If you think about itcharacter names are actually a specific literary device you can use most sneakily and if you want readers to love, adore, and care for your main character, giving them the best and most memorable name can make all the difference. You can also rearrange the letters of phrases or names you like to create something less recognizable. How to make a good last name for characters in a book. Coming up with a good book title or book title ideas can be maddening. Your novel might become an audiobook or an ebook with texttospeech enabled. With stories based on incidents from my life and the real world, i like my characters to have ordinary namesbut not names so common they take away the unique flavor of the work. These names are spelled exactly alike the characters of the round table. An italian probably wouldnt be named william, and an englishman wouldnt suit pasquale.
Jun 08, 2010 with stories based on incidents from my life and the real world, i like my characters to have ordinary namesbut not names so common they take away the unique flavor of the work. A good deal of thought should go into selecting names for mystery novel characters. Popular good characters books meet your next favorite book. In the second tier are other names you might run into more than once in your lifetime. Jul 05, 20 are you writing a book and need a name for your character. You need to have a good reason for another character to use a nickname i. His new series, draconis memoria, is a mix of politics, dragons, and swashbuckling adventure.
Writers resourcescharacter name listsfind names for your characters. In my fantasy world, there is a kingdom where the regnant names of the kings come from king arthurs knights of the round table. Parentstobe pore over baby name books for months looking for that perfect. They started as pen names for my mom, but it just grew. Some long names with a short nickname would be great for the female and male. Apr 28, 2010 what are some really good names for male and female characters for my book.
Flipping through phone books is the easiest way to coin innovative and unique names for fictional characters. You can also rearrange the letters of phrases or names you like to. What not to name your characters write it sideways. Ive met literally thousands of doctors and seem some very odd names in my time, which makes me weirdly qualified to answer this question. What are some good doctor names for a character in a book. Anthony ryan on naming fantasy charactersand making sure. In fact, some authors dont even consider choosing names until theyve completed one or more chapters.
The phone book will not only give you thousands of last names, but you can also read first names and get a feel for what names work well with each last name. Names like aristotle, sebastien and bridgelle are good for more classy tales, while andrew and tom or emma and sarah are good basic names for the more uptodate stories. Thats because the best authors tend to stick with one name through to. The funny thing about random book name generators is that many of them are niche specific which is a good thing.
There is no other connection to the characters of the arthur mythology. Back, i tell you, back pokes people with a stick xd you will probably see these names in. Coming up with names for your characters is easy, right. This list of general boys names is divided into three lots. For many writers, a character comes to life once theyre given a name. Writing a character is tough, but picking out the perfect name is even tougher. I have to write a book for school and i need names for my leading male and female roles in the book ive narrowed it down to 3 names each, but im still open for suggestions. Check out our article on 5 things you need to know about character development for advice on fleshing out your characters and developing the type of memorable characters readers love, or refer to our 6 insanely good dialogue tips to learn why your dialogue is the first thing a literary agent looks at. Again, baby names websites will tell you what various first names mean, so you can choose ones that fit your characters. Thinking of surnames can be a tedious task, whether the last name is for a character in a fictional book, game or for an alias.
Sep 25, 2019 to find unique names for your characters, check movie credits or a mythology book for something unique. How to select names for your mystery novel characters. Dickens used to create character names that were quite ironic, for example. The characters dont name themselvesthis is the job of your character s parents. Lets face it, the typical sentence structure and word lexicon for erotica book titles are completely different than scifior lets hope. Feb 01, 2018 its original names for our characters and towns. Anthony ryan is the acclaimed author of blood song, a selfpublished sensation that was picked up by ace and expanded into the ravens shadow trilogy. What should my male main characters name be in a book.
Assuming you read the previous article and have now created characters or at least ideas for characters who will take on these functions, your next step is to turn them into people your readers will. Yeah, im one for unusual names xd and two were used on this list. For more great titles that will entice your reader, check out these timeless chapter books for kids. This list is comprised of some of the most recognizable names from fictional books.
If you have any other names that you would like to add to the l. You need to think about the tone of your book, and what effect a name choice might have on it. Well, i made a poll to sort of take a sample of people and their preferences. Garrett logan zack charles perry oliver kenneth ken brice dylan derek pete coda kodi nigel anders ramsey steve carey jessie dakota greyson ryan. However, instead of simply naming a baby the full name of whomever theyd like to honor, they add the name to the start of another. Thesauruses, plots, character traits, names, and more. But for fiction writers its harder because you have to come up with a dozen or so character names for every single story or novel. A name generator site is a good first start, but what goes into picking the names of the inhabitants of your story is much more complicated than that. Names character names or the names of people in real life are a big deal. To find unique names for your characters, check movie credits or a mythology book for something unique. Writing adolescent fictioncharacter namesboys wikibooks. Sep 25, 2017 what should i name the characters in my book.
Can i name my characters after famous characters from old. The 7 rules of picking names for fictional characters. Glance through character or place names in the book to get some ideas. Popular boys names in the late 1990s were names like cody, kyle, austin, tyler, brandon, zachary, justin among the more traditional names like christopher, michael, andrew, michael, david. Nov 07, 2019 ive met literally thousands of doctors and seem some very odd names in my time, which makes me weirdly qualified to answer this question.
