Four Helpful Tips For Naming Your Characters

Hey! =)
I was just cruising around the site I get most of my charrie names off of, http://www.babynames.com/index.php, when I saw this come up. I figured you guys might wanna read, if you're having trouble with names. Hope this helps someone!

Tip 1: Make the name age-appropriate


The
biggest mistake we see writers make is choosing a character name that
is not age-appropriate. Many authors make the mistake of choosing a
name that is popular now for an adult character—name that would have
rarely been used around the time of the character's birth. Decide the
age of your character and then calculate the year your character was
born. If your character was born in the U.S., browse the Social Security Name Popularity List
for that year. You will also want to take into account the character's
ethnic background and the ethnic background of his/her parents.

Tip 2: Choose a name by meaning



Many
writers give their characters names that have significance in the
story. It could reflect major personality traits, or the character's
role in the story. You may want to use our advanced search
to search by literal meaning, or think of ways to incorporate other
meanings into your character's name. For example, if your character is
a botanist, you may not want to name her Flower (too literal), but you may want to consider the names Linnea or Sage.
Even if you choose not to name a character by meaning, you should look
up the meaning of all your characters' names—there may be something
that inspires you or, on the other hand, conflicts with your message.


Tip 3: Science fiction names don't have to sound alien



It's
difficult to predict what names will be popular in the year 3000,
however you don't have to make your science fiction characters sound
like they are from Mars (unless they are). When a person reads (or
watches) your story, you don't want them to stumble over a name. The
name Zyxnrid, for example, would be difficult to read
or listen to every time the character is referenced—and may detract
from your overall story. If you do choose to create your sci-fi name,
you may want to:

• Combine two common names to make a less common, but pronounceable name. Example: Donica (Donna and Veronica).
  
• Use ancient mythological names, or combine two of them. Example: Ceres or Evadne.
  
• Make it easy to pronounce and spell. Example: Bilbo Baggins from Lord of the Rings.
  

Tip 4: Parents rarely use their kids' full names



When
writing your story, be aware that parents rarely call their children by
their full names—unless they are admonishing them for bad behavior or
testifying in court. If you have loving parent characters that are
addressing their kids, use a nick name or term of endearment. An
exception to this would be if you want to show the parent character
being cold and distant to their child.





*I did not come up with ANY of this. It's all from the website.*
*I took out tip 3 because I felt it was slightly inappropriate.*

Thanks for clickin'. =)

This is awesome! Thanks for the advice.

Thanks for posting this, Dolphy! xD Haha, I needed a guide like this.

I use that site ALL the time.

Your welcome, guys, and thanks! =)