Creating Character Names

How to come up with character names?

I discussed in a podcast titled, How to Start Writing, how I come up with names for my characters. Sometimes it takes time to come up with the right name and the right physique to match the character I have in my mind. To start with I have a list of hundreds of names from a variety of demographics and nationalities. The names are separated into both male and female groups. I also have a long list of surnames. I work through my list of names mixing and matching options in my head until I craft a strong name for each major and minor character.

So, you now know that I have a laundry list of first names and last names. But where do these names come from? Mostly people I meet. I pay attention to people in stores, waitresses at a restaurant, cashiers behind the counter. People love to be addressed by their names. Plus, it makes them feel good to have their names spoken and I feel it is a sign of respect. So, wherever I am and I run into someone wearing a name tag, I try my best to address them by their name.

If it’s an interesting name, what I do may surprise you. I pull out my phone and write it down right in front of them. I smile and tell them that I am an author—that I write novels—and they have an interesting name. I tell them that I’m jotting it down to be possibly used as a character in a story. Guess what happens next? They smile back with a grin that shows a lot of teeth. Not only do I gain an interesting name to use, but I’ve just made someone feel good.

Is this the only way that I collect names? No. A successful way for me to find names is to search the Internet. When I do a search, I always specify whether I’m looking at either male or female names and whether or not it’s a first name or a surname I’m interested in. I search the web for a wide variety of names. My searches include things like, Anglo-Saxon, western European, eastern European, African or black, Indian, Latino, and Asian.

It’s important to remember when looking for character names not isolate a class or race of people from your cast. While it’s not possible or even feasible to use a person of every race, it’s common to include a few from this one and a few from that one, and maybe one or two over here and there. Just try to remember to have a diverse cast of characters. It not only makes the story more interesting, but it also widens the appeal of your reader base.

Thank you for joining me as I explored my writing journey. Continue reviewing my blogs and don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter where I share writing topics, behind-the-scene details, and members-only content. Remember to go over to my media page to watch my podcasts and learn additional content or view them on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. Like and subscribe for more content.