By: Darby Karchut
What’s in a character’s name? Well, a heck of a lot, really.
The perfect name expands your imaginary universe and helps establish the character’s
personality. It can be obvious or subtle. For many writers, including myself,
characters do not become “alive” until they bear the perfect handle. That holds
true for readers, too.
Here are some things to think about when choosing names for
your characters:
Respect Your Genre
This is especially important in fantasy and sci-fi and
historical fiction. Culturally-inspired names add another layer to your world
building and helps ground your work in a real place and time, even if your book
is fantastical in nature. And just as period costumes, manners, and vocabulary
set the tone for your historical novel, so, too, can the proper name.
If your novel is inspired by legends from other cultures,
this is fairly easy to do. Since my middle grade series, The Adventures of
Finn MacCullen, is based on the Irish legend of The Boyhood Deeds of
Finn McCool, I took the Gaelic spelling of Finn McCool (Fionn mac
Cumhail) and Anglicized it to Finn MacCullen. A tried-and-true practice
within the fantasy genre, but it is still an effective technique, especially
for younger readers who are coming across this stuff for the first time.
Another tip: Use the name to reveal about the character’s
essence. In my YA series, Griffin Rising, the hero is a teen guardian
angel named Griffin.
I gave him that name for two reasons: One, it means “Strong in Faith.” Two, it
begins with a hard consonant (more on the actual sounds of names later). The
challenge for you as the writer is to find a clever way to weave background tidbits
about the name(s) into the story. Some readers will skip over this kind of
geekery. Others will eat it up. Sprinkle it in judiciously.
J.K. Rowling, in her Harry Potter series, did a
wonderful job taking roots words (many which had a Latin or Greek origin – just
screams English boarding school, does it not?) and creating spot on names. For
example: Serverus (severe), Albus (white), Draco (dragon). She also used
alliteration (Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, etc.) but
beware—too much of a clever thing is too clever by half.
Age Appropriate
Is the name appropriate for the age of your character? Check
the baby names lists for the year your character was born, not the time period
they are living through in your story. For most part, a woman born in the 1950s
would have a different name than a teen girl born in the early 2000s.
A New Twist
That said, you might want to make your character stand out
by giving them an unusual name (perhaps an old family name). In Stone’s
Heart, Stonewall Wheeler is a modern-day farrier living in western Colorado. His son is
Beau. Good, solid cowboy-ish monikers, and a tip of the hat to Civil War
aficionados, to boot.
Music to the Ears
Say your characters’ names aloud. How do they “feel” when
you say them aloud? A hard consonant (B, D, G, T, etc.) can project strength or
power. Softer vowels (A, M, N, O, etc.) might indicate a gentler personality.
Sibilant sounds (S, Z, sometimes P or Th) can go either way. One of my
characters from The Stag Lord is Shay Doyle. She is a shield maiden, as
well as her clan’s healer. So, I chose the softer-sounding ‘ay’ in Shay and paired
it with the hard consonant of ‘d’ in Doyle to show both her sides: healer and
warrior. Soft and hard.
Ready for something subtle? Take Game of Thrones’ Ned
Stark. The name starts off with a softer sound of ‘n’ (a family man, Ol’ Ned was),
then it ends in a hard, clipped consonant. The ‘k’ sounds like the snap of a
dire wolf’s jaws. Yeah, yeah. I’m stretching it, but you get my point.
Mind Your ABCs
Make sure none of your characters have similar names: Ken/Ben.
Mac/Max. Casey/Kaci/Cassie/Kelsey. Olive/Olivia. Jim/Jem. Readers will get
frustrated having to pause to figure out who’s who, especially at the beginning
of the story.
One way to avoid this is to make sure your main characters’ names
start with a different first letter. A lot of readers only skim the first few
letters of a name. You want your readers turning pages, not slowing to remember
if Mike was the romantic lead or was it Mitch?
I admit that the geek in me takes great joy in researching
and selecting just the right name for my characters. It helps me understand who
they are, why they are the way they are, and what they want out of life. I hope
these thoughts help you, too, in your writing adventure.
Now, if folks would just stop calling me Darcy instead of
Darby…
About the Author: Darby
Karchut is an award-winning author, dreamer, and compulsive dawn greeter.
A native of New Mexico,
she now lives in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains,
where she runs in blizzards and bikes in lightning storms. When not dodging
death by Colorado,
Darby is busy writing for children, teens, and adults. She is represented by
Amanda Rutter at Red
Sofa Literary.
