Character Names

[dean461]

A thing I'm having a bit of trouble with is character names. Now I know it's not a huge aspect in the story but I was just wondering what you guys do to find fitting names for your characters?

I try and give my character a good name that reflects his lifystyle and manerisms but I don't want to appear to be trying to hard and it become corny like a soldier called "Blaze" or something too obvious like that.

Also what do you usually refer too when writing your character, do your refer him/her to their last name or first, like in Collateral it's just Max and Vincent,which are short but still good, but in other movies it's the last name or full name like "Keyzer Soze"

Okay anyway, I'm rambling so I'm gonna finish the post know. What are your opinions on what makes a good character name? Where do you find inspiration? and How do you match a certain personality with a name?

[cck45]

I usually come up with names on my own, but if I'm having trouble, I try this. You can find anything from plain to the very unusual name combos here.

www.kleimo.com/random/name.cfm (http://www.kleimo.com/random/name.cfm)


Good luck!

[roscoegino]

I don't think names should be taken lightly esp. in a spec script. I'll use John Smith only if the character is flamboyant and outlandishly eccentric. If he's a drip, I'll name him Saturn Q. LaCrosse, or something like that.

[zuzuII]

It's cool to have your character's name mean something that tells you a bit about the character, too.

[Postal Pictures]

Consider ethnicity, cultural backgrounds, location of story.

[Cyfress]

People have this phobia of character names, and I'm not sure why. I change the names of my characters all the time. It's not until I develop them further within the story does a solid name come to me.

[Totiwos]

I use baby books and the telephone book and the names of people I know. I've named villians after people I used to date.

[FlameGrilledWhopper]

There are baby name databases you can look at online. That's what I use when I have trouble with a name.

[Signal 30]

I tend to consider the timeframe and age of the character.

Figure out what year your character was born, and there are websites that offer up the most popular baby names by year.

Also a name can be evocative of character. Name a female character Brittany or Tiffany: what is your first impression of that character?

Or if you want give give your male protagonist a strong, individualist vibe, refer to him by his last name throughout.

[cook]

www.last-names.net
www.babynamer.com
Great resources. I like to choose names with meanings in reference to the character's characteristics.
And if that doesn't work out too well, I like to have them reference certain historical or pop culture people. It's part of the fun for me.
Also, I'm a sucker for alliteration.

[Queen Uhuru]

I have so many resources for names that there were too many to fit into one post, so here they are on a WEBPAGE (http://home.att.net/~I_write_screenplays/characternames.html).

[PteranoDon]

I just go to a cemetary and look at tombstones; lots of great names there and the owners wont care if you use them.

[Boobsie Malone]

There's a great column on this subject over at wordplayer.com.