Favorite Overused Names?

[Allie]

While I was editing my novel, I found that I had accidentely named three different characters in the book John. Granted, one was just in one scene, the other was in three scenes and the last was maybe in five scenes. It's was like John popcorn. Has this happened to anyone else?

You think I could have been a bit more creative than John... Any other favorite overused names?

[CaroGirl]

I'd have to say no to this one. Names are pretty meaningful in my work, and I pay a lot of attention to them when I choose them. I know it's not always important to most people, but it's one of the things that's fairly important to me.

Be creative. Kick all those Johns to the curb, dig out a good baby names book, and pepper your prose with Alejandros, Xaviers, and Maximillians.

[Pisarz]

I also take into consideration names that are popular for a given generation. For example, Gens X and Y have a lot more Jennifers and Jessicas than the Baby Boomers, who tend to have more Lindas and Nancys than Gen X-ers, etc.

[Jack_Roberts]

Why do I love the letter R so much? I don’t, but you wouldn’t know it from book 2 of Night Children, my WIP.
Roland is my main character. He’s with these pirates. The captain is Reginald and the tough girl pirate is Rachael.

Sigh.

[Soccer Mom]

I just love the name Hepzebah. Feel free to use it in your writing.

[cree]

While I was editing my novel, I found that I had accidentely named three different characters in the book John.

You think I could have been a bit more creative than John... Any other favorite overused names?

Only the fact that 78% of my family members are named John and Mary. Makes family reunions chaos. Talk about un-creative. :)

[stormie]

Looking back over my short stories and novels (pubbed or not), these are the names I use the most:

Jennette (For some reason, I like spelling it that way, too)
Kristen
Lisa
David
Julie

I really, really, have to be more creative in the names department!

[RedMolly]

There are too many Jacks in the literary world, both in my own and others' stories.

I bought a great baby name book, called "A World of Baby Names." It has names sorted by ethnicity/culture of origin... a few Broders (Scan.) and Tavis (Jewish/Hebrew) go a long way toward spicing up a world of Susans and Maxes. (And Tavi's just a cool name anyway.)

[CaroGirl]

Looking back over my short stories and novels (pubbed or not), these are the names I use the most:

Jennette (For some reason, I like spelling it that way, too)
Kristen
Lisa
David
Julie

I really, really, have to be more creative in the names department!
That's an interesting idea, stormie. Over the past few shorts, plus my WIP, I've used the following names: Madeleine, Calista, Zubaida, Mitchell, Jayson, Linda, Oliver, Curtis, Stella, Elise, Mort and Darcy.

[wordmonkey]

Like RedMolly, I have sworn to never use Jack in anything I write.

However, I tend to use real words, often in foreign languages, as sirnames for my characters. I carefully pick names that offer clues to the character so once I find the right word I go with a first name that works with that.

[RG570]

I don't mind using boring names, because most people actually have boring names.

I mean, I don't remember ever picking up a book, then tossing it in the trash because it had realistic names in it. It's only bad if it's applied to a cardboard character, but then no five dollar name is going to save a boring character.

[Allie]

[quote=RG570]I don't mind using boring names, because most people actually have boring names. [quote]

Yes, in fact, I there are so many Johns, and Michaels in the world that if a story didn't have one of each, would it reflect reality? Now granted three in one story is bit much, but that was an with accident in periferal characters. Kind of like a bike accident, just a couple of skinned knees, nothing serious.

[FennelGiraffe]

I like the rule of no two names beginning with the same letter, although I think it's sometimes OK if one is male and the other female, and they aren't too similar. For example, I might use Joe and Jennifer together, but not Daisy and Dusty. Of course, if name confusion is a plot point, then do whatever you need to to make it work.

I think varying the syllable count is a good idea, too. You don't want a whole book full of single-syllable names, or a whole book full of three-syllable names, either.

Beyond those considerations, I think staying true to the setting is more important than worrying about whether the names are boring.

[Maprilynne]

I find that I have a zillion names with the same ending. en (or an, or in) for males and a for females. I didn't think it was a big deal till I started listing them for my husband the other day.

Brinda, Sabra, Henna, Betta, Marya, Jelta, Sira, Calla, Yanah, Tasna, Rala, Graetta, and Shavah

For guys: Ferren, Gambrin, Brevan, Madden, Caillen, Damyon, She'em, Jeram and Wendon.

