Naming characters in fantasy

[Braveheart174]

Hello again.

Thank you everyone who have been giving great advice on in writing fantasy. It really makes the research run smoother when talking with those who are actually familiar with the subject.

My next question is regarding the naming of characters in a fantasy setting. When naming characters, should those names have meanings that help define the characteristics of those characters? I read somewhere that names of exotic places on earth would be preferable names for characters in a fantasy setting. However, I wonder if it is really that simple.

For example, Gandalf's name from the Lord of the Rings means 'wand elf' in Germanic. Although Gandalf is not an elf in the book, he seems to have certain traits of one due to his lore and wisdom regarding Middle Earth.

I also know that Frodo's name might possibly be derived from the Germanic word Frodi, which means "wise".

Some names in the Lord of the Rings are also derived from the fictional Sindarin language of Middle Earth. The first element in Aragorn for example derives from the Sindarin ara, 'noble knight'. Legolas means 'green leaves', with the first element laeg 'green' combined with go-las 'collection of leaves'.

This would imply that a fictional language might be necessarily in order to make the fantasy setting more believable to readers. Am I mistaken?

P.S. I am not an etymologist, nor have I taken any lessons on the linguistics of Old Norse, Germanic, Celtic, etc. I only know so much from the internet.

 

[hopewrites]

i almost always go to baby naming sites. ones that allow you to search names based on meaning as well as region and origin.
the one i have bookmarked also includes names of literary origin.
babynamesworld. parentsconnect. com

i do try to find names that have meaning for my characters ether names that describe them or would have meaning to their parents. honestly i feel a little like a parent to my characters, and take their naming almost as seriously as my own childrens. with one exception its the last thing i learn about a character.

 

[Fantastyfan]

I usually make them up completely with no basis from any language. I have a lot of fun with just messing with words and sounding out names. Then, I look them up to make sure they have not already been used prominently. One of my main character's pronunciation of his name was a crude British word. Luckily, I read a book that had the word in it and I changed his name.

Another great way to find new names and words is to solve word searches. All the letters are randomly generated into great words for the picking.

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

No, I would not go to baby name sites or to those worthless fantasy name generators. Bleh.


I do have a set of guidelines for names, but they're rough at best. I always think it best for one to come up with solid, simple names that hold no outside influence. Research is fine for writing-in fact, in many cases, it is crucial. But I don't feel names need to be researched. My own username, actually, is the name of one of my main characters in my main world, and no, they are obviously not all one singular first name. The Maeshalanadae part is the family name. I don't really have a translation for it, I've taken my own thoughts on elvish rather than follow Tolkein.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

To be honest my fantasy characters have names like Angus, Jack (OK his is really Hyacinthus), Alexander, Thomas, Gilbert etc. The only one I kind of made up was Fyren because I was running out of naff fire based names for my fire folk.

I just use the behindthename site's generator until I find one I like and that has a meaning that kind of works.

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Eh, I always believe you should wing it with names, and as I've said in my blog, folks, do NOT be shy of real names of today-and names of different regions, but be careful with it.

I've used the names Zoe, Anastasia, Cassi, Cain, etc.



And that raises another point-religions can be a good inspiration for names as well.

 

[Malloriel]

I think it all depends on the level of fantasy involved. The more High Fantasy the story, the more likely you are to find names that have little recognizable relation to real-world names. The more Low Fantasy, the more likely an Alice is to show up somewhere.

Personally, I take inspiration from everything. If there's a sound I like, an evocative word, a name with a meaning I appreciate, I take it for myself and let it morph into something all together different to be applicable.

 

[TheTomG]

Go with what sounds good, however you come up with it! Names in the real world are a mixed bag anyway, some have long histories connected to careers or nobility, some are totally made up. Guttural sounds may give a different 'first impression' than softer sounds, for example which one will you assume is the bad guy, or at least more prone to fighting and violence, if I made up two names, Karshgrak or Lethuliena? That sort of effect or expectation might be one you want to consider, or ignore.

Ultimately I think 2 things are important - it helps if the reader can pronounce the name without being given a "pronounced as" phonetic breakdown, and it helps if names are kept distinct. So I would avoid having a Grgelyymshgpor and a Grgellymthgpor for instance

Of course all rules are made to be broken, or more accurately reshaped to fit your needs and desires for your work, so keep that in mind too!

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Well jeez, Tom, I'd avoid having either of those names anyway. I don't think we need a mix of Legend of Zelda, The Smurfs, and Thunder Cats here.

 

[TheTomG]

Hmm, so you may be making me rethink this cross-over fiction piece I was planning... darn!

 

[Fedos]

This may sound strange, but names for characters and places usually just come to me through my subconscious. Someone above mentioned that their username here is a character in their story, well, same with me, just a villian (pronounced Fay-dose).

I don't know. Sometimes I'll be reading a story for instance and I'll come across a character name or location (say, a country) and I'll pronounce it in my mind wrongly at first glance and I'll use that as a basis for coming up with a name. Or I'll be at work going about my duties and a name will just pop into my head and I'll write it down somewhere. For me, naming characters hasn't been much of a problem it's more like giving them character.

 

[Braveheart174]

Eh, I always believe you should wing it with names, and as I've said in my blog, folks, do NOT be shy of real names of today-and names of different regions, but be careful with it.

