Naming Your Characters

Before I begin today's post, I'd like to take time to thank the several new Followers received the past few weeks. The purpose of this blog is to share what I know about the writing world and to encourage other writers. Seeing the list of Followers grow makes me know I am doing some good. I am happy to say that my number of readers far exceeds the number of Followers. It is the Followers who have taken a few moments of their time to sign on showing their appreciation of what they read here. So, my thank you to all of you. 

Note:  There were several interesting comments on yesterday's post. If you're interested, scroll down to it and read them.

Now, on with today's post. I've said many times that it's the little things that make your writing more interesting and stronger. One of them is the names you give your characters when writing fiction or the names you make up in a memoir to protect friends and family members. (Note: many memoir writers use real names but some change them)

Naming your characters may seem like a small thing but I think it has some bearing on the story. We also want to use names that will stay with the reader or make some kind of impression on them. Think about some of the Fairy Tales and children's stories you've read as a child and still remember today. Look at a few of the names:

• Alice
• Cinderella
• Heidi
• Hansel
• Gretel
• Dorothy
• Toto
• Huckleberry
• Pinocchio
• Belle

Some of them depict the country they were from. Ones like Belle are words from another language. Belle is French for beauty. Cinderella combines two things--the cinders the girl had to deal with in her life and then, the common name (then) of Ella. Pinocchio is Italian, Hansel, Gretel and Heidi are German or Swiss. Dorothy appears to be a common girl's name at the time the story was written. Her dog, Toto gives us some alliteration and is easy for a child to say. How about Huckleberry? Humorous and definitely memorable.

Will you name your villains the same type of names as the protagonist? Probably not. You'll want to make the villain as disagreeable in every way including his/her name. If you have a protagonist who is a beautiful girl, you'll probably select a pretty name, one that has a positive connotation for the readers. Isabella is a name that trips off the tongue and appears to be quite lovely. Perfect for that beautiful girl.

When I wrote my middle-grade novel based on my grandfather's life, I didn't use his name, which happened to be Alex. Instead, the name Will popped into my head as I started writing. All the names in the story just came to me. I didn't have to ponder on it at all. It doesn't always happen that way but can. If so, consider yourself blessed.

I've read that some authors use a Baby Names booklet or list to find names for their characters. I doubt the name Sherlock, as in Sherlock Holmes, would be found in a Baby Names list unless in England where it was a more common name. It was thought that Arthur Conan Doyle, the author, had originally selected another name but changed it because of a popular cricket player in England at the time. Maybe many writers use names of sports people or celebrities or anyone they admire. 

Perhaps, some writers use the name of a best friend as a tribute to them., although it's hoped the name would not be used for the villain but, rather, the hero. 

Consider the ease of pronouncing the name when you choose one. I have read a few books where I had no idea how to pronounce the name of the protagonist. To me, that seems a poor choice as you should want your reader to be able to say that name mentally as they read. 

Give thought to the time period you are writing about. Choose names that fit that time of history or present day. I once wrote a children's story that a critiquer suggested I change the name as it seemed too 'old-fashioned.'

Do any of you have specific ways you select names for your characters? How about you memoir writers? Do you change the names of the people in your memoir, or do you give them different names?