Picking Names

[Hysteria]

Well, I've been thinking about how to name not just main characters but also NPCs. In the past I've used a number or ways, sometimes randomly picking names until one sounds right, through to using other languages, referencing other literature or searching names based on their meanings.

For example, my not often used character Raksha means protection. He is a lawful good character who would help anyone he saw in trouble.

Talen comes from a child thief from a David Eddings book I read years ago as a kid (books that helped Kindle my love of fantasy).

Sometimes I take verbs or nouns and turn them into names as well. I used to have a tiefling female character called Ire for example. She was one of a pair who also had a name meaning anger.

Remedy is a mixture of referencing the book Boneshaker for her last name Blue and steam punk references, using a noun Remedy and picking a name that suited her Winona (her not used first name).

So, how do you pick your names? Do you think it's worth while foreshadowing stories by the names you pick for your NPCs? Or is it a waste of time?

Do you find the name actually crafts the character?

[hoytti]

I have a few ways. Sometimes I take a bunch of letters and just try to get a name using them (Sorish), Other times I go with Irony (AbriNANO), and sometimes I go with a foreign language (Invetisto de Masinoj).

[Zook Murnig]

I picked the name "Waterstone" before I actually decided anything else about this character, just as a joking run-with-it reference to the Waterstones bookstores of the UK (my only knowledge of them comes from their official twitter messages posted on tumblr). Alma is a Hebrew name, meaning "maiden," which fits in with the witch theme (the traditional trinity of a coven was Maiden, Mother, Crone). Sehlama'im is actually just a loosely translated and transliterated "waterstone" in Hebrew.

Other names, I've either picked from a culturally appropriate list on http://www.20000-names.com/ or pulled from a DnD or Pathfinder book (in the case of non-human characters). Cohen Ephraim, my old character on this account, was pulled from the Hebrew list on 20000 Names, and his old name of Caduceus Grimaldi was just me trying to find a mysterious sounding name for my magician.

[Alydia Ettermire]

I'm very careful with my names. First, I consider the culture I want to imbue the character with. Take Alydia, for instance. I knew she was going to be basically Carmen Sandiego, so I wanted a city name that would sound exotic to most Althanians for her last name. That put Radasanth right out. Talmhaidh? No, Karuka was already Irish. Irrakam? No, Karu was also half Indian. Eluriand? Proooomising. The High Elves can be pretty nerdy. But the fashion... There's no way a self-respecting Raiaeran would be caught dead in Carmen's getup. Knife's Edge? Nope. What's another city in Salvar? Don't care. Well, we're down to Alerar or working hard digging up more obscure cities around Althanas. Let's see. Ettermire. Good. Solid. Has a nice ring to it. They're also a well-educated people in the class she'd come of age in (because I also went with the 'orphan, raised by the Chief' backstory - which gave her a reason to have the city as a last name), so she'd have access to the materials she'd need to fan the flames of curiosity into a raging inferno.

She's an Alerian, so I knew I'd go with a drow name. I looked up what Carmen meant, and it means poem. I looked at my name table. Nothing for poem in there. So let's look up Melody. Nope. Dance? Nope (or I didn't like it). I tried a couple of other words that also didn't come up, then just started reading the meanings. I stumbled on the right one almost immediately. Aly- means "song." Good. I needed another part. I looked for thief; it makes sense. -dia means "thief." Aly- -dia. Alydia. I liked it.

It took me an hour to name a tribute/joke character after either INDK or Ataraxis double-dog dared me to make her. Pretty sure it was Shyam, though.

[Hysteria]

Ok, Alydia's name is way more complex than I realised ^_^

What do you all think about the merits story wise? Is it all for naught if (perhaps like Alydia and myself) it goes over the reader's head?

Or is it a case of providing meaning purely for the writer? That in itself could make for a more invested author and more complex character.

[BlackAndBlueEyes]

For me, names are just names. They've never held any sort of significance. They're just things that differentiate one character from another.

