Naming Your Characters

Not every character in every book has a name, and that’s ok. The majority of your characters, however, need a name. That can be one of the hardest parts of writing fiction. I’ve easily spent over an hour trying to come up with the perfect name for a character. And don’t even get me started on surnames (last names) and pets names!

Something that has helped me save at least a little time: creating a character list. I actually have mine in an Excell spreadsheet, but when I was in high school, I had an old recipe box and a box of note cards. Whenever I come across an interesting name, I add it to my list. I’ve organized the list too. My categories are:

• General Girl Names
• General Boy Names
• Ethnic Names
• Unusual Names
• Names with Meanings
• Surnames

You’ll be surprised at where you’ll come across names for your list. Maybe you’re reading a blog and the blogger mentions and interesting name in his or her post. Maybe one of your clients has a name you could use. Maybe you even come across a name you’d like to use in another work of fiction.

Avoid names of people who are close to you, since it could create a weird dynamic with writing about your characters. Also avoid names that are well recognized otherwise, unless that’s the effect you want. For example, when you name a little boy in your book “Elvis,” your readers are automatically going to assume that his parents were into a certain type of music!

I like to be interesting with my character names, but not so interesting that it is a distraction from the story. Names that are spelled unusually or are hard to pronounce can pull a reader out of the plot every time you write the name, so keep that in mind.

Right now, the fiction I’m writing has one character – a male narrator. He doesn’t yet have a name, but I’m working on it. In your most recent project, what is your protagonist’s name?

Picture via evelynishere