How to Write Memorable Names: Writing Tips From a Professional Writer

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Learn how to write memorable and impactful character names with tips and techniques from a professional writer. This writing advice is perfect for authors and aspiring writers looking to create strong and unique characters. Watch this video to elevate your character-naming skills and stand out in the writing community!
Links to resources:
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Behind the Name: www.behindthename.com/
Donjon: donjon.bin.sh/
Fantasy Name Generators: www.fantasynamegenerators.com/
Chapters:
00:00 Names Are Important
00:52 First Tip
02:47 Second Tip
08:46 Thank you!
09:06 Third Tip (Things to Avoid)
13:29 Fourth Tip
15:53 Fifth Tip (Tools)
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#authortube #writers #writingtips #Characternames Writing Character Names: Tips from a Professional Writer

[@wrestlingwithwords]

How to Write Stronger Characters: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oaqWh35rna1_i8U How to Write Complex Characters: kzbin.info/www/bejne/naS5ioSMjbpngKM Character Arcs Explained: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a2jHqZyjpNeJia8

[@trikebeatstrexnodiff]

One of my favourite naming tools as a native Turkish speaker that I humbly think I have come up with, is to take out some agglutination elements and attach it at end of some words. For example; Cankoparan -> pronounced like "Jeancouparan" which literally means "One who rips apart the life" Dalaksiken -> pronounced like "Dalaxyken" which literally means "One who f*cks the spleen" (naaah this sounds weird in english 💀 But I swear it sounds so badass in Turkish) And yes, these are only 1 WORD! There are no spaces between them, they might seem long but you can come with short ones as well such as; Çakan -> pronounced like "Chakan" which literally means "One who lights/hits/understands" ("Çak" has a lot of meanings) You can literally go with this forever as long as you want and it will sound so original and cool, thanks to the agglutinative ability of Turkish; an Ural-Altaic/Transeurasian Language. I was inspired by the Turkish naming system: "x-en" / "x-an" when coming up with this. Such as; Eren -> one who achieves god, one who is thought to have seen things, saint Evren -> this one comes from the Old Turkish word "Evirgen" meaning "One who makes it spin/one who turns/one who turns the wheel" (in the Turkic Cosmology, it was believed that the cosmos was being spinned/turned around by two ever-turning dragons.) Today evren means "cosmos/universe" coming from that idea from Turkic Cosmology. This very same word which meant "turning" has the root of the word "evrim" meaning "evolution" which I think really makes sense. And I talked about only one of the agglutinative tools of the Turkish language. I only covered the -en/-an; there are SO MANY and different of these agglutinative suffixes in Turkish! Meaning you won't have to worry about the end of the names sounding the same; for you have so many options! (And btw, I haven't seen anyone having discovered this. Though, I'm sure there are some Turkish writers out there using this part of Turkish Language and creating names but it is very rare at this point as I literally haven't encountered ANYONE using it other than me 💀 But I hope it will become popular as I'm so surprised how couldn't any Turks thought about using this linguistic tool before?!) So overall, if anyone wants to come up with cool sounding, original names that makes sense, I suggest learning/searching about an Ural-Altaic/Transeurasian Language. My recommendations are; - Chuvash - Turkish - Mari - Hungarian - Yakut - Sami - Tuvan (Some linguists think Turkish is a part of the "Turanic Language Family" which has a ton of now dead languages like Turukkean and Sumerian, and I think this is the Language Family which Turkish belongs to but it is not really accepted academically. Oh and I think the Ural-Altaic/Transeurasian is probably not a Language Family, but is a Sprachbund, which means these languages (Finnic, Ugric, Samoyedic, Turkic, Japonic, Mongolic, Tungusic, Koreanic) didn't necessarily come from the same roots but through time they started to become similiar.) And thanks for the video! It was really helpful! But I don't understand the hype of using name generators. I'm thinking of never using them but who knows? I just hope I'll never be in a situation where I would have to use them.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Wow, thanks for such a detailed response! Honestly, Turkish words and names are some of my favorites to use for inspiration when it comes to character names and made-up languages. The system you made up sounds really unique. Have you used it in any stories so far?

