Proper names in epic fantasy/s&s

[Mouse]

I've even used names that contained a certain built in innuendo and have yet to have anyone mention anything about it.

Ha. I do that. My last MC I called Edwin Peach. Another character I named Liam because I read somewhere it meant 'helmet' and it amused me.

 

[Mirannan]

Slightly relevant, not a character name in a story but in a pen-and-paper RPG - the Middle Ages version of World of Darkness, to be precise. I needed a name for an Eastern European vampire (combat-oriented), and then one came to me and I couldn't resist it: Lazarus Kalashnikov.

 

[Ogma]

I mostly make names up or use anagrams of obscure words/ideas. For example, one of my characters is called Garscap which is an anagram of capgras, a misidentification delusion.

The biggest problem I have is with placenames. I find I have to work really hard to avoid my placenames sounding like housing estates!

 

[The Storyteller]

For me, sometimes a name will just come to me, and other times I spend a lot of time brainstorming. Usually I write down any names that sound like they could work (made up or actual names, depends on what story) and go from there. I try to create variants of the names I have and then pick which version sounds the best. For example, I had a character named Aeldred (pronounced Ay all dred) who was a guy and in a later rewrite became a girl. The original name just came to me, but with switching the gender I wrote multiple variations that could be female and just picked the one that sounded/looked the best and suited the character. (Aedryn).


If you have last names of special titles, I would try to think of things that sound good as a whole. But yah, usually I just brainstorm as many names as I need, and then figure out which one suits best. And if I can, I get a second opinion as it is helpful to know what other people like. Another thing is I usually jot down any names I ever think of that could be good, and then when I need a name I look through that to see if there is one that fits.

I think you are right about a fine line between great and cheesy, but for me, when I find a right name it just clicks perfectly and I know I have what I need. For ones I'm unsure, I ask for other opinions.


Best of luck!

 

[Nerds_feather]

True. Anything with apostrophes is generally bad news. However, I have to admit finding the GRR Martin style of naming slightly irritating, where every bizarre name can be abbreviated to Bill, Sue, Pete or whatever. The "Ser" thing is very annoying - it's so obviously supposed to be "Sir", so why change the spelling?

I went for vaguely Italian sounding names to suit the setting. I am always worried, however, that since I don't speak the language I'll discover that they will translate into actual Italian as rude words.

The best thing about GRRM's naming scheme (and, really, his worldbuilding in general) is the stress on internal consistency.

 

[BelgarionOz]

Names are important. Though not every name has to be brilliant. There are awkward names and strange names and hard to pronounce names in the real world, so why not in your story as well?

My current main character's name is Dormal, though most of the time he is referred to as Dorm (pronounced as you would expect). I have some complicated names here and there, but generally they get referred to by nicknames, or at least shortened versions of their names so it's not so bad. People do that in real like too.

I would worry about people mispronouncing your names. They'll find out how it's really pronounced when you do readings or it becomes a movie. hehe

 

[JonH]

Well let's start with what to me is the defining pair of names in S&S: Fafhrd and The Gray Mouser

One is a given name, one is a nickname, and you can use either technique or both.

Going back a thousand years, people rarely had surnames. They tended to have a given name and some other means of identification, often a nickname. Before Hastings, William the Conquerer was often called William the *******. In fact Edward III was the third Edward in a row, so that was also his nickname. Nobody actually called them Plantagenet. His father was Edward of Canarvon and his grandfather Edward Longshanks.

So we have nicknames, numbers and placenames. I admit numbers other than indicating lineage tend to be more in SF than fantasy, but The Prisoner comes to mind, and I recall the film Zulu, where so many soldiers were called Williams, they referred to each other by their military numbers like a forename.

We can look back to the origin of modern names and work backward to give an old feel. In feudal times people were often named after their jobs, which they handed down to their offspring. Fred the Miller, Johnnie the Walker, etc. Names like Johnson, are just formalized patronymics, so you can use son of or daughter of. There are foreign versions, the suffix -dottir is Icelandic, and there ben (Hebrew) or bin (Arabic), etc. Just Google patronymics or matronymics for different forms from around the world or make up your own.

And of course you combine these, eg. Much the miller's son.

Then there's naming after the flowers and animals of your world, eg. Paul Muad'Dib.

You can add in indications of nobility, or otherwise. Von is a Prussian indicator of nobility, although it originally just meant from, and I'm pretty sure that's where Bujold got Vor. If you have a caste system, you add that type of thing in too (like Cohen).

You can name them after religious figures of your world. There are quite a few Jesus's and Marys out there, and many more Mohammeds and Fatimas. Perhaps in your world characters take on the name of the god they worship to show dedication.

I suspect, apart from the religious naming, I've used all of these.

Despite my using Muad'Dib as an example, I also would vote against the general use of apostrophes.

Edited to Add: Just remembered another class of "names" I haven't yet used much, but mean to: those that are almost titles or relationships, but are used like names. There are equalizers, Brer Rabbit, Comrade Stalin, Citizen Robspiere. And names of respect: Goody, Reb, Father (when not given to a clergyman - Abu is a version). Shakespeare used Nuncle like this, IIRC. I called one fantasy character Old Man Evans, which is along these lines.

 

[nightdreamer]

I wish I had a good answer to this question because I've seen it several times, and not just on sf&f forums. I suppose I don't have an answer because I've never had any particular problem coming up with names I like for main characters. I get to know them, and it seems like the name drops into place. Kekinnah, Illion, Nekalee, Terrek. Some of those are sci-fi names, but it's all the same. On occasion, some names have come about by shifting syllables around on a common English word, but not often. If you need anything resembling a real human name, you might check out the name generator in Scrivener. I've used it a few times for non-obvious Russian or Arabic names, and it's helped me out. To stay away from: those online fantasy name generators. They're horrible.

 

[nightdreamer]

Shameless theft. I just use genuine English, French, Latin German and Gothic names. A few I borrowed from history.

Yeah, what was that name I liked that I thought you'd made up and found out that you'd shamelessly stolen it? Captain....?