Naming Characters

From Keenan

Recently while working on a first draft, I realized that I had named several characters “TK” (To Come) which was getting confusing. So, when I ran into the fabulous Sybil Johnson, the author of Brush Up for Murder at Bouchercon, I asked her to guest write a blog post on the topic. And here is what she said:

Sybil Johnson

I enjoy naming characters. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I’ve met writers, though, who dread the process of coming up with yet another name.

Sometimes names just pop into my head. This was the case with my main character in my Aurora Anderson mysteries. I took Aurora from the princess in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, my favorite Disney princess film. For a last name, I decided a little alliteration was in order. And so, Aurora Anderson came into being. That made my series the Aurora Anderson mysteries, which I think has a nice ring to it. It’s also an easy name to remember and spell so people should be able to find it in internet searches without too much trouble. In the books, though, she generally goes by Rory. Only on occasion is her full name used.

While naming that character was easy for me, most of the time it takes more work to come up with names. I use all sorts of methods. In my first book, Fatal Brushstroke, I named Rory’s painting teacher, who she finds buried in her garden, Hester Bouquet. This was a bit of an homage to “Keeping Up Appearances,” a Britcom that has a character named Hyacinth Bucket. Hyacinth is always concerned about what others think of her. She wants everyone to pronounce her last name “Bouquet.” It sounds more refined. My character, Hester, is also very concerned with how she is perceived. Plus she was found buried in a garden so a “flower” word seemed appropriate.

A baby name book that lists the meanings of first names comes in handy. If you know a particular character has a certain personality, you can find a name that has an appropriate meaning. The Social Security Administration’s list of the most popular baby names for a given year is also a good source of first names. (https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/) Figure out approximately when a character was born, take a look at the names and see if you find any of them interesting. You can also filter by state if where your character was born is important. I’ve often combined these methods by finding a name on the SSA’s site, then looking the name up in the baby book to see if the meaning seems right for the character.

For the last names of one of my characters, I consulted a list of patron saints. I needed a name for my fire chief. Florian is the patron saint of firefighters so my fire chief became Chief Florian. I also have a book that lists last names and their origins.

Sometimes, especially in the case of short stories, I’ll do themes. I recently wrote a story that is set in a library so I looked at names of people who are related to libraries. Benjamin Franklin founded the first lending library in the U.S. so I used Franklin for the last name of one character. Melvil Dewey created the Dewey decimal system so I used both of his names as last names, changing the spelling slightly. I also grabbed some last names from a list of the Librarians of Congress and used Beverly Cleary’s last name since she was a librarian.

Whatever names you choose, be sure to keep track of all of them so you don’t reuse a name or have two that are too similar. For each story I write, I list on a piece of paper each letter of the alphabet, one letter per line. When I decide on a name, I put it on the appropriate line. e.g. Martin would go on the “M” line and “Green” would go on the “G” line. That way I can easily see if I have too many names starting with the same letter of the alphabet.

What I didn’t do, but should have done from the beginning, is keep track of all the names in each book in my series in the same document. That way I don’t accidentally reuse a name from book to book unless it’s a recurring character. One of my early readers of Ghosts of Painting Past pointed out I’d used a name before for a different character. I ended up looking through every book in the series and listing all of the names in one document so I wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Naming characters should not be an arduous task. There are ways to make it fun and interesting to the writer. Use some of the methods I mentioned or come up with ones on your own. However you come up with your names, be sure to have a method from the beginning to keep track of them. It’ll save time and a few headaches.

About Brush Up On Murder:

Love is in the air in the quiet Los Angeles County city of Vista Beach, home of computer programmer and decorative-painting enthusiast, Aurora (Rory) Anderson.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, residents are training for the annual Love Run and  expressing their undying affection for each other by attaching love locks to the pier railings. But a string of bank robberies is ruining the romantic vibe.

While Rory helps friends prepare for a Valentine’s Day wedding, a body is found and the groom is implicated in the murder. Convinced of his innocence, Rory puts her heart into the investigation. Can she identify the killer before someone else encounters their own brush with death?

Pre-order Links for Brush Up On Murder

(available in Kindle, Kobo and Nook e-formats as well as Trade Paperback)

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/brush-up-on-murder

Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Brush-Up-Murder-Sybil-Johnson-ebook/dp/B0CFSZGMD8

Amazon TPB: https://www.amazon.com/Brush-Murder-Aurora-Anderson-Mystery/dp/B0CHJ4HJR8?ref_=ast_author_dp

B&N TPB: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1144041940?ean=9798987660607

B&N Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1144041940?ean=2940186164845