Which means horse joy. The comment was tongue-in-cheek, sorry it didn't come across like that...
Name impressions
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Which means horse joy. The comment was tongue-in-cheek, sorry it didn't come across like that...
You all made me self-conscious with your "a"-hate.
Still, I think the name Kamala, while employing three a-s, is somewhat excused from sounding clichéd by the "k" -- which is a rather harsh sound, and not fairy-like at all.
Setting-wise, in the dialect of her tribe Kamala means "little drum" -- she does play the drum during the ritual dances, but she is also the tallest woman in the tribe.
Still, I think the name Kamala, while employing three a-s, is somewhat excused from sounding clichéd by the "k" -- which is a rather harsh sound, and not fairy-like at all.
Setting-wise, in the dialect of her tribe Kamala means "little drum" -- she does play the drum during the ritual dances, but she is also the tallest woman in the tribe.
I translate all my characters' names into English, just to be different. You can tell a lot about a culture based on their names.
I don't think of myself as Bear either
Dude, you're called Ursula? ;-)
I was just about to guess Alex, albedo, then saw your sig.
I figure I'm just going to pillage Nordic, German, Polish, and Spanish names and place names wholesale and cross my fingers that none of them have some unfortunate meanings to native speakers of those languages.
No need for finger-crossing while this thing called Google exists...
*Remember the Chevy Nova*
Well, wrong language and wrong gender but right idea
And my daughter's name means 'Deer'. And my mum's means 'Bee'. We're a right menagerie...
Why not just ask on any of the forums here? There's plenty of people here who could help you with any or all of those languages (though maybe not Nordic)...
Well, wrong language and wrong gender but right idea
And my daughter's name means 'Deer'. And my mum's means 'Bee'. We're a right menagerie...
I'm afraid you are now and forever more, an Ursula to me.
Sorry for the lack of clarity (and delayed response)! The subjectivity of different people's responses was, er, intentional, making this more of a guessing game... https://www.writingforums.org/threads/name-impressions.143892/#post-1420273 was something more like what I had in mind, but your discussion of names has proved better (definitely more pragmatic)- thanks!
Thanks Kj!
I appreciate your pointing out about the lack of consonant clusters-- I do tend to the simpler side when it come to names but I'll keep in mind trying to spice up some of them.
Honestly, your list overwhelms me a bit; I don't think I would be able to handle more than a couple in close proximity (though naturally they'll have more breathing space in an actual story-- maybe just something to keep in mind when introducing them). Maybe my tastes are overly simplistic, but I find myself liking your shorter names: Wóhev (sounds like a serious warrior/leader to me), Kamhó (A spunky, young fellow yearning for adventure), Vonë (a mature woman who knows how to reconcile different parties, both firm and kind), Anvajoi (a diplomatic princess who isn't much to look at until she starts talking), Giwrë (a reliable old nurse who has magic up her sleeves).
Thanks Kj!
I appreciate your pointing out about the lack of consonant clusters-- I do tend to the simpler side when it come to names but I'll keep in mind trying to spice up some of them.
Honestly, your list overwhelms me a bit; I don't think I would be able to handle more than a couple in close proximity (though naturally they'll have more breathing space in an actual story-- maybe just something to keep in mind when introducing them). Maybe my tastes are overly simplistic, but I find myself liking your shorter names: Wóhev (sounds like a serious warrior/leader to me), Kamhó (A spunky, young fellow yearning for adventure), Vonë (a mature woman who knows how to reconcile different parties, both firm and kind), Anvajoi (a diplomatic princess who isn't much to look at until she starts talking), Giwrë (a reliable old nurse who has magic up her sleeves).
As a slight aside, something I'd really like to see more of in SFF books is repeated names.
GRRM does this, and Ada Palmer, and a few others. Multiple instances of Jeyne, Mycroft, Martin, etc.
I think having some common or popular names, as opposed to everyone (even background chars) being a carefully selected one-of-a-kind, really adds to the sense of culture and realism in a secondary world. It's especially good (imo) when you encounter characters, main or minor, who are named after a famous person from the past. Again this can be fictional or real (as in the case of Mycroft).
GRRM does this, and Ada Palmer, and a few others. Multiple instances of Jeyne, Mycroft, Martin, etc.
I think having some common or popular names, as opposed to everyone (even background chars) being a carefully selected one-of-a-kind, really adds to the sense of culture and realism in a secondary world. It's especially good (imo) when you encounter characters, main or minor, who are named after a famous person from the past. Again this can be fictional or real (as in the case of Mycroft).
It's realistic, but should not be used too often. You don't want to confuse the reader.
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Absolutely. I've used the common name 'Saj' at least three times (but only once for a major character). And in the WIP, I just had the parents name their infant son 'Hito' after the protagonist in a previous novel in the series.
I think confusing the reader is something you always want to avoid, in any case ;-) A reader can equally be confused by too many similar sounding names. Or just too many names. (Like all the myriad small characters in Wheel of Time--they just run together after awhile.)
In Adrian Tchaikovsky's "children of time", he uses the same three names for a variety of spider characters across generations who fulfill similar roles (all scientists, explorers, or inventors.) Although there is an element of genetic memory, they're definitely not the same characters,but it does help the reader to "tether" onto them all the same.
In Helliconia, Aldiss sometimes reuses the name "Yuli" (little Yuli, and so on) to show character continuity through descendants, although again not the same character.
Nice! I like that. In certain SF novels which span big stretches of time, you sometimes get authors deliberately renaming characters for a sense of continuity.
In Adrian Tchaikovsky's "children of time", he uses the same three names for a variety of spider characters across generations who fulfill similar roles (all scientists, explorers, or inventors.) Although there is an element of genetic memory, they're definitely not the same characters,but it does help the reader to "tether" onto them all the same.
In Helliconia, Aldiss sometimes reuses the name "Yuli" (little Yuli, and so on) to show character continuity through descendants, although again not the same character.