[@trikebeatstrexnodiff]

​@@wrestlingwithwords Yeah I have. But I'm (kinda willingly) still on the writing process even after 9 years, there are still some things to do before the overall first story (of a series) is ready to go 😅 (I left that 9-year-old-nearly-finished-story to sit aside since I want to write/publish it in english, in the meantime I started to write a new story from scratch and I'm glad I encountered your channel while looking for how to improve my writing) And I'm so happy Turkish is a source of inspiration for your writing names and languages!

[@wrestlingwithwords]

@@trikebeatstrexnodiff That is great! And I am glad my channel is helping :). Let me know if there are any topics or questions you want answered!

[@inlovewitharto7]

im Turkish too and your naming tips are INSANE 👏 but ion think Eren means what you wrote about it, it means something close to Ermiş which is like a holy person or prophet?

[@trikebeatstrexnodiff]

@@inlovewitharto7 Thank you really! As for the meaning of the name Eren though, Eren originally meant Soldier/Man/Brave Man/Warrior in Old Turkish. (I'll talk about "Ermiş" below) (You probably know that Er still means Soldier and Man in Modern Day Turkish. "Erkek" (man/male) comes from this. Actually, if we go even further back in time, "Er" meant "to be/to become full", which is thought to have been synonymous with "Ér" which meant "to mature/to grow up". Another source says it comes from "Érk" meaning "3-year-old ram") However through time its meaning changed and shifted into a religious meaning. Even in some parts of the country, Eren (in that context, also sometimes spelled as İren and Yiren) means "Master/Expert" in Turkish Folklore. (There is a whole Wiki Page on what Eren is and means in Turkish Folklore, you can check it out (even though Wiki is an awful source for learning Turkish/Turkic History) there are some cool stuff in there. Such as how Diren (comes from the verb "Direnmek" meaning "to resist/to fight back", is a type of evil spirit which has its roots from Altaic Folklore) is the opposite of Eren, I didn't know that) Now, epic text incoming, bear with me... Eren is low-key difficult to be translated into another language. Ermek (-mek/-mak is the verb form, -en/-an gives the "one who..." meaning) is a verb that is described as: -"To achieve" (1) -"To reach for" (2) -"(for humans and plants) To grow" (3) -"(for vegetative products) To be ripe" (4) There is a last meaning and it is THE meaning of the verb "Ermek" in the context of the name "Eren": - "(for those who have put themselves on the road of God/road to God) to become a superbeing, to reach to a superhuman holy state, to become Eren" (5) Considering that above, I don't think I translated Eren incorrectly. I wrote "One who achieves God/One who is thought to have seen things/Saint" which aren't far away from what the 5th meaning implies. (I saw foreign sources writing Saint for Eren (most probably because it is shorter) so I decided to add that to not to confuse the foreigners. But Eren doesn't really have much things to do with the concept of Sainthood, I gotta admit. Saint means Aziz (Azize for female Saints). And yes I know some Dictionaries count Aziz and Eren to be synonymous with each other.) So overall, considering the 5th meaning of the verb Ermek, the most accurate translation of what Eren means in Modern Day Istanbul (Standard) Turkish would be: "One who is superbeing" which again, isn't so far from "One who achieves God"; for they mean the same. And did you know we even have a word (a superlative version) for the one who becomes the "most Eren/most sublime Eren/highest Eren": it is "Kutup", meaning "Pole" (As in North Pole - South Pole) Also, in the Tasavvuf Philosophy, that "Road of God/Road to God" which the Eren people go has a name and it is "Sey-u Suluk" or "Seyru Sülük" or "Seyr-u Sülûk". It originally means "to go on a road/job" but in this context it means "Spiritual Journey". And again in Tasavvuf Philosophy, they don't really use Eren much, they usually prefer to use the V3 version of Ermek which is "Ermiş", and Ermiş is used for people who have given up the worldly desires and devoted themselves only to God. (is not related to "prophet" as you wrote, but "holy person" appears closer) And according to this Philosophy, every Eren is "Kutup", meaning there can't be THE "most Eren", since every Eren is "most Eren". And according to Dictionaries, Ermiş is defined as, "Based on the belief, one who has achieved a particular stage in the Level of God". This word is accepted to be synonymous with "Evliya" meaning "Friends of God/Allies of God". So... Yeah... Eren and Ermiş are really close to each other and there is a very thin line between them but their subtle differences are what defines them at their core, so they can't be used for one another through the historical usages and meanings of these words. (Eg: Eren at some point meant Soldier/Warrior but Ermiş had nothing to do with that. Ermiş was always a religious term, while Eren particularly, was not)

[@StarlasAiko]

In the main culture of my story world, child names have two syllables, adult names have three or four syllables, deity names have four or five syllables. Female names end in a vowel, male names end in a consonant. Everybody undergoes at least two naming ceremonies, one at birth and one at the rite of passage into adulthood. Some people have additional naming ceremonies if they earn a new name as special honours through great achievements.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Very cool!!

