How do you name your characters?

[Joe Calabrese]

Just wondering the process some of you use to name your characters. I like to use street names in the town I live in. The other day I was driving down Winchester Ave. and then took a left onto Green St.

I thought...

Winchester Green would make a good curmudgeon. An old man with a pearl handled cane who uses it for more than just balance. He waves it at the noisy kids in the neighborhood like a king waiving his scepter at the serfs. He owns the block, or he would like to think so.

Funny how a drive to the convenience store can open up that can of creativity.

How about you?
Where do you come up with names?
Any symbolism involved, like Double's No-Doz (another thread here)?

[Optimus]

I don't really have any kind of method. Most times the names just come to me and "fit" the characters.

However, I do sometimes draw from real life. I have a complete @sshole in my latest named after an ex's boyfriend.

I have a nasty female character named after that ex, too.


Heh.

[ZaZ]

I like to play on words in character names.
In Resourcing Humans, I have a bartender named Justin Time, a boss named Diane Tuquit, a hottie monikered Carmela Sugarlips, a large bosomed dingbat Jewels Duncecups...yadda yadda.

[NikeeGoddess]

i work with a huge international group and lots of ethnic names, so when i run across one that fits a character i ask permission to use their name in a story. i do the same when someone tells some wacky story about something that happened to them. if i don't have a place for it in anything i'm working on at the moment. i ask their permission to use that story later. everyone is always flattered. hopefully, they'll be pleasantly surprised to see their name or their story on the big screen one day.

but, i usually like my names to have some hidden meaning. ie - i have a young black kid nicknamed JJJ. His mother named him after Jesse Jackson and used his daddy's name as his middle name...James. Jesse James Jackson - he steals money ;)

i also have a story set 60 years in the future. think of an elderly black woman with one of those made up african names (they used to give girls 10 years back) like Shenequa LOL!

[Pat~]

If you're really drawing a blank, there's a site called "Random Name Generator" that you could use:

http://www.kleimo.com/random/name.cfm

--pb

[Nivvie]

I too try and find names that I feel match the character, but then seeing as a lot of these are based on my experience with people who share these names, it's not really relavant to anyone but me.

It's very theraputic killing off a character who shares a name with someone who annoys the hell out of me in real life.

Mostly I try and make names realistic, from a social and historical point of view.

If someone has an unusual name I tend to give them unusual parents, or some reasoning behind it.

[scripter1]

I like real names. I love names that have a rhythm to them or a unique sound. Something unusual. But I focus on the name fitting the needs of the script. For my brumby script I chose Kate Walker because it's simple, easy to say, and actually DOESN'T tell you much about the character so you don't get a preconceived notion of her.
And she ends up spending half the movie walking around the Outback.

Over the years we've been programmed and conditioned to jump to conclusions based on someone's name. We may not even be aware of it, but when I say
Pamela
what comes to mind?
Or Frank, or George?

My bad guys name is Roahn.
He's named after a real Aussie I met on a brumby muster. Great guy, nice as he can be, but with a unique, sort of harsh sounding name that is perfect for my antag.

I have a fantasy/adventure script I'm working on and the main characters names are Seth and Arden.

I was at my daughter's kickboxing class and another lady’s daughter was named Arden. I just heard the name and BAM I got a full idea for a story. I didn't even HAVE the story idea yet but once I heard that name, I left class, sat out in the hallway for almost an hour and wrote a complete outline.

[Writing Again]

As with most things I opperate with the minimum of rules. I love computers and their ability to make global changes so if I don't come up with a name immediately my main concern is to be consistent: I've temped my characters as Mr Bad Guy and Mr Good Guy and even Mr Has Info (He ain't telling).

I'm leery of names I come by too quickly and easily. I'm quite capable of naming a character Lenny Spruce, Brittany Danielle, or Billy Clicken, but I don't want to do it by accident.

If I live with a character for a while The Name becomes inevitable.

[Maryn]

I tend to use the same few names as I write, then use global replace to fix them all when the right one occurs to me.

My general criteria for any character name is that it sound real, is easy to read and pronounce, and is unique enough to be memorable. Many of the surnames are borrowed from people I've known, mixed with different first names that blend nicely, although I also like to harvest names from the obits and movie credits, always lifting only the first or last name, not the whole thing.

I try hard to avoid those forgettable "white bread" names that are so very common in the real world. If I use an extremely common last name, I make sure to use a memorable first name. While the world has many Michael Smiths, James Joneses, and Bob Johnsons, people tend to mix up who's who unless the character is developed enough to be fully realized--which only the major characters are likely to be.

Maryn, who mixes up her city's mayor and a local car dealer all the time

[Boobsie Malone]

The most important column you'll ever read about naming your characters:

Site link removed per request of other site's Webmaster

[Joe Calabrese]

Thanks everyone for some great ideas and links.

