Anyone who has ever had a child will understand how difficult the naming process can be. The moniker will be something the child will carry throughout an entire lifetime. Most parents want something that reflects the family values, the parents’ tastes, and is in current fashion.
Authors face the same issues. Considering that a book may be translated into multiple languages, and hopefully will be in print for many years, naming characters should be done carefully.
Why Character Names are Important
An author will want to take into account the fictional setting and time period when writing a book or screenplay. If the author is building a character that has admirable qualities, then he or she should have a moniker that carries the connotation of those qualities. Adolf carries a connotation of evil, whereas John carries a connotation of honesty. Author J. K. Rowling does a fine job of choosing names that carry infer character traits in her Harry Potter series.
Each reader will have a different interpretation of a name based on personal experience. This means that not everyone will have the same reaction to a character’s name. Thus, the author needs to do thorough character building, and show the traits that will reflect who that person is in the book.
Origins of Names
The origin of a name is important in writing, especially in historical fiction. Historical names should be true to the time and the geographical setting. Even in modern fiction, when building a character an author may want to choose a name that fits the character background. Ethnicity, culture, and era may all affect the final choice.
An excellent resource on names and their origins is Sherrilyn Kenyon’s reference book, The Writers Digest Character Naming Sourcebook, ISBN 978-1582972954. Names are grouped in the book by nationality and culture, complete with given names and surnames. Each entry includes a short definition of its meaning.
Using a Name Generator
Name generators are popular and easy to use. The Language is a Virus website offers a few different name generators. One is a database that uses the origin of names by nationality and culture. Another is a baby name generator by nationality. Another produces random names.
The Seventh Sanctum website has a name generator that is helpful for writers of anime, science fiction, and fantasy. It produces names that are based on mythology or other means. This is a go-to resource for naming superheroes, evil overlords, fantasy creatures, and beasts.
Other Ways to Find a Moniker
Baby name books are popular and can be borrowed from the library. Online baby name databases are another way to look up names and meanings. The United States Social Security Administration maintains a database of the top 100 names for babies by year at the SSA.gov website. This is helpful if an author wants to use a name for a character that was popular years ago, to match the age of the person.
Names go in and out of fashion. For example, in 1935, Shirley was the second most popular name for girls. Seventy years later, in 2005, Shirley doesn’t even appear in the top girl names. Today, names that were common in the 19th century are becoming popular again. Matching the names of characters to the time period of the story is one way to build authenticity into the novel.
Other places to find names are in telephone directories, history books, genealogy records, and any place where a list of names might be found. Street signs are often named after influential people and can be source of names.
While some genres tend to use unique baby names, such as romance or fantasy, most genres choose names that readers are comfortable with. The monikers of the characters carry connotations and inferences that can affect the reader experience. Understanding this will help authors choose the best names for their characters.
More information about character building is in this Suite101 series of articles about creating characters using archetypes.
Suzanne Pitner - Suzanne Pitner is a teacher and published writer. A member of RWA and YARWA, she writes fiction as Suzanne Lilly.
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