Help rename my main protag

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Plot Device

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First, some background on my own name before I get to my main protag's name.

My nom de plum is Sheila West. I use it on my manuscripts and on my message board registrations. As for my REAL name (not tellin'!), it's annoyingly hard to pronounce. I have spent my whole life correcting people who read it and then misprononce it, or else correcting people who hear it and then misspell it. I vowed that if I ever became a writer, I would come up with a name that NO ONE would mispronouce upon reading, or misspell upon hearing.


Well, I invented the name Sheila West this past winter at the same time I was writing my current screenplayn and that resulted in a cross-over with my main protag. Now, I diligently searched out the symbolism for for the name "Galvin" as the first name of my main protagonist. And as for his last name, I wanted it to be a quick one-syllable name that was easy and memorable and kinda cool-sounding. I wanted his last name to be so un-difficult as to off-set the admitted strangeness of his first name.

So ........... since I had only just dubbed myself Sheila West a few days earleir, and registered at a couple of web sites under the name Sheila West, my main protag's name wound up being Galvin West.

At the time I thought nothing of it. But now, it poses an overt yellow light to people of my possibly having a serious case of Mary Sue-ism. Thus the need to change either his name or mine.





Because it's a pain in the arse to change my web registrations, it's easier at this point to simply change my main protag's name. Here's what I want:


1) One syllable. I like the syllabic rhythm of his current name: Galvin West. (If a REALLY cool 2-syllable name comes up that somehow sounds ultra-cool when paired with "Galvin," then I might consider it.)

2) Four letters (or three). I need to execute a "find/replace." And --as most of you know--screenplays have very strict formatting. So as long as I can keep the same number of characters (or less) in his name, I won't rock the boat on formatting and page count.

3) Something so common that it won't sound strange. As I said above, I want his last name to be easy enough on the ears and the sensibilities of a typical movie-going American to off-set the oddness of his first name. It needs to be an EFFORTLESS name to hear and pronounce.

4) Something kinda cool-sounding. To me "West" is a cooler than cool name in an understated kind of way. It's not terribly biting, but instead has a gentle glide to it. Very low key.

5) Something kind of American-sounding. Galvin is a nice white-bread lad from Back East. His last name needs to be more American in flavor than (say) German or Italian or Czech.

6) The entomology must be positive. Something upbeat and friendly.

7) It can't be a color. I already have another major character whose last name is Brown (and there is a critical symblic reason why I chose Brown for that other character, so I am NOT changing that other character's name). Thus, having another character named after a color would just draw attention to itself. I am NOT Quentin Tarantino, and this is NOT Resevior Dogs I'm writing here.

8) It can't be an animal. The name "Galvin" is already an animal -- specifically a sparrow (that is my intended symblism). So having his last name also be an animal would result in a bizarre and maybe even laughable zoological hybrid, short-circuting my symbolism. And I can't have that.




Here are some possibilities I came up with, but each of them fell short by one of the above criteria.

Galvin Best (kinda hoaky-sounding--and that's not cool)
Galvin Lisle (hard to pronounce and hard to sound-out if it gets read off the page; and it has 5 letters instead of 4)
Galvin Rook (the entomology denotes trickery and deception)
Galvin Blake (it's also a first name--so some people might be inclined to call him "Blake Galvin"; also too many letters)
Galvin Brook (again, it's likewise a first name, and a GIRL's first name, and it has too many letters)
Galvin Wells (this was a really close call -- I almost went for it, but it has 5 letters)
Galvin Rigg (there are a few famous people named Rigg, one of whom is a female)
Galvin Boyd (kinda clumsy to pronounce when paired with the first name "Galvin")
Galvin Dale (again it's a first name, and sometimes a female's name)
Galvin Day (a female first name)
Galvin Deke (the entomology means "deception" and it sounds too close to "Dick" --and remember, guys this has to SOUND good during a MOVIE, so for someone to call him "Deke" and it winds up sounding like "Dick" just wouldn't work at all)
Galvin Dray (another close contender, but it has a weak sound to it)


Thanks ahead of time. :cool:
 
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TheIT

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Just throwing some ideas out there: Kirk, Kitt, North, South, East, Kay, Bay, Ford, Marx, Ash, Ruck, Sky, Vine

Hard to think up short names...
 