I've used the names Zoe, Anastasia, Cassi, Cain, etc.



And that raises another point-religions can be a good inspiration for names as well.

Read your blog BTW. Really informative stuff you've posted, Karn.

It also raised another question for me. What about names that are frequently used for characters in a fantasy setting?

Some people say that when giving a name to the women in their story, they will often name them after flowers. But isn't naming women after flowers pretty cliche these days? How many stories do you know where there was a character named Lily, Ivy, or even Lavender? I know at least 3 stories that featured a beautiful woman named after the Rose.

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Some people say that when giving a name to the women in their story, they will often name them after flowers. But isn't naming women after flowers pretty cliche these days? How many stories do you know where there was a character named Lily, Ivy, or even Lavender? I know at least 3 stories that featured a beautiful woman named after the Rose.

True, but flower names are always a good fall back if you have nothing else to think of. It's really just best not to strain your creativity for a complex name that's really just unnecessary. As I said, you don't need something that sounds like the purr of a cat mixed with the call of a sick crow, and you don't need something that would fill up half a dictionary full of click-stop apostrophe sections like Tad Williams had done in the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series for the name of the elf-like area.

 

[hopewrites]

there are a few names out there that are getting typecast. i tend to avoid them even if they would fit just because i want my readers to met MY characters not try and veneer them over with a typecast expectation that Rose Lillymonger will be a gorgeous spoiled princess and Jack Nolastname will be a jocular handyman who can pick up what ever typecast role hasnt already been filled.
call me crazy if you want but i just cant stomach doing that to the characters i so lovingly bring to life.

 

[Pallas Athena]

My next question is regarding the naming of characters in a fantasy setting. When naming characters, should those names have meanings that help define the characteristics of those characters? I read somewhere that names of exotic places on earth would be preferable names for characters in a fantasy setting. (snip)
P.S. I am not an etymologist, nor have I taken any lessons on the linguistics of Old Norse, Germanic, Celtic, etc. I only know so much from the internet.

I think it should also depend on whether or not your fantasy is set in an historic setting or in a fantastical Middle Earth/Narnia/Westeros type of setting.

If you are using Europe as a medieval fantasy setting (as opposed to a contemporary Urban Fantasy), then I would recommend trying to find names that worked with the time period and region. Having a female character named Tiffany in any historical setting will probably make many readers grind their teeth.

And recognizing that some names such as John have regional differences such as Jean, Ian, Sean, Jan, Juan, and Giovanni will help your readers feel immersed in the story to have names that reflect the locales shown or foreigners in their midst.

I have used baby naming sites as a starting place, but there are also other websites for specialized names that I've used, for example: Anglo-Saxon, African, Arabic, French, etc.

And yes, I prefer to use a name that is indicative of character traits. However, I will sometimes use irony such as naming a character Belle who was a manipulative, selfish woman who cuckolded her husband.

 

[Jake Reynolds]

I use baby name sites too, largely because I can sort by country of origin. In my world, I have assigned european traits to different provinces of the empire; one is based on France (allowing me to use words like attache, etc), another on Spain, another on Eastern Europe etc. This means that if I have guidelines there, unless I throw in a 'Well, my mother was from...' to explain it.

In a high fantasy situation, often I find names from looking between words. For example, if Pallas doesn't mind, we can draw the following from his/her post:

Pendon, Etina, Toric, Uldrec, Kedwith, Meperio, Alechar, Nyhis, Keman, Dreco, Veregio, Janju, Elimmer, Hestor, Aveus, Bynam, Sasta, Tesfor, Zedna, Iveus, Orexa, Axona, Ricanar, Atisindi, Mesus, Chasnam, Samani, Tivesel.

Some pretty lame ones there, some ok ones, but when you find a great one it’s like finding gold.


“I think it should also depend on whether or not your fantasy is set in an historic setting or in a fantastical Middle Earth/Narnia/Westeros type of setting.

If you are using Europe as a medieval fantasy setting (as opposed to a contemporary Urban Fantasy), then I would recommend trying to find names that worked with the time period and region. Having a female character named Tiffany in any historical setting will probably make many readers grind their teeth.

And recognizing that some names such as John have regional differences such as Jean, Ian, Sean, Jan, Juan, and Giovanni will help your readers feel immersed in the story to have names that reflect the locales shown or foreigners in their midst.

I have used baby naming sites as a starting place, but there are also other websites for specialized names that I've used, for example: Anglo-Saxon, African, Arabic, French, etc.

And yes, I prefer to use a name that is indicative of character traits. However, I will sometimes use irony such as naming a character Belle who was a manipulative, selfish woman who cuckolded her husband.”

 

[HareBrain]

Neat trick, Dubrech!

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Names that are very similar to "our" names can be really effective. China Mieville is a master of this. 'Isaac dan der Grimnebulin' is one of the best character names I've ever come across.

 

[Glen]

Names that are very similar to "our" names can be really effective.

I really like that idea too. I've also for one story used names that mix up meanings that seem inherent in a name, with the opposite meaning. My two favourite characters are "Joseph Sin" and "Attila Kiss".

This has been a great thread for me - I really, really struggle to find names that make sense, fit and add to the story. When I find them (a bit like finding the title of a story) it is a great feeling.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Best 'Sin' ever is of course Cardinal Sin! (Yes, he really existed...)