Character names

[Elena 546]

In my opinion, names are important for characters. It peeves me when people choose a name only because they like it and don't pay attention to ethnicity and time - be serious, why should a Spanish lady be called Blair, which is a Scottish name? and why a French man should be called Flynn, when it is Scottish too, in a time when France and England were at war? Or a modern name in a Middle Age setting, like Vanessa, for example? (I was guilty of this when I was 14 and badly informed, but when Internet made research possible to different extents, Vanessa became Vittoria by find and replace all...)

If one has an outlandish or foreign name, he has to explain it in order to make sense. Usually having a name belonging to a country which was enemy of yours when you were born doesn't make sense either, in a time less globally multinational than the present.

I don't attach random names to my characters, their names are showing their personality, are showing something, they have that name for a reason (besides the obvious reason that I like that name). I also search regional names. My characters and NPCs aren't only French or Spanish - some are Bretons (Elouan Quervaric, for example), Provensals (Olivier Gadou, Fernand Boissier, etc.), Galicians (Duarte Vigo e Real), Basques (Aitor Zabala). Not only English, but Irish, Scottish, Welsh as well.

Most of my characters have also a story why they have that name. Family connections, everything.

Marina and Andrea Costa have these names because they are half Greek half Venetians and the names sound similar in both languages. Marina is called this way because she was born on the sea. Andrea was born on St. Andrew's feast day, but he also wears his maternal grandfather's name. And said grandfather was a good captain in his youth...

When bringing them from a story to a RPG, I kept their Christian name, which is showing their ethnicity and personality and whatever, but sometimes I changed the family name to one which, while matching all my above criteria, was simpler to spell, pronounce and remember for an English-speaker (as the RPGs are in English, and my stories were written in my mother tongue). A sister (mentioned only in the bio, as currently deceased, and in some of the characters' thoughts) got another name than in my story for the same reason - an easier to remember one for the English speaking people.

Sol Picador's true name is Rodrigo Solano Valera. He is the illegitimate son of viscount Rodrigo Manuel de Sandoval y Galvez. So, he was named Rodrigo Solano and his twin brother Jose Manuel, taking both the father's names. When Sol had to change his name and go to sea because he was wanted for murder, he chose his second name, Solano, where Sol comes from, and, in spite, his father's maternal family name, Galvez. For him, I chose a name I liked (fitting for the period and country), but then, as he was a pirate and I needed a nickname for him... I introduced a middle name which was more suitable as originating the nickname from... A rather unusual name, but not unlikely for that period!

Chago's name is Juan Santiago Zamorra. He is the oldest, so he took his father's name. he had a theme song I got inspired from in creating him... and that theme song gave me his first name, his choice weapon, and a few more ideas to toy with in writing his bio... and it worked! (OK, a first name inspired from a song - but then, as it was a too long one - Santiago, the song being Mago de Oz's "La Cruz de Santiago" - and prone to be confusions with other characters with slightly similar names - one was Saint, for example - I had to find a good diminutive from that name... suiting the character and not allowing for confusions... and in South America one of the diminutives is Chago... the one I chose! It matched well my character!)

[Huskerdust 625]

I love names and I like to reflect at least some part of their background when giving them names. If I choose to play a Spanish character for example, I look up Spanish names. If my character is adopted, they might have a name that doesn't sound appropriate but I really love exploring adoptive and blended families so I do that a lot. I also love huge families and families with themed names. Most of the time, though, I leave character names open for others to name so if there are siblings, they are usually named by the people who pick them up. 

 

The names usually also reflect what their parents are like. My character Ryland Ren, for example, his parents are very hip and modern so they chose a name that would be considered more modern. But then I have characters with nicknames. I used to have a character called Tow, but his real name was Christopher. People called him Tow on account of that one time he towed a truck all by himself with his body alone (he was a big guy). 

Edited July 28, 2018 by Zozma

[kjSage 81]

I generally try to keep names appropriate as well. However it does get harder in some cases, and I do have a couple of exceptions to the rule.

 

-Mercy: This actually isn't her true name, and she herself doesn't even know that, nor do her own sisters, husband or other family members except for her father. In her world, names have power. If she had a Greek name, it would make it much harder for her to resist those pesky witches who try to true-name her so they can bend her to their will and otherwise wreak havoc. However, her actual names do carry the same meaning, not that anyone knows this. (Her father is carrying a laundry list and then some of family secrets. Mercy isn't even going to trust herself by the time he reveals even a quarter of them.)

 

-Sigyn is Mercy's sister, and perhaps her name is rather cruel. She is not victorious, nor is she anyone's girlfriend, never willingly. She was named for Loki's wife, who they are descended from on their father's side. (Their mother is the Greek goddess of destruction/violent death, Ker. Having taken the power of creation in daring to have a child, there are some rather disastrous consequences. She took next to no part in raising them beyond what was needed, as that would only bring them harm, and ta the time she still did have most of her mental faculties in order.)

 

As for those more aptly named...