Shady Lane

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My MC's last name is Yates. Five letters, I know...but Yate could work fine, too. Or Tate, or any rhyme therof.
 

Plot Device

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These are all great suggestions. You guys are totally in the right neighborhood here.

I think I'm liking "Wood," except I can't help but be reminded of the phrase "morning wood," so I might pass on that.

"Ash" is tempting, but might not work because when you place it right after his first name, it sounds like his name might actually be "Galvin Nash." And I always aim for crystal clear unmistakability. Also, it sounds close to "Ass."


"Tate" is ALMOST perect, except that it has a bit of a blue-blooded ring to it. Too poshy-sounding for the feel that I'm aiming for with my main character.




Does anyone else agonize over the particulars of their characters' names to the extent that I do?? :)
 

Plot Device

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Just throwing some ideas out there: Kirk, Kitt, North, South, East, Kay, Bay, Ford, Marx, Ash, Ruck, Sky, Vine

Hard to think up short names...


Here's why I have to pass on all of these GREAT and AWESOME suggestions.

Kirk - As in James Tiberius, the Captain of the USS Enterprise?
Kitt - Sounds like a woman.
North - As in Oliver? As in Elijah Wood? (and too many letters)
South - The phrase "goin' south" means going to hell. On a symbolic level, I can't have that.
East - When paired with his first name it sounds like "Galvin Neest."
Kay - Like Danny Kay?
Bay - Like Michael Bay?
Ford - Like the car? Or the President?
Marx - Like the founder of Communism? Or guy with the eyebrows and the cigar?
Ash - I like the potential for symbolism here. However, when paired with his first name, it sounds like "Galvin Nash." (So should I go for "Galvin Nash"?? No. Because it could ALSO be "Galvin Ash." And you can't afford to let the audience wander off, wondering about someone's name. "Was his name Ash or Nash?")
Ruck - Very he-mannish. But a little odd and also very similar to "Rock" and "Rutt."
Sky - That's also a female's first name.
Vine - A tad bit aliterative when you pair it with "Galvin." It winds up echoing the "v" and the "n" from his first name.


I appreciate your effort. But I have to pass on them all. Sorry.
 
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Plot Device

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Ward, Wood, Wyle, Wynn. :)


Ward - This has potential, especially on a symbolic level. It doesn't seem to flow though. I get a little tripped up trying to make it deftly roll off my tongue. But this is a serious maybe.
Wood - See my response in Post #5 above.
Wyle - Sounds like "while" and might get read off a page as "while-ee" as in Wile E. Coyote.
Wynn - Can get mistaken for "Win." And the symblism of the word "win" is too on-the-nose.
 
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Plot Device

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My MC's last name is Yates. Five letters, I know...but Yate could work fine, too. Or Tate, or any rhyme therof.


Yate - Umm ... let me think about that one. It doesn't sound very organic. But it has potential
Tate - See my response above in Post #5.
 

Plot Device

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Wray? Wold? Weir? Wolf?

Wray - Sounds like "Ray." And then there's Faye Wray of King Kong fame.
Wold - Not very organic sounding, especially whe paired with Galvin.
Weir - Like maybe a warewolf?
Wolf - A hah! So even YOU were made to think "warewolf!" ;) This name makes me think of Virginia Wolf, who was a female and not a nice person. And it's also an animal (and not a nice animal either) and I already said no animals.

Actually what happens to me is that names are constantly popping into my head. I mean, all the time. Sometimes a name is so compelling that I design an entire novel around it. That's what happened with my current WIP. The MC's name was just suddenly there, and I knew I had to tell her story, even though I hadn't the faintest idea what it was.

