any love in that family). Anyways, my point is that characters should be named based on their personality or the story's theme.

speechless · Post by **speechless** » 22 May 2009, 18:56

Usually I just pick a first name for the main character, and the other characters I'll either think about it or go online and look at names. I usually have to look online for last names as well.

Lucinda · Post by **Lucinda** » 29 May 2009, 06:30

I look to people I know who share the same characteristics of the character I'm creating, and use their names.
Use your workplace, your family tree, the phonebook. Make your names fit the time and place setting of your writing.

Mer_Blackwood · Post by **Mer_Blackwood** » 29 May 2009, 12:50

It depends on what I'm writing. Sometimes I'll go to the baby name sites, or ethnic name sites. If I'm writing fantasy, I just make them up; it can take some time to come up with something that seems to fit the character. Also, characters from the same land usually should have names that sound as if they could have come from the same language.

Ragenild · Post by **Ragenild** » 31 May 2009, 22:55

I love coming up with names, probably more than is normal. I keep word documents of male names, female names and surnames.
I pick names based on a few things, including a character's origin and the time they were born, names that I like or don't like (I don't want to use a name I love on a character I'm not crazy about), and whether it fits the character.

Behind the Name is a good site to find names and you can look for names by letter, meaning, or language of origin. I also like the Social Security Administration's popular names site to find out what names were being used in certain years.