It's a book with a ton of characters, and I don't think the casual reader would notice. But I've been reading it out loud and had to stop when I hit a sentence with She'em, Jeram, and Ferren in it. *D'oh!*

Maprilynne

[HorrorWriter]

I use various names from all sources. My actual name is NOT common at all. As a matter-of-fact I googled it and found only 1 other person with my name, and it was spelled exactly like mine. That was the only one I found though. I tend to have great meaning in my names. My completed manuscript involves some exotic names, all with special meanings.:e2BIC:

[Stormhawk]

Here's a trick I use: I have a baby-name book (even though the cover had fallen off) with lots of strange names in it, I merely flip it and point to a name - if it's the right gender, I'll probably use it.

However, this is only for more minor characters, for major ones, I usually have reasons for naming them, or people they're named after.

[JoeEkaitis]

"You gonna call him 'John'? Every Tom, Dick and Harry is called 'John'!"

--attributed to Samuel Goldwyn

[KimJo]

I don't reuse the same names, but I tend to use almost excruciatingly similar names. In one novel, I had a character named Callie and another named Carla, and was constantly mixing them up. (I ended up changing Carla to Laura.) I now have two characters who are brothers; one is Matthew and the other Mark. (They came from a very Christian family, and all the kids have biblical names.) I'm constantly mixing them up. I think I'll have to change Mark to something else...

[Bartholomew]

Like RedMolly, I have sworn to never use Jack in anything I write.

However, I tend to use real words, often in foreign languages, as sirnames for my characters. I carefully pick names that offer clues to the character so once I find the right word I go with a first name that works with that.

Mr. Daniels influences a great deal of modern writing.

We just like to pay our respects.

(Has anyone here ever met a 'Jack'...?)

[scribbler1382]

Frank and Sam have been prevalent in my stories for years. No idea why. I don't know anyone named Frank (never have) and the only Sam I know is my cousin Samantha. Once you get 50 or 60 stories under your belt, the common threads that run through them all can be downright scary!

[wordmonkey]

(Has anyone here ever met a 'Jack'...?)

I actually have an Uncle Jack.

[Serenity]

My cousin's son's name is Jack Gabriel. Never anything *but* Jack. My grandfather's name on his birth certificate was John, but he frequently went by 'Jack'.

Go figure.

[ChaosTitan]

I'm with CaroGirl on this one. There are a few names that I love and have reused in fanfic or in RPG's, but for my novels, the names become intertwined with the character. It would be extremely difficult to reuse certain names.

[maddythemad]

(Has anyone here ever met a 'Jack'...?)

Yeah, one of my dad's good friends is named Jack. He's like 60, though. I think it's a bit of an old-fashioned name.

Anyway, I never re-use names for later stories, because once I assign a certain character a name, it's stuck with them for life, and I could never use it for a different character.

Also, you can usually date my stories by the character names. When I was really little (seven or so) all my characters had very odd-sounding names like "Tilishlana" and "Carieva." About a year ago I was fond of old, old names like "Evadne" and "Chauncey" (still love those names, actually) and now I tend to name my (hot) main guys things that end in -er. Decker, Tucker, and Chaser are current favorites, despite the fact that my father constantly reminds me that Chaser sounds like a skirt-chaser or an alcoholic drink.

[Serenity]

My names range from normal: Matt, to somewhat exotic: Morrigan. I like different names. But I do choose names 99.9% of the time based on some characteristic of the character I'm writing. I love http://www.20000-names.com/. I will pick a country and search either the male or female names until one catches my attention. It's normally the one I end up using.

Although I confess to having an affinity for 'k' sounding names. I've used: Caelan (pronounced Kee-lyn), Kyra, Kara, Kisa, Kayla, Kyla, Kyle... you get the hint. But I will say that except for one occasion I've never used them in the same story.

[Ad Astra]

Since many of my stories take place in Japan, it's hard to reuse a name once you've come up with one, since there are so many things you can name somebody.

[Oddsocks]

This has only happened to me once thus far. Which is kind of annoying, because I mostly make names up, since these are fictional worlds I'm dealing with. But, I did realise at one point I had a character called Kreigan in one story and an entire family with Kreigan as their last name in another - most troubling.

I think the family got to keep it.

[stormie]

Come to think of it, I've never actually met a Jack.

