Names

[Circ]

Sigh... I always have such a hard time coming up with names for my stories, and an even worse time coming up with names for characters.

I've got a story just about done right now, and it'll probably take me longer to come up with character names than it did to write the story. I always write with temporary codenames for the characters. Right now my main characters are named 'Dude', 'Girl', and 'Dog'; and one of Girl's friends is being called 'Whoreina' at the moment.

Maybe I'm just too picky when it comes to names. They really just kind of have to click for me, or I won't use them.

Argh!

Hmm, I might name the dog something weird, like... 'Poseidon', just to fuck with people.

[staci]

how about naming the dog "jello" because he quivers. lol, you're welcome.

[Gina Marie]

Here ya go hun -

http://www.download3000.com/download_23694.html

[Pan]

Use google to find some name sites.
Many sites will give you random names based on country, gender ect.
Popular names over the years.
Historical lists are also no problem.

[celebrity]

Names usually dice-tumble around inside my brain until, like an online-connection, my 'writer's voice' attaches it to a character spontaneously.  Sometimes the character needs at-least two names, for a nickname-among-friends, or an alias.

Animal-names have to be unique to the character who 'owns' them...

Your inner voice will consistantly name characters for you.  Sometimes you won't like certain names, but fiction occasionally demands bland, hard-to-spell, or arbitrarily-uninspiring names for reality's sake. 

[Gnostic85]

Your inner voice will consistantly name characters for you.  Sometimes you won't like certain names, but fiction occasionally demands bland, hard-to-spell, or arbitrarily-uninspiring names for reality's sake.

Heh. Supposedly, Ian Fleming came up with the name James Bond because he wanted a name that evoked the image of a tax collector, or at least someone nobody would want to hang out with. But nowadays, a lot of people would love to hang out with Bond...

[handsomepeter]

James Bond was actually a well-known ornithologist that Fleming chose for his hero's name.

[Cincinnatus]

Use google to find some name sites.
Many sites will give you random names based on country, gender ect.
Popular names over the years.
Historical lists are also no problem.

An excellent place to look is at baby name sites and/or books.  They'll have info on meaning, origin, nationality, etc.  Some also will give lists of similar names, if the one found is almost there but not quite.

Cin

[mara101]

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/Names.htm

its an amazing site for names, best one ever, for every conceivable genre.

[Hilda]

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/Names.htm

its an amazing site for names, best one ever, for every conceivable genre.

OMG, that's a veritable treasure trove. All those names, and all in one place. The folks that put that site together deserve a huge pat on the back.

I noticed inconsistencies in the spelling of some lists, which probably means that those lists were compiled from multiple sources, and took that much more time and effort to put together. Very, very impressive. 

[Vela Nanashi]

Woo to you Hilda for keeping digging up cool and useful stuff all over the forum Keep your thread necromancy strong

[Colin Piper]

Names are very important to a story. Like dialogue, they don't have to follow real life exactly, just give a flavour. Careful consideration should be given to them and how that might reflect on their appearance and character - along with the title. Perhaps I should follow my own advice - heh.

There are lots of apps out there - a random one I found is - https://www.name-generator.org.uk/

And of course, you don't have to go with the recommendations, but it does get the creative thought process going.

Say you're into girls (most people here, I guess..). There are two sisters, Ursula and Sarah. You can only go on a blind date with one. Who will you choose?

See 

[MissBarbara]

Say you're into girls (most people here, I guess..). There are two sisters, Ursula and Sarah. You can only go on a blind date with one. Who will you choose?

See 

Don't be too quick to dismiss Ursula. I mean, just imagine what she could do with six tentacles and two hands:




Then, of course, there's this Ursula:




Seriously, your points are very well taken. There have been several times I've been turned off by a story because a woman has a name that makes her sound like a stripper or a hooker.

I've used the Social Security name database sorted by year/decade to get a flavor of the most popular names for a given year/time period.

[LtBroccoli]

Say you're into girls (most people here, I guess..). There are two sisters, Ursula and Sarah. You can only go on a blind date with one. Who will you choose?

