It's Not Just a Name: Naming Your Characters
- Kristie Snow
- Aug 19, 2017
- 3 min read
I'll admit, I'm not one of those writers who particularly enjoy naming my characters. For Cantamen, I literally found a name generator online for regal-sounding (even though none of my characters are royalty) first AND last names, and almost all of my characters were named using that. Abby and Rhiannon are the exception. I always wanted to name my daughter Abriella (Abby for short) but my husband won't hear of it, so I named my first main character that instead. Rhiannon is an ode to Stevie Nicks. I just couldn't help myself there.
I don't feel, and I have never felt, that your characters' names are required to reflect some part of their personality or story. In my opinion, it plays too obviously into the story. Take the Harry Potter series, for example. You've got your good guys; Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Fred and George, Ginny. Your bad guys? Lucius and Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape (I know he ends up being a good guy, but when you're first introduced to him you don't know that), Bellatrix Lestrange, Millicent Bulstrode, Rodolphus, Jugson, Dolohov, Mulciber...their names all sound pretty darn evil.
Obviously, J.K. Rowling isn't the only author to do this - it's a whole trope.
Me, I don't do any of that stuff. At least not intentionally. My entire plan was to use a name generator every time a new character popped up, refresh until I liked one, and go with it. For the most part, it worked really well. I did encounter a few things, though, that I hadn't really considered before. I only noticed them when my editor pointed them out to me.
1. You can't name a wizard Harry anymore. One of the witches in Cantamen was named Harry. I intended for him to be a minor character, but his part in the story has grown a good deal in the second draft. I realized just yesterday that I can't have a major magical character named Harry. I can't do it. It's already impossible to write about wizards/witches without being called a Harry Potter rip-off, but to literally name a character Harry? That's just wrong.
2. Don't give your characters names that rhyme. I have a major character named Ophelia. In my second draft I added a character named Amelia. I didn't realize they rhymed until, again, my editor pointed it out. I changed her name to Molly, and then it rhymed with Raleigh, another character. I was irritated to say the least.
3. Why do all my character names start with A? Abby, Alexander, Anna, Adelaide, Aimee, Aaron. I don't know what subconscious process in my mind led to this, but they all (except for Abby) got renamed. Then I had Rhiannon, Rachel, Reagan, and Rich. It was wild.
4. Don't name your characters after people you know. I didn't make this mistake, but it did pose an obstacle to me in the name of my characters. If the name brought back memories of someone I knew personally, I tossed it. I can't use Sabrina, Jennifer, Jessica, or Jillian because they're my sisters. I can't use Brian, Jason, or Matthew because they're my brother or brothers-in-law. Katie and Rebecca were my best friends in high school, Kathleen and Leslie are in my local writing group, and anything similar to my own name (Christine, Kristin, Kristina, Krissy, Christa...) is going to be seen as self-indulgent. I also can't name any characters after ex-boyfriends or it might cause my husband to lift an eyebrow. And can you imagine if I wrote about a mean girl named Jessica or a dumb brute named Jason? That's just asking for a food fight at the next family reunion. (Also, why does my family like the letter J so much? We aren't the Duggars.)
5. Say first and last names out loud together. Just do it. It might stop you from accidentally having a Jade Greene or an Aaron Baron or a Poppy Eaton.
Let's discuss. Drop some of your tips for naming characters or mistakes you've made in the comments below. Admit it, we've all done some funny stuff in our writing!
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