I've noticed in my area, Jack is becoming more common for baby boys. One even named her baby Jack Daniel. (Guess I know what they like to drink.)

When I taught, I had a boy whose name was Jack, and his younger brother's name was John. Go figure on that one!

As for names, I've noticed that famous authors like Mary Higgins Clark many times use names that aren't what I call "run of the mill."

[imagoodgurl4]

I have a cousin named John, but he goes by Jack. I have a friend named Jack. I have a brother named Michael and a friend named Michael.

I choose pretty normal names for my characters, unless there's a reason for them to have exotic sounding names. They're not necessarily overused names, I guess. Usually I like to take a normal name and spell it differently....I think it's because my name isn't spelled in the traditional way.

[Ol' Fashioned Girl]

I'm partial to the name 'Carol', which I've used several times along with its 'Carolyn' and a fanciful futuristic spelling of 'Karal'.

Here's a good site for the history of names:

http://www.behindthename.com/

[expatbrat]

Fast cars are always red and heros names are Jack.

[expatbrat]

When I taught, I had a boy whose name was Jack, and his younger brother's name was John. Go figure on that one!


I teach two brothers: one is Em and is brother is Ben. Doesn't seem fair the youngest gets the "normal" name.

There are some great names here in Thailand. You many not know this but Porn is a common name and I have my suspicions it could be where the name for sex-movies came from. Wow is a very common name; it is the name of our maid and it is cool getting home and saying “wow Wow’s been.”

The Thai’s sometimes give western names to their kids but they don’t understand that in our culture some names are reserved for just boys and others are girls names.

Some good names of people we know (I swear I am not making these up): Benjamin Porn – Female, Analrim – Male, Shagaporn – Male, Pissaporn – M, Big – M, Bamm – F, Tom – F, Gay – M.

[Allie]

Anyway, I never re-use names for later stories, because once I assign a certain character a name, it's stuck with them for life, and I could never use it for a different character.

Does that apply to the minor characters? All the Johns in my novel were so insignificant to the story as a whole they didn't even have descriptions.

[Inkdaub]

I tend to pick favorite letters instead of names. I'll decide that F is my favorite letter and then I'll write about Frank and Francine and Fred and Fabricio and their trip to Fatima where they bought some Furniture and recovered a stolen Faberge egg before returning to Flagstaff via Frankfurt.

[maddythemad]

Yeah, it usually applies to even the minor characters. I may forget who the hell they were, but I never forget their name.

[seun]

(Has anyone here ever met a 'Jack'...?)


Jack Bauer? OK, so he's not real, but the world would be a safer place if he was.

In one of my books, I had a Jon(ny) as well as a John. I didn't pick up on it till the rewrite but left it as it was because the John was only called by his first name once and his surname does a lot for the story.

[brendao]

I use the phone book to help me with names, both first and last. Don't know what I'd do without it. I also stay away from character names starting with the same first letter and I try to vary the syllable counts. Other than that, I go for recognizable but not commonplace names.

[Nyna]

When I'm just brainstorming ideas and half-baked plots, all my heroes are called Jack. I don't actually have any idea what's up with that, and I didn't realize I was doing it until one day, a while back, I found a jotted down story note about Jack and couldn't place which Jack I was talking about. Jack the cop? Jack the vampire? Jack-short-for-Jackyln? Uncle Jack? I now go back and replace the name if I decide it's something I actually want to write, but naming people gives me headaches, so I don't stress it until it actually matters. (And I don't think I ever have actually met someone named Jack. I do know a lot of Bob's, though.)

[kristie911]

I use the phone book to help me with names, both first and last. Don't know what I'd do without it.

I love the phone book for surnames! I usually don't seem to have a problem with first names...the characters just come with them. I've never struggled to come up with a characters first name but the last name usually seems to elude me.

My names are usually fairly common, I don't try to get too creative with them because I've struggled through (or given up on) too many books because I hated the names or they were so strange they interrupted the flow of the book.

[civilian chic]

I have never met a Jack, either; maybe they all the Jacks in the world are fiction characters...?

My favorite names currently are Madeline and Obadiah. Obadiah, the overbearing father. I love him for his name.

Still, there are so many names in the world, I can't bring myself to use Mary or John. "Fiction" covers a multitude of sins, including worse sins than a world populated by interestingly-named people.

