Names have magic. Some primitive cultures believed that to give your name was to give another person power over you. And tales mention that if you ever meet a demon, you should try calling it by it’s true name and see what happens.
I believe names do have power. If chosen correctly, names help define your character. A poor name falls flat. When I choose names for characters, I spend hours cruising sites on names and looking through various language books for the name that fits just right.
Brainstorming through words helps. So do watching movies and reading books. Even billboards can give you good naming ideas.
Take Jake Verona from the game boards at Escaping Reality, for example. The first name was an easy choice. I’ve always liked the name Jake. It’s my nephew’s name, after all. But I was at a loss for a last name. Nothing seemed to fit.
Then while cruising home from Costco several months ago I saw a billboard for a new development of condominiums in the area. There it was: Verona.
Some Naming Silliness
I never intended to get too deep or serious with this post. I really just wanted to write out a meme. So, here’s something fun for each of you. Find your special names by filling out the prompts and have a laugh. Drop your answers in the comment section if you feel like it!
Who knows? Maybe you’ll get your next great character name out of it.
1. Your rock star name (your pet, current car): Lakota X (VTX1800 is a little too sci-fi)
2. Your gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Phish Food Steel Toe (ugh)
3. Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Wolf (wasn’t that a beer?)
4. Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born): Connar Lawrence (now we’re getting somewhere)
5. Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, the first two letters of your first name): Oed Ha (I prefer Darth Reason)
6. Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Black Colada (What the hell kind of super powers would this guy have? Commanding a legion of African Sparrows and dropping coconuts on the citizens of Metropolis?)
7. NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers): Frank John (meh)
8. Stripper name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Polo Snickers (ok, Snickers aren’t my favorite, but it was funny.)
10. TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Sorry, going to have to pass on this one. I can’t remember my 5th grade teacher’s name.
11. Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Do pagan holidays count? Pass.
12. Cartoon name (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Cantaloupe T-shirt (huh?)
13. Hippie name (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Scrambled Egg Sequoia
Seriously though…
Naming characters really does take a lot of thought and consideration, unless you’re building a red shirt. Put as much effort into finding the right name as you would with all the other details of your novel or character concept.
Your characters are your children, so name them well.
How fun! I love names. Here’s a few of the fun ones I got:
Rock Star: Ghirardelli Accord
Gangsta: Vanilla Flop
Soap Opera: Marie Sault Ste. Marie (lol!)
NASCAR: Norbert Moise
Weather Anchor: Kuesler Kiev
Hippie: Granola Willow (perfect!)
PS. “What’s your middle name?” was on my list of Qs. I’d cross it off, but now the answer has spawned more Qs. Shock!
Nicoles last blog post..What Comes Around
Damn, girl! Those are some good names in there – especially the hippie one!
I like “Vanilla Flop” too. That’s sorta what Vanilla Ice became, wasn’t it? Although I did have the opportunity to actually meet the guy a few years back and he was pretty cool.
This brought a huge smile and a few giggles to my gloomy day. Here are mine:
1. Your rock star name: (I’d be a nameless rock star… no pets, no car!)
)
2. Your gangsta name: Chocolate Peanut Butter Rainbows (maybe this would be better suited for the hippie name?)
3. Your Native American name: Blue Panther
4. Your soap opera name: Mariko Hawthorne
5. Your Star Wars name: Day Al
6. Superhero name: Green Fanta
7. NASCAR name: Jim John
8. Stripper name: Chance Reeses
10. TV weather anchor name: Sweeney Seattle
11. Spy name: Winter Rose
12. Cartoon name: Banana Pajamas (wait… didn’t they already do this one? Now I’ve got that danged song in my head.
13. Hippie name: Cheerios Jacaranda
Allison Days last blog post..Taste and Create 11, A Little Foodie Love
@Allison: Green Fanta sounds cool, and I like Mariko Hawthorne
Ha, this is fun
Allison, I like how your cartoon name turned out to be Banana Pajamas.
My names –
Rock star name: Bond Mercedes
Gangsta name: Blue Moon Heels
Native American name: Indigo Mountain Lion
Soap opera name: Leah Ashwaubenon (sounds like it should be my N/A name!)
Star Wars name: Dav Ra
Superhero name:Yellow Coffee (sounds poisonous…)
NASCAR name: Walter James
Hippie name: Chocolate Oak (ha!)
RL Davids last blog post..A very short hiatus…
You know, on the first character sheet I submitted for Escaping Reality, my character’s name wasn’t Lizzy. It was Maeve. Luckily something clicked with her story in my head before the final revision, and it turned out she was named for her mother’s favorite literary character instead.
Whew, huh? I can’t imagine Lizzy NOT being Lizzy now. It fits her perfectly.
Nicoles last blog post..What Comes Around
Rock Star name: Lemons Jaguar
Gangsta name: Strawberry Leather
Native American name: Purple Peacock
Soap Opera name: Rey Tallahassee
Star Wars name: Ric Co
Superhero name: Black Pepsi
Nascar name: Ferman John
TV Anchor name: Foster Frankfort
Spy name: Halloween Iris
Cartoon name: Kiwi Socks
Hippie name: French Toast Dove
Great idea! I killed a few minutes with this when I should have been writing… xP I just love distractions!
Here are my results:
1. Rock star name: Ranger Sienna (Somehow that came off as less rock star and more, “Your parents never wanted you.”)
2. Gangsta name: Cookie Dough Heels (*snort* That’ll strike fear into the other gangs.)
3. Native American name: Blue Tiger (Why am I thinking of an Asian flag?)
4. Soap opera name: Michelle Diego (Aljeandro Diego must be my cousin. xP)
5. Star Wars name: Woobe (But I like Chala Onasi!)
6. Superhero name: Dr. Silver Pepper (So I mixed up the Dr. and Pepper parts, but trust me, it’s better this way. I think I have the powers of invisibility through quicksilver, and can telepathically move things with my aura of high energy.)
7. NASCAR name: Francis Pete Gilbert (Ew. Isn’t remarriage a beautiful thing? xP)
8. Stripper name: Ulta Chocolate (For your information, I will never use this name.)
10. TV weather anchor name: Mueller Marysville (Okay, then.)
11. Spy name: Autumn Rose (OOOoooo, that’s soo pretty!!! I should have a daughter named that!!
)
12. Cartoon name: Strawberry Sneakers (Heehee. I must wear pink and pigtails.)
13. Hippie name: Granola Sakura (Whaa….??)
Thanks!