The Process of Naming Characters

As an author, naming your characters is important – both your primary and secondary characters. But that's part of the creative process that has a bit of fun!

Where do your character names come from? If the protagonist is a disguised version of yourself, is it just a name you like, one that could have been yours, one you see yourself as? If you have modeled a character on someone you know, is the name one that you find fitting for him or her? Do you think about other characters in books and movies using the name you’ve chosen and wonder if there will be a comparison? Do you look up the name on the internet to see the real-life people with this moniker (because there will be someone with any name you choose – unless you go future-weird and make up an odd name like Katniss).

First, you the author have to like the name. You’re going to be typing it over and over again. You are going to invest your feelings in this character and it all has to work for you. Don't worry if you change the name in the middle of the first draft, just remember to proofread it out loud because a Search & Replace won't pick up the shortened versions you used somewhere along the way.

Names come with baggage, though. There's nothing you can do about any individual's perception of a name, but do a little research if choosing an odd one. Not many heroes out there with the name 'Adolf,' anymore. But there are a lot of Dolfs in the world, still. Will the name reflect an ethnic group, or parents’ creativity, or family lineage? Does it mean a family is Irish or Irish-American if three silblings names are Dylan, Erin, and Ciara or did the parents just like the names?

There’s a big difference between naming a character Jane versus Valentina. If Jane, will she be as plain as her name, or wild in opposition to it? Is Valentina sexy and romantic, or is she an introvert destined to never be anyone's valentine? As an author, you carry the baggage for a character’s name into the story.

Famously, the character of James Bond was named when the author, Ian Fleming, searched for the most boring name he could find as his spy was supposed to be someone who blended in (the tuxedos and gadgets came later). He found a bird-watching book written by a James Bond and said, "God, that's boring. I'll use it." Now, of course, because of the movies, the name means much more than who to call to find birds of the West Indies.

Character names, like titles, are not copyrightable, so you don't have to worry about taking someone else's name. However, it doesn't work to take the name of a well-known character or person. Calling your hero Luke Skywalker is just asking for literary trouble. Calling him Barack Obama might be funny, but your character will then spend part of your story explaining his name to others. Consider how actors Matt Dillon and Ed Norton had to deal with people reacting to them based on their names being the same as popular TV characters.

Is a name over-used? I named one of my heroines "Cassie" and I love it. Wouldn't change it if you paid me. But in the time between when I started writing and now, a bunch of "Cassies" popped up on TV and cable. Makes me a little mad, but at whom? Still, the name fits the work, and I'm not changing it just because it is suddenly popular.

Can you make a name popular? Names come back around. Hazel used to be quite old-fashioned; now it's popular, again. Maybe you'll find an original name that is fitting for your character before the country gets back around to liking it, again.

So, use some creativity and make the name fit the character and fit how you feel about them. You'll have to feel good about it for the life of the story.

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