[@ultimaxkom8728]

Quite inspirational.

[@uknowwhoiam1014]

Lemme just take a second to appreciate the meaningful name you've given your channel. "Wrestling with Words" sounds genuinely appropriate for the content you're putting out. Thank you for the great video.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Wow I really appreciate that-like more than I realize. I think I want to use the name sake a bit more but, as it goes with discovery, I’m always afraid of just yelling into the void. Anyways, I love the education/edu-tainment space and helping writers in general. Thank you for watching and hope to see you around!!

[@Firguy]

I like Hirohiko Araki's approach to naming. A character's name is not just a reference to music that he likes but it's also elaborately layered in subtext and parallels to the story behind the name.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

100% agree. I always appreciate things like this-in the appropriate setting and context. I never knew that about Hirohiko, thank you for sharing!! @firguy

[@EmmaBennetAuthor]

I find that names come to me almost immediately as I create a character. Having said that, Alastair did morph into Sebastian for a page when I was reading through the first draft of my current manuscript lol

[@wrestlingwithwords]

True! I usually have a name in mind, or a cultural influence before actually writing them. What made you want to change Alastair to Sebastian?

[@wordfullyyours]

I leave myself a lot of place holders. They're usually stuff like [Fight scene]

[@WriterNumber3950]

SAME!

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Oh yeah. We've all been there...

[@lucnaberka3978]

For me naming characters is a whole process. I tend to go for etymological dictionaries to find names to reflect the characters, whether it is a made up or historical name.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

For sure! I look at cultural roots as well to get a flavor of where the name comes from and if it matches the culture of where they are from or where the story is taking place.

[@emanekaf145]

Everyone knows the best way to name something is to put "thee" in front of a single word. That's the most creative. I say this but I'm totally going to use this at least a few times in my own writing. I never said I wasn't a hypocrite.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

😂 Absolute mad man!

[@Uriel238]

Bran in _SIF_ was one of those that was notably similer (Bron, the badass mercenary companion that eventually works for Tyrion Lannister). I remember as a kid reading _LoTR_ struggling with Sauron and Saruman since they both were high-ranking characters among the antagonists.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

For whatever reason Bran and Bron were never confusing to me. And honestly, I think it was George RR Matin that talked about breaking the rule of having names that sound the same or even giving major/minor characters the same name! Thank you for watching and commenting 😁

[@PePethePedalPusher]

@@erdelegy It seems like maybe foreshadowing to Sarumans complete turn (Sauron, Saruman, Sauron's Man, Sauranman, Saruman again if that makes some sense), It was actually my go to thought the first time I ever saw his name, tbh

[@StarlasAiko]

COnquest name changer placeholder names are awesome. It gave us awesome places like Hillhillhill Hill (Torpenhow Hill), and about 4 different River River (Avon River)

[@wrestlingwithwords]

You get it! Placeholders can be really interesting!

[@loferx]

It never ever occurred to me that Peeta's name sounds exactly like the bread. I feel almost shocked now.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

You'll never be able to un-hear it now! 😅

[@berserkasaurusrex4233]

Harry Dresden: "WTF is wrong with naming wizards Harry?"

[@johnparnham5945]

Continued Th young girl in the ice age was called Adrinbak which was a smudged Welsh word for Little bird. The original was Aderyn Bach. I used Google translate to find phrases that referred to animal s so the ice age people had animals names. A little boy was called Mokdear-badger a teenager was called Blath-Wolf. The original Welsh words may have proved too difficult for young English speakers to read hence the smudging.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Very interesting!

[@johnparnham5945]

It should work with other languages too. A good way to invent original names.@@wrestlingwithwords

[@robertborland5083]

Perhaps that character in Eragon could have been better served by the Scottish Gaelic form of the name from which the English "Keith" originates - "Chèith"/"Cèith" - to set the Medieval-style fantasy world.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Yeah I totally agree. That would have been much more fitting!

