How to Name the Characters in Your Stories

I listen to Coast to Coast AM, and one of the guests last night was an expert on names who helps parents pick the best name for their children.  It was a fascinating discussion on how the names parents choose will effect a child for life.

As a fiction writer I have the sometimes daunting task of choosing the names for the characters in my stories.  I think about what that character's role in the story will be, and then I more often than not pick the first name that pops into my head.  Now, after listening to last night's Coast to Coast AM, I know a lot of subconscious forces must come into play as I do this.

I remember once reading an article somewhere that said that children with more generic names, like Nancy or Bill, tend to be happier and more well adjusted people than people with unusual names, such as Asa or Prudence.  Makes sense.  Kids can be cruel.  It's really easy to pick on the kid on the playground with the weird name, so obviously that would have a lifetime effect.

It's interesting too how certain names create certain images in our minds.  For example, to me the name "Mike" conjures up ideas of the nice guy in the office who's friendly and easy going and gets along with everybody, while the name "Julie" sounds like a beautiful, demure girl who's too shy to notice when men find her attractive.  So if I was going to write a romance story, I might be inclined to write about shy Julie and nice guy Mike who's trying to win her over, but then bad guy Asa appears on the scene.  He tries to thwart Mike's efforts while his intentions for Julie are less then honorable.  See how much fun this can be.

My advice for naming your characters is to keep in mind their roles in the story and think about what kind of images or ideas come to mind with different names.  Also try to avoid using names of people you already know, particularly the names of family members, spouses, ex-spouses, or close friends.  They may or may not be flattered.   They may feel exploited. 

My tip for the day.

GM