When I originally came up with Madison, she was going to be one of the leads in a cyberpunk webcomic/radio drama I had plans for. The joke was going to be that her great-grandparents were a little too into the 60's and 70's, got into drugs, and changed their last name to pay homage to Skynyrd. None of the descendants ever bothered to change their name back.

That is literally the most effort I've ever put into naming a character. Everyone else gets the good ol' random name generator treatment.

[hoytti]

I think of names being more important to writers then readers. However, if a name seems to have a noticeable pun or something important to the story then the writer could take notice.

[Alydia Ettermire]

I like my names to have meaning, even if it's only to me. Karu's father was a brahmin, and named his daughter accordingly - Karuka is an Indian name meaning "art of heaven." The female founder of her bloodline was named Sheehan (because I had a professor whose last name was Sheehan and I liked her), so Karu's last name became O'Sheean - descendants of Sheehan.

Taische is an Irish name meaning treasure, both because her mother loves her and because her sperm donor only values that which glitters.

Illara was named for a character I liked in a game I used to play (Illaria, Legacy of a Thousand Suns). I thought the name was pretty and just about elven, so I took it for my own.

[Ashla]

I just came up with the name "Ashla" on a whim, but mmost other names have meaning to them. I don't remember what most of them mean now, but they mea something. I found the name "Daisuke" for an NPC somewhere and it stuck; he's a butler type character who personally looks (or looked... DUN DUN DUN!) over Ashla's progress as a leader and will be one of Hanuh's major parental figures in life.

"Hanuh" is a weird spelling for "Hannah," after someone who was a close friend of mine (we're still friends, but not as close as we used to.) I don't remember what inspired Julius' first name, but his last name means something about "fire." I like the name "Percy," the name of... a children's cartoon character... and I made it the nickname of Penelope. Penelope was made on a whim.

I remember I got Kaid from something, I don't remember what though.

So yeah...

[Lye]

Back in the day, I had a tough time picking names. I tried to pick names that no one had used before and ended up with a lot of hard to pronounce, silly ideas. Lichensith was one of them. Back then, I tried to combine the idea of a lich with the idea of black. Unfortunately, Sith from Star Wars came to mind instead. Hence, the horrible name of Lichensith was born. To justify my lameness, I wrote in the character history, that this name meant "black silk" in reference to how the foster parents found him. All of it was so very corny and Lye isn't too much of an improvement. Luckily, Lye has manage to impact to many character stories and imprint himself into many other player character updates.

All in all, that worked out.

As for my other characters, their names were just a whim. Siegfried is somewhat common for hero names and also the name of a legendary knight. Alfheim, his last name, was a deviation of Norse titles for the realm. Niffelhiem being the realm of the dead, Alfheim was the realm of the elves, spelt with an "A" to preserve the "ah" sound of the Germanic Style pronunciation.

Alyssa Snow was simply an old name from an old character on an old RP site. I liked the name Alyssa for a female and ran with that. She was an escapee that was found chilled half to death in the snow. Her saviors, those red things in FFVIII, brought her back to the Shumi Tribe where they called her "Child of the Snow". Hence, she was known as Alyssa Snow. On Althanas, I had to deviate that origin story heavily to fit the current lore, and instead of changing the name, I changed her to be a prototype project. Her code name was then to be some sciency number set of greek alphabet designation and numbers. In all, a child would read it and make out: Alyssa Snow. So, to be more human, she calls herself that.

For Lady, I made her a slave and her history so twisted and dark, that she cannot remember her real name. That makes it simple since her original master just called her "lady".

My other two characters had interesting names using a common name and taking an ethnic twist to it, like Russian. In situations where the first name is highly unique and difficult, I like to give the characters a middle name or nickname that's easier to identify with. Just like odd names in reality, people with odd names in fantasy would likely have alternate nicknames to avoid misspellings or the confused expression of a stranger.

All in all, there are no wrong ways to go about naming a character. Just run through the gambit, make a list, highlight your favs, and repeat until you nail something that fits the image and personality of your intended character.

