How do YOU name characters?
- Thread starter Firia
- Start date
Recommended Videos
When I used to write I usually mixed and matched the names of my friends ie the first name of one matched with the last name of another.
I just put in random letters and see if it sounds good, I'm not a writer, not a pro, and I'm currently in college.
I have a slowly growing library of character names I use. Each name is associated with a particular personality and if I find I have need for that name in an RPG or MMO, I use it. The names sound plausable but unique. You are unlikely to run into another real person with this name.
My Library:
Male:
Timeron
Kyre
Branth
Leo (one of my rare common ones)
Dandan
Female:
Athieania
Cappie
Tessledan
Myrna
Fara
My Library:
Male:
Timeron
Kyre
Branth
Leo (one of my rare common ones)
Dandan
Female:
Athieania
Cappie
Tessledan
Myrna
Fara
Considering my style of writing, I usually do 1 of 3 things:
A: Think of a random, silly name that's fun to say (example: Sillthy Fyllbyts)
B: Combine names of random fictional characters I like.
C: Just think of a name that sounds good.
A: Think of a random, silly name that's fun to say (example: Sillthy Fyllbyts)
B: Combine names of random fictional characters I like.
C: Just think of a name that sounds good.
Find a name with a slightly related meaning.....thats what i do!
Take the name Lucifer for example, I dont know how it became associated with the devil since its actually a beautiful name....it means "the one that brings light"....Now if your character (for example!) is a person that takes in orphans and tries to make their lives better, than he is in fact "the one that brings light" (into their lives)...do you understand what I'm getting at?
But ofcoarse Lucifer is a bit too strong so you could go with a more diluted name like Luke or Luka, (both meaning light) which is like a shorter version of Lucifer.
That name is just an example but you understand what I mean...there are plenty of names that have a Latin or Greek etc origin to them.....try finding one that has a name to fit your character, then if the name is a bit too strong for these days, find the more modern version of it and use that instead.....
I like names with meaning Cause I usually enjoy researching more about my favourite things (music, anime, games, movies)....Extra Credits talked about it, its called Tangential Learning
Take the name Lucifer for example, I dont know how it became associated with the devil since its actually a beautiful name....it means "the one that brings light"....Now if your character (for example!) is a person that takes in orphans and tries to make their lives better, than he is in fact "the one that brings light" (into their lives)...do you understand what I'm getting at?
But ofcoarse Lucifer is a bit too strong so you could go with a more diluted name like Luke or Luka, (both meaning light) which is like a shorter version of Lucifer.
That name is just an example but you understand what I mean...there are plenty of names that have a Latin or Greek etc origin to them.....try finding one that has a name to fit your character, then if the name is a bit too strong for these days, find the more modern version of it and use that instead.....
I like names with meaning
Cause I usually enjoy researching more about my favourite things (music, anime, games, movies)....Extra Credits talked about it, its called Tangential LearningI use an English -> Whatever dictionary if I want some cool sounding name that also happens to mean something cool. DOUBLE COOL.
I have a few names that I came up with when I was a young wart-hog that still see a fair bit of use today.
If I need names for characters that AREN'T me, I usually just anagram the names of people I know.
I have a few names that I came up with when I was a young wart-hog that still see a fair bit of use today.
If I need names for characters that AREN'T me, I usually just anagram the names of people I know.
Use Biblical references! That's so clever and symbolic! Like... JC Denton! Woo!
Name them something that is meaningful! Like... name the fire mage Ignus! (and set him on fire for good measure) Or name your paladin Order McLawson! Or name them Max Fightmaster! (manliest name out there)
Or ask around, or read many different books and use the internet. That could help.
If nothing works, name every single character Jaden. Ladies and mentlegen alike.
Name them something that is meaningful! Like... name the fire mage Ignus! (and set him on fire for good measure) Or name your paladin Order McLawson! Or name them Max Fightmaster! (manliest name out there)
Or ask around, or read many different books and use the internet. That could help.
If nothing works, name every single character Jaden. Ladies and mentlegen alike.
What I get a lot is I want to put too much into a name. Of course you have to think about the names, but sometimes it's better to play around a little. Instead of putting off naming a character just give it the first name that comes to mind. Change it everytime you got something going on in your mind. A lot of the best names come when you try not to think too hard and let it come to you naturally (or maybe unconsciously).
Edited for my mind tends to f*ck up my grammar.
Edited for my mind tends to f*ck up my grammar.
It usually relates to favourite actors, singers etc. For example, in "Pokemon Soulsilver" I named my character "Goren" after Vincent D'Onofrio's character in "Law & Order: Criminal intent" whilst in "Pokemon Black", I named my main character "Lynch" because I was watching Twin Peaks at the time and so I named the character after David Lynch.
