Do the names Eefie and Odie look too much alike?

Editor's hat on. They're too close, and without your clue, I did not pronounce the female name correctly.

i can suggest that the names are alike because they're outgrowths of one character split into two to allow interaction to forward the story. It is not because each is a distinct and separate character in its own right.

How would the story progress if one of them simply was not there?

I did that in a book, had a brother and sister team. Turned out a team was not needed, so I combined them into a single person, who got a lot more interesting.

If both are absolutely necessary, then change one name to something less distracting.

As an example, the brother and sister in To Kill A Mockingbird were named Scout and Jem. Each name is distinctive, with different letters, but in the informal "nickname" category.

No problem with visuals of the names. When I saw Eefie, I didn't think Ef-ee, but lip-reading experience makes me look carefully.

The Second Moon said:

In a linked MG short story collection I'm writing there are two MCs. One is a girl named Eefie (Ee-Fee). The other is a boy named Odie. Do the names Eefie and Odie look too much alike because of the -ie at the end? If so I'd prefer to change the spelling of the names instead finding new names. I'd also rather change the spelling of Odie's name. Here are some different spellings I've come across for Odie in no particular order.

Odi

Odee

Odei

Odey

Odeigh

The problem is I don't really like any of them as much as I like the O-d-i-e spelling. So could I get away with the names Eefie and Odie?

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I think if you have to ask the question, then something is telling you that it isn't working to begin with. Go with your gut. It isn't working. Eefie could be pronounced any number of ways depending on the reader so I would change that name. Odie reminds me of the dog in Garfield but I am sure it won't remind everyone of that dog. Not sure what the story is about, the genre, or who your target audience is but go with something anyone can pronounce. Odie is good, maybe Efee would work better.

I have never seen a different spelling for Odie, but neither have I ever seen an Eefie.

Eefje, Elfie, Effie, yes. But Eefie, no.

Still, if you're willing to reconsider, there are more useful alternatives for Eefie than for Odie. Eve, Evi or Evy for example.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Just so you know: Effie (pronounced eff-ee) is more usually a nickname for Evelyn. Says someone who used to have an aunt with that name.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Another vote for a bit too similar. Both two syllable, lots of vowels, highly unusual, same length, same ending. Put all these factors together, and they're more likely to get confused, especially when read aloud.

Personally, I rather like "Eiffel" just as is. It's nothing like Odie in sound or appearance.

I wouldn 't get them mixed up.

The Second Moon said:

And yes, I know that Odie is the name of the dog off Garfield , but I've written about a boy named Barney (like the purple dinosaur) and his adult figure, Thomas (like the blue train) but no one has mentioned those connections.

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For me, the difference is that I've read about (or seen) several characters with the names Thomas or Barney. But the only Odie I'm familiar with is the dog. That's not to say you shouldn't use it if you want to, just to give a reason why no one might have raised this point with the other names you mentioned.

Digression : I once read a historical novel where one of the characters was called Odo. Yes, the name fit the time period. But it also constantly reminded me of the shapeshifter in Deep Space Nine. I have now forgotten everything about the novel except that Rene Auberjonois was in it.

KBooks said:

Another vote for a bit too similar. Both two syllable, lots of vowels, highly unusual, same length, same ending. Put all these factors together, and they're more likely to get confused, especially when read aloud.

Personally, I rather like "Eiffel" just as is. It's nothing like Odie in sound or appearance.

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+1 to this

The names are just fine as they are for me. JK Rowling called on Latin to give approximately 104 characters a name ending in -us. No one was bothered.

The Second Moon said:

In a linked MG short story collection I'm writing there are two MCs. One is a girl named Eefie (Ee-Fee). The other is a boy named Odie. Do the names Eefie and Odie look too much alike because of the -ie at the end? If so I'd prefer to change the spelling of the names instead finding new names. I'd also rather change the spelling of Odie's name. Here are some different spellings I've come across for Odie in no particular order.

Odi

Odee

Odei

Odey

Odeigh

The problem is I don't really like any of them as much as I like the O-d-i-e spelling. So could I get away with the names Eefie and Odie?

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They seem very similar to me -- they're about the same length, both have -ie....

Also Odie is the dog from Garfield to me. Eefie makes me want to say 'eeeeef! ie.'

It could work. Have you considered changing Eefie to Eefa or Eefah? It's a small change, but it might help.

"Odin" just gets into another round of problems, since it's a name with strong associations to a Norse god. Is that something you want for this character?

The Irish name Aiofe has that same sound (but Eef-ah, not -ie) – maybe you could consider that kind of spelling?

FWIW, I don't think they're too similar, though Odie is definitely the dog from Garfield to me, too.

I don't think they sound too 'same-ish'. One starts with 'ee' and one with 'o'. I, personally, would avoid your alternate spellings of 'Odie'. They sound like someone trying too hard to have a 'unique' name. Odie sounds like it's a short form name. Odie, Opie, and a personal favourite, Obie, short for Obadiah.

Eefie, for me, is the problem. It doesn't sound like 'short for Eiffel'. (And I will not speculate on how drunk the parents were to name a baby 'Eiffel'.) Following Friendly Frog's ideas, I like 'Ivy' as an alternate. Say Eiffel a hundred times, quickly, to emulate the parental experience, and well, Ivy is closer than Eefie, and sounds like a real name, which is less disconcerting as the reader goes along.

I wouldn't get them mixed up. But if you aren't sure/are uncomfortable with them, then it seems worth changing.

I have no difficulties with that.

Definitely prefer Odie to Odin. Unless there's a story reason for having a character called Odin (although that could be as simple as his parents being Heathens). If Odie is short for Odin, I'd probably prefer it shortened to Ode, not Odie. You can't cute-ify Odin's name. It just sounds... wrong.

If Eefie's short for Eiffel, then I'd probably shorten it to Ivy or eye-fee (not sure how I'd spell that though), though how names get shortened vary a lot by dialect. Ivy and Odie (or Ivy and Ode) would work better for me and be less cutesy and look a bit more different in spelling.

The Second Moon said:

Sigh. No. I guess I'll have to change it again.

Edit: How about Odo.

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For me, Odo instantly brings the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine character to mind, but that probably wouldn't be a problem with an MG audience.