[Hysteria]

This thread was partially prompted after I saw the name Ignatius. I instantly thought if a young kid with a flock of red hair, a penchant for fire magic and the nickname Iggy.

Something similar happened when I heard the name Elspeth a number of years ago. It became the first name of a character who called herself Midnight.

[Philomel]

"Philomel" means "Nightingale," which was her pseudonym for some time. It is also my screen name, and has been for a good few years now. When I made her here I just made a username with the one name I really like.
Her middle name "Serkena" is from "Serken," a name I made up last year for a roleplaying game.
"Van der Aart" comes from the Norwegian from "of the Earth" though with a little of my own manipulations. Similarly all faun surnames I have played with (e.g. "van der Terra" for Leaf) all mean something similar such as "of the ground" or "of the tree," as their race is from the earth and their magic association is mostly always earth.

"Leaf" literally just means "Leaf". I wanted something soft and calm, and fragile, so Leaf was the first thing I came up with.

Their cousin "Blodwen" has a name which means "white flowers" in Welsh I believe, though I am sure Mord can properly tell you. Similarly to the faun names it came to mind because it was something to do with nature and the earth, though still in a different language, reflecting the fact she was born and raised in Akashima.

"Yakob" is literally just another spelling of "Jacob" which means "supplanter" or similar, coming from "holder of the heel," for a literal translation. I chose this name partly because I genuinely just like it, but also because of Yakob's dark nature and his desire to supplant everything and destroy most life.

----
NPCs:

I have a few now, for Philomel and her crew.

"Maverik" is simply called "Maverik" because its play on the word "maverick," which means "un-orthodox" or "independently minded," and Mav certainly is an unorthodox female elf. She is basically Brienne of Tarth from GoT but elf styled and a bit of a lesbian.

Her best friend got her name from a suggestion by Twitch. For all those who have seen Top Gun, a character called Maverick in it has a best friend called "Goose," and I made a more weedy cute individual, called "Gosling" which is the name for a young goose. She is more or less Philomel's sectretary and is the other half of Philomel's steady team.

"Vaeron" is a word I entirely made up, though looking back it is similar to the name "Vernon" which means "alder" and seeing as he is old ... well "alder" is close to "elder..." I have no idea where I am going with this.

Lacey is Philomel's mother. Quite literally I wanted a whore-ish sounding name, that expressed a bit of age and fraying elegance. Something like Victorian lace. So Lacey's name was chosen.

[Aurelianus Drak'shal]

Well, when it comes to NPC's, I generally just slip into Aure's head and imagine having a conversation. I'll look around, and the first person I "see" gets a name. That name then will either change the character, or be changed to suit who I see more in my head.

Gimmel, for example, was going to be creepy from the get-go. I needed a creepy name, and I instantly thought back to VTM: Bloodlines. Stanley Gimble; the man who cut off his own arm on a whim so he could better understand how to make prosthetics. Right side of creepy, and it's just fun to say. Try it, go on. Gimble. Gimble. Gimble Gimble Gimble.

Gimble = Gimmel.

As for Aure.. the last name is based off of a Possessed Word Bearer in the 40k novels by Anthony Reynolds. The name always struck me as suitably daemonic, and offered a nice contrast with the slightly classy sounding Aurelianus. As for that, I like that name, but it was always too much of a mouthful, so I figured Aure would keep it short. Mainly because it's easier to pronounce when shit-faced drunk. And maybe it's just me, but the name Aurelius just has a nice subtle sting of sinister to it.

But, I've experimented a little with the different names he goes under in different nations. Some are names I've liked the look of and decided to apply. Others, I thought about the kind of work Aure would be carrying out under these aliases, and tried to pick something that would suit whatever image he's going for.

The name I'm most proud of is the moniker he uses for his Anarchist co-conspirators.

"A friend of Aran Sicht."

Aran Sicht is a name I came up with one night while trying to think of a decent alias for Aure's more revolutionary aspects. The name is, quite simply, an anagram of the word Anarchist.

[Tobias Stalt]

Tobias is a popular German name, and it fit well with the surname I chose, Stalt.

