Picking perfect names for key characters in a novel or screenplay can be challenging. However, we have five tips for coming up with excellent character names:
Read on for more advice on how to come up with great character names.
A good character name will fit both the setting of the story and the character being named, reflecting their background and personality. This might mean considering:
You don’t have to pick names that fit your characters in every way, of course! You might even want to deliberately subvert expectations based on a character’s background if that is part of their personality (e.g. if they’ve rejected their origins and taken on a pseudonym). But it is worth at least thinking about settings and character backgrounds when choosing names.
As with the setting and characters’ backgrounds, you might need to think about naming conventions in your chosen genre when picking character names.
For example, sci-fi and fantasy stories often have unusual sounding character names to reflect their exotic settings. It might sound weird if you call your adventurous space pirate captain Eric Smith, after all, since it sounds a little earthly and mundane!
Likewise, in children’s fiction and comedic writing, rhyming (e.g. Clark the Shark) and alliterative (e.g. Captain Carrot) names are common. So you may want to think about how the sound of your character names fits the tone and voice of your writing.
Many authors pick names based, in part, on etymology. In other words, they will pick character names with origins that reflect the character somehow.
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For example, Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games was named after the katniss plant, also known as the ‘arrowhead’ plant, to reflect her archery skills. And the ‘Severus’ from Severus Snape in the Harry Potter books comes from a Latin word meaning ‘harsh’.
When picking a name, then, you can start by selecting a few terms that describe the character, then looking up their origins using an etymological dictionary. This might give you some unusual ideas for names with an extra layer of hidden meaning!
The names you pick should help readers tell key characters apart. As such, you’ll want to make sure the names of the main characters in your writing are not too similar. Look out for:
Of course, there may be reasons to use two similar names sometimes. Perhaps you have a pair of twins that do everything together, so you decide to call them ‘Tim’ and ‘Tom’ to reflect their similarity. That’s fine! But if you want readers to be able to tell characters apart quickly and easily, it is a good idea to use names that look and sound distinct.
When looking for inspiration for character names, you can try:
It’s best not to copy an existing name directly, though! Calling your villain ‘Darth Vader’, for instance, could suggest a lack of originality. And using names that are already heavily associated with another character can be distracting, so exercising caution and thoughtfulness is wise.
While our expert proofreaders can’t help you choose the right character names, they can check your writing for issues with consistency, grammar and punctuation. Why not submit a free 500-word sample document for proofreading today to find out more?
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