-Calistena, named for her strength and beauty. Mercy's daughter, and very much resembles her father Michael. For angels, the meaning of the name is far more important than where it comes from, although naturally most of them have names ending in -el with some exceptions (The angels who fell and became demons, and who chose to forsake their own names, and Lucifer.) The name however does fit, as while Mercy generally isn't on good terms with most of her own family, she is part Greek (well, Greek god, anyways) and does respect that. Calistena also lives up to the name, with her father's brute strength and beauty (somewhat, depends how muscular you think a woman should be, though she does have the traditionally pretty face - blonde hair, dark green eyes, fair skin)

 

-Eterienne, a combination of Norwegian Anne and Greek Eteria.

 

-Eriana Hawker, a redguard in ESO.

[Shades 676]

Not going to lie, I often choose first names mostly because I like them. Surnames are where most of my research focuses. For instance, loads of my characters have trade-related surnames and their families are in that trade, or have been for generations. Or location-related names. 

 

My currently active characters have their first names for the following reasons:

 

Mackenzie - not going to lie, this one was completely random and I liked the way it sounded when I created her years ago, so I kept it (in part because people who don't know her often assumed she was a guy and I ended up holding on to the name and concept)

 

Jasmine was named this way because all of her sisters and mother had flower names (Daisy, Rose, and Lily), so she followed the theme.

 

Marcelinne was named after her great grandmother, and there is a whole backstory involved even though she never met her name sake.

 

But I'll be honest, I choose the names I like first and then work out a backstory to make them fitting. (It's worth noting that at the moment I don't have any historical roleplays going on, so that gives me more freedom to name my ladies and gents)

[Rhindeer 217]

By and large, I choose names because I like them and that's it. Which is how I got my name, Rhiannon, because my parents were fans of the Fleetwood Mac song and liked it. And that's it. Nothing deeper, really, than hearing a song and liking it. 8D My name is also really uncommon where I live, despite the song's popularity in the 80s. Most people in my area have never heard of it. It's also a Welsh name, and I'm not Welsh.

 

There can be lots of reasons for people being named names that aren't common in their area, even in historical times. People still traveled and immigrated and traded, and there was always going to be some family that hears some foreign name and thinks it's awesome. People LOVED foreign shit. Like all the Victorian ladies that dressed in Japanese kimono. There's always been a lot of cross-cultural sharing. (And stealing.)

 

That said, I know plenty of people in my life who have uncommon names. I know a Cassiopeia, I've met a Xhesika (pronounced Jessica), I've met several Cinnamons, I know a Zen.

 

I think the only time it doesn't make sense is if it's a historical game and the name literally hasn't been created yet. But other than that, there are plenty of ways to explain why an English woman has a French name or a German man has a Scottish name.

 

Some of my characters are more deliberately named. I have a character named Briar--buuut she chose the name Briar, and hates her real name. Then I have several bird-themed characters who I gave names that mean some variation of "bird". >_> I have an Einin (means "little bird") and an Aderyn (means "bird"). And I have two lion shifters whose names mean "lioness". >_> Chephirah and Tiaret. Lmao. I have a dragon shifter whose name means "dragon" (Tanith). I have a kelpie named Adamaris ("of the sea").

 

Lmfao basically I either go full on "I like this name and so that's their name, regardless of meaning" (but let's be real, most people name their kids that way), or I go "LET ME BE SUPER HEAVY-HANDED ON THE NAME MEANING HERE."

 

I also flat out keyboard mash and make up names. 8D

[Jacob 58]

My characters' names are typically drawn from real historical documents.  I look through military rosters between the American War of Independence and World War II.  Because I have a full-access Ancestry account, it allows me to search by hair and eye colors which correspond with the face-claim I've chosen.  Promising ones are penned into lists, not unlike the events in Rumpelstiltskin.  They're crossed out as I ruminate on them.

 

Timothy "Tim" Christian is the younger original I have.  His appellation derives from the genealogical ledgers kept by the settlers of Pitcairn Island.  He is a nine-year-old werewolf of genteel origin on his mother's side.  Census records here in my native United States are how I've built a fictional family tree which overrides the Polynesian-White descendants of Fletcher and Maimiti "Isabella" Christian.  "Tim"'s substitute still includes an 18th century Tahitian wife to a colonial New England or Southern sailor.  It's not quite noticeable, but I expect a portrait where she existed/exists to be hanging somewhere.

 

My male soprano shall be ani-manga again.  I very much do not like the neo-traditional fashion model I have found in the translative process.  Abel Guillet (French), Félix Laurent (French), Henry Ashton (English), Patrick Bradley (Irish), and Timothy Sullivan (Irish) all seem like great options.  He's the personage I'm determined to settle.  High fantasy shows Thoven Chorster to be his name, via the Dungeons and Dragons generator.

Edited July 29, 2018 by Jacob

[CovertSphinx 710]

There is much power in a name. I don't focus TOO much on historics when I pick my names (I play mostly in fandom/fantasy/modern settings), but every name I've chosen for a character has specific meaning that ties to an aspect of the character. Sometimes only /I/ understand the connection (because its based on specific associations of mine), but there's still a core connection.