I recently received the question from a couple friends: “How do you name characters in your novels?” There are a lot of methods and standards for how fantasy writers choose character names. Some use name generators or base their names on a particular culture. Here are the methods I use.
Character Name Method #1: Unashamed Gibberish
As a fantasy writer, I have the advantage of using any combination of letters to create a name (within reason—I need to maintain the proper balance between vowels and consonants as much as possible). I’ve always spoken gibberish fluently. Back in high school drama class, I was the perfect candidate to cast as an alien speaking a foreign tongue for the improv routine. Many of my early novels follow this method where I make up some syllables that have the right sound or feel to me.
As I wrote more novels, I tried to make the names for characters or places follow a certain pattern to indicate different regions or cultures in the fantasy world. For example, in my novel Race Across the Battlefield, there are two alien races. The Pkaldiz have short names characterized by hard consonants and minimal vowels to align with their harsh-reality utilitarian culture. Some of the sounds are inspired by Polish, which combines consonant sounds in ways that English doesn’t. The other race, the Ayun, is a more artistic and emotional race, and their names never contain consecutive consonants, but instead fit as many vowels as possible. For example, the same character when spoken to by the Pkaldiz is called Catlen, but the Ayun address her as Catalena.
Character Name Method #2: Unashamed Theft
The cultures around our world provide a plethora of different names that English speakers are unfamiliar with. I’ve created a database of interesting names that I encounter in movie credits, foreign books, and European symphonic metal bands (don’t judge!). The Bible is also a treasure trove of little-known names in addition to the classics English has picked up.
While occasionally I will use a name borrowed from another earth culture as is, I often will tweak a letter or two to give the name a unique spin or a sound that benefits the character. This is the method I used for my novel Bronze and Blood. I made a list of potential names for each character from my database and “auditioned” each name for the character. When I found one I liked, I customized it for the character. For example, I changed the Hebrew name Jerusha to Jeshurun to change it from a feminine name to a masculine name.
On a grander scale, for my novel Becka, I decided to give the humans in her world a merge of two overlapping common English names. For example, the prince in the story is named Ryandru (a combination of Ryan and Andrew).
Character Name Method #3: Symbolism
Recently, I’ve started writing works with characters from our world. In the novella I’m currently writing, a regular high school girl is transported to a realm much like medieval Britain. In this case, I decided to use real traditional names found in a baby name book. Some writers believe there is great power in a name (and might therefore be scandalized by method #1) and that names should be ascribed very deliberately. In this case, I am choosing names whose meanings align with the character’s role in the book. For example, the main character’s buddy on the mission is named Alden, which means friend, and the captain who rushes in to help in full armor is named Kenelm, which means brave helmet. For this method, I again compiled a list of names with appropriate meanings and chose one that sounded right for the character.
When the Name Sounds Right
What do I mean by the name sounding right? This is harder to explain, but I have certain assumptions and associations with letters and sounds. For example, to me names that end in “a” sounds are feminine while ending in “ee” sounds is cutesy. Certain consonants like “k” and “x” sound harsh, while letters like “n” and “f” are gentle and comforting. When I have an appropriate name for a character, it just feels right. As I continue to write more with that character, the name becomes more strongly associated with the person until the two are inseparable. While I may have to change a minor character’s name for logistical reasons, it’s very hard to change a main character’s name once it has become associated with them.
Name Logistics/Rules
What kind of name logistics might require a name to change? We’ve talked about how I choose individual names, but the overall grouping of names is important also. Here are some guidelines for names that appear in a book together:
- Don’t make names that are too similar. If one name looks or sounds too similar to another, the reader might confuse the characters with one another.
- Avoid names that start with the same letter. Many readers don’t read the entire name. They catch the first letter and skim to the next word. If names with the same starting letter are often together, the reader might not pay attention to differentiate them.
- Avoid unpronounceable names. The threshold for this varies depending on who you ask—I have a much higher tolerance than a lot of people—but a name like Xgfrudp might take more work than it’s worth and frustrate the reader. Names that are too long can also be overwhelming.
- Follow the world’s naming conventions. If a fantasy world is full of Aragorn’s and Frodo’s, it’s jarring when Randy suddenly shows up. Also, if you create a stylistic rule for certain cultures, places, or classes, try to stick with it.
So there you have it! My personal guide to how fantasy writers choose character names.
What are some of your favorite fantasy/sci-fi names? Why?
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