[@danesmith2133]

A technique that I like to use for naming is to look for words with a meaning I like in a less used foreign language. Knowing that real places like "The Cumberland" literally translates to "The Middle Land" means that a name of a thing is often less creative than we would imagine it to be. I used the Siammese word for "Mud" to name a dirty river because I liked the way it formed in the mouth when said out loud and it was an accurate description.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Excellent examples!

[@Satyxes]

I was a little surprised at 'Hannibal' being given as an example of a name that evokes villainy by virtue of how it sounds. Pretty sure the Carthaginians considered it a name as far removed from villainy as possible, while the Romans thought it the name of the archnemesis itself - a matter of context. isn't the use of the name Hannibal for the villain in Silence of the Lambs more of a cultural pollution than the name itself having a certain ring to it ?

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Could just be from my English speaking perspective but Hannibal has always sounds sinister to me (possibly because it rhymes with cannibal). But, that is some really interesting context. Cultural pollution or not, the current state of a name can change and evolve over time. It wasn’t so much of an assessment of the name, but more so something to think about and consider. Thank you for the thoughtful comment!

[@Satyxes]

That's probably quite true, given how - as a non-native English speaker - the absolutely obvious similarity between Hannibal and cannibal hadn't occurred to me, even while making the direct reference to the very movie/book where that combination was grafted onto the public cultural awareness. Food for thought. Thank you.

[@rdmrdm2659]

For whatever reasons, I always end up with rather simple names. Mara. Rime. Selos. Names that stick in the head easily. If you can’t easily pronounce it, it’s going to tend to slip out of your head easier.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Lately, my writing has been similar. A nice trick you can do too is if a character has a longer, complex name, give them a nickname too. Thank you for watching :).

[@Daneypastry]

As someone who's bilingual and has some knowledge on other languages as well, I can really recommend looking into just learning the very basics of another language. I constantly use this when I'm naming things. Specifically stuff like how most languages have their own rules as to how different vowels and consonants are pronounced. I like to consider how the same name would sound across different cultures in my story and if it has spelling variants. You can also play around with which vowel is stressed Something I've also found extremely helpful is being in a friend group with many different accents and native languages, as it's super insightful hearing the differences in how someone from, for example, Brazil vs someone from Scotland would assume the same name should be pronounced

[@wrestlingwithwords]

This is great advice! Thank you for your perspective and for watching.

[@Daneypastry]

@@wrestlingwithwords Ofc! Thank you for making great videos. I recently stumbled upon your channel and I'm happy I did :)

[@wrestlingwithwords]

@@Daneypastry Thank you so much for doing so! I really appreciate that :).

[@jibarodeorocovis3155]

"We want to avoid names that sound too similar." Gabriel García Márquez:

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Honestly… I love that name haha

[@robertborland5083]

What I enjoy about this is it is an intentional creative choice: by having characters share names, not only is that traditional in the society he wrote from but also is used deliberately to indicate parallels between these family members and repetition of past mistakes.

[@inlovewitharto7]

Dostoyevski is also guilty on that one 😂

[@cybersandoval]

names are critical for a character, and the larger story, good topic for writing theory

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Absolutely! Names play a crucial role in shaping a character's identity and can have a significant impact on the overall story. It's fascinating how the right name can evoke certain emotions and create a deeper connection with the audience.

[@OnigoroshiZero]

Amazing content!

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Appreciate it! Thank you for watching!

[@TheJwilly29]

Every video is right on time. Love the content.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Glad to hear it! Thank you for watching!

[@wbbartlett]

It always bugs me that you never find characters with the same name in movies, books, games etc. I've known many Pauls, Johns, Simons etc. Three boys out of a group of 12 were called Paul in one of my classes back at school, many years ago.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Part of me agrees 10000%…. But another part would advise against this, as you’re going to make it hard on MOST readers. However, that is a risk that might be worth taking, depending on what you’re writing. Thanks for the comment!