So that's my naming system. Hope it helps in any way.
So that's my naming system. Hope it helps in any way.
I'm no writer, I've got a slightly decent grip of the English language, and my best friend is a writer, so that helps.
That being said, I am a cartoonist/illustrator, I specialise in characters. So it goes without saying that I've developed a knack for naming the people/creatures I come up with.
I'm not entirely sure how, but it's almost as if names just come to me.
That being said, I am a cartoonist/illustrator, I specialise in characters. So it goes without saying that I've developed a knack for naming the people/creatures I come up with.
I'm not entirely sure how, but it's almost as if names just come to me.
More often than not my names come out of codenames. I codename a character until I think of a better one, but I eventually get attached to the name and, well, if you're a writer you'll get that the name sucks out your personal experience and dumps it on the forming character, and that isn't always so bad. For me I have it easy, I tend to be able to just think of the character and somewhere swimming behind it is it's name.
And when I want something more exotic... Instead of making up my own, I often hit sites and look up 'Croatian Baby Boy names' or something like that. I find something I like, tweak it until it fits if I want to and bingo, a semi-original name.
And when I want something more exotic... Instead of making up my own, I often hit sites and look up 'Croatian Baby Boy names' or something like that. I find something I like, tweak it until it fits if I want to and bingo, a semi-original name.
I never miss an opportunity to make an interesting reference (be it history, literary or pop culture) in my names. The more layers of hidden meaning, the better.Firia said:How do YOU name your characters? In your advice, tell me if you're a writer or not, professional or not, and/or college educated or not.
For example, if you had an adventurous female character I might name her Earhart (after Amelia Earhart [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart#Childhood]). But that's a bit obvious, so maybe just 'Amelia'. Or, if you wanted to go more obscure, you could name her Atchison, after the town Earhart grew up in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atchison,_Kansas#Notable_people]. Then you notice that Atchison is described as "one of the most haunted places in America", so that gets you thinking how you could work that into the character's backstory. Maybe, the name foreshadows the character coming back as a ghost, or it just matches to a different personality trait, such as being melancholy or gothic.
Names are important, ya know?
The first game I played that asked me to choose a name was KOTOR 2 (yes I played 2 before 1, couldn't find it in any stores) and the name I chose is the name for my Escapist profile and Xbox live account. I got it by using two halves of the random name generator.
For Fantasy RPGs I choose the name Sir Lucas (or Ser if its DA:O) but in DA2 I stuck with Garrett. For Fallout games I choose William because thats what my parents were originally going to call me and because its the first king Great Britain has on Empire Total War.
So, one random name generator can provide some significant names.
For Fantasy RPGs I choose the name Sir Lucas (or Ser if its DA:O) but in DA2 I stuck with Garrett. For Fallout games I choose William because thats what my parents were originally going to call me and because its the first king Great Britain has on Empire Total War.
So, one random name generator can provide some significant names.
i like to take names from people i know, first names will be friends, family, or random common names. last names get tricky and i've had your problem before. i usually pick a random, common, simple last name thats will be easy to remember, or if i'm discussing it i then let person who's first name i used decide the last name the like. it's how i got a "chris poloski" for one character hahaha.Firia said:So, I'm a writer and an illustrator. Summer just let out, and I'm trying to write and illustrate a comic over the summer. I have 4 months to achieve this goal.
I don't know how to name characters very well.
I've been reading some sites that give writing tips about naming characters, and have a couple tricks. Though, the standard advice seems to dance around the linguistic assembly of concentants vowels rhythm and syllables. They target the personality connection to the name, which I completely agree- but is not the avenue of advice I'm looking for.
If you're a writer, and feel your work is good- or at least your characters are well named, and you have a system to how you build a name for a character, I'd like to hear it.
None of this is pertinent to the topic, but I'll share.
I'm writing a fantasy comic. Very Tolkien, or Weis, I'll admit. I have no problem with this niche environment. I've long played games like D&D, and made successful names for characters. They serve the character sheet well, but won't translate into written-for-print media. I have one solid name I'm sure to going forward with 100%, but that particular character dies in the first act. The main character is entirely fleshed out, but is still running in the script with a place holder for a name. There's an elf maiden even that, well, in the script she shows up as [Elven Maiden] for a place holder.
I'm several characters and concept images through, but names are the one hurdle I can't seem to leap.
How do YOU name your characters? In your advice, tell me if you're a writer or not, professional or not, and/or college educated or not.