Where do you find your names?

Warden-Yarn15

Warden-Yarn15

Really Really Experienced
As an opposite of a certain thread, I'm relatively curious as to where you, dear reader, find your names for characters - given that you're not the type of people who use generic names such as Dave, Steve, Dan, Mark, Harold, John, or goodness forbid, John Doe.

Personally, I have never been good with names, usually making up surnames back in the days which sound like bastardized versions of Polish surnames, or words that vaguely sound Polish.

Nowadays, however, I try to use the names of real world people that have some significance to their character, (such as an Arctic Captain named Sir John Porter based on Sir John Franklin, an Arctic Explorer,) or translate generic everyday names to a different language such as Anna into Ania (the Polish version) or Antoni Stanislaw (which, funny enough, when speaking to a Polish friend about it, are actually two first names).

Before I end this discussion, however meaningless you may perceive it, dear reader, I just want to say something. I would like to congratulate a politician in Namibia on winning councillorship for the Ompundja constituency.
 
@RicoLouis has some phenomenal resources located at https://chyoa.com/story/"Character-Creator".11175, part of which is a dictionary of names.
I also have a spreadsheet of names from Census lists of different countries that I dip into occasionally if I get stuck (you know if you're looking for names of visiting politicians from Namibia and draw a blank). I even went as far as to write a character generator macro at one point which gives me a person of whichever country I click on. So, at the click of a button I get names / backstory / hobbies / work / family, weighted by name popularity and giving me city /work /other demographic backgrounds in correct proportion to their size (so you get an office worker from New York a lot more than a hairdresser from a small island in the Pacific)
I never seem to use it though - usually its just what pops into my head. Its just the end result of some time I had on my hands a while ago.
Mostly I guess I use some names that have been in something I've read recently that I'll mix together or something like that.
I should be ashamed to say that I had a Chinese character that I wanted a name for, but I knew none. I did an online translate for the phrase I like your titties into pinyin and ended up with Xi Nai, so that was her name. No-one picked up on it though.
 
Warden-Yarn15 said:
Before I end this discussion, however meaningless you may perceive it, dear reader, I just want to say something. I would like to congratulate a politician in Namibia on winning councillorship for the Ompundja constituency.
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Yeah, I knew this. On the reverse, I bet whiskers would be outraged to know such a dark skinned fellow bears his name. I'd be hilarious to watch him be given the news.

Warden-Yarn15 said:
As an opposite of a certain thread, I'm relatively curious as to where you, dear reader, find your names for characters - given that you're not the type of people who use generic names such as Dave, Steve, Dan, Mark, Harold, John, or goodness forbid, John Doe.
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They are kinda generic, but not as much as you think. Harold wouldn't really strike me as common or generic for istance.
On the other hand, not every character can and should have such a unique(which often reads as 'odd') name I think.

I happen to look for common names by countries, that especially when the character comes from a place I don't know much about.

Sometimes I do it for countries I know better too, like my own even, just because I've found reading through names it's one of the best way to find the one that clicks with your character among many that you may not always remember there on the spot.

can_i_see_ur_tits_please_ said:
No-one picked up on it though.
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They never do.:(
 
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Probably the other thing to consider is either the age of the characters or the time period you're writing about. Names that may be considered passe or unimaginative now were probably in vogue 50 or 60 years ago, and if you go back further you get quite peculiar names by current standards creeping in. Ermintrude and Griselda anyone?
 
can_i_see_ur_tits_please_ said:
Probably the other thing to consider is either the age of the characters or the time period you're writing about. Names that may be considered passe or unimaginative now were probably in vogue 50 or 60 years ago, and if you go back further you get quite peculiar names by current standards creeping in. Ermintrude and Griselda anyone?
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You know, they say that J.K Rowling chose obsolete names for the names of her characters so that children with their names wouldn't get bullied.

But as the books and series got popular, people started naming their kids after characters from Harry Potter. I would've given a much more older example such as Pre versus Post-Norman English names, but frankly I have no idea what the English language was pre and post-Norman invasion.
 