[fedorable1]

If you're making a Sci-Fi or Fantasy character, you've got it a lot easier. You can just make it up. Some of my characters were named:

Nakt Icci'mban
Praissen Steorra
Argentaes
Berenike, etc.

Now, as for how I came up with THOSE? Well...

Nakt Icci'man: nocticci = Latin for "small night." Mimban is a planet the character was from.

Praissen Steorra: I had a girlfriend named Kaye. She said it meant "to lift up praise." So, Praise + Ascend = Praissen. Steorra is Latin for "star." He was an alien - thus a "star worshipper."

Argenteas: It means "silver one." He had silver hair. :P

Berenike: It's an ancient Egyptian city. The character was a desert rogue.

Etc, etc.

[Boo_Radley]

My character names come from a variety of sources.

Some names are plays on a personality trait...

Will MEEKS (meek, as in mousey and timid)
Val BENTE (he's a crooked cop...crooked = BENT...)

I work at a homeless shelter and see literally hundreds of clients a month so there's a wellspring of names and name combinations to draw from. Last year I had a young female client with severe emotional problems but who was very sweet and caring at heart, so in her memory I used her name (Africa Engleking) for a similarly troubled female character in a screenplay. We've had several violent individuals who've stayed there and started trouble, picking fights, etc...and thus I'll name a**hole characters by mixing up first and last names...etc.

And sometimes, a name just kind of comes to me for some odd reason or another, and I go with that.

[Rock]

I try to come up with names that fit the time period that I am working on - example - I did a script that is set in 1944 - I looked for people that would have been born early enough to be the age of my characters in 1944 and list their names. I base the name on the age of the character, their personality, and sometimes I draw names and personalities from the people I know. Everyday life has some interesting characters. If I come to a character that I can't quite figure out a name for, I sometimes go to the mall or park and sit and watch and listen - it won't take long until you notice someone with an unusual characteristic and hear someone yell a name that fits!
Have a great writing day.

[Enigma]

I start off using real names of real people I know and/or have met, and/or have read about. I also keep headshots of actors and the others taped to a wall, with the character name on a postum, which works for me. Of course I write standing up too, so go figure.

I also keep a photograph (under wraps) of my 1st ex-wife on the wall, in case I ever decide to write a horror script, or those times when I need to de-worm my dog.

But, BEFORE its ever seen by anyone, I change 'em every one. To help make it easy, I keep handy an old telephone directory, which I would bring to court in case someone with the same name decides to sue me, which will happen anyway, but at least I have a defense that makes sense.

[Joe Calabrese]

No one can sue you for using their name, unless you are obviously writing about them.

If they are public figures, however, you can use their name and persona, unless you defame or slander them.

If they are are famous and dead you can get away with just about anything.

[Mac H.]

>"If they are public figures, however, you can use their name and persona"

Danger Will Robinson !
It would seem to be just the opposite of this - your use of their name and persona may be seen as a 'right of publicity' issue or a 'misappropriation of name'.

For example, one comic book had a Mafia Don character named 'Twist' which had the name and persona of 'Tony Twist', a famous hockey player.

Based on the 'public figures = You can use their name and persona' advice, it would seem that it was a perfectly safe thing to do.

Wrong.
The comic book makers were sued - and the jury gave the hockey player a payout of $24,500,000. (I think it was reduced on appeal, but it's still a frighteningly large lawsuit)

The details of the case are:
* Supreme Court of Missouri
* Case # SC84856
* Link: http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=mo&vol=/supreme/072003/&invol=60729_103
(If the link doesn't work, just google SC84856.)
* Easy summary: http://www.mobar.org/journal/2003/sepoct/flag.htm

From my reading of the original judgement, the $24.5 million dollar payout wasn't because of libel or slander either - they argued a misappropriation of name etc etc.

Remember everyone - none of this is legal advice !

Mac
[PS: Another interesting example (without lawsuits) is the issue of inserting past the president into movies. See http://www.parascope.com/articles/slips/fs_184.htm for a very non-legal discussion on the subject. The most interesting part is that despite the whole legal dubiousness over the practise, large studios do it anyway - knowing that nobody is going to sue]

[Joe Calabrese]

You actually proved my point.

In the case you cited, they made a fictitious character based on a real person and defamed him by making him a mobster. Which is what I said you can't do. When I said persona I meant using the actual person in your story, as in the case of a bio pic.

If you write a script about Bill Gates you can do so and use his name, only if you do not defame him. You can't have him kill people for his rise to power or be a pedophile unless you can cite two, published and independant sources that says he is.

If you write a script about Benjamin Franklin or another famous dead person, you can defame him. It is nearly impossible to get sued (even from an estate) for defaming a dead person, unless that person lives in perpetuity through some charitable organization, like the Will Rogers Institute, in which defaming the dead person would also defame the non-profit it represents. There are other legal issues when it comes to malicious and intentional defaming, but I would hope that no one would purposely go out to make a famous historical figure evil, if he/she wasn't.

