What's in a name?

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What's in a name? I'm writing a book (that seems to keep getting longer and longer) and I wanted my characters to be grounded in reality: normal mundane names. I went out of my way to make sure their names were like the names of your neighbors and friends. Not all of us live next to a "Drake Redstone" or "Lance Rider."
http://robdyoung.com/11-tips-on-naming-your-characters/

Comments

David Arney said…
I actually pick names that I can have multiple nicknames for, so that each character can express their personality in what they call the other characters.
January 28, 2013 at 11:09 PM
Stephen Harris (Phi) said…
I have a name generator program that I wrote meself. It uses an open-source library and can generate Japanese, English, elf names... surnames, first names, etc. I can resort to that if nothing fits.
January 29, 2013 at 3:25 AM
Meliha Avdic said…
In my first book, I had to make sure the names are international, yet still common in one country - it's about life after war, and it's surprising how similar that is across nations; so I wanted this to show.

My second book has two nationalities, but I still wanted to make sure the names are easy to remember for the readers.

The book I'm writing now is set in London and I'm wild with names. The main character has a simple English name, but all the people she meets are from different nationalities, and here I wanted to show how in real life we have to face the problem of remembering some really strange names.

Etc... :)

In short, depends on what the story is and that's how I choose names for my characters. I use book of names as well as internet to give me some clues.
January 29, 2013 at 4:16 AM
Nello Jennings said…
I use first or last names of present and former co-workers, as well as, some friends as inspiration.
January 29, 2013 at 5:02 AM
Jefferson Smith said…
I argue that after the title, names are the most important word choices an author makes. They function as poetry, embedding all sorts of connotations into the story wherever they appear. The challenge is in figuring out what you want them to say and then finding clever ways to suggest it in one or two words.
January 29, 2013 at 8:32 AM
Aalia Khan Yousafzai said…
I usually do struggle with  names, then end up keeping an ordinary name intending to change them later but then in the end, am not able to bring myself to that. I still haven't changed Tiles to a more suitable name.
January 29, 2013 at 11:08 AM
Jefferson Smith said…
I beileve that names are important to nail down right at the beginning, Aalia Khan Yousafzai. As you may have discovered, the name you have assigned to a character influences how you think about them while you're writing. If your character is named "Dave," you probably end up writing dialogue and actions that are suitable for a "Dave." But would that dialogue still work if you later changed his name to "Zarathustra?" Probably not, and that's the problem with changing the names later. Name's aren't just labels - they're micro-packages of character implications, and they influence all manner of subtle things in your WIP as you progress - things that are very hard to change later.
January 29, 2013 at 11:16 AM
Aalia Khan Yousafzai said…
Jefferson Smith you spoke my heart out for me!
January 29, 2013 at 3:30 PM
Richard Toscan said…
Meanings in names are tricky and elusive things. Ian Fleming pulled the name of his 007 from the author of an American field guide to birds because, he said, he wanted the most boring name possible for the spy. Look what's happened to the cultural reference of that boring name.
January 29, 2013 at 5:34 PM
Jefferson Smith said…
So Richard Toscan, are you arguing that we should not try to impart a specific meaning to the names we use because we might fall flat on our faces by having the stupendous success of the Bond franchise? :-)
January 29, 2013 at 5:57 PM
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