The English have a history of getting themselves conquered. Before the Normans it was the Danes & Angles & Saxons, various vikings and the Romans.
Pre Norman (Anglo-Saxon) names? - Ethelred or Gawain spring to mind. I cant think of many that have survived through the centuries. Harold funnily enough, I think is one of them. Maybe Edward. This is going back a millennium though.
I havent met any Dobbies or Hagrids yet.
However I did meet a kid called Pocahontas once.
 
Would it not be setting dependent?

In a fantasy world, Miranda makes little sense, but it does in the "real" world.

That aside, you can also capitalize on Nominative Determinism, where if you're named after a profession, the more likely you're going to go into that field. Or your ancestor was one. Example, Mr. Cooper made barrels, Mr. Smith was a blacksmith, and Mr. Baker was... a patissiere.

Random Name Generators tend to be good enough when it comes to fantasy race names.

On the subject of the Scandinavian naming conventions, all I know is that it follows "Given name" "Father-son/dottir". Example, Ivar Ragnarsson or Helgi Ragnardottir.

Also, the name Phillip (of Macedon). That dates back to Ancient Greece, so some names are older that we thought.
 
Helen (of Troy)? and Paris too I suppose.
Some early biblical names are still in use. Noah, Daniel etc.
The Scandies still use Thor and I met a Heracles in Greece once.
There's plenty old names still on the go.

The Irish use O' for the equivalent to the Scandinavian son/dottir. and the Scots use Mac/Mc, though technically its a bit more tribal. About a county sized area would be full of people of the same surname as they're part of the same clan. The island of Lewis - historically full of McLeods, Glencoe - MacDonald etc.
 
I once found somewhere that Slavic names work in the "Rule of Vagina," basically meaning that slapping an A at the end of a name represents it being a female.

For example, what's the female version of Aleksander? Aleksandra; Daniel? Daniella; Svetlan? Svetlana, and so on, with seemingly pure female names such as Natasha or Dasha.

Now, I don't have a single drop of Slavic in me and I could be wrong, so don't quote me on this.

Thinking about this, however, it does make me realize that, while most, if not all, British names can be given to American characters, not all American names can be given to British characters due to the mismash of culture the US has... also don't quote me on that. Not unless you intend to name your child some kind of Bond girl such as Pussy Galore, Octopussy, or Holly Goodhead.

Furthermore on the British name part, the affix of Fitz- usually denoted a child outside of marriage. Something like Henry Fitzroy (meaning Son of the King), Fitzclarence (Bastard Son of Clarence), James Fitzjames (a bad pun), and a few others.

Strangely, it seems like Fitzpatrick, an Irish name, is less of an insult and more of a confession that they're a devotee of St. Patrick. Though that's poorly researched on my part.
 
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Warden-Yarn15 said:
Thinking about this, however, it does make me realize that, while most, if not all, British names can be given to American characters, not all American names can be given to British characters due to the mismash of culture the US has... also don't quote me on that. Not unless you intend to name your child some kind of Bond girl such as Pussy Galore, Octopussy, or Holly Goodhead.
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Jack Worth has a completely different look and feel to Jack Worthington.

Also, I realize the opportunity lost with Octopussy, when I came up with one of the potential paths for my now finished story.

Oh well.
 
Another lazy name trick I've gone for is giving people surnames that are actually placenames from the country they came from. e.g. The last time I used a French character their surname was Carcasonne. Seems to work ok for most countries, If you want a Colombian, pull up a map and you've got Mrs Manizales.

Greeks - male names end in the letter s. Females end in a vowel.
 
can_i_see_ur_tits_please_ said:
Another lazy name trick I've gone for is giving people surnames that are actually placenames from the country they came from. e.g. The last time I used a French character their surname was Carcasonne. Seems to work ok for most countries, If you want a Colombian, pull up a map and you've got Mrs Manizales.

Greeks - male names end in the letter s. Females end in a vowel.
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Spanish and Filipino names, from what I've seen, seem to like using place names as well, especially cities. Probably racist, but I'd say giving a Spanish/Portuguese/Iberian-influenced character a city for a surname's an easy and surefire way to tell your audience that they're connected by the Iberians somehow.

