Naming Nightmares

~Athena~ · Jan 2, 2012

I decided I needed to change one of my main characters names because it didn't suit his culture or personality at all.
The stories based in a fantasy realm and his kingdom is very much based on 12th/13th century England (original right?

) . I wanted to choose a name from an English prince but my friend strongly went against it saying I can't use normal names in fantasy books.
I disagree but I don't know whether that's because I hate naming people and I find that any "makey-up" names I create are absolutely awful and sound very amateur or because I feel like I'm cheating the character if I give him some random backwards spelling of tree or something.

Basically what I'm trying to ask is if it all right to use a mix of normal names like William/ Arthur/ Alexander etc. in one kingdom and have ones taken from another culture - welsh or Irish for example in another or is it as my friend says a taboo and just not done?

Edit:
I'm constantly reading fantasy books but usually they have great made up names; it's just not my forte.

lbender · Jan 2, 2012

Use whatever you want. If you decide it doesn't work and you want to change it later, you can always do it with a few keystrokes. Write the piece first. Worry about the names later. As a bonus, it may be the perfect name or names will come to you somewhere between 60,000 and 80,000 words.

jjdebenedictis · Jan 2, 2012

It's not taboo; nothing is taboo in fiction. Go ahead and use real names. If you want to make it seem a bit more exotic, then change the spelling a little.

alleycat · Jan 2, 2012

Is it a fantasy like Harry Potter (and you can't get much more ordinary than that name), or more of a Middle Earth/LOTR type of fantasy? In the first example real names are appropriate; while in the second, made-up names are probably better.

amergina · Jan 2, 2012

You can use normal names in a fantasy. Even one set on another world. If you're using a particular culture or time as the basis for the setting, it's absolutely fine to use the names and naming practices of that time for your novel.

Grunkins · Jan 2, 2012

The MC of my current fantasy WIP is named Ben.

LadyDae · Jan 2, 2012

You'll sometimes find that some fantasy writers didn't make up the names in their novels. They just used names that went out of style a thousand years ago. Lol.

So what? Making up names isn't your forte. Then don't try to hard. Even when you make up names, you'll be amazed by how many different people have that name unless you're extraordinarily creative.

My advice, don't worry about how weird or normal the name sounds. Use a name that fits the character. At the end of the day or when that book is published, you're going to have to be the one satisfied with that name. So pick one you like.

Nissie · Jan 2, 2012

You have to use the name that suits your character regardless of what kind of fantasy series it is, I think. A lot of authors have used a mix of 'normal' and fantasy names in just one series.

Raymond Feist - Arutha and Milamber; Jimmy the Hand, Princess Anita
George Martin - Cersei, Tyrion, Asha, etc.; Jamie, Jon, Robert

Or some can be normal names, but with creative spellings to make them sound more fantastical (like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time characters - Elayne, Mat, Logain)

FOTSGreg · Jan 2, 2012

Are you aware of how far back in our own history certain names and how wide spread certain naming conventions go?

Abraham, Noah, Adam, Ruth, Rachel, Eve, Mark, Matthew, Isaac, Mary, etc., etc., etc. just for western society alone.

Use what you want and tell your friend "It's my story and I'll name my characters as I darned well please."

Usually, my characters tell me their names. If I tried to rename one of them they would object strenuously and I'd probably lose them.

Yes, my characters speak to me. Yours should speak to you and through you as well.

L.C. Blackwell · Jan 2, 2012

I get really, really tired of "Aerial Cloudchaser" and the like, repeated in fantasy works until originality dies a slow, horrid death.

Please, give me a plain name I can pronounce. I need you to make me like your character, not to impress me with your cleverness in naming him.

FrankiiGii · Jan 2, 2012

I think normal names are great. If you want more options, try picking a quality you want your character to have then Google "names that mean..." and the quality and it'll give you all sorts of good stuff. Here's a cool site http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/eng13/eng13m.html

Saint09 · Jan 3, 2012

Yeah, I'm starting to like normal-ish names more and more in fantasy. With all the outlandish names in fantasy, it's almost original to use something a bit more normal. I use a mixture of both, but they are ALWAYS phonetic and readable (as possible anyway). If it takes someone 10 minutes to dissect a name, or if they have to result to Google to find out how to pronounce it...that's a problem. Whenever I I come across Aynishaelahvre-whatever type name, I just roll my eyes and name call them Bob for the rest of the book.

But yes, you certainly can use a mix. I do. In every single one of my projects. I have Kade and Tessa and Alina...then Harold.. I have original last name...then Sterling pops up. It's fine. I can almost guarantee that a reader would much rather be able to pronounce a normal name than struggle with it. I've read all the Wheel of Time books, and I still can't pronounce "Nynaeve". My mind keeps wanting to call her "Naive" every time.