Before adding a name, please check all three tiers to make sure. They believe they become better acquainted with their story people as they write about them. Writing adolescent fictioncharacter namesafricanamerican. Read male character names from the story the book of names by thebeautyinthebeast a. Bumble, master bates, mchoakumchild an unpleasant teacher, mr. O ne of the fun things about being a novelist is inventing names for your characters. Ask yourself whether or not your characters last name would fit or stand out in a book with similar themes. Naming your characters is one of the best and scariest parts of writing a novel. Ghanaian names like kwame and kweisi can be used by africanamericans as well, even if they have not traced their bloodlines to ghana. The character s names should fit the norms of when they were born. I confess that most times i solve this problem by, well, procrastination. Just to hit one of those random name generator sites like seventh sanctum and youre done. Aug 28, 2012 10 questions you need to ask your characters. His forefathers bought land from harlan granger during the.
It has lists of character names for contemporary heroes and lists of names from several historical periods as well. If you cant find anything you like, try misspelling other names or words to create new ones. Coming up with a great name for your characters is one of the hardest tasks youll ever complete as a fiction writer. But when that fails, writers need a subtle creative push to find a name that actually fits the characters. If shown, the year indicates when the book was first published.
Characters you really adore put characters name in comment box 78 books 47 voters strong female characters created by men. But thankfully, we no longer have to go it alone because there is an incredible tool called a book title generator that has helped me with just that. Your character names have the ability to transform the perception readers have of your book and story. Were providing that push in the form of this buzzle post. What are some really good names for male and female. But a name is never enough because characters also need a surname. While a baby book wont have last names, some first names could be used as last names.
I am guessing you are here because you are an author and have found it difficult to think of a good surname. The bib book club biblioteca, or bibliotheek are just two translations for libraryin this case, portuguese and dutch wordsand i think they make for a very nice library book club name children book club names. It can also help to compare last names from your characters to the story youre skimming. Are you writing a book and need a name for your character. Aug 05, 2008 what a good last name for a characters in my book. Here are seven great rules for choosing character names offered up by popular mystery writer elizabeth sims the rita farmer mysteries. You can reply even if you have only the name for one character. On wattpad people just go with the cliche, never going outside of francisco lachcski and barbara. Here are the most popular characters that parents and their kids love.
So that way, if i ever get a book published, then most of the people will hopefully like the names. Use these methods for naming characters in your book. Remember, dont choose names that start with the same letter. I write in a firstperson narrative so that i dont have to worry about naming the.
Only thing was, as soon as the thousands of copies of hardcovers were printed and shipped to stores, i heard from a reader who pointed out the simple fact that kwan is a chinese surname. Lhonnidra is a common name in a certain place of my book. How to come up with names for characters write good books. How to create characters for your novel how to write a book now. Nov 29, 2011 a good deal of thought should go into selecting names for mystery novel characters. These include novels, short stories, graphic novels and comic books. By a good surname i mean a surname that will go with a first name you may have already thought of, so i have. While the names of this list are frequently used by africanamericans, remember that they are also american and any american name will do. How to make a good last name for characters in a book wikihow. What should my male main characters name be in a book im. Of course, you may have one character who has an unusual name that stands out from everyone elses, but that should never be the rule.
Ive researched, tested, and listed all the best book title generators by genre below. A perfectly good name on paper, such as adam messina, may. Hayley or jaiden would be inappropriate names for characters in a historical book. I know its kind of biased but i figured what the heck. Head to a baby name website and search for names by gender, popularity, and alphabet. In the first tier are the top 200 names among boys of high school age in the past few decades. Whenever i get new name ideas, i will incorporate them into the already existing list. Personally, my three favourite girl names ever are dawn, willow and ivy. Eight pages of boys names collected by me with help of my friends anya and nonie thankyou guys. All you have to do is scour the page of 300 unique, original fantasy names and keep this list a reference while you write that fandomworthy novel of yours. I am going to shamelessly plug my new book the son of superman, i am really proud of it and i would love for you to check it out. When writing my novel the actress, i needed a name for a japaneseamerican criminal defense attorney, and the name gary kwan burst upon me.
When developing charactersno matter what sort of characters youre pursuingheed common sense and consider each of these tips before cho. Unique last name ideas for fictional characters of your book. The weight of that responsibility can often paralyze writers. The right name can help you explore a characters personality. Ive expanded this list to 200 names in my book master lists for writers. Back, i tell you, back pokes people with a stick xd you will probably see these names in my story. Character names are to characters as titles are to books, so if youre. Feel free to use or change any of these for any of your works.
You are allowed to distribute the book in its entirety freely to all your friends. Pdf and epub versions for iphone, ipad, and other ebook readers. For truly random last names, pick up a phone book or book of baby names. Morrison a big, burly man with streaks of white hair who comes to work on the logan farm. What are some really good names for male and female characters for my book. On one hand, you dont want to saddle your characters with ordinary, pedestrian names. Also, the problem with those websites is they give you really ahem odd names. Everything you want to know about your chinese name professionally written and illustrated in a hardcover book. Discussion in general skyrim discussion started by mr. How to give your character the perfect name writers digest. Also thanks to chelsea who i forgot to add the first time this was posted. Jul 09, 2019 for example, in a certain culture in my work in progress, names can often be namesakes.