Character Names

I didn't immediately see that this was a topic already, so I thought I would create it. What names have you given to your original characters, and why did you chose the names that you did?

For me a character's name is a big part of who they are. I usually spend some time in the early phase of writing thinking of and researching many different possible names.

For Bruno and Deborah, both characters from Trainers, I did the weird thing of looking up criminal names, even if their goal is becoming the total opposite of those people. Bruno Dillinger is named after the thief John Dillinger and he wants to grow up to stop crime. Deborah Cormac is named after the pirate Anne Cormac (Anne Bonney's real name) and is the daughter of a sailor and might as well become one.

For Carmen, my Unific main and a character that used to have a musical carreer before becoming a trainer, I named her after Bizet's Opera Carmen and the main character of the same name. I also took some parts of the character's personality to write my Carmen as the spoiled, bitchy girl she is now.

For Jordie, one of my two mains in S1, I tried giving them a somewhat gender neutral name. At first their name was going to be Gabriella or something similar but I thought it was too feminine and I didn't like Gabrielle, so I gave Gabby to their Solosis instead.

For Miranda, my other main in S1, I didn't really think of anything other that I wanted to give her a weird name she wouldn't like.

Maritza's is somewhat similar to Miranda as I didn't have an actual reference for her, but guess you can think her surname is a reference to Breaking Bad's protag Walter White considering she is really smart and has a painful coughing problem, though I wrote her before even watching the series.

I don't usually put too much thought into thematic naming unless I'm stuck on finding a name I like lol. The reason being that people in real life aren't named according t who they will be in the future (not with any real accuracy anyway), so it seems weird to me to populate a world with a bunch of characters whose names perfectly describe who they are.

If you're gonna be referential, punny, or literal as hell with your names u better do it for every single one in that universe. (@ horikoshi lol) I do it a bit, though usually in some very obscure or convoluted way so nobody else can connect the dots. But I know. And it entertains me. That's my whole point anyway; I write what I want to read and what I think is fun.

Mostly tho... I make a character before their name. And by the time I've got a solid idea of who they are, a name either presents itself from my brain (I have a huge mental database of names cause I worked in drop-in childcare) or I know like... I want it to start with a certain letter, or have a certain sound to it. And I flick thru baby name sites until I land on one that is right.

Tbh the majority of the time I just go with names that I like and fit the character. There are a couple characters from Foul Play that I thought a bit more of what to name them, though. For Iokua I wanted a Hawaiian name due to Alola based on Hawaii. For Sana, it's an alternative spelling of Sanaa, which is Arabic for "brilliance/radiance." She was an Interpol agent and knows some science, so I think the name fits her very well.

I honestly don't contribute expansive amounts of time into researching names, mostly for the reason that parents can't predict what their child will be when they grow up. While it is tempting to choose names like Lucie (French name meaning light) for a character attributed to Xerneas, (I haven't actually done this, it's just an example) I find that characters named simply are much more realistic. (Yes, I'm aware that you can't spoil a fan fiction with realism, but I push it to a certain degree.)

One of the factors I actually consider while naming, however, is popularity. I'd much rather have a character called Alice than a character called Calypso. I also tend to avoid "special" or "gorgeous" names such as Luna or Melody. That's my two cents, hope you enjoyed reading this!

I've come to really enjoy pun names. Pun names that aren't immediately apparent, but make someone chuckle once they pronounce them. You know, names like "Luke Atmey" or "Candice Arme".

For more serious settings, I sometimes resort to anagrams or names that aren't real but sound like they could be. For example, I have characters named Mya Galad (an anagram of "amygdala") and Griffin Torth (Torth, as far as I know, isn't a real surname). In fact, for certain projects, I make it a rule to make sure none of my characters' surnames are real. I'm not sure why I do that, but it's sometimes fun to come up with names like Copacier and Merrihel.

I have a project that involves robots, and those require more "deliberate" names, so to speak, since their creators know exactly how their robots will turn out. For example, I'll have a fire robot named N-Gene (a play on "engine"), or a jester robot named Jacqueline.

For the most part, I give myself more freedom with naming characters who were "born". Characters who were "made", however, generally need names better suited to them, thematically or otherwise.

I used to go for Japanese names a lot when I was younger but nowadays I choose names that I think fit the characters well in their behaviour and sometimes ethnicity too.

Other than that I usually don't put too much thought into the names, I chose ones that I like and are fairly unique.

I have always placed a lot of importance on the names of my characters, and I find it sometimes the detail that takes me the longest to select.

I tend to choose most unique such as "Arianna" or "Sarayu" or those that have a natural significance such as "Storm" or "Tsunami" or those of a more mystical and religious under tone such as my Mew family respectively named Faith, Harmony, Destiny, and Fate.

If the character is more "whimsical" and less important in the grand scheme than I tend to choose more free-spirited custom names. If character is more "active" in the main story I choose more natural sounding ones... and if character as above-average aspirations or is positioned with a calling than I choose latter.

Of course I follow the name naming rule that many parents do when selecting name... say the name a couple of times over and over again and see if the name sounds appropriate for the personality (and when I am inspired enough) the artwork for said character as I have digitally drawn many of my favourites and often do so before choosing names.

There is also significant psychological evidence to suggest a name is the single most important form of referencing our brains form. So the name itself will immediately form conceptions (good or bad) about said character, such as my character Storm who is more of a chaotic force with a little temper.

I really only have one OC, I named her Eleanora or Nora for short! The name just popped into my head for some reason a few years ago and everything immediately clicked/fell into place right away. It's like it was all meant to happen, and I love having had an experience like that. :D To this day it's impossible for me to create any other OC. I just end up inserting her, same name and personality/behavior and all, into everything. It's my preferred name in video games too a lot of the time, and bums me out a lot when it's taken. I love my girl <3

Sheep said:

I really only have one OC, I named her Eleanora or Nora for short! The name just popped into my head for some reason a few years ago and everything immediately clicked/fell into place right away. It's like it was all meant to happen, and I love having had an experience like that. :D To this day it's impossible for me to create any other OC. I just end up inserting her, same name and personality/behavior and all, into everything. It's my preferred name in video games too a lot of the time, and bums me out a lot when it's taken. I love my girl <3

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I feel honored even though I shouldn't now, thanks hahaha

As far as my names go, I don't think I have any specific guideline for them. Especially at first I didn't put much thought into it (there really is no reason why Arianne from Trainers has that name other than it sounded nice for her). Even now, when I've started looking more into the meanings of the name, I still ultimately decide by what sounds best for the character and the setting. For example, Avril (Hoenn: Square 1) was named after April (the month in which flowers bloom, something that fits well with her backstory) but changed to Avril since she's from Kalos!

I have so many names I give them. I just randomly name them, though. It does take me some time to find something that feels meaningful or "just right" for them. I have one name in particular I tend to use for my love interests that's like that. It's the name "Azuka". My boyfriend likes to go by "Azula", and I like using Azuka because it fits and also is a twist on his name as well. So, there's that. I usually go for names that I think are cute or whatever. I try not to use names more than once because I do like to focus on something fitting for my characters and such.

I just use whatever comes to mind first. I usually have a piece of art that I base the character off of and I'll just get a general feel of what they should be called based on the personality I build from that picture and the setting. There's nothing really more to it for me. I don't go out of my way to research, it's just a feeling.