[@GlassPiano1214]

Most of my naming process comes from lazy research on finding a meaning behind a word in a different language. Not always the best option, but I find a word in a different tongue, then kinda shift it around until it sounds like a name... My main character in my story is named Kriivthi, or in his mother tongue, Kvíði. Anxiety. He's a very anxiety ridden character. Neglecting the fact that it would absolutely be a cruel joke on his mother's behalf. I think it fits his character really well. XD But the world he's from is also a very diverse place, so I can have characters named Kriivthi come from one region where they rely heavily on their mother tongue for naming things and people, but also have characters named Herschell that hails from other regions where normal sounding names are more common and not as reliant on meanings. On the flip side, my other story has characters with three to four different names all with varying reasons behind them. My main character is a dragon who lived in the sun, so obviously he's not going to have a normal name. His birth name is Vedan, but then he was banished to earth to live as a human, so now he has a normal name. Dillion. However, since his banishment didn't exactly go to plan, he developed the inability to remain dead, and eventually reincarnates into another life on earth after all his lives have been used up. So, since he found several other people like him, they made up their own hidden society with their own language made up of the various languages they were all born into. Which lead to him naming himself Dylieh. So he'll use Dylieh to help others find him in each new life they're born into. This was the general idea for newer characters. But, I only came up with Dylieh because I once stuttered trying to say Dillion and ended up with that. So, sometimes I just look up words that could have a cool sound to them, and sometimes I'm trying to say one thing and something non existent comes out and I like it so it becomes a name... It's probably my most favourite thing about character design, but also quickly becomes the most confusing thing to make coherent to other people...

[@wrestlingwithwords]

I think that is a fine system. One thing you might try (which I do a lot of) is to use a culture in our world to inspire a character's home country/native tongue. This is really basic on the surface, but I found it helps me pronounce and think of unique names to pull from. I've been using French to influence quite a few countries of origin lately, as well as Arabic now that I think of it... The romantic languages often have some great names and great pronunciations for fake/inspired names. Thank you for watching and for the comment!

[@GlassPiano1214]

@@wrestlingwithwordsyeah, I often use Icelandic and Russian as of late for most naming. And occasionally dip into old Norse words as well. French is super nice too

[@1GoodWoman]

Honestly I do not really worry about names. I play anagrams with words sometimes just for fun…justice is important via ai gives me a bunch but for a judge I like either M. Justin Capitore or Curtis J. Mopeaint. Play and have fun. The story, which is different from the plot is where I spend my mental energy. AI is not going away so I use it as a tool. It does have a long way to go before it really takes over creative writing.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Interesting! Thanks for watching and sharing your method. I think we all approach naming differently and the way we distribute our creative brain power is unique to each writer.

[@Royalscriber5633]

Naming my characters and places are one of my hardest tasks. I've been thinking of making each nation, tribe, or group each represent a specific culture. The main nation you see in the beginning will mostly be old English and European so most names will be mostly based around names around that culture with a rule that characters can't have a name that represents or hints at Darkness or Chaos in any way. Each culture will see this rule a little differently as you learn of other nations but language barriers will actually pop up in my story and csuse issue from misunderstandings.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Interesting. Something you can also do is, instead of making it totally different cultures and nations as inspiration, is use different time periods of one country as inspiration for each nation. For instance, for old England, you can pull stuff from the Norse invasion, the 100 Years War, and closer to modern naming conventions. Either way as long as there is some logic behind it and your naming style helps build immersion, that is what matters! Thank you for sharing and for watching.

[@Royalscriber5633]

@@wrestlingwithwords Ah some will actually be like that. I was actually thinking of making a nation mostly focused on Norse and will be one of the more similar nations. The only reason I wanted multiple cultures is mostly because of anime influence as well as games like God of War. I wish to add Japanese as well as a few others cultures not just out of love for different cultures but for the misunderstandings of translations themselves for future conflicts. As the story continues you'll see a variety of cultures and races that actually are based off of different time variants in our world but in this world most cultures formed from the Acient Elven culture and evolved over time differently due to each nations surroundings, events, and beliefs. The story theme is mostly medieval fantasy though evolving into a light industrial age as the story gets towards its end.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Awesome. Well, keep us posted on how the writing is going and if you ever want an extra set of eyes on anything feel free to send me an email with some of your work. I always like to try and give back to the community.

