The Dos and Don’ts of Naming a Character

There are several dos and don’ts when naming a character for a fiction book. It’s a tricky thing, but if you follow all of the dos and steer clear of the don’ts, you will have given your characters awesomely memorable names.

First, we will go through the don’ts. It’s very important that you know what NOT to do when naming a character.

The Don’ts

Don’t give your character a name you want to use for any future children you might have. This is a big don’t, because imagine if you picked the perfect name for your character. We will call her Isabella. You think Isabella is the best name in the world ever. Isabella becomes the star of your most successful book series. Everyone knows Isabella’s name. Now, imagine you (or your wife/girlfriend) gets pregnant and is expecting a girl. To you, Isabella is the best girl name ever. You’re kicking yourself, because you wished you saved it for your daughter. Or else, you name your daughter Isabella anyway and the public and her peers mock you and her for the rest of your lives for naming her after your own character.

Don’t give your character an overly alliterated name. The name Susan Simmons, while catchy, can be annoying to some folks. Use alliteration sparingly. The only exception to this rule is a children’s book. JK Rowling is famous of her use of alliterated names (like Severus Snape and Godric Gryffindor), and that’s fine for the world of Harry Potter. But remember, if you use alliteration, use sparingly and keep within the realm of youth literature, please.   

Don’t give two characters the same first name. This is especially true if they’re both major characters. The only reason you should ever give two main characters the same name is if it’s important to the plot, or else one is a junior (as a son or daughter). But if you do give a son or daughter their parent’s name, make sure you come up with a way to distinguish this. A perfect example comes from the Gilmore Girls. Both mother and daughter are named Lorelei Gilmore; however, the daughter solely goes by Rory for short. Only allow a minor character to share a first name with a major one if they’re really minor and it’s a very common name. For instance, in the Harry Potter books, Tom is the first name of Voldemort and the innkeeper at the Leaky Cauldron.

Don’t give your character a ridiculously unpronounceable or difficult name. The only genres exempt from this rule are sci-fi and fantasy. Still, if you’re naming a character in one of those genres, you have to keep your readers in mind. While the name can be as outlandish as you want, it still has to be something they’ll be able to read, want to read over and over again, and can say out loud without having to refer to a pronunciation guide every single time.

Don’t give a character a name that overly describes what they are, their job, their personality, etc. In other words, don’t name a character Jill Chipper, because she’s chipper and happy; or Bob Timber, because he’s a lumberjack. Occupational surnames are fine, such as Weaver or Turner – especially for a historical novel where the names carried more meaning. But don’t rely on a name to describe a character.

Don’t name your characters after other people’s characters. It should go without saying, but stealing another person’s characters name is a big no-no (and could probably get you sued). Naming your character a common first or last name is fine. Just make sure the name is different enough so that no legal action is taken against you. (You may think I’m kidding, but try naming your character Han Solo and see how that turns out.)

Now that you know how NOT to name a character, it’s time to learn the basics of how to name them.

The Do’s

Do give your character a memorable name. This is the most important part of naming a character. Whatever you name them, whatever genre you’re writing; their name has to be memorable. Think of the most memorable names in fiction or film: Luke Skywalker, Dorian Gray, Harry Potter, and Elizabeth Bennett (to name but a few). What do they all have in common? They’re all memorable. They all stick in your head and almost everyone knows who they are.

Do keep it simple. Note the simplicity of the above memorable names. While all of those characters do extraordinary things during their stories, their names are simple and don’t overwhelm the character’s actions. It’s okay to be complex with a name, but still, keep it simple enough for readers to find memorable. A perfect example of this would be JK Rowling’s Albus Dumbledore. It has just the right amount of complexity, but it’s simple enough to be remembered by the reader.

Do buy a baby name book or visit a baby naming site. This is a definite must for any author. Once you have created enough characters, you’ll start to run fuzzy on names you haven’t already used. A baby naming website is perfect for figuring out what to name your characters, especially if you’re looking for a realistic, yet exotic name from a culture you might not be entirely familiar with. (I recommend behindthename.com as an exceptional resource for names, their history, and their meanings.)

Do be creative in your simplicity. In other words, add a touch of flair to a simple name. If you’re going to name your character John, which is a very common name, kick his name up a notch by adding an interesting surname like Sinclair. After all, giving him the surname Smith would make his name utterly forgettable.

Do think outside the box. This goes along with being creative, though its slightly different. Think outside the box of your genre. If there’s several already popular characters written in your genre with the name Thomas, don’t name your character Thomas. Name him something else.

Do constantly think up and jot down names. I can’t stress this enough. Even if you’re at a restaurant and think up a clever name, write it down on a napkin if you have to. By writing down the names, you have them on file for future characters – which is a definite must if you’re an author who writes with a large volume of characters.

Remember to keep the dos and don’ts in mind. They’ll definitely be a character-naming lifesaver.