How do we come up with names for fictional characters? - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T10:00:46Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/how-do-we-come-up-with-names-for-fictional-characters?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A349591&feed=yes&xn_auth=noFor me it depends on whether…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-23:537324:Comment:3501702012-07-23T23:45:35.206ZSusanhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Susan
<p>For me it depends on whether I want a name to have an ethnic flavor or sound generic. If I want an Italian name I just look in my old RI musicians union book. Italians ruled the music biz during the 70s-80s. Sometimes I use names of pro athletes, baseball, basketball, etc. At a writers' conference, I heard Laura Lippman say she did this. But for my main characters the name has to feel right or I'm not happy with it.</p>
<p>For New Orleans sounding names, Cajun, etc, I used to clip obituaries…</p>
<p>For me it depends on whether I want a name to have an ethnic flavor or sound generic. If I want an Italian name I just look in my old RI musicians union book. Italians ruled the music biz during the 70s-80s. Sometimes I use names of pro athletes, baseball, basketball, etc. At a writers' conference, I heard Laura Lippman say she did this. But for my main characters the name has to feel right or I'm not happy with it.</p>
<p>For New Orleans sounding names, Cajun, etc, I used to clip obituaries and a weekly column about business folks changing jobs from one firm to another. And of course, there's always the phone book.</p>
<p>I also have a book with surnames for various European countries and given names (male and female) In fact, there are websites that list such names. One character in my current WIP has a Vietnamese father.</p> I only learned of Constantine…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-23:537324:Comment:3499892012-07-23T18:23:28.479ZDana Kinghttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DanaKing
<p>I only learned of Constantine earlier this year. I've read one of is books. He captures the dialect and speech patterns of Western Pennsylvanians extremely well. I'll be looking into him again.</p>
<p>I only learned of Constantine earlier this year. I've read one of is books. He captures the dialect and speech patterns of Western Pennsylvanians extremely well. I'll be looking into him again.</p> Dana, I'm going to ask the ob…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-23:537324:Comment:3500892012-07-23T17:01:45.374ZAlbert Tucherhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/AlbertTucher
<p>Dana, I'm going to ask the obvious question--do you know K.C. Constantine and his Mario Balzic novels? I always loved that name, by the way.</p>
<p>Dana, I'm going to ask the obvious question--do you know K.C. Constantine and his Mario Balzic novels? I always loved that name, by the way.</p> My series set in a fictional…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-23:537324:Comment:3501452012-07-23T03:26:00.730ZDana Kinghttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DanaKing
<p>My series set in a fictional Western Pennsylvania town has a lot of names from my high school yearbook. It's a very ethnic area--Irish, German, Italian, Eastern European--so the names are a big part of the setting. </p>
<p>I also scan then phone book when I'm home visiting my parents.</p>
<p>My series set in a fictional Western Pennsylvania town has a lot of names from my high school yearbook. It's a very ethnic area--Irish, German, Italian, Eastern European--so the names are a big part of the setting. </p>
<p>I also scan then phone book when I'm home visiting my parents.</p> I should also have added that…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-20:537324:Comment:3497242012-07-20T18:05:37.927ZAlbert Tucherhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/AlbertTucher
<p>I should also have added that biblical first names have also been popular since the arrival of the 19th-century missionaries. The singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole was an example.</p>
<p>See what happens when you get me started on Hawaii? It's a favorite topic of mine.</p>
<p>I should also have added that biblical first names have also been popular since the arrival of the 19th-century missionaries. The singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole was an example.</p>
<p>See what happens when you get me started on Hawaii? It's a favorite topic of mine.</p> Oh, that sounds like fun . .…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-19:537324:Comment:3498872012-07-19T13:36:01.432ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>Oh, that sounds like fun . . . and it's bound to be a great way to distinguish characters from each other.</p>
<p>Oh, that sounds like fun . . . and it's bound to be a great way to distinguish characters from each other.</p> For my Diana Andrews stories,…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-19:537324:Comment:3498842012-07-19T13:14:22.804ZAlbert Tucherhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/AlbertTucher
<p>For my Diana Andrews stories, which are mostly about blue-collar white characters in New Jersey, I go mostly with southern or eastern European names. Her own last name comes from the Hungarian Andrassy.</p>
<p>My other series character is Hawaii County Police Detective Errol Coutinho, and names in Hawaii are great fun. The ethnic melting pot can be seen in the names people have. I'll give a character a Japanese surname and a Portguese first name and then describe him as resembling a Viking,…</p>
<p>For my Diana Andrews stories, which are mostly about blue-collar white characters in New Jersey, I go mostly with southern or eastern European names. Her own last name comes from the Hungarian Andrassy.</p>
<p>My other series character is Hawaii County Police Detective Errol Coutinho, and names in Hawaii are great fun. The ethnic melting pot can be seen in the names people have. I'll give a character a Japanese surname and a Portguese first name and then describe him as resembling a Viking, all of which is entirely possible in Hawaii.</p>
<p> </p> The best thing about Dickens…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-19:537324:Comment:3497092012-07-19T04:19:55.583ZJon Loomishttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JonLoomis
<p>The best thing about Dickens for me is the way he does names. Wodehouse was brilliant at it, too. I do comic names sometimes, especially for characters I don't like. Other names usually just pop into my head. My detective gets his name from the inn at the beginning of Moby Dick (also from the name of one of the crew members of the whale ship <em>Essex</em>--the first to be eaten by his shipmates). I also occasionally use my friends' names for characters--the state fire marshal in two of…</p>
<p>The best thing about Dickens for me is the way he does names. Wodehouse was brilliant at it, too. I do comic names sometimes, especially for characters I don't like. Other names usually just pop into my head. My detective gets his name from the inn at the beginning of Moby Dick (also from the name of one of the crew members of the whale ship <em>Essex</em>--the first to be eaten by his shipmates). I also occasionally use my friends' names for characters--the state fire marshal in two of my books is named after a friend who's now the chief food critic for the New York Times. </p> Take a trip to a cemetery and…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-19:537324:Comment:3497742012-07-19T03:47:40.558ZBenjamin Sobieckhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BenjaminSobieck
<p>Take a trip to a cemetery and bring someone back to life with your words. Seriously, that's a great way. Or read the obits, if that's too creepy.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Another way is to eat a sandwich. Name the sandwich. Then use it for your character. (Note: Works best if your character is a sandwich.)</p>
<p>Take a trip to a cemetery and bring someone back to life with your words. Seriously, that's a great way. Or read the obits, if that's too creepy.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Another way is to eat a sandwich. Name the sandwich. Then use it for your character. (Note: Works best if your character is a sandwich.)</p> I just go with whatever feels…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-18:537324:Comment:3497022012-07-18T20:03:31.067ZJonathan Francescohttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JonathanFrancesco
<p>I just go with whatever feels right. Sometimes that requires some tinkering and other times, the name just is there.</p>
<p>I just go with whatever feels right. Sometimes that requires some tinkering and other times, the name just is there.</p>