A question for writers

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

When you're making your fantasy world, no matter what the genre is, the need to make names comes up. Surely you want your world to be unique with new countries, languages and customs...

So how do you write up names that don't sound really stupid but are original enough to be different from most others?

For me this has come up several times...

 

[Asita]

Eh, I simply look around until I find something that works. Personally, I tend towards searching for names based on meanings and if I don't find something that sounds right I try a different meaning. Yes, more often than not it ends up being somewhat exotic (or at least exotic to my ears), but I hardly consider that a prerequisite.

 

[FalloutJack]

Names are difficult. Languages...I don't always bother. When I name something, some world or being or race, I either want something that sounds good or is meaningful. Some races I make are the truth behind a myth. Trust me, it's fucking hard, but I have had some manner of success.

I had a planet Erys which had had an unfortunate calamity setting back civilization for generations. Erys as in reference to a chaos and misfortune god. Lo and behold, a cool-sounding world with trouble in it.

Hydrans, one of my more successful races in which I created the truth and evolution of the Hydra, the naming coming from what humans called them tucked in race-memory along with the brutilization of their ancient kind, leading them to create an empire that looks down on thoughtless brutality and especially human beings. Reason for why they know anything about humans in the first place? The Bermuda Triangle is a planet-to-planet wormhole.

More recently, I invented a total organic abomination race known as the Karne. Carne is spanish for flesh, ergo meaningful name. On the other hand, a longterm nanoplague race I had called the Rez are merely called that because they tend to be known for the rezzing sounds they make, therefore Rule of Cool naming (plus I like the game, Rez).

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I don't worry about originality. Focus on telling a good story over telling an original one. That is not to say don't try to be original, but don't make that your focus.

So if I wrote a story about a guy named Fardonack Delispitel, I could just as easily name him bob if it worked better for the story.

 

[Esotera]

http://www.rinkworks.com/namegen/

That website has a name generator that allows you to create names based on regular patterns, so that they all sound the same. Alternatively, the agreed method for fantasy novels is to use Viking derived words for rough warrior people, and greek/latin sounding ones for sophisticated races.

 

[CommanderL]

I look around the room and splice other words on posters or dvd's together or I pull sonething out of my ask and if it seems cool i keep it i.e the homeplanet of an alien race is called KI'LA'ma and the race is the Talgerian

 

[squidface]

Taking influences from other languages helps, especially if you're going for a certain 'feel' e.g. Roman? Japanese Dynastic? Nordic?
Other than that, just making stuff up usually works. It doesn't matter if it's been used before - in your context, it's probably being used for something/someone/somewhere different, and plus it's all in your style because YOU made it up.

 

[Antitonic]

I use a combination of generators. Mostly, The Seventh Sanctum [http://www.seventhsanctum.com] and Chaotic Shiny [http://www.chaoticshiny.com/index.php]. Usually gets me out of trouble...

 

[MaelstromInTheValley]

Well i like to start simple lets say in a draft stage, with names like ars, newt, mitch etc. and if the character develops a bit more i can bring in more appropriate names. Also Ars is good for terrible arse puns

 

[JoJo]

Usually I tend to make up names which sound good to the ears, rather than give a particular meaning to them, although it's not uncommon for me to reference people, characters or concepts which are important to me, though obviously in a subtle enough way that the names make sense from a canonical point of view. I would never deliberately copy someone-else's work but I'm not obsessive about finding out whether someone has already used a name or concept either.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Eh, take a bunch of random letters, throw some commas in, and you've got awesome names...or so goes the thinking.

Slightly more seriously, take any word, put the letters in alphabetically order, and tweak.

The main problem, IMHO, is coming up with names from the same culture that sound the same as each other, but different from names from distinct foreing cultures.

 

[Zeldias]

You gotta go with something that sounds like it implies the traits of the character, IMO. That's the Dickens thing, and I think it works great. It's just a matter of having a good sense for the sound of the syllables and the length of the name itself. I wrote a story about a white guy stalking this black guy (the idea was the consumption of minority spaces by white culture), and given his character, the tone of the piece, and the sound of his dialogue, I named him Daniel Mortimer Druthers, which has a perfect sound and length for his personality.