However, I often am frustrated when reading fantasy by names that require a linguistics degree to pronounce them. There's creative, and there's creeaytiv.

[Serenity]

I now go back and replace the name if I decide it's something I actually want to write, but naming people gives me headaches, so I don't stress it until it actually matters. (And I don't think I ever have actually met someone named Jack. I do know a lot of Bob's, though.)

I don't think I could write until I've named my characters, even when just plotting. But that's just me, and the way I come up with my characters. I name them, cast them and do a short bio on the main characters. But, then again, naming people doesn't give me the headache that it does for you. ;)

And you know? I think I'll get permission from my cousin to post a picture of his son, whose name is Jack. Not Jackson, or John, or any other derivitive-- simply 'Jack'. That way all of you can say that you've 'met' someone named Jack! :D

[Oddsocks]

I knew a Jack. I've never had a compulsion to call a character that, though. Maybe you're all suffering from a lack of Jack or something.

I don't think I could write until I've named my characters, even when just plotting.

Me too - I find un-named characters quite stressful when I'm planning a story.

[The_Merf]

I've dreamed up hundreds and hundreds of characters...no Jacks.

However, I'm very big on the 'M' names. I have to make myself put the name "Marcus" away--I have two very prominent characters who share that name (they are each in separate books). Two best friends in one book are Miriam and Miranda.

Sigh.

[IThinkICan29]

I love ethnic names. I'm always on African, Jewish, Italian, German.....etc websites looking at surnames/common names and what not. I usually change the spellings or combine names for my characters. I also take average everyday names like "John" (Jon/Jaun) and play with the spelling.

[Ardellis]

I work at a large university that has a sizable international student population, so I see lots of ethnically diverse names. I keep a small notebook in my desk, and when I see a name that resonates with me, I write it down. When I'm writing fantasy, I often use surnames that I've collected for characters' given names, sometimes with a little tweak.

I've never named a character Jack, but I do have a John in one of my stories. He's a secondary character, though. My MC in that one is his best friend, Byron.

[aadams73]

The hero in my WIP is named Jack. I may change it to Sam, but he's been Jack for so long now that I can't get used to a different name.

[Warp]

In my WIP, my MC's little brother is named Jack. It just really suited him. My MC is Felix, I'm not sure how common that is.

In a YA fantasy trilogy I'm also working on my MC (who is a warlock) is named Lockthorne and his dad was Stonethrasher. I like putting words together to make up names, and I thought Lock would be a cool name. Everyone else in the book has somewhat normal names, although they vary by region. One country is very similar to France so everyone there has a French name, while in another country everyone has Greek names. However, when I was editing it I found three Simons and had to change two of them.

I think the names depend on the story I'm trying to tell. Sometimes normal names work really well, while other times I like unusual names. Whatever works ^_^

[vmtwriter]

My dog's name is Jack, does that count?

I have an affinity for the name Sara, or Sarah. I find I always want to name the best friend in my books, Sarah.

I also use the phone book to find last names. Especially for people around where I live, since my books take place here.

[Bartholomew]

My dog's name is Jack, does that count?


Only if he's a Jack Russel Terrier.

[expatbrat]

I teach at a school and there is a Jack in every class in every year. It is becoming pretty popular these days.

I like the name Jack and have it on the list of possible choices for our baby. My favourite name for bubs is Tiger James but hubs is worried we'll outgrow that when we leave Thailand. I'm not so sure - I reckon Tiger James is a fantastic name.

[NTG]

Thinking up, or even inventing, your own names has its advantages. On the other hand, researching your material has its own advantages. Some excellent sources, as pointed out above, include phone books and baby name books. You can also use a high school yearbook, but be careful with this one: you don't want a character name that can actually be identified with a specific person in your own mind or by your friends.
Another excellent source for browsing for names is a statistical record of actual baby names by year. It can be found at:

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/babynames/

Note that if you scroll down you can choose a specific birth year and can list up to 1000 names. With this you can add a touch of realism to your story by using names that were actually popular in a given year, meaning that you can choose names more realistic for characters of a given age. Do you have friends named Susan or Debbie? Chances are those friends have grandchildren who are in school now, and none of their classmates are named Susan or Debbie.

Nathanael

[Ardellis]

You can also use a high school yearbook, but be careful with this one: you don't want a character name that can actually be identified with a specific person in your own mind or by your friends.

