Naming conventions

[mrissa]

I was talking to Kev about his essential Kevitude (down your friends page to here), and he said something about not looking like a Steve. Which he doesn't. But it got me thinking about how I name characters, or rather, avoid naming characters.

Steve is one of those male names I overused for awhile because I don't know any Steves particularly well. I have several Steve acquaintances, but no overwhelming association with the name. So Steve is safe, as names go. Dave and David are also safe, because I know too many of them. At any moment I have a default David, both generally and in a given conversation, but I have enough of them over time that I can use it without immediately associating with someone specific. (In a given conversation: Dave Orser is not my default Dave, but if I'm talking to Heathah and she makes reference to Dave or David, I will assume she means her spousal unit, the father of her children, etc.)

The exceptions are what's really confusing me. I almost never call timprov Tim, but he is enough a Tim for me that I couldn't use the name in a story without associating it with him. But the same is not true of Timothy. Someone who went by Timothy would be a very, very different person. Ditto Kev/Kevin: I couldn't name a character Kev because of greykev, but Kevin is a more distant name, because I only call him Kevin when he puns badly or does something else requiring multiple syllables ("KevIIIIINNNNN!").

I used to think that meeting more people would make this more problematic, but I keep meeting people with the same names over again -- moving, say, David, from "my godfather" to "lots of people I know."

Still, guy names are hard, because a character named Percival in a modern setting is going to have a lot of grief in his life, but I can't name the same guy Mark, because markgritter is already Mark.

How do you do this, those of you who do this?

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

That's so very extremely organized: a file. It struck me belatedly that it might be a good idea to have a file of the character names in my most recent book, so now I have one for that book, for the first time ever.

[gaaneden.livejournal.com]

I usually do not use the names of close friends. What I often do is look at the character I want to write about, think of an actor I think should portray them and either use their name, the name of a character they have used or a derivative of those names. For the first name, that is. For last names, I often call up my company roster and pick a last name that seems to fit with the first one.

You know what I have a REAL problem with? Having a character who insists that their name is the same as my own: Jennifer. I cannot write about a "Jennifer" without feeling weird. Especially if the character is nothing like me.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

You are so lucky that you can think of actors to portray your characters. Hollywood is almost entirely devoid of the kind of people I want to write about. Go ahead and name for me all the famous Finnish actors you can think of off the top of your head. It's an easy game; anyone can play. And Hollywood is desperately short on people who can convincingly act intelligent, which is why I adore the Jodie Foster and like Jeff Goldblum a lot despite the fact that he often plays totally obnoxious people. Val Kilmer ditto, because he is always Chris Knight in my head; even when his character is stupid, it's Chris Knight acting stupid to me, which is much more bearable for some reason.

Jennifer is one of the names I can use because of knowing several, although Jen and Jenny both seem to be more common for me to use. I have something in the back of my head that would probably be a children's series around a character named Jenny if only I would let it out to play, but alas, I am in no position to be drawing shy stories out at this juncture.

I couldn't write about a Marissa, either, but it comes up a lot less often.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

My characters tend to come with very strong opinions about what they are and aren't named.

I listen to them, because I learned very early on that if I don't, it kills the story.

I've only once had a character insist on the name of someone I know--so I emailed my friend and said, This isn't you. Do you mind? and he said he didn't. But mostly my backbrain and forebrain alike stay away from the names of Friends & Relations.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Right, right, it's not that I wanted to name Charlotte Michelle instead and couldn't because we've already got one. It's that my brain keeps well back on its own.

[songwind.livejournal.com]

I usually attempt to avoid the use of any really weird name without a good reason. Other than that - I don't worry too much. I would avoid the name of anyone who might think a character was supposed to be them, probably.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Given that we have used your first name (not "song" but your actual first name) as a generic term for "male Minnesotan," I think I would assume you wouldn't think it was you. Even if I had, y'know, met you or something....

[songwind.livejournal.com]

*laugh* That's true, but I would like to think I'm not overly given to drama. Some people are.

[greykev.livejournal.com]

I try to pick names based on their sound, or by what sounds fit the character's personality. The antagonist in a bit a free-writing I did over lunch turned out to be Bruce, and it fits him quite well. Sadly the protagonist wanted to be 'Mack' which I only conceded to as a placeholder. If the scene evolves into a story ‘Mack’ will change at some point, hopefully because I’ve gotten a better grip on the character. Although, as a reader, if the names are at all odd in a fantasy I tend to recognize them without attempting to sound them out. ::shrugs::

[pameladean]

I've attempted to answer your question about four times, and must finally conclude that I don't know how I name my characters. Arry is a kind of convoluted shout-out to Harry in The Blue Sword, as Laura is to Laura Ingalls in the Little House books, and as Patrick is to one of my cousins; but beyond that, I really do not know.

Pamela

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

My cousins named their new puppy Oowen, and T. thought I said Oonan and was all excited because it was a character reference he would not have thought they would know to make. As, in fact, they didn't. (And now I think I've spelled at least one of those wrong. Ah well.)

Cousins: yes. I have a cousin named Garrett who was my very best boy-cousin (of about my own age; my godfather is different) (boy howdy is he Different) (anyway) because Garrett let me be Princess Leia with a light saber when we played Star Wars. I argued my case that it was surely something Lucas had meant to get around to if only he'd had the time, because she was a Skywalker, too, and he was sold. And he let me rescue myself from bad guys (in play) rather than trying to make me stay to be rescued. And then when I was 15 or so he protected me from smarmy strangers who hoped I was older than that. And so I loved him above all other cousins, and now the next book, the one that doesn't suck yet, has a lovely older cousin named Garrett who does, in fact, let small female cousin people save themselves when they can and pitches in when it's useful.

[flewellyn.livejournal.com]

My names are drawn from typical and interesting cultural norms for the character. So if it's an American kid, it might be any kind of name.

If it's an alien, well, whatever's appropriate for that culture...

I'm not sure why, but my naming schemes tend to be more Arabic/Hebraic, or sometimes Indian, than Anglo-Saxon.

[avrelia.livejournal.com]

If I am thinking of names in our world, present times, I am picking up the ones that are normal – among Russian names, or just slightly unusual, but not overly popular, and not make me think of any particular person I know.

If it is a fantasy world – European based, I am trying to pick up something non-nation specific.

I also pay attention to sounds, and to the characters’ interactions with their names. Sometimes a perfectly good name just don’t fit, and I have to think of another.