Hi Sid Friends, Readers and Guests and the Inevitable Who Let You In?,
I noticed in reading scenes from students recently that several first names I’ve used or have in current works were turning up.
I suspect in some cases of urban fantasy or science fiction with contemporary settings, students were drawing on familiar names. Mine came with a little more calculation to get to the same place in some instances because I’m sadly not 25 or 35 and plucking names just from my contemporaries.
Regardless, I thought I’d talk about how I name characters and some other names from fiction.
I try to make first names meaningful on a couple of levels, and I try to make them ring true to the time and region as well.
I became thoughtful about region reading Anne Rice. Se set many of here stories in Louisiana, where I’m from originally. She definitely used authentic surnames from specific areas of Louisiana, especially in historical tales net set in New Orleans.
I could pick up one of her books and readily recognize surnames from vicinities like Natchitoches, Louisiana. (I know how to spell that an pronounce it. That comes from my newspaper days.)
Thomas Harris usually drops in unusual surnames for characters. His offbead characters such as Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon get carefully crafted last names.
I cast about for unusual surnames as well and take characters backstories into account—everybody’s from somewhere and names often reflect that. My mother’s maiden name was Atwood, and I have cousins who know all about our ancestor Peter Atte Wode who once owned a British house called Sanderstead Court and had a son who was a Knight of the Shire, which sounds exciting but I think basically means he was a member of Parliament.
Anyway, I like to look at symbolism as well for surnames and especially given names.
But first one given names, I decide on character ages and backtrack, looking back to the most popular names for roughly the year of their birth.
It’s easy to find baby name lists online, and once I have appropriate names for an era, I discard the most common. Brandons, Kaitlins and Jessicas don’t often make the cut. I go for slightly less popular. Then I look at name meanings and try to use what works.
Years ago, before we had the web, there were other ways to do that. I heard the actor and TV personality Orson Bean mention on The Tonight Show that a girl named Heaven was in his little girl’s class. That stuck with me, and that’s how a protagonist’s child in one of my books got her name. Alright it was Gnelfs. I quizzed a co-worker with a child of similar age for behaviors, by the way.
I named a character Gable Tyler once, weaving into the text that his mother had been a Gone With the Wind Fan. A reviewer for Fangoria back in the day must have missed that point and made fun of the name. So it goes.
Anyway, just a few things I think about. In historical fantasy environments or futuristic environments, you might want to play different games for naming, but that’s for another day.
Take care, and we’ll talk again.
And here’s info on Gnelfs since I mentioned it:
Synopsis
Heaven was only four and a half, but she knew everything about the Gnelfs. She watched the little green men on TV, “read” her Gnelf books, and watched the Gnelf movies her mommy rented for the VCR. Sometimes Heaven even dreamed about the adorable little creatures. She just loved the Gnelfs.
Saturday Night Terror
Then the Gnelfs changed. Instead of being cute and lovable, they were ugly and mean. They hurt Heaven and made her cry. Then they started hurting other people, too…her Mommy. And her best friend.
Only Heaven could stop the evil little monsters. If only she knew how…
Order here
