Writers love creating characters, but oddly, many don’t seem to put too much thought into their names. Using the just-right name with linguistic, cultural, or literary markets can communicate key elements about your character, without you having to spell them out.
In a post on Writer Unboxed, Sophie Masson explores the difficulty of finding the perfect name. Sometimes a great name pops into your head, but other times – for historical novels, for example – detailed research is required.
The middle space between those extremes is where names can be difficult, because you can’t rely in inspiration or research resources. You have to do the leg work. “The character’s personality, background, and fate even can come into play when you’re making those decisions, as can the time in which your story is set,” Masson says. “This includes not just more distant historical periods but also more recent times.”
Cultural references, such as names connected to myth and folklore, can give your readers a hint of your character’s background. Creating compound names using foreign words can also create resonance when your readers grasp the reference.
