Naming Pains

sol_ · Aug 31, 2011

Hello!

Here's my lil dilemma. Naming characters has always been my cross, but finally, after long meanderings in baby name books and baby name websites and baby name conversations with a writer friend, I came up with a name I was really pleased with for the protagonist in my fantasy story. It's a Biblical name + short slightly uncommon English surname, so nothing out of this world or terribly unique, but still somewhat unusual.

Then I google it and discover it was used by a character in a book of a sci-fi series of the late Seventies. Sic et simpliciter. World falls on me.

So, what do you say? Should I change the name of my character? Or is it no big deal?

I should add that there are obviously no similarities between the sci-fi series' character and mine, starting from the fact that my poor character is just a young boy. I have a couple of other ideas for his name, but this one really pleased me.

Heck, naming characters is harder than naming children

Bookewyrme · Aug 31, 2011

Is the SF character the protagonist of his story? If not, I wouldn't worry about it. For one thing, yours is fantasy, and the other is SF, and while there's lots of cross-over in readership, it's not universal since they are NOT the same genre. Especially if you really love the name, stick with it. I also have trouble naming my characters, so if I find one I love, I cling to it no matter what. JMO.

Liosse de Velishaf · Aug 31, 2011

What name from what series?

Polenth · Sep 1, 2011

I'm with Liosse... we'd need to know the name to judge. Some names are just too distinctive. Imagine using the name Harry Potter. It doesn't matter if it's a gritty detective series set in the 1920s. Harry Potter has too much baggage as a name.

But other names, few will make the connection.

BigWords · Sep 1, 2011

To get something I like I tend to lob letters off names, or smoosh two names together to create a new name (same with some phrases, placenames, etc.), so I can be confident there won't be something too similar. And I agree on the need to know the name - I've read a lot of old SF, and the likelihood of agents having read the same books the character appears in is possible.

jjdebenedictis · Sep 2, 2011

The seventies were 30+ years ago. Really, unless it's a super-distinctive name from a super-famous book, no one will care or remember.

Snitchcat · Sep 3, 2011

Does it matter?

You're writing fantasy, that series was SF and from over thirty years ago. Unless the name is that well known, use it for your character. And once you have the scene polished, post it on SYW (obviously crit in SYW, too) and see if anyone picks up on the name -- just do NOT mention the name in particular.

sol_ · Sep 3, 2011

Thank you all for your input! In the end, I decided to change it... because I found an even better one

Still, in the end it didn't bother me too much... as some of you have said, if the genres are different and the characters are different there's not too much reason to worry.

(The series was The Dancers at the End of Time by Michael Moorcock.)

Naming Pains

sol_

Bookewyrme

Imagined half of it.

Liosse de Velishaf

Polenth

Mushroom

BigWords

Geekzilla

jjdebenedictis

is watching you via her avatar

Snitchcat

Dragon-kitty.

sol_