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| Cynthia enjoys tea and crumpets. |
Not Cynthia. It seems so formal, so tea and crumpets. Cindy is OK, though it sounds blond, and I’m a brunette. All the other Cindys I grew up with were blonds. But as adults, not all Cynthias are stuffed shirts.
In fiction, certain names conjure up stereotypical images. We expect Buffy to be a bubbly cheerleader and Rebel or Snake to be bikers. If we’re wrong, and Buffy winds up being the dental hygienist, we might feel tricked.
According to T.L. Cooper’s “Naming Characters in Fiction,” names create relationships between the characters and readers. Names show how the characters feel about themselves. And nicknames clue you in on how they feel about each other. In two of my own stories, minor characters named “Madman” and “Sorehead” told you these stories were set in a challenging, dysfunctional world.
Also in Cooper’s article was a list of Don’ts, to be aware of, when naming your characters. For one thing, you can’t use the same name for two different characters. It creates total confusion. (I mean, why would you even want to use the same name, unless they’re father and son? Then you could call them William and Billy.)
Also a no-no is using names that begin with the same letter (like Gary and Greg) or that are too similar, period (like Gary and Gerry). It’s also a hassle when your character has no name (“the big-nosed girl,” “the red-headed guy”). Trust me, it’s hard to keep up with that. If a character figures largely enough in my story, I come up with a name.
Jack Oceano’s “Five Tips for Naming Your Characters in Fiction” helps us when we’re stumped.
Tip # 1 - Select a name that reflects your character's personality. In other words, the name James Bond suits a super-cool, womanizing secret agent better than Percy Withencroft.
Tip # 2 - The name of your character should roll nicely off the tongue. Names should have a nice ring to them, like Rocky Balboa. You shouldn’t trip over a name, especially if it’s the main character’s, whose you hear the most.
Tip # 3 - Make certain your character's name is appropriate for his heritage and trade. By this he means don’t name the pizzeria owner Stash Donahue. You could name your character this if his Italian maternal grandparents started the business, and his mother married an Polish-Irish guy from Bayonne, New Jersey. But you’d have to explain all that. It seems like way too much work.
Tip # 4 - Keep the character's name consistent with his [or her] time period. If you’re writing an historical romance, you wouldn’t name your heroine Tiffany or Dakota. Keep contemporary names where they belong: in contemporary fiction.Tip # 5 - Avoid names that sound similar to names that others have already made famous. Charlotte O’Meara sounds too much like Scarlett O’Hara, etc.
Last but not least, where do you find good names for characters? Lynda Schab concludes her article “How to Choose Character Names for Your Novels” with a useful list:
• Phonebook
• The Bible
• Internet
• Soap operas
• Movie credits
• Baby books
Except for the soaps, I’ve tried them all. Too many soap characters sounds like stuffed shirts. Give me Cobra over Cynthia any day.
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