I sort of did this once. I started a fantasy novel right after college (not really abandoned now, just on hiatus until after the current WIP is done), in which the main antagonist's name was the last name of a girl I knew in high school -- not a friend, just someone I'd had a few classes with. The character is male and middle aged and nothing like her in personality. The sound of the name just fit him, and the culture he comes from.

When we saw each other at our high school reunion, I told her about how I was using her name, and she thought it was cool and made me promise to send her a copy if it ever got published. It was probably the longest conversation we'd ever had.

[WestofMars]

My son had a Jack in his class last year. Nice kid.

I like J names, for some odd reason, in my fiction. All of my hamsters, when I was a kid, started with the letter S, and my cats are all Cs.

Go figure.

[jpserra]

John!

JPS

[Tienci]

The following have popped up in my writings at least twice:

Michael, Nicholas, Linda, Sara.

[Beautiful_Liar]

In short stories - I have never attempted at writing a ful novel yet - I tend to like simple names, like Bobby or Tony or Kevin.
I know if names I'm reading are hard to pronounce I kind of skip over it.

[Lyra Jean]

Mr. Daniels influences a great deal of modern writing.

We just like to pay our respects.

(Has anyone here ever met a 'Jack'...?)

My maternal grandfather's name was Jack. He was born in 1915. RIP.

[Lyra Jean]

For awhile I was naming all my male MCs Harold. I don't even know why.

[Stunted]

I once had a character named Katherine spelled three ways. That was just a dumb short story I wrote for school, though.

[brainstorm77]

I've been seeing alot of Kate's

[J C Coy]

The most common names I've used are Alex, Michael and Daniel. I usually go for something more unusual.

[donroc]

The wonderful advantage writing HF offers is the availability of names no longer or little used today in English speaking countries. For contemporary works, referring to characters by last names can help eliminate overuse of common first names.

[Haphazard]

The only two names I've ever given out to multiple characters are Jack and...

Naomi.

I have a tendency to reuse the same characters (like, I've written about a Jimmy about five times, a Jeanine three, and a Dmitriy two), but those are the only two names I've had that went to two or more very different characters.

[Captain Ian]

The thing I can't stand is action/adventure authors trying to come up with flashy names for their female characters, making the damsels in distress look like porn actresses. Something like Sylvia Twain or Nicole Diamond lol And more often than not, they have matching physical descriptions and skimpy attire :D

As for superheroes named Jack... look no further than Jack Wilshere!

http://footballtalentspotter.com/contentimages/player/Jack_Wilshere.jpg

He even looks like a hero! So there's proof that Jack is the way to go with your protagonists! :D

[lkp]

There was an agent a year ago or so (Kristin Nelson?) who complained that every query she was seeing was full of Kates.

[Deb Kinnard]

For a while, seemed like every romance novel I picked up had a heroine named Kate or Caitlin (or variations thereof), while the guys were all named Julian or Justin. Then it went away.

I tend to revert to Cassie, Carrie, Callie...no actual reason why. I don't know anyone by these names. The guys' names are all over the map, which is maybe the way it should be.

Anyone ever pick a name for a hero, and the guy started acting BAD? I mean, truly evil, non-heroic, not the guy you envisioned at all. I submit it's because of the name, and its connotations in my mind that I don't even remember. It's all subconscious. Then I have to change his name, and then by some sort of magic, he starts acting like he's supposed to.

[Cranky]

Ah, Jack. I've used far too many variations on that name.

I am beginning to despise it.

[Bluestone]

I have this unconscious habit of alliteration with my character's names. It's really annoying to me that I'll live with a couple of them for a while and realize they both have first and last names that begin with the same letter. I've left one of the main MCs with his name because I like it and it fits him: Byron Bradley. But can you imagine a book populated with Byron Bradley, Jenna Jameson, Tracy Tamworth...? Ack.

[ClaudiaGray]

I tend to really fight it out with names -- either I know people's names right away or I have to really wrestle to find exactly what suits them. I try to match the names overall, too: I don't want everybody to sound like their names were picked out by the same person (though obviously they were), I try to avoid alliteration (after naming people in my first series Bianca, Balthazar and Mrs. Bethany, I have learned my lesson), and I pay attention to what generation people come from and what names were more or less common for them.

