I'm starting a new story and I feel as if I've exhausted all the good literary names.
You know, the names that look good in print, indicate a solid personality, and isn't so generic it's forgotten by the second page.
I know naming characters is like naming your baby; you don't know if a name fits until it's born.
But still, I'd love to have your help as I brainstorm.
Ironically, ones that are off the table are those I'm reserving for my own children.
For some reason, it just feels creepy to use their names in a story, as if I'm writing their fate for them, even though I'm totally not.
So Jameson, Isaac, and Watson are off the table.
Yeah, that's right. I want to name my boy Watson. As in Sherlock Holmes's bestie.
Judge away...
So...
What's a good name?
What's your favorite name?
What's your made-up name that you've been saving for your own kids?
(cough. Charlotte's Shayla. cough)
*Book image by Dancing Branflake
39 comments:
i've always wanted to name a son of mine Bennet. My husband never was a fan, but I just love that name =)
- Sarah
agirlintransit.blogspot.com
I absolutely love the name Bennet! I never considered it before, but it's a fantastic name.
watson is such a cute name!!!!! love it :)
i'm so bad at thinking of names it's not even funny. weirdly i can think of girl names though, but i've never tried for a book which seems to be a whole other ballgame! so uh...goodluck :)
I love the name Blanka for a girl:) Have a great morning, sweetie. xo
i love Julianne and Vivian for girl names.. i want 2 girls and i want to name them those names!! haha
xo,
Sandy
Sandy a la Mode
Names! Choosing names is difficult for me. I write neat ones down. I also use a baby names book and websites.
My Favorite names to use for stories are Harvard/girl, Nettie/girl, Hudson/guy, and Cyrl/guy.
I want to name one of my sons Isaac too! I love that name so much.
I love the names Caroline and Grace. We have a name picked out for our baby (and it's one I've liked for as long as I can remember) but it's a secret for now!
i LOVVVVVVE Watson - no joke 1 of the best names out there! - i'm not good with 'names' persay - i like really off beat names - or names from another country (like Africa/small islands - places off beat - not mainstream)
I love Philippe ( second "I" accented)
for a boy, Svitoslav, Antonio - boys are hard. Girls are : Zlata, Snezhana, Vasilisa, Evangelina ( I read a story when I was little and imagined a little blond girl with curly locks. I thought about it all pregnancy and that's who I got for MY Evangelina (* short Yeva)), Gorgiana, Genevive, Violetta, Margaritta, Nadezhda, Suzanna. I can go on for 5 pages. Girls are so much easier.
www.livingnotesfromnyc.com
My grandfather's name was Chester Cornelius, and for some reason I've always loved it! It just has a wonderfully old world ring to it, though it is a bit dated for actual use {a book character, however, really ought to be named Chester Cornelius, I mean, seriously}. As for the other questions, I have 3 kids, and already used up all my favorite/made up names for them {Bayley Merrill, Tucker Grayson and HarperAnn Buchanan}-- tons of meaning behind each name {but I'll spare y'all the details lol}
Watson is a great name. I've loved the name Declan for a long time & now it's becoming a bit popular. Not sure my hubs likes it so I may have to settle with naming a dog or cat Declan :-)
Harvard and Hudson are so good! And I really like Cyrl.
I am in love with your kids' names! HarperAnn is adorable yet also elegant.
I love my kids' names. The dude's is a family name and the lil' lady bean's is from a movie that the hubs and I love! I also love the names Sloane and Hudson. I got vetoed on both by the hubs. Ha!
@Koru I adore the name Declan! I think your hubby needs to change his mind.
I LOVE names with history. Florence (nightengale), Amelia (earhart, or Audrey (hepburn). :) I haven't thought up boy names yet...
Mo tells me he wants to name his son Ebeneezer. and I think he's serious.
