I think naming characters is one of my weakest points. It’s agonizing, isn’t it? Picking the right one? Pouring over baby name websites and trying to find that perfect name that fits better than literally anything else? Or using name generator sites to find that perfect moniker. Does it ever get any easier?
It doesn’t always get easier, but you learn how to work with it. I’ve had some characters that went through half a dozen name changes before I settled on the perfect one. I also have a short list of placeholder names (mostly men’s, because I have a harder time with those) that I’ll use because I have to call them something. But how important is the process?
Well, it’s at least somewhat important. Decades ago, I read a story where the MC says her name doesn’t matter. I remember a lot of that story, and I even remember her real name, but not the one at the beginning. And it was because the emphasis wasn’t on her name. But for others, it can make or break the story.
Let’s start with the genre. Is your book a contemporary book? Then you’re going to see a lot of standard names. Maybe Steven or Alice. Is it a historical book? You’ll want to draw from a list of historical names then. Is it fantasy or science fiction? You can make them up, just try to make them easy to pronounce.
That gives you a starting point. But how do you pick the exact name? Well, sometimes it jumps off the page at you. I’ve given MCs my favorite names for a girl or boy, a name that for whatever reason I discarded when I was pregnant and my partner and I were discussing names. Those were easy. But what if those don’t apply?
Something you can do is make a brief list of your character’s primary traits, and you can look at the names that fall under those meanings. You can also look at different ethnicities, as long as they fit the character in question. I’ve certainly used the names of deities or important figures, because I felt they fit the character or because something about where the name came from fit the character arc. I’ve used name generators for fantasy races, sometimes tweaking them so they roll off the tongue better. I’ve even had friends and critique partners help me when I was well and truly stuck.
Another option you can try is nature-derived names. I find it works well for fantasy races such as Elves, or sometimes contemporary names, depending on the setting. For post-apocalyptic or cyberpunk scenarios, you can pull from various other objects. I see names like Razor a lot in those settings.
Try a few of the ideas and compile a short list of names you like that will fit in your world. Now, pick a character or two, and try them out. Do they work well being written out? Do you enjoy the way the names reflect the characters? Are they too easily confused with each other, or are they the same as other characters in other works of yours? Are these names you’ll be happy with using for the rest of the work? If you check off enough boxes to make you happy, congratulations! You just named your characters.
For me, the time spent agonizing (and each character has brought its own flavor of grief) has paid off. It’s one of the things people praise my work for. And after so many books and stories and worlds it’s not that the process is easier so much as I’ve accepted that it is fraught with its own difficulties. I wouldn’t say it’s gotten easier, but knowing what to do has removed some of the stress because I know I’ve been here before and gotten through it just fine. And you will too. Just keep plugging away and you’ll get there.