Right now, in my WIP, somebody is named Nicole; it works for her, but OTOH, I mentioned a person named Nicole in my second book. That is literally a one-scene mention, so I doubt it really matters, but it bugs me that I can't find something different for Nicole 2. (I had thought of Nicolette, which does suit her but is obviously something of a bunt.)

[J C Coy]

For a while, seemed like every romance novel I picked up had a heroine named Kate or Caitlin (or variations thereof), while the guys were all named Julian or Justin. Then it went away.



My current MC is named Julian. :D

[maestrowork]

J names tend to pop up very often in my work: Jason, Joshua, Joel, Jake, Jack, etc. I also notice many "popular" names on TV, like on LOST: Jack, James, Jacob, John, Kate...

[Vorteil]

I use the name "Victoria" way too much for girls. I'm not sure why; it just seems to fit a wide range of characters and is often the first thing that comes to mind...I don't put that much thought into names. And sometimes nothing works and I end up writing 100k while referring to someone as *NAME*.

Most of my first names are fairly common and my surnames kind of weird; it feels more realistic to me that way though I have no idea if it actually is.

[RunawayScribe]

I don't think I've ever really had this problem. I have a long list of names (literally - there's a list) I want to use, and I'm worried I'll never get to them all. I pick new ones every time.

[TTCleveland]

Nothing to be ashamed of, people use "John" a lot because it, and variations thereof (Jack, Jon, etc), is the most common name in the English-speaking world.

Meh.

[Shady Lane]

J names tend to pop up very often in my work: Jason, Joshua, Joel, Jake, Jack, etc. I also notice many "popular" names on TV, like on LOST: Jack, James, Jacob, John, Kate...


God, I know. In all my manuscripts together, I have...

Josiah
Jeremy
Josh
Jason
James
Jeremiah

[eyeblink]

This is actually a short-fiction example, but I'll mention it here anyway as it's relevant to this thread. When I had a collection published (six years ago), the publisher noticed that two consecutive stories - originally written and published entirely separately, several years apart - had characters called Hannah in them. So one of them dropped her H's and became Anna.

[Deb Kinnard]

Ever noticed in recent fic, there's a trend away from nicknames? I'm not sure if this is author-tendency, or...?

If a heroine's name is Victoria, she doesn't get Vic, Tori, Vicky, or what have you. No--she stays Victoria, which seems to me sort of formal. Is this the trend in common culture nowadays? When I was young (in the 1340s) we tended to truncate names. I was named Deborah, but I've always been Deb. My friends' names shortened in a similar fashion, unless it was so short we couldn't shorten it further. But then we tended to come up with unrelated nicknames: Bean, Gic, Hudge, etc.

Is this a generational thing, and should I pay attention to it for my readers' sakes?

[Shady Lane]

This is actually a short-fiction example, but I'll mention it here anyway as it's relevant to this thread. When I had a collection published (six years ago), the publisher noticed that two consecutive stories - originally written and published entirely separately, several years apart - had characters called Hannah in them. So one of them dropped her H's and became Anna.


woooooooooo

[RedScylla]

Scott. Go figure. Never as a main character, but minor characters named Scott crop up in LOTS of my stories. I only know one person named Scott, my cousin, and the characters have nothing to do with him, so is it perhaps just a standard male name I stick in there...like John?

[kl1087]

The most common names I've used are Alex, Michael and Daniel. I usually go for something more unusual.

I'm using all three of those in my current story lol. I've seen Alex used a lot lately. It fits my MC perfectly though, so he's stuck with it :D.

I use nicknames a lot too, as someone else had mentioned. Didn't realize I had used them so much until I thought about it just now. I don't know why, I guess it gives the character more of a back story, perhaps?

[GirlWithPoisonPen]

I've met a few Jacks.

I have an MC named Jack. It's short for "Julian Charles." Naming him was so organic that I don't think I could pick something else!

I have to be careful to watch the C, K, and J names. I always gravitate towards them first.

[sleepsheep]

I certainly tend to overuse Jack and Anna. I also tend to overuse the names Ben and Sam - I really like those names, since they are the names of my two children!

[sleepsheep]

Ever noticed in recent fic, there's a trend away from nicknames? I'm not sure if this is author-tendency, or...?

Is this a generational thing, and should I pay attention to it for my readers' sakes?