Another good example is TS Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." To me, Prufrock has the perfect name for the tone and purpose of the piece. It's got this modernist/slightly postmodernist feel so the vague quasi-identity of J. (as opposed to James or something) works, and the anti-Romantic sentiment of the work goes well with the dry, slightly puffed up ridiculousness (both in sound and sentiment) of Alfred Prufrock.

I say just make up something that sounds like it suits what the character is about. Don't think about realism or any of that crap.

 

[MelasZepheos_v1legacy]

I have a couple of methods.

Sometimes I'll take a real world name: Alistair
Then just play around with the syllables and sounds until I come up with something new:
Alistar
Alisar
Alasar
Alassar - Final name

Or I'll just mess around with sounds and syllables to find something that sounds like it could be a name. ie. Phon

Then there's the time I use stuff that I see in my immediate vicinity and play around with it until it resembles a name: The logo on a Yorkie bar = 'Not For Girls'
Not For
For Not
Fornot (pronounced For-no)

And most of all I try and stay away from the big cliches of fantasy naming: No apostrophes in the middle of names ever (James Cameron). Always be aware of how many 'y's you're using (George RR Martin) and try and make them relatively believable.

That last one is a bit difficult to explain. But in the real world we have names that make sense in a very specific way. ie. Georgina is the female form of George, and comes about because the Scottish used to put -ina onto the end of boys names to name girls. Jamesina, Christina etc.

So in your story, remember that names are interlinked, and are dependent upon the language being used. So you can't have guys named Dumwalt and Dimkalt and Sumtalt but then girls names Aeryayanyra and Eowylyryrn in the same culture.

 

[Thaluikhain]

You gotta go with something that sounds like it implies the traits of the character, IMO. That's the Dickens thing, and I think it works great. It's just a matter of having a good sense for the sound of the syllables and the length of the name itself. I wrote a story about a white guy stalking this black guy (the idea was the consumption of minority spaces by white culture), and given his character, the tone of the piece, and the sound of his dialogue, I named him Daniel Mortimer Druthers, which has a perfect sound and length for his personality.

Another good example is TS Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." To me, Prufrock has the perfect name for the tone and purpose of the piece. It's got this modernist/slightly postmodernist feel so the vague quasi-identity of J. (as opposed to James or something) works, and the anti-Romantic sentiment of the work goes well with the dry, slightly puffed up ridiculousness (both in sound and sentiment) of Alfred Prufrock.

I say just make up something that sounds like it suits what the character is about. Don't think about realism or any of that crap.

I disagree with that...it sounds cool and all, but it makes very little sense, especially if it's overused.

 

[Stasisesque]

You gotta go with something that sounds like it implies the traits of the character, IMO. That's the Dickens thing, and I think it works great. It's just a matter of having a good sense for the sound of the syllables and the length of the name itself. I wrote a story about a white guy stalking this black guy (the idea was the consumption of minority spaces by white culture), and given his character, the tone of the piece, and the sound of his dialogue, I named him Daniel Mortimer Druthers, which has a perfect sound and length for his personality.

Another good example is TS Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." To me, Prufrock has the perfect name for the tone and purpose of the piece. It's got this modernist/slightly postmodernist feel so the vague quasi-identity of J. (as opposed to James or something) works, and the anti-Romantic sentiment of the work goes well with the dry, slightly puffed up ridiculousness (both in sound and sentiment) of Alfred Prufrock.

I say just make up something that sounds like it suits what the character is about. Don't think about realism or any of that crap.

Absolutely this. Names suit characteristics, and vice versa, this is how we remember iconic characters. Sometimes you can get away with using a particularly bland name for an incredibly interesting character (Ian Fleming's James Bond, for instance) for some memorable juxtaposition. I'm not so sure about using very exotic names for one dimensional characters, however - it has been done, but it often leaves me with the sense the author was just trying to make them more interesting by giving them a cool name.

 

[GonvilleBromhead]

One important thing: please, for God sake, when you come up with names make sure they are easy to pronounce in the readers head (especially if it has a distinct pronunciation) and easy to distinguish with other characters.

If your characters are named " C'Imkk'ujretfiNsinclu" and " C'Hruot'dwenDiculap" I am just going to skim over them by saying "dooby dooby doo" in my head. And I will get the two confused. And then I will throw your book down the toilet. And claim that the book insults a major figure in the Islamic religion.

