THE ART OF NAMING CHARACTERS
Cornelius Cornwall stepped into the corral, tipped his Stetson low, and headed for the proud black stallion two of his men held by ropes. From the look in the stallion’s eyes, Cornelius knew he faced a hard day of breaking ahead.
Maybe it’s just me, but the name “Cornelius” doesn’t fit with the image in my mind of a rough, tough cowboy. “Cord” would, or “Dexter,” or “Wade” would, as more fitting examples. The point is you need to really consider what all goes into choosing a proper name for your characters. Personally, I think choosing a character’s name is harder than choosing your own child’s name.
Here are some things to consider when deciding on a character’s name:
- Gender
- Race or ethnicity
- Time period in which he/she lives, an age-appropriate name
- Personality traits
- Ease of pronunciation for the reader
- Role in the storyline: hero or heroine or villain
- Possibly the meaning of the name
- How the character feels about his/her name
Sources for finding names:
- Baby name books
- Online name lists
- Phone books
Some of my favorite online links for names:
- Etymology and History of First Names: http://www.behindthename.com/
- Fictional Character Name Generator: http://www.jimwegryn.com/Names/FictionNames.htm
- Popular Baby Names: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/
- Names from Around the World: http://www.babynameworld.com/historical.asp
- Scottish First Names: http://www.namenerds.com/scottish/lists.html
- Irish Names: http://www.namenerds.com/irish/lists.html
- Baby Name Meanings: http://www.babyhold.com/
Three of my favorite book sources:
- Dictionary of Surnames by Basil Cottle
- The Name Book by Pierre Le Rouzic
- The Writer’s Digest Character Naming Sourcebook by Sherrilyn Kenyon
