Ah,
characters. Those wonderfully complex people who dwell inside our beloved
stories. Creating characters is one of my favorite things, from developing
personalities to creating their individual quirks. Until I find myself tapping
my fingers restlessly against my desk, staring at my words and descriptions,
wondering what on earth am I supposed to
name this character?
Let’s be
honest. We’ve all been there. Choosing names for characters is like choosing a
name for your child; it takes a lot of debating. I mean, not only does it have
to be a name that you like, but it has to fit their personality, and
appearance. Sometimes you find yourself with a character that just refuses to
accept whatever names you attempt to bestow upon them. It’s frustrating. It’s
hard. It’s also something that must be dealt with, at one point or another.
That’s why, today, I’m going to be teaching y’all a few tips that I’ve picked
up for naming characters.
Now,
sometimes, we’ll just name characters something that we like or that sounds cool.
Other times, however, we either run out of names, decide we want something that
actually means something relevant, or we can’t find a name that really fits.
I have three main methods for naming characters, each of which I use depending on what I’m writing and what role the character plays. I’ll explain more on that after each one, to give you an idea of my naming rituals.
1. Descriptions
The
first thing that I’m going to talk about is naming characters for descriptive meaning.
Sometimes, symbolic and meaningful names can restate their character and
enforce the traits that you want to define in them. The meanings can also be
used to reference appearance if they are a unique character appearance-wise.
For example,
if you are writing about a new race or a group of people, and one character has
a defining feature that makes them different from everyone else, like a
different hair or eye-color, naming them something to do with that can
reinforce that trait.
I'm also going to be giving y'all some examples of each, both as suggestions and to further clarify.
Names
relating to hair color:
Devany: “dark
haired”
Finn: “fair
or white”
Blake: “fair-haired”
or “dark”
Names
with color meanings:
Harkin: “dark
red”
Blaine: “yellow”
Chloe: “green shoot”
Gavin: “white hawk”
Blaine: “yellow”
Chloe: “green shoot”
Gavin: “white hawk”
Names
that are actually colors/shades:
Sky
(blue)
Amber (orange/red)
Heather (purple)
Slate (gray)
Hazel (brown)
Rose (pink)
Amber (orange/red)
Heather (purple)
Slate (gray)
Hazel (brown)
Rose (pink)
Names
with physically descriptive meanings:
Grant: “tall”
Keegan: “small
and fiery”
Calla: “beautiful”
Aden: “handsome,
adorned”
As for
personality traits, it’s the same thing, really. I have named several
characters for their main personality trait, or at least something that was a
large aspect of who they are. Examples of this from my novel would be one of
the main characters, Eisley, who’s name literally translates to mean
“cheerful”. My reasons for choosing that name span just beyond highlighting the
fact that she is a cheerful person, but for also for those relating to her
character growth.
Names
with personality meanings:
Briana: “strong,
virtuous, honorable”
Felix: “happy,
fortunate”
Alyssa: “noble”
Clarissa:
“bright” (could mean intelligent, optimistic, or however else you’d like to
define it)
Kayne: “intelligent”
These are probably the names I use the most, as they are generally the easiest to pick and find. I'll use these for the main cast of characters in generally, although some of the more minor ones I'll use the second method.
2. Roles
Now,
moving on, the next method I’ve got is naming characters for their roles. This
one works in two ways, both for physical roles, such as professions or duties,
or story roles.
Examples
for the first would be naming someone a name that relates to what they do or
some of their abilities. This can go from names that mean “warrior”, “hero”, or
anything of that sort, to those that refer to the person’s position, such as a
leader. Many names have quite literal meanings, and so it isn’t too difficult to
find one if you want to be literal with your names. Highlighting abilities
would be names that refer to skills or strengths. Other examples of this would
be naming characters with supernatural powers (whether they are superheroes or
magical beings), with names corresponding to their powers.