Deb, I think this is certainly a trend in American culture. Maybe more so with girl names, as opposed to boy names. I have a lot of friends who had baby girls in the last few years, and the names always stay in their full form - Madeline doesn't become Maddy, Elizabeth doesn't become Liz, and Eleanor doesn't become Ellie. I think the trend is toward Victorian names, and in Victorian fashion, they don't get truncated.

[Serenity]

I try not to use the same names over and over. When I have a character in mind, I usually have several traits or something associated with the person already in hand. I have a great website that I go to with meanings of names from all around the world and I search through that until something 'hits' me and I know I've picked the right name.

For anyone interested:

http://www.20000-names.com/

You have to put up with some annoying ads, but I still love the site.

[tailstrike]

When picking names, i think of what i want my character to be, and do a meaning search for them...For my WiP one name means 'carrier of the light' and the other actually means 'evil'...

Just a note though i know a family who 4 boys and their names are Flynn, Floyd, Fletcher and wait for it P.J...Guess they wanted a change lol

[eyeblink]

I used to know a family who had five children. The four oldest were all daughters with names beginning with C - Christine, Caroline, Catherine and Claire. When letters arrived (this was in pre-email days) addressed to "Miss C [surname]" their mother opened them. The four girls did have different middle initials though, and I think some of them used them so that their mother didn't open their post!

(The fifth child was a boy who was called Daniel. Different gender, new initial. :))

[KikiteNeko]

I just love the name Hepzebah. Feel free to use it in your writing.

Psh. At least be original. I met three Hepzebehs on my way to the car this morning.

[Gabriel Blue]

I just love the name Hepzebah. Feel free to use it in your writing.

I will, thank you.

Of course, if your book only has two characters, it's a hell of a lot easier.

I chose the names for my two MCs simply because I liked them - I would have much preferred my character's name for myself. I deliberately chose the female character's name because it allowed me to create som ambiguity in the title itself.

As for Hepzebah - try some Scottish or Welsh names for fun - here is a list. There are prizes for correct pronunciation...although I haven't worked how to judge it yet.


Ruaridh, Mhairidh, Sioned, Oighrig, Iona (Scottish version), Iona (Welsh version), Siobhan, Sian, Seamus, Llion, Angharad and of course the wonderfully grand Gwyndyr, which you will notice has no vowels... There is also a village a few miles away with the delightfully incomprehensible name of Glyndyfwrdwy. And then there's Llandrillo and Llangollen, where of course they hold the International Eistedffod every year...

Don't forget - these are in a predominantly English speaking country (except perhaps for some of the Welsh ones).

These are all real names - I went to school with Oighrig and Iona and Sioned, Iona, Llion and Angharad all work in the village store. My novel is set in North Wales, where Welsh is spoken widely, but of course my target readership will hopefully be English speaking!

So - who's up for using some really unusual names in their work? Nothing like challenging your readers.....Please let someone use an Oighrig.

[scarletpeaches]

I've had a couple of Ryans, two Nathans and two Christophers.

When it comes to final drafts, I strike those character names off my list for any further story ideas, though. So once I reach 'the end' on one, I have to go back and change the names in other drafts if they clash with what I've just finished.

[Charlie Horse]

In my world, every woman over the age of 65 is named Mildred.

Otherwise, characters are named the first thing that pops into my head with the authority granted to change them at will any time I feel like. Maybe I'm making a mistake, but I figure putting a whole lot of thought into naming characters makes them less real.

Obviously, by the amount of responses to this topic, it's something writers care deeply about.

[Sarita]

So - who's up for using some really unusual names in their work? Nothing like challenging your readers.....Please let someone use an Oighrig.
In my WIP, I have a Siobhan, Seamus, Liam, Branan, Kiernan, Tighe, Aisling... but it's set in Ireland and it also has Megan, Dan, James, Martin, John, Grace, Sean, Kathryn, Bobby, Billy, Fred.

Generally, I give out run-of-the-mill names in the first draft, while the characters are developing, and then rename them in the second draft, unless I already have a great name picked out. Even then, I sometimes change names in the second draft.

[Lyra Jean]

I have multiple generations in my story so I'm trying to think of what would the parents name their children.

[Gabriel Blue]

In my WIP, I have a Siobhan, Seamus, Liam, Branan, Kiernan, Tighe, Aisling... but it's set in Ireland and it also has Megan, Dan, James, Martin, John, Grace, Sean, Kathryn, Bobby, Billy, Fred.