[@PePethePedalPusher]

I just...name but i do use some of these tips already, or i think of how this culture might use a similar name to our own but not spelled so differently as to be try-hard, for instance, Hale became Hael and so pronounced a little more like Hell, until he's in a slightly different culture who announciates differently and so calls him Hai-El (Phonetically). I experience this with my own real name, even when i pronounce it to some one, especially spanish speakers because they just say my name differently in their culture/phonetics. Other names, i like seeing/hearing the different possible interpretations from beta readers and my wife (Kadim could be Kay-dim or Kah-Dim or Kah-deem, or even Kay-deem since this isn't english my world speaks, and again, this could very depending on whose actually talking to him when i imagine it in my head, so i'm fine with readers pronouncing it different) and Aegia is pronounce like Asia, but Ah-Gee-Ah wouldn't be wrong either.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Very interestng!

[@TheAuthorNook]

Peeta 💀 yeah good point. I’ve always struggled with naming. Also, I can’t count the amount of times I’ve mixed up characters in a book I’m reading because they sound too similar!

[@Gnomleif]

Definitely struggle with names. I also have a strong tendency to come up with a name, use it for a while, go "naah, this is silly" and then start all over again.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

I totally understand the struggle with names! It can be tough to find the perfect one that you're truly happy with. Just keep experimenting and eventually, you'll find the right fit.

[@johnparnham5945]

I have to say that I'm really good at names if nothing else. Emily Dustan (The spellcheck wanted me to change it to Dunstone but I meant what I said.) Darcy Sauley, Isabel DeStaen A 12th Century character, Mrs Ledbourne, a teacher, Guillaume, A French name that I thought I had invented but it turned out to be real and the spelling was correct, much to my astonishment, Aaron Knott, a schoolboy whose observation skills are non-existent. Andrew Belshaw who changed his name to Matthew. Chevelle, a west indies name for a young girl of colour, Her friend, Ariana Staveley, two ten year olds. These are names in my books. There are more. I write middle grade and I try to make the names believable. I have changed names when there is a du[plication, i.e. Two Matthews in one case. I seldom look up directories such as girls or boys names. I do appreciate your advice because there are more books to be written and as you say, a good name choice is important.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Those are fantastic names! Sometimes databases are necessary, and other times we just have the knack for it. Thank you for your comment and your perspective! I really appreciate it.

[@gmjeremy3627]

Harry Dresden

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Dresden Files and Harry Potter occupy very different spaces in fiction. Also, as another commenter pointed out, both books kinda came out around the same time, before HP became so mainstream.

[@mikecobalt7005]

:) Very good.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@AHEM1313]

"Sam Tully." Wow, I knew that Sam was unhappy being a TARLY, but I didn't know that he got adopted by Catelyn's family!

[@wrestlingwithwords]

lol I know I know… as I was editing it I realized the mistake I made!

[@BadNessie]

This time I disagree with two little things: People who never got into contact with any Zelda game would probably perceive the name Link as rather cute than heroic. His story has become written into the perception of that name, which is awesome. Which brings me to the second point: using 'telling' names can be effective, but also a bit of cliché. As a German, with all the dubbing that's done in foreign language movies and TV shows, I immediately think of how telling voice actor casting can be. I've been told one too many times just by a voice pick who would turn out to be the villain, or the hero. Names can be the same kind of spoiler. And I 100% understand that readability is required and that it would be incredibly hard for an audience to buy into a character named... let's say... Farquardt being a sympathetic, heroic or in any other way 'positive' character. But ultimately, Link or Indiana don't sound that heroic either, before experiencing their stories. Unless it's needed, characters (to my mind) deserve 'neutral' names. Apart from this, speaking as a German again, it can be useful to look up what names were most popular in the relevant birth year in a certain country. Again, readability is required, and an English speaking audience will easily buy into a Hans being a German. But being a little more bold and looking up 'actually' used names would be helpful. If anyone here needs help with potential names for German characters, I'm happy to help out! A bit of backstory would be helpful, because in a country like mine, names can really depend on when and where you're born and your family story and cultural background. If it ends up not being an 'obviously German' name, it might even be brought up by other characters , or the pronunciation might be brought up (in a way that might make the audience remember how it works). It's such a small thing, but it can be interesting, without becoming filler.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

It's really kind of you to help come up with character names! And I do also agree that a "telling" name can become cliche. It needs to be subtle and not overdone. Thank you for the detailed comment! I really appreciate the disagreement and that you watched :).

[@absilabadi5121]

Jimmy Space

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Haven’t heard that one before!