Stalt is derived from the word Gestalt, which means "an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts." I picked it because the character is more than what you get at face value. He is constantly changing, growing, and adapting in a world that is foreign to him in many ways.

Tobias does not sound German, however. His voice is tamed from the years he's been in Althanas, but his original accent is a subdued Arabic/Persian, due to his origin in Dehlos.

[Drumheller]

I have had characters that were crafted by their name, and characters that whose names were carfted by their personality. Drumheller is a case where both played a role, but to know that you would have to know what the name means.

But by knowing, you would understand a great deal about the character.

There are three techniques I use to name a thing, any thing. First I need to knowhat element does the thing, person, vehicle, object, is meant t do in the narrative. Once I have that, then I then construct a name around that, which partally tells what the thing is meant to do. By doing, I don't necessarily mean its typical purpose. A ship for instance can serve as a home, along with a means of carrying people about. I am as likely to combine languages as to stick to one, and I am as likely to use various languages as I am English.

[Hysteria]

What does Drumheller mean? I've been wanting to ask for a while.

In your ship example, what would you call a ship that is a home? Also, what would you call a ship that is made for war?

More general questions, does the phonetics of the word play a role?

My rarely used character Raksha was made on giveupalready.com originally. He was the strongest character in the forum, the Sei of that setting in many respects. While here he's no one, the original character had a lot more thought and back story. For him I used to name things in his original language. They were a subterranean species, with their names.being heavily focused on sharp sounds to imitate the sounds of rocks breaking or cracking. Raksha for example is pronounced somewhat like rack - sha. A rock cracking and then a rock sliding over another rock. Likewise his species was a Seeker in the common tongue but shi-ka in their pronunciation.

On that, you can apply general rules for male versus female names. Softer or longer names are female while short sharp are male. (Obviously there are exceptions.) Alyssa is female, Alexander male. Alexia female, Alexi male and so one. Can we use this to better tap into people's automatic concepts readers attach to characters?

As Aur said, sometimes you want a creepy sounding name.

(I'm just exploring the idea, I don't think there is a right and wrong answer :p )

[Drumheller]

Well I’ll answer the first question, although it will begiving some of my plans for Drum away. The name is based on, or a slight deravation of three differing words:

A Druemheler is a scout, whose purpose is to find and flush out ambushes.

A Hell Drum is a difficult birth or a infent who is difficult to raise for some reason or another, the term has also been applied to children whose parents find difficult to raise due to some deficiency in the child.

There is also a Sandscript term that translates to the same word that refers to an individual who fate has chosen to take on the pains of other. As part of the great scales of fate to balance the the good luck and joy that some people gain, there must be a certain number of people that encounter an equal amount of soorow and wo.

Now, for your questions about ships. I’ll give a few examples, and what elements I have in mind when I name them. For example let us say that I have a warship, whose Captain will be forced to make hard choices, ugly choices, that will change him and force him to make decisions that the reader might at first find repugnance, but after thinking about them might realize that they were necessary ones. If I wanted to go for a less arcaic tongue, I might call it the Aunzen Sha, or Tirpitz. While both names require the reader to have a historical understanding to fully grasp the context being utilized, and not have a knee jerk reaction with the second, if they don’t have said reaction and grasp the context of the names, it will serve to forshadow much. If I wanted to go for more of an arcaic feel, by this working with ships from a strictly non-earth setting and for a strictly fantasy world, like this one, but using the same general theme above then, I might call a ship Akkaba’s Lament, or Uakta árktus (thBorn of the crushing depths).

I’ll address this more and homely ships later.

[Ashla]

There's a character that'll get the name "Ayleth" pretty soon. Ayleth is a name I've liked for a while, it means "complete" and "powerful" from what I saw online. This character's coming out of a series of tragic events that are reshaping her... but her name's link to her story would not be what a lot of you might think.

[Medeia]

Medeia's name was inspired by the Colchis princess from the epic of Jason. (Grecian mythos) Also, it's a nod to a metal band of the same name.