I do now, though. :)

Now THAT is inspiration! :cool:
 

Shady Lane

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"Tate" is ALMOST perect, except that it has a bit of a blue-blooded ring to it. Too poshy-sounding for the feel that I'm aiming for with my main character.

Yeah, I thought it might be. My character is blue-blood to the extreme.
 

AnnieColleen

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Cool website here with the 100 and 1000 most common US surnames...

Lee
Hall
King
Hill
Reed
Cook
Bell
Ross
Dean

Peak --not from the website; from people I know
 
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Plot Device

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If you almost like Galvin Dray, how about Galvin Drake? Oh wait, too many letters.

Personally, I think you've painted yourself into a corner.

Party pooper! :tongue

::ETA::

I did think of Drake, but it's five letters. And besides, it's a name that means "duck." I can't have his name be "Galvin Drake" which translates into "Sparrow Duck." [SEE ABOVE my stipulation about no animal names.] :cool:
 
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Plot Device

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Cool website here with the 100 and 1000 most common US surnames...

Lee
Hall
King
Hill
Reed
Cook
Bell
Ross
Dean

Peak --not from the website; from people I know

Thanks for the web site!
icon14.gif


As for your great suggestions:

Lee - It's a first name. It's a COOL name, but I reall want to avoid first names.
Hall - This is a serious maybe.
King - Symbolism is contra-indicative of the plot.
Hill - Another serious maybe.
Reed - Wow! Now THIS might just be the winner!!!! :)
Cook - Maybe.
Bell - I've never liked this name. Don't know why.
Ross - Another serious maybe.
Dean - Actually, I already have another character named Dean in the same script! :D
Peak - Umm ... can be mistaken for the verb "peek" and I want to avoid a verb. Verbs as last names call too much attention to themselves.
 
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Plot Device

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Plot Device

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Plot Device

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Okay, guys. Here's my list of possibilities:



Ward - The symbolism might work on many levels. The word "ward" has many meanings, one of which is a person who has been entrusted to the care of another (like a ward of the state.) So this is a serious possibility.
Wood - It's a nice name. The flow is nice also. But my one reservation has been stated already in Post #5.
Yate - I might pass on it. I just checked the entomology. It means "gate" and that doesn't work for this story.
Hall - It has a nice sound. Symbolism might work also because I make a very important reference later to his "household."
Hill - Same as "Hall" it has a nice sound. And the symbolism could work also.
Reed - The symbolism here works very well, especially the Biblical implications of such a name.
Cook - This one SOUNDS very nice. The flow of "Galvin Cook" works well. And when you hear it pronounced, there's no mistaking that last name. But I'm uncertain of the symbolism. The name LITERALY means "cook" and I don't know if it works in this story.
Ross - This is a Gaelic name for a highand. The name Galvin is ALSO Gaelic. So this works nicely. And the symbolism of a highland is compelling. My only hesitation is the culture-impacting TV show "Friends."
Pool - Not sure. It sounds nice but the symbolism isn't jiving too well.
Kent - Again, it sounds nice, but maybe the Superman association won't work.

This might be enough for now. I'll meditate for a bit on it all and then post back later with my decision.


You guys have been awesome! :cool:
 
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Plot Device

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And the jury is in!




The final three contenders were:

Ward
Reed
Ross






And then:

Ward
Reed






And at last I opted for:

Reed


So my main protag is now going to be Galvin Reed.





AnnieColleen is the brilliant genius behind the discovery of this name. Big thanks to you, Annie. :)




(I juts love this web site!) :cool:
 
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AnnieColleen

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:roll: So do I get a trophy or something?


It's a great site -- usually my first stop when I'm stuck on a character name. I'd actually forgotten it had surnames, and then found the page by accident.

Glad it was helpful!
 
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