We’ve all got names. Most of us are stuck with the ones our parents gave us. Some of us decide to change our names. I remember the owner of an audio equipment store in Oklahoma City who appeared in her commercials as “Linda Soundtrak.” That was a stage name, kind of like Max Griffin is a pen name.
Fictional characters are stuck with their names, too. The difference is that we, as authors, get to select their names. But that choice isn’t entirely free. For example, the name should fit time, place, and culture of story. If you’re writing about a Roman gladiator, you probably aren’t going to name him Biff or Billy Bob, for example. Similarly, a sentient alien in a SciFi novel probably isn’t going to be named Brandi.
So, besides being appropriate to the milieu of the story, what else should character names do, or not do? Well, here’s a list. It’s not complete, but it’s a start. Like all lists, no one should follow it lemming-like off a cliff. There are always exceptions. In fact, some of the “do nots” are followed by the opposite “dos,” the points being that no rule is absolute and that moderation is usually best.
Do use names that fit the character. Names like “Hunter” have clear meaning. Names like “Skywalker” and “Vader”—which is Dutch for “father”—add meaning to their characters. There are websites that let you search for names by meaning. On the other hand, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the entrance to the tunnel leading to the eponymous stone is guarded by a giant, slobbering three-headed dog named…wait for it…Fluffy. It’s certainly okay for names to be ironic.
Don’t make the name too obvious. “Flower” might be a name for a botanist, but how about “Anthea” or “Lilly?” The latter names make the connection, but in a more subtle way.
Do use memorable names. Think about the novel Rebecca. What’s the first name of the narrator? Sure, she’s Mrs. DeWinter after she marries the guy, but what’s her first name? Hint: this is a trick question. In this case, Du Maurier chose to not give her a first name as a reveal about her character: she derives her identity from how those around her see her. This is the exception that proves the rule. In general, give your point-of-view character a memorable name, and use it early, in the first sentence if possible. That helps to draw the readers into the character’s head and hence into the story.
Don’t use exotic names. “Alison Chains” or “Miranda Wright” might be amusing for names drag queens, but not for your novel. Well, unless your character is a drag queen—see Lady Chablis.
Do use uncommon names. Amy, Bill, Emily, and Mike are all perfectly good names, but they are perennial favorites, too. Your readers are likely to know someone with one of these names and bring unwanted character impressions to your story. So, you might consider, for example, Alessa and Brice as less common names. If one of your characters is non-binary, you might choose a name to reflect that.
Don’t use names that are similar. The reader will have trouble keeping track if your characters are named Ted, Tad, and Tom. “Similar” includes names that rhyme, sound alike, or even start with the same letter.
Do use distinctive names. For some reason, zillions of novels seem to use “Jack” as the protagonist. Instead, you might consider Zane, or Vahn, or Ivan, all of which have the same meaning and are less common.
Don’t use trendy names. A name from history or headlines like “Donald” or “Adolf” may have unintended character implications. Names in popular culture like Buffy and Frasier also carry character connotations that can either date your story or are otherwise unwelcome. Trendy names can also include names popular today that were uncommon earlier. For example, the top baby names in 2020 were Liam and Olivia. But if your characters are twenty years old in 2020, they were born in 2000. That year, Liam didn’t even make the top twenty list of baby names, and Olivia is sixteenth. Better choices might be Jacob and Emily. The Social Security Administration publishes the top twenty baby names by year
Do use pronounceable names. I don’t care if your character is a sentient spider from the fourth planet of Tau Ceti, your readers still have to be able pronounce her name at least in their heads. Don’t name her Gprlzx(pop)nh, or some other unpronounceable—and hence forgettable—gibberish. You might do what Larry Niven did with his Puppeteers—they all chose names from human mythology, such as Nessus. Alternatively, combining names or syllables from non-English sources can result in an alien-sounding name that is still pronounceable. For example, “Ortog Tywyll” combines the words for “devil” in Hungarian and Welsh.
For science fiction authors, chose place names the way Europeans named places in the Americas. Mostly, this meant using familiar names from the old country—nearly every state has at least one town named “Rome,” for example. There are also many names drawn from the indigenous cultures, but that only works if there *is* an indigenous culture, something not guaranteed in SciFi. If there are no space aliens, then the names will almost all derive from cultures, places, and languages around today, or from the names of the first explorers.
That’s it for this month. Send me any additional does and don’ts that I left off my list.
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