See 

Don't be too quick to dismiss Ursula. I mean, just imagine what she could do with six tentacles and two hands:




Then, of course, there's this Ursula:




Seriously, your points are very well taken. There have been several times I've been turned off by a story because a woman has a name that makes her sound like a stripper or a hooker.

I've used the Social Security name database sorted by year/decade to get a flavor of the most popular names for a given year/time period.

I highly recommend the SSN database for finding names.  I'm old enough to have these things called telephone books lying around, but I usually go to a names db like the Social Security name database.  I'll sort by year and go with something that fits the character.  If I'm looking for a unique name for a woman in her early to mid-30's, Whitney was the 32nd most common girl name in 1987.  If her husband was just another average man from that generation, Michael was the most popular boys name that year.

As far as last names, I have to look at common names for that nationality or have a backstory in place.  Whitney Smith married Michael Coppola about 10 years ago.  Smith is a very common name (the most common name) but Coppola sticks out a bit.  Michael's character comes from an Italian background, so that needs to be taken into account.

Also baby name generators and baby name sites help too.  I've used those a few times for character names in the past.  I had one story where I based a character off of someone I knew that had a very unique name but knew I couldn't get away with using it.  Instead I went through the list of names that were close and found something almost as unique but not quite.  It's very important to change names when writing smut.  Even though these characters are not based on real people, there's a kernel of inspiration somewhere that can cause a world of hurt.

[EnabranTain]

You can also consider the meaning of the names you give your characters too, try to find something appropriate to who they are (or who they will be for a bit of foreshadowing). Since we don’t tend to be aware of the meaning of people’s names when we use them in every day settings (at least in Western culture), it can be a good way to add something that helps define the character but won’t be too ham-fisted.

You can also use literary or Biblical names, or names from history, to the same effect. Find a literary figure or a historical figure that embodies your character’s essence and use their name. For example, do you have a character who is the voice of reason and warns others of mistakes, but they’re ignored and then bad things happen? Then perhaps name that character Cassandra (or maybe Cassy, Cassa, etc.)

[Pornhubby]

My grandparents would be about 120 if alive today. They both came from big families, so consider some of these great aunt names I grew up with: Ester, Thelma, Gladys, Pansy, Eloise, Irene, Edna, Agnes…

Today everything is Chloe, Grace, Stella, and Maya, but just remember that someday those names will seem just as archaic as my aunties’.

Names that never go out of style? Biblical ones.

[Hilda]

Sigh... I always have such a hard time coming up with names for my stories, and an even worse time coming up with names for characters.

I'm bored with archiving the works of long-dead authors and have gone back to writing fiction. When all's going well I find it relaxing and rewarding.

It's no more than a hobby, so I don't bother with the rules of creative writing. No carefully plotted timelines, no character outlines, no interwoven relationships, no conclusion. I just sit down and let my fingers clatter away on the keyboard.

This morning I had a vivid image of a journalist sitting at her laptop and racing to meet a deadline. I've started novels with far less. Today, however, I came unstuck on the journalist's name. I chose three or four at random, typed them to see how they looked on the page, and rejected all. They didn't sound or look right.

I ended up with "Vicky", for what reason I have no idea. It just floated up from my subconscious.

In another few pages Vicky will be contacted by someone working for British intelligence. I'll deal with the operative's name when I come to it.

Wish me luck.

[MintJulie]

Good luck!

Have we ever had a story posted here by Hilda?

Will you be posting the current work?

[staci]

"In another few pages Vicky will be contacted by someone working for British intelligence. I'll deal with the operative's name when I come to it."


Sounds like a Liam or Jules fav, Colin.

[MissBarbara]

"In another few pages Vicky will be contacted by someone working for British intelligence. I'll deal with the operative's name when I come to it."

Sounds like a Liam or Jules fav, Colin.

I agree with Staci. Or perhaps Nigel, e.g. Nigel St. Cloud?

To Hilda's point, I agree that too many writers -- especially amateur erotic fiction writers -- overthink names, and come up with something that sounds silly.