A solid character name is a foundation for story success. A character's name is often the reader's first taste of who they are. A name can signal the character's cultural background or personality. Character names can even be used to signal a book’s theme or tone.
Whether you like to name the people in your books with the characterizing specificity of Dickens or you prefer a more real-world style, it can be difficult to come up with endearing or curiosity-sparking names. If you’re tired of scrolling through the usual baby names websites, here are four unique ways to come up with distinctive names for your characters.
Movie credits: Think about it. Hundreds of names scroll past your eyes, unnoticed, at the end of every movie. What better way to find a distinctive name than to read through a huge, truly random collection? If you’re bad at coming up with surnames like me, this can be especially helpful. And the sweeping, beautiful music—with its ability to light up your creativity—is the cherry on top.
Historical records: This is a great one if you’re writing historical fiction or characters with strong ties to their family histories. Look through newspapers or books written in the era your book takes place in (if possible), walk through cemeteries, or even look up your own genealogy.
Story Source Materials: Retellings and books inspired by other books and movies are still going strong. If your book is heavily influenced by a particular author, book, or even historical event, consider naming your characters in a way that nods to that source of inspiration. This can be completely on-the-nose or it can be subtle, but this can help you create a name you—and your readers who pick up on the reference—can connect with on a more emotional level.
Census data: It may sound boring, but this is actually how I’ve often come up with names for my stories. I take my character’s birth year (which is sometimes approximate; I don’t always set my stories in a particular year) and I search popular baby names for that year. I’ll often get results straight from a government source like the Social Security Administration. In most cases, I like to scroll down past the most popular names and look for names that are a bit more distinctive.
As you choose your character names, consider their cultural, racial, or even religious background. Think about the era, region, and the context of what was happening in the world when your character was born, and take all into account when naming them. And if you’re writing a character with a completely different cultural or racial background from you (a tricky thing to do right!), steer clear of the names that are perceived as the most popular or that are associated with stereotypes.
How do you typically choose character names? What processes have helped you find interesting names?
Happy writing!