Names
with role meanings:
Griffith:
“chief warrior”
Erica: “eternal
ruler”
Kainda: “hunter’s
daughter”
Sacha: “man’s
defender”
Ryder: “cavalryman,
messenger”
Names
referring to ability, skill, or strength:
Brenda: “sword,
blade of a sword”
Fletcher:
“maker of arrows”
Gerald: “ruler
with the spear”
Names
that I might suggest for powers-users:
Aidan: “fire”
Tierra: “earth”
Maxwell:
“great stream”
Aura: “air”
Isa: “ice”
Taren: “thunder”
Ilene: “light”
Colden: “dark
valley”
Story
role names, on the other hand, are a little different. These names will either
clearly state the role of the character, whether they are the hero, mentor, or
villain, or they will more subtly hint at a role they may come to play later
on. Here, have some examples:
Names
referring to story roles:
Gabrielle:
“hero of God”
Thana: “death”
Monica: “advisor”
Dakota: “friendly
one”
As I said, I will generally use these for more minor characters, or at least those who are not in the spotlight as much. Occasionally I will use this method for supporting characters, but not always.
3. Meaning
Okay,
third and finally, the last main method I use for naming is off of personal
meaning. This one is a little more difficult to explain. Basically, this is
when my naming goes beyond anything to do with the character, except perhaps
what they mean to me. My best example of this is my main character in my novel,
Ashlyn. Her name means “dream”, because that’s what she is to me, in so many
ways. First off, she is the result of my childhood, in a way. I never would
have had the idea for my novel, or Ashlyn, if it weren’t for games I played
with my sisters when we were young. We were not your typical girls. Instead of
playing with dolls or dress up or doing anything remotely girly, we played
video games and with LEGOs. Instead of pretending to be princesses or something
like that, we were superheroes and secret agents. Our imagined powers and roles
spawned the idea in my head of writing a superhero novel, as incredibly cheesy
and silly that sounds.
Secondly,
Ashlyn represents my dream of becoming a writer. That book and those characters
are what I hope to be my ticket into the world as a published author. As the
main character, she’s the driving force behind that dream.
Last,
but certainly not least, and on a very different level, Ashlyn represents who I
dream I could be. Well, after she gets past her Lie (which I discussed in my
last post), that is. Still, she is largely based off of my own personality and
experiences, and all that I wish I could be. Not in the sense of becoming a
superhero (although that would be awesome), but in the sense that there are
things my wonderful main character accomplishes that I wish I could. Her struggles
and fears reflect my own in many ways, but, of course, she gets through them in
a slightly less messy way than I think I ever have or will.
It may seem
cheesy, and corny, but to me, it means so much more than anyone will truly
understand. Maybe, this third method is a little too over-the-top for most, but
some characters are just that special to us. As writers and readers, we live so
many lives through those of our characters and stories.
I’m not
giving examples for this one, simply because these kind of names depend entirely
on the person. This doesn’t just go for main characters or heroes, either.
Instead of symbolizing dreams and hopes, maybe the villain symbolizes some of
your fears, or past. Maybe one of the supporting characters represents
something someone has done to or for you. These kind of names could mean anything,
so long as they mean something to you.
So, that’s
it! Arella’s Top Three Methods of Naming Characters. I hope this has been some
help to y’all. As a reward for completing this post, and a celebration of what is
now officially my six-week anniversary as an Intern of Elysian, here’s some of
the worst names I have ever seen in
my life, because they honestly make me laugh. And yes, these are actually
things that people named their children. Enjoy:
I’munique
(“So, I heard you’re unique.” “Yeah, I’munique.”)
Abcde
(I
have no idea how you would pronounce this, and this is sadly not a one-time
thing)
L’Oreal
(Yes, let’s name our child after a brand. Great idea)
Olive
Garden
(Supposedly, the dad wanted to name her “Garden”, but the mom wanted “Olive”.
This was their compromise.)
Mhavrych
(This is when you have taken creative spelling to a whole new, and very wrong
level. It’s pronounced Maverick. Why?)
C’KRET
(This is a spelling of “Secret”. *cue internal screaming”)
Hayydden
(I get it, double letters are cool, but this is a little bit excessive.)
There are so many more of these that it's a little sick. Plus, it's a good idea stop before I hit the celebrity names, because we all know how amazing those are, right?
Have a wonderful week, my friends, and feel free to share these atrocious names with your friends and family.
___________________________________________________
Until Next Time, Your Sister in Writing and Christ,
~Arella Noreen
Those are great methods for getting names!
ReplyDeleteThose are horrible names! Thanks for the laugh and the advice.
Who names their child Nova? It was in the top 200 one year!
God bless you.