My MC is a dragon. Setting is Anceint Greek/Roman ish. Currently I have her name as Lydia. I loved it at first, but suddenly.... I'm not so sure. She'll be in a human form for most of the book, so Lydia I feel fits her there, but as a dragon the name sounds too human. Thoughts? I have considered giving her a longer name that could possibly be shortened to Lydia but I'm not sure how to do that so it doesn't sound ridiculous. Her name shows up quickly in the middle of some action, so I don't have a lot of time to explain a nickname.
Renaming a Dragon MC?
- Thread starter Dragonairis
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The characters in the scene already know each other, so there's no need for introductions. I suppose I could have someone else in the scene attempt a growl/snarl and be rebuffed....
You should know that Lydia is the name of an ancient Roman province (now Turkey) since your action takes place during that time (or before).
Lydia also has Greek origins, meaning beautiful or noble one.
It would be fine as a name for your character, I think.
Lydia also has Greek origins, meaning beautiful or noble one.
It would be fine as a name for your character, I think.
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I've been researching mythological dragons and here's a few that you could play with. Tannim - a Hebrew serpent or water dragon.
Nehash - Hebrew (add an -a, and you have a feminine sound)
And my personal fav, and one I'm using (though I certainly don't have the trademark on it and it's not my MC, so I don't mind sharing) - Seraph. As in the angelic 'seraphim.' It means 'fiery serpent.' Easily shortened to Sera, or even Sara.
Honestly though, Lydia is perfect. It has the ancient connotations you want and is very musical, strong and a touch exotic. I wouldn't hesitate to use it.
Nehash - Hebrew (add an -a, and you have a feminine sound)
And my personal fav, and one I'm using (though I certainly don't have the trademark on it and it's not my MC, so I don't mind sharing) - Seraph. As in the angelic 'seraphim.' It means 'fiery serpent.' Easily shortened to Sera, or even Sara.
Honestly though, Lydia is perfect. It has the ancient connotations you want and is very musical, strong and a touch exotic. I wouldn't hesitate to use it.
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Do we as readers necessarily have to know her dragon name? Lydia sounds perfectly fine to me, and I can think of several instances of dragons in other works refusing to tell humans their "true" names, for varying reasons. Humans can't pronounce it, pride, because names give power, etc. Or maybe trying to escape the past by hiding their true identity, such as the gryphon Buruu did in The Lotus War trilogy. Personally I would be fine with accepting a human-ish name for a dragon without requiring knowledge of what her dragon name is, because it's not that uncommon for nonhuman characters in stories, at least in my experience.
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