Melvin thrust deep into her, his buttocks...

[dr_mabeuse]

Last names give me more trouble than first names. It's the last name that really makes or breaks a character.

You don't want a Smith or a Parker or Johnson or some other WASP cliche. Nothing makes a story look more amatuerish. But then you don't want something that jars the reader either, something too ethnic or weird that demands explanation.

I used to use phone books, but now I tend to make my surnames up out of whole cloth. I had a lot of fun making up a Thai last name.

I should write about black Muslims. Everyone's last name is X, isn't it? India Indians and Hispanics are easy too, because they suffer from a serious dearth of last names. I think all of Southern India has only 3 or 4 different surnames.

 

[BlackShanglan]

Yes, I care very much about name. And you made me smile, SubJoe, because "Melvin" is a name I have always somehow had difficulty with.

 

[rgraham666]

Last names give me more trouble than first names. It's the last name that really makes or breaks a character.

You don't want a Smith or a Parker or Johnson or some other WASP cliche. Nothing makes a story look more amatuerish. But then you don't want something that jars the reader either, something too ethnic or weird that demands explanation.

I'm going to disagree with you on this one, dr_m.

Most of my characters have been WASPs and I gave them WASP names. I don't think doing so distracted from the story.

 

[impressive]

Last names give me more trouble than first names. It's the last name that really makes or breaks a character.

In short works, I seldom give my characters last names.

 

[Guest]

 

[damppanties]

I think all of Southern India has only 3 or 4 different surnames.

Not really. Bet you didn't know about Venkatachalapathy or Dasarathacharukapally.

 

[zeb1094]

Not really. Bet you didn't know about Venkatachalapathy or Dasarathacharukapally.

or Joshi, Ashikh, Monohar, Misra, Raju, Srivactava, Ramachandran to name a few more.

 

[damppanties]

or Joshi, Ashikh, Monohar, Misra, Raju, Srivactava, Ramachandran to name a few more.

I think only one among them is South Indian, if it is at all.

 

[SummerMorning]

Somewhat.

I usually try for something rather 'whitebread'. I don't want a name that jars the reader.

Like zeb, I try to make sure my female characters have women's names.

I am expanding on that a bit. I gave the vampire in Abyss a noticeably French name, since he was French. And one of the secondary characters had a distinctly ethnic name as well.

I am *so* going to have a character called Whitebread. It sounds just perfect for what I need!

 

[impressive]

I am *so* going to have a character called Whitebread. It sounds just perfect for what I need!

With siblings Rye- and Corn- and parents Banana- and Nut-

 

[Boota]

I intentionally didn't give my characters names in my story on Lit, but other than that I put a lot of thought into my characters names. The one I've thought the most about was a character from my next novel. I have a retarded main character and I didn't want a name that could be cutesied up with a y or an ie on the end. That was tougher to come up with than I realized when I decided it. Almost every name has a diminutive variation. I settled on Ethan.

I think a character name has a lot to do with a readers initial perception of the character and that first impression is hard to change.

I have a lot fun with secondary and background characters names. I have an encyclopedia of serial killers and I use some of the more obscure ones. I named some characters in Mr. Undesirable after intersections near my house.

 

[Miyana Books]

A rose by any other name

etc. etc.

 

[NoJo]

etc. etc.

But would you give your valentine a single white shiteweed?

 

[BlackShanglan]

But would you give your valentine a single white shiteweed?

Damnit, SubJoe, I told you not to peek while I was wrapping your present!

 

[zeb1094]

I think only one among them is South Indian, if it is at all.

They are all from Bangalore! They may not have started out there but they are there now! So those names will now become part of Southern India in future generations.

 

[zeb1094]

I am *so* going to have a character called Whitebread. It sounds just perfect for what I need!

That name was already taken, in a low budget file called Joanna Whitebread gets Breede. Wasn't widely distributed.

 

[MichelleLovesTo]

The Name Game

Names are important for me. Even naming a pet is a major thing for me. Sometimes only I really understand the reasons behind the names I choose though.

And sometimes people HATE my name choices. I named a character Deenie, and my friend/editor was not impressed. I couldn't have imagined her with another name though.

I once named a character Gwyneth because she wasn't meant to be likable, and I have an unreasoning hatred of Gwyneth Paltrow.

 

[matriarch]

What Imp said.

I can't even start a story until I have the name thing settled.

Thank goddess I'm not the only one.

 

[Liar]

Thank goddess I'm not the only one.

Yep. My characters have to be complete enough for me to know how they hadle the stuff I throw at them. That includes little tidbits like name, what they wear, how they like their tea... all kinds of things. Even if I don't let the reader know about them, I do.

Names are to me mostly tags so I don't confuse charachters with one another. So they often get pretty generic names. I tend to avoid subculture specific names, becaue I always get them wrong, and likewise with names from places I don't know about. if I for instance would want a name of a Japanese fellow, I could Google one up, but I have no idea what connotations that goes with it.

 

[matriarch]

Yep. My characters have to be complete enough for me to know how they hadle the stuff I throw at them. That includes little tidbits like name, what they wear, how they like their tea... all kinds of things. Even if I don't let the reader know about them, I do.

Exackerley!!

 

[BlackShanglan]

Sometimes I think that those are my favorite parts about the characters - the little quirks and pecadillos that didn't have a place in the story, but that are part of how I see them. It's like our own little intimate friendship that goes beyond the text.

 

[SeaCat]

It's funny. I'll start a story with my characters having very prosaic names because they are working names. As the story moves along the characters gain a life of their own and thier names grow in my head. They take on their own personality, their own life, and their own names. (So I have to go back and change them, not a big deal really.)

Cat

 

[Miyana Books]

Would I?

Damnit, SubJoe, I told you not to peek while I was wrapping your present!

I wouldn't even think about it.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Yep. My characters have to be complete enough for me to know how they hadle the stuff I throw at them. That includes little tidbits like name, what they wear, how they like their tea... all kinds of things. Even if I don't let the reader know about them, I do.

Names are to me mostly tags so I don't confuse charachters with one another. So they often get pretty generic names. I tend to avoid subculture specific names, becaue I always get them wrong, and likewise with names from places I don't know about. if I for instance would want a name of a Japanese fellow, I could Google one up, but I have no idea what connotations that goes with it.

Just in case you ever need them- Toshi, Hiro, Tetsu are pretty generic boy's names. Midori, (green) and Yuki (snow) are the "Cathy" and "Linda" of Japan.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Somewhat.

I usually try for something rather 'whitebread'. I don't want a name that jars the reader.

Totally agree with that. Nothing odd, no cute spellings. No gender-confusing names. *ahem*