So there is at least one person here who can pronounce them. Whew!:e2cheer:

[selkn.asrai]

Ever noticed in recent fic, there's a trend away from nicknames? I'm not sure if this is author-tendency, or...?

If a heroine's name is Victoria, she doesn't get Vic, Tori, Vicky, or what have you. No--she stays Victoria, which seems to me sort of formal. Is this the trend in common culture nowadays?

I am the oldest of four, and all of our names begin with A. Myself and my brother go by our full names--my parents hated the truncated versions and avoided them. A few close friends will call me by a nickname, no one else. It's just awkward. My sister's name IS technically a nickname, and my other brother doesn't go by his actual name coz he's 13 and petulant. My grandparents on the other hand, all used nicknames, be they truncated versions or just their surnames. So maybe it is a generational trend; I'd never ruminated on it before now.

Is this the trend in common culture nowadays? When I was young (in the 1340s) we tended to truncate names.


If you were born in the medieval period, you so beat out that supposed 140 year old woman. :P

[DMarie84]

I try my best to come up with unique and meaningful names, but it can be difficult when your book is set in another culture like mine is.

Since mine is in Japan, many of the names have the same endings (a lot of the names end in o or -ko). It's not really something that I can avoid since that's just how the culture is.

Some of my character names: Kaiyo, Ryuji, Kaemon, Iesada, Yasuhide, Saori, Miyako, and Hana (the first four are the major viewpoint characters). I specifically chose the name Kaiyo for my main character because it means "forgiveness" (or at least the baby name books and sites say it does) and that's a main facet of the novel.

However because it's Japanese, "Kaiyo" can mean something different depending on the kanji used. I don't know Japanese though so I don't really take that into consideration.

[Lyra Jean]

I'm using the names in my story to reflect the parents' feelings at the time. When they are leaving Earth the kids will be named after parents and siblings that were left behind. The next generation will be named after places on Earth. Then as they get farther in space they will start to look ahead instead of backwards and so will be named after constellations and stars and other galactic phenomenon. Then when they reach the new planet it will be hope for a successful colony planet side.

At least that's going to be the general trends.

[IdiotsRUs]

As I mostly write alternate world fantasy it doesn't really crop up.

But what I have done is give two people names that rhyme, and not realise till the end of the book when they are in a scene together for the first time..

[MMcDonald64]

My mc is named Mark. I tried to change it Sean, but it just wouldn't stick in my head, so Mark it is. The female mc is Jessie, so that's okay. Other male characters are Jim and Bill. Yeah. Common and boring. lol. However, the characters are in their mid to late 40's (present day) and those names are incredibly common for that age group. It wouldn't be realistic to have a name like Mason, or something.

[lexxi]

I have two Erics in different works who are similar in some ways. I had dropped the first work in progress and years later created the second character for a different piece and deliberately used some similar naming conventions for a character with at least one other similar trait. Now I've pulled the first work out of the trunk, so the name feels a little bit redundant to me.

This work also includes a Joanie and a Jeanette who are often mentioned together, and also a John who's in the same larger group with them. They aren't all main characters in the plot, but their names do crop up often enough in the general action. I think I originally thought it a bit amusing to have these two women who work together have similar names.


On a large ongoing project I collaborated on over a number of years, we had many main characters and even more background characters, so naturally some names got reused, or some names were similar to others in origin and/or sound, and we sometimes made a point of addressing the potential for confusion or amusement from the same or similar names.

Another time we needed to write a scene between two characters named Annie and Danny. Just for fun, and for the challenge of making it not sound ridiculous, my coauthor suggested what if we fill the background of that scene by putting Frannie in the room as well.

[Fade]

Looking back over my short stories and novels (pubbed or not), these are the names I use the most:

Jennette (For some reason, I like spelling it that way, too)


Huh. I think that spelling of Jennette is normal because my best friend's name was spelled like that.

Anyway, I have two major problems with naming my characters.

One: Every minor male character is named David until I realize that, so then I've got to search the names, figure out which David I'm talking about... I have no idea why I do that.

Two: I like to name my girls really, really weird names that I just made up. For example, I have a Sahara (like the desert), and Svani.

[sleepsheep]

I don't think Alistair is used often enough in stories. I want to read a good story with an Alistair in the lead.