[Mac H.]

In the case you cited, they made a fictitious character based on a real person and defamed him by making him a mobster.
I think you've missed the point. The result of the case seemed to have NOTHING to do with defamation.

The (original) suit alleged 'misappropriation of his name'. Not libel/slander/defamation.

To quote one of the many summaries of the case:

To establish the misappropriation tort, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant used the plaintiff's name without consent to obtain some advantage. In a right of publicity action, the plaintiff must prove the same elements as in a misappropriation suit, with the minor exception that the plaintiff must prove that the defendant used the name to obtain a commercial advantage.

Here, Twist maintains that the use of his name in the Spawn story line created an unmistakable correlation between Twist the hockey player and Twist the Mafia Don. Twist presented sufficient evidence to prove that his name was used as a symbol of his identity. Twist also presented sufficient evidence to establish the intent to gain a commercial advantage by using his name to attract consumer attention to Spawn comic books.
(Ref: http://www.mobar.org/journal/2003/sepoct/flag.htm)

The case had ZERO to do with defamation.

The case was simply about:
1. His name/persona created an mistakable correlation between him and the fictitious character.
2. Using his name/persona was done with the intent of gaining a commercial advantage.

That's it. No defamation was alleged. It would have been the same result if they'd created a super-hero which was clearly trying to cash in Twist's name.

The case was NOT about defamation.

Mac
PS: I just re-read your post and realised that we were using different definitions of 'persona'.

However, it doesn't change the result - even if you put the actual character in your fictitious story - you are still trying to gain a 'commercial advantage' by using their character.

To pick a simple example - If I have a movie about Michael Jordan running a basketball camp for underprivileged kids, I'll get sued. Even if I use a body double and avoid defaming him, I'm clearly trying to cash in on the success of his name, without his permission.

If I stick to publicly available facts it is more defensible, but this remember - this thread is about choosing names for characters in fiction.

If you name a basket-baller 'Michael Jordan' in a movie, then you can expect to get sued - unless it is obvious that you're not trying to produce a correlation between the two characters.
(eg: Our 'Jordan' is an overweight white kid with glasses who gets picked for the team because he happens to have a famous name.)

I'm not claiming it is simple, but the simple advice that 'you can use famous people's name and persona as long as you don't defame them' is obviously over simplifying.

Mac

[Joe Calabrese]

You're taking some of my words out of context. I followed up that statement with respect of the use of a real person in a script, like a bio pic.

I agree that using a name of a real person just for the sake of getting recognition and capitilizing on that name is wrong. Although I am surprised because the character of Spawn alone is far more recognizable and famous than that hockey player could ever be. (Spawn was the number 1 selling comic for almost 10 years plus an animated series and a live action movie.) The few extra people who may have bought that comic because Twist was in it could hardly be considered a finacial gain for Macfarland. I sure it was more a fan wanting to immortilize his hero, than cashing in on the hockey players name. Which is why I'm sure it's still in appeal. But that is another debate.

I may love Stephen Speilberg and I have used a character (a college proffesor) named Doctor Steve Bergspiel, but I wouldn't make it so obvious that is who I used by making him talk about aliens and sharks and have a physical likeness to Speilberg. There is a fine line between homage and capitilising on a name and we should be aware of it. I thank you for bringing it up.

But that's not the point of my posts. I meant using real people and using their real names in real stories, such as bio pics, like "Ray," (which was made when still alive). You can show all the factual bad things he did (womanizing and drug use), but you can't show him doing bad things he didn't do which would make him look bad (defame), like going on a heroin binge and shooting people with a high powered rifle from a top a building. When it comes to bios, a good rule of thumb is if you can find two published sources for your info from two different writers, then you can use it without fear of retribution, either from the writer or the subject.

[Boo_Radley]

This might sound like a silly example, but look at Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. In it, you have Genghis Khan, Napolean Bonaparte, Abe Lincoln and Joan of Arc, among others.

I don't think anyone would pitch a big hissy fit over the notion of Joan taking over an arobics class, or Genghis Khan appropriating a baseball bat and raising havoc, or Lincoln altering his own Gettysburg Address for a school audience, or Napolean jumping through the line of a water slide attraction in the year 1987 because we know those are things which never happened, and even if they did, these people are all dead and have been for a long, long time and it's not like they or their families are going to take you to court.

Conversely, as Joe states, it's different if you're writing a bio-pic. Say you're writing about Bill Clinton, and have scenes of him humping a chicken or lighting up a crack pipe without verifiable proof that he did one or both. That's slanderous (though it'd be pretty funny if he ever did either, come to think of it) and leaves you open to legal repercussions.