I'd quote more people, but all I can think of for now is Danny Barcelona, of Louis Armstrong fame. Other than potentially Seville, of Barber of Seville fame.

Simon Bolivar is an exception of this, as they named Bolivia after him, but who cares about that.
 
You seem to know Northern/middle European particularly well. Would a German with a surname of Hamburg or Hanover for instance not work? or aPole with Lodz?

Not meaning that there are actual people with the surname, but if I came up with a Spanish character called Sergio Cadiz I think it would probably sound plausible enough unless some actual Spanish people flagged it.
 
can_i_see_ur_tits_please_ said:
Would a German with a surname of Hamburg or Hanover for instance not work? or aPole with Lodz?
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Most probably reserved royalty, or the equivalent of a knight in British. Such as names like August von Mackensen, who was not from a Prussian Royal Family but was awarded such for his military endeavors, in contrast to Otto von Bismarck of the House of Bismarck, or Paul von Hindenburg of minor Prussian royalty in them, or even the von Richtofens (plural) which were of actual prominent Prussian descent funny enough.

So yes, I'd say, even without a drop of European in me, having a surname of Hamburg, Hanover, Berlin (however unlikely), Rhine, or anything, does make sense, if they are of impressive stature, or from a Prussian Royal family. So, Alex von Dresden, or Hans von Cologne, I believe, does make sense.

can_i_see_ur_tits_please_ said:
You seem to know Northern/middle European particularly well.
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While I appreciate the compliment, I'm half-bullshitting, even as I write this. Most of what I know is observation, not research.

Expect me to improperly use the terms His/Her Majesty, Prince of Wales, Duke of Wales, Duke of Ireland, Duke of Scotland, Archbishop of Somewhere, or whatever else one of these days.
 
I name characters based on the context, so it changes between stories.

In Darkest Challenges, none of the characters were named. You could say this was a stylistic choice. That was intended to be a game more than a story, so it seemed appropriate that non-player characters would come off as simple devices rather than people with deep personalities. I'm not sure it was entirely deliberate to begin with, though. It might just have never come up.

In The Lord's Companion, the names are made up - and, I will admit, often silly. Human names are somewhat phonetically harsh, and I try to make them simpler than names of other cultures. Elven names use 'L', 'F' and 'D' and are more pleasant to hear, but they use more sounds in one syllable; I'm sure there's a more elegant way to express that idea in proper linguistic terminology. I haven't quite decided on naming schemes for other peoples (e.g. those in the West) but I can imagine something that uses silent letters to greater effect. In general, I like the idea of names that evoke some vague sense of onomatopoiea about how I want to present the character: 'Eluin' sounds like a harp being plucked; 'Ravil' soumds like the self-important growl of a cat-like creature; 'Rosten' sounds like boots trudging through a pile of wet leaves in the transition from autumn to winter. Those examples are hyperbolic, but I find the imagery, or rather, audial analogy, inspiring if nothing else.

In that one Halloween story I started, the exact name of which I forget, the characters are named based on what I thought would be least remarkable. Not notably generic, not jarringly unusual, and not overtly unique. They simply weren't important to the story.
 
You clearly have a great feel for the story InsertNameHere. Pretty sure if I was writing in that genre I would have lifted half my characters from the Icelandic Edda after a chapter or two due to laziness (or equivalent in other areas, maybe something from the Ulster cycle for the west)

@Warden - I know what you mean about bulshitting.
I'm trying to write a longer non-erotic story and having to get it right is ridiculous complicated if you cant just bullshit.

eg. there's some crime, (need to research all about gangs and police ranks and procedures, particularly who takes charge and does what at a crime scene), a hospital scene (ditto for people in hospitals), a political side (ditto for politics). A few people with mental illness (ditto for mental health services). Academics (ditto for university life)
There's actually one sex scene - that was almost the only thing I've been able to just sit down and write.
It'll take years!
 
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