Here's a neat little tip: Go to any sports teams website (preferable football since they have the largest rosters), and view their "Rosters". Lots of players with unique first and last names. Start combining them, mixing matching, taking off some letters, take half of one name and put it with another. Find something that sounds good, then tweak the spelling, but keep it the same phonetically. Most of the time though, there's plenty creative and good names just as they are. For fantasy, last names on these rosters make VERY good first names.

Buffysquirrel · Jan 3, 2012

I have read Fantasy where everything was exotic but the characters were called George and Sue. It threw me somewhat.

I would say, aim for consistency. If you have castles and horses and shields and lions, George and Sue might fit in. If you have Fordrams and meebles and hardglances and bepo cats, not so much.

jaksen · Jan 3, 2012

FOTSGreg said:
Usually, my characters tell me their names. If I tried to rename one of them they would object strenuously and I'd probably lose them.

Yes, my characters speak to me. Yours should speak to you and through you as well.

Yes, I agree ^^. They walk on scene and more or less say, Hi, I'm Audrey. (And I might think wth? I hate that name.)

But that's their name and once it sticks to them, it stays. I once tried renaming some characters, changing them from common to less common and they threw a riot and refused to work until I changed them back.

LadyA · Jan 3, 2012

Something incredibly ordinary but old fashioned like William or George (George and the Dragon springs to mind, good if your character is a hero) might actually stand out in a good way, if it's a fantasy set in medieval times, or even a way-out fantasy.
Or something that's fantasy-ish but easy to get your head around like Ender from Ender's Game.

Anything but a name that people can't pronounce and that looks totally weird, like Ts'ghdeegddff or Esfdoiimgud-Lkjdfgljes

Stijn Hommes · Jan 3, 2012

~Athena~ said:
I wanted to choose a name from an English prince but my friend strongly went against it saying I can't use normal names in fantasy books.

And where did your friend get that "wisdom" from? That rule is utter bullocks. (Please pardon my language.)

You can name them whatever you like. Although a prince called T'Ealc in 13th century England sounds a bit weird. Whatever you choose, make sure it fits your created world.

Layla Nahar · Jan 3, 2012

I almost never fret about names, 'cept that the story I'm working now, almost every name that comes to me either begins with a 'P' or has the letter 'k' in it somewhere. Gets monotonous after a while...

Cosmic · Jan 3, 2012

LadyDae said:
You'll sometimes find that some fantasy writers didn't make up the names in their novels. They just used names that went out of style a thousand years ago. Lol.

I laughed... because I just finished a fantasy and named one of my minor characters (who spent the story being dead) 'Horus'....

Here's another quick fix for finding a nice fantasy-ish name: I got a little pocket Latin Dictionary. You can browse through and find certain words that aren't impossible to pronounce but still contain meanings. Mix, match, and modify.
Example- "Tyrus" is the name of an old seaport. Maybe you want to throw in something to make it sound a little more 'normal'... you could change it to something like 'Tirus', 'Tyrem', 'Tilas', etc etc.

FOTSGreg · Jan 3, 2012

And remember, you've got a handy little tool called the telephone book.

Open it to a random page and place your finger on a first name. That's a character's first name. Repeat the process, but this time place your finger on a last name.

It helps immensely when you're stuck for a name. It can also help for worlds where there's more of a racial mix if you use American or British telephone books. You'll get names from virtually every part of this planet, some of them quite exotic sounding, but nearly all of them reasonably pronounceable (exception might be certain African language groups with a pronounced glottal stop, but you can phoneticize those).

kuwisdelu · Jan 3, 2012

If all else fails, use the names of random world cities for given names, and words for different fruits in various foreign languages for family names.

Meet my protagonist, Budapest Ringo.

MrRuff · Jan 4, 2012

I would buy dull old English names in a book based in a 12/13th century England-esque place much more than a made up name. Those names DID exist then, so it seems more believable. But that could just be me. Personally, I started writing a fantasy parody where everyone has great made up names except the main character, Phil.

Sirion · Jan 4, 2012

~Athena~ said:
but my friend strongly went against it saying I can't use normal names in fantasy books.

Completely false.

If you use made up names try to give them as much consistency as possible, and don't use names with a dozen syllables ("Kl'tobil Von Vanderbuilt").

And remember, apostrophes are the enemy.

jjdebenedictis · Jan 4, 2012

Another option is to go on Blogger, find a blog that has random word verification turned on for the comments section, then sit there and hit reload. Sooner or later, the random word verification will turn up something that makes a good fantasy name.

You will, however, be blowing up the blog's hit counter numbers.

StaceyJaine · Jan 6, 2012

It depends on the genre for me.

In the past, while writing a historical romance I used names like Rose, Bridget, Frances, Niall, Thomas and Charles.

While in more contemporary fantasy, I used names like... Deirdra, Aric, Sybilla and Dagon.

Take a look at the genre and time period... like others have said and use it to your advantage... if you are writing in a made up fantasy world, what have you based your fantasy world off... look to it for ideas.

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