Regarding names that reflect the characters...can be very useful, especially when there are several characters who appear at various stages in the book who might otherwise be confused, or where there are two characters who always appear together but have important differences in their character and distinguishing the two is important for the story line. It's a useful and helpful tool, if used correctly.

After all, you want your readers to get lost in the plot. Not wondering who the hell everyone is.

 

[Loonyyy]

Strong disagree on the "Names suit character's traits". Sure, you want the name to fit the character, and you want the name to be one the audience can associate with, but there's a reason that people laugh at things like 50 Shades of Grey naming a character "Steele", and "Grey". It's uninspired and it gets old, and, since you're working within the frame of reference of your own language, suprise, all the names are going to remarkably unsimilar to actual names and closer to what they mean.

Look for names that feel right, not ones which describe the character. It's a lazy shorthand choosing words to describe the character rather than working to find ones that fit. It doesn't work well, and, depending on your ability, will give away your story, and the character, and you'll accidentally hinder yourself when you're trying to think of names.

There's easy and cheap ways of doing it well. If you use some sort of realistic setting, then you can go with classic naming conventions, and steal a couple from the history books. If you're working on something more contemporary, you can just steal names from today. If you're looking to make them up, I reckon it's best to think of the reason they have that name. Remember, not all settings would be congruent with the First, Middle and Family Name archetype, so be careful.

If you're insistent on making yours up completely, then you're out of anything I'm good at. These always go horribly wrong for me. Try to make sure you limit a) The syllables, b) The vowels, c) Punctuation in names. Punctuation in names is needlessly elaborate and a nuisance to pronounce, and it makes many people think you're a hack. Most names aren't longer than 2 or 3 syllables. If you keep below that, pretty much anything will work. Try to make sure each syllable is constructed intelligently, you know, a vowel, or maybe two (ou etc), and a couple of consanants. Don't get Welsh on us.

Finally, make sure your names are consistent. You don't want overly complex names mixed with simple ones and vice versa, especially since it can give insight into which of your characters you're bothering with.

Hope this helps.

 

[Stasisesque]

Strong disagree on the "Names suit character's traits". Sure, you want the name to fit the character, and you want the name to be one the audience can associate with, but there's a reason that people laugh at things like 50 Shades of Grey naming a character "Steele", and "Grey". It's uninspired and it gets old, and, since you're working within the frame of reference of your own language, suprise, all the names are going to remarkably unsimilar to actual names and closer to what they mean.

Look for names that feel right, not ones which describe the character. It's a lazy shorthand choosing words to describe the character rather than working to find ones that fit. It doesn't work well, and, depending on your ability, will give away your story, and the character, and you'll accidentally hinder yourself when you're trying to think of names.

There's easy and cheap ways of doing it well. If you use some sort of realistic setting, then you can go with classic naming conventions, and steal a couple from the history books. If you're working on something more contemporary, you can just steal names from today. If you're looking to make them up, I reckon it's best to think of the reason they have that name. Remember, not all settings would be congruent with the First, Middle and Family Name archetype, so be careful.

If you're insistent on making yours up completely, then you're out of anything I'm good at. These always go horribly wrong for me. Try to make sure you limit a) The syllables, b) The vowels, c) Punctuation in names. Punctuation in names is needlessly elaborate and a nuisance to pronounce, and it makes many people think you're a hack. Most names aren't longer than 2 or 3 syllables. If you keep below that, pretty much anything will work. Try to make sure each syllable is constructed intelligently, you know, a vowel, or maybe two (ou etc), and a couple of consanants. Don't get Welsh on us.

Finally, make sure your names are consistent. You don't want overly complex names mixed with simple ones and vice versa, especially since it can give insight into which of your characters you're bothering with.

Hope this helps.

I think you're mistaking words that suit characters for words that describe characters.

My post particularly meant avoid calling the tough, no nonsense, borderline psychotic butcher Algernon Ffordes-Smythe, but you can quite easily use that name for a foppish lord or in a modern setting a particularly socially awkward upper-middle class nerd. My example of Ian Fleming's iconic character was mentioned because he is on record as saying he chose the blandest, most boring name he could possibly think of (stolen from a newspaper, in truth) to give to his daredevil spy simply so people would be taken aback at the juxtaposition of the two and thus more likely to remember it.

Your mileage may vary, of course - but I would describe this as choosing names that fit.