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

Ok, I see you are monolingual. 1. You confused first, middle, and last names. First names are often used by mothers with babies and so tend to have a diminutive ending ('little one') like Margarita and Annette. In some cultures, like some Slavic and Asian Indian ones, middle names derive from the father's first name. Last names tend to be derived from a father's name long ago (Stevenson or Stevens), a place (Berlin), or a trade (Taylor, Miller). My last name, which translates as 'Son of a loaf', is possibly a blessing, more specifically, may the family be so prosperous that we be as fat as a loaf of bread. This is a noble name, not a peasant name, so it is not son of a baker. 2. There are a few studies on the emotions connected with various sounds. To a degree, this is connected with culture. For example, m is connected in Indo-European with mama. So m will have a positive association. Explosives like p and f are possibly going to be connected with papa, with strength. But a cursory search did not produce a definitive result. But I would guess that finding early words (the first words learned by a toddler with that sound) would be a logical starting point for a non-linguist. 3. If your work is successful, it may be translated, in which case, c and k and a few other letters may be written identically as pronunciation rules can be stricter in foreign languages. Guess I better stop here for the moment so YT does not delete a super long comment again.

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

4. In some religions, a religious name name may be prefixed. Thus is Islam, instead of Adam, the name can be Mohammedadam. (one word) And don't they love writing that out where a signature is writing out the name instead of a symbol. 5. The frequency of first names changes even annually. So, if you are writing a story set in 1954, look at what names were popular in the year and location each character was born. 6. You need to add the links to the naming websites as this comment will be deleted if I give them here.

[@wrestlingwithwords]

I just added them! Thank you for your comment. Yes, there is a TON more that can go into a name. I think a video about how culture, religion, and language can influence a characters name is one worth creating. Behind the Name: www.behindthename.com/ Donjon: donjon.bin.sh/ Fantasy Name Generators: www.fantasynamegenerators.com/

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

4. In some religions, a religious name name may be prefixed. Thus is Islam, instead of Adam, the name can be Mohammedadam. (one word) And don't they love writing that out where a signature is writing out the name instead of a symbol. 5. The frequency of first names changes even annually. So, if you are writing a story set in 1954, look at what names were popular in the year and location each character was born. 6. You need to add the links to the naming websites as this comment will be deleted if I give them here.

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

Interesting. My second comment did not send or so I found out when I got home. 7. Even in non-magical societies, a person may have different names for different people. For example, Gaius for close family and close friends, Caesar for most others. Not sure who used Julius, which was the surname. But this can get confusing for English speakers. 8. In India, one has a 'good name', which is NOT one's reputation. 9. I am used to Lithuanian now, where vardas is first and middle names only. Pavarde is last name only. But in the US, it is just 'name' or 'full name' on forms and colloquially as 'name and surname' is a bit redundant. 10. Tolkien's elves had different names depending on their age. 11. I think the best names are those that are almost recognisable, but different. Thus, your Katniss example sounds close to cat (associated with women who are lithe like a cat and a cat is the symbol of women for several reasons) and Kathy while the plant reference is not to a Latin or English name, but to a Lenape name, a Conlang from the series. The last confusion is a result its closeness to catnip.

[@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve]

I agree fully with your comment of letting names go, esp. if the character is speaking to you and you need to rush to record his or her words. Remember, some of the Harry Potter names like Slytherite were changed after the manuscript was submitted. I presume that the better publishers have linguists on call to help with names as they would be the best qualified to develop and correct them. Thus to compare us amateurs with a linguist expert like Tolkien is silly. That is like comparing the writings of the author of 27 published books (not self-published) with those of a high school student. Creating names is a fun sideline, but it is the quality of the writing that is going to sell the manuscript, not the creativeness of the names. A good name does help the character to come together, even if the publisher changes it later. Calling a character Harry Potter in the rough drafts is fine if it helps you to imagine the character, so long as it does not bring you too close to fan fiction. I mean, how would The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings be different is the principal character was Harry Potter instead of a hobbit?

[@Gramakin]

No wizards named Harry! So Harry Dresden's out then?

[@wbbartlett]

The Dresden Files started not long after Potter, and certainly before Potter hysteria caught on. Also, I guess Potter is aimed at children, while Dresden is not, so the target audience is different (though many adults chose to read children's books for some reason)

[@wrestlingwithwords]

Couldn’t agree more. Well said.

[@tartoflan]

What's that? Don't you like your Peeta Bread?!

[@wrestlingwithwords]

🫠