I approve of Watson! :) For me, since my husband is Iranian, we have a couple of Persian names in the queue: Leila, Kian (boy name). I'm terrible at picking character names, just like titles... good luck!
xoxo J
Oooh i love the name Watson for a boy! Just stumbled upon your blog and love it.
~Bev
http://bevedlybev.blogspot.com/
My daughter was born 30 years ago. There were almost no Brianne's back then. It was considered so *exotic* that a friend of mine who was a wigmaker, named a new wig after her ;)
For names I hit up phone books; I also to go online places like IMB, type in my favorite show - and take the names of assistant art director (or some other person whose name isn't 'recognizable')...I completely know what you mean about writing a story and names!!!
How about Mason? Or Kent? They've got potential!
Like the blog!
{heatheringheights.com}
I LOVE Watson!
I always go to babynames.com and look at the name lists that people have posted for voting. Sometimes you can find some really awesome names on those lists!
watson! ha! that made me laugh.
long ago a co-worker had a baby and named him henry. it made me laugh, but it really is a cute name.
i shouldn't judge. when i was a teenager i wanted to have five boys. yes, FIVE BOYS. and i hadn't worked out all the names, but my short list included eddie and vinnie. i must have been referencing my then hard rock heroes and/or mobsters. YAY. real klassy, no?
so, needless to say, i am of no help here!
Kent is definitely underutilized.
@Drollgirl haha! That is such a Drollgirl comment!
I love the name Watson! When I was pregnant I wanted to name Avery Sawyer but Erik said no. I managed sneak Jayne in as her middle name (Jane Austen), but Erik wanted to put the "y" in. I still know who she's named after though.
I actually know a Watson and am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan so that's good to me. I have a cousin named Skylar and that's always been one of my favourite names. I know what you mean names that look good in print. I'm partial to longer names since most of us have family names. I like Elisabeth as well!
I love your names–so classic! Ironically enough, I really like Britton for a girl, but Britton Britton sounds ridiculous!
I troll baby name sites for character names.
And I never tell what my future kids names are. :)
I've always loved Sofia because it means wisdom
I like the name Josephine a lot. You know, from Little Women? I always think about it when I drive to my Dads. I pass through Josephine county and always think, "I really like that name." I have two EPIC kid names picked out which I will not reveal because of their awesomeness. But ask me next time we hang if ya wanna know.
i love all "J" names!
xx
b
I definitely think there is a difference between naming a character for a book and naming your child. For a character, you don't necessarily have to "love" the name but rather name them something that fits that character's personality, Ethnic background (in some scenarios), and even generation. Think about the character you are creating and use a baby name search to narrow down the options. If you need some extra help deciding, maybe you can have your blogreaders help out. Maybe give us a paragraph snippet of a character you're working on and have us submit a name we think would fit that character and then pick your top 3 and have us vote. That would be fun!!
I always go through phases with names. I am torn between wanting to someday name my kids with family names and going with names that I just plain like. I love having a family name, though. Of course, there are a lot of girls and not a lot of boys in recent generations, and there's a shortage of boy names in the family.
When it comes to naming characters, I used to go on one of those baby names websites and do a search according to name meaning. Of course, I haven't written a story in a couple years now...
That needs to change. I always think I'll write one again soon, but it's been a few years. Oh dear.
p.s. I love that you want to name your kid Watson. I think that when we do have kids, I'll end up naming them for book characters that I've loved. Meaning that although my family is German, we will probably have kids named Jane, Cosette, and...well, I haven't gotten to the boys' names yet. I'm bad at those.
p.s. I love that you want to name your kid Watson. I think that when we do have kids, I'll end up naming them for book characters that I've loved. Meaning that although my family is German, we will probably have kids named Jane, Cosette, and...well, I haven't gotten to the boys' names yet. I'm bad at those.
I LOVE NAMES. Seriously, if I could officially name other people's kids I would. I've thought about my (future) babies' names since I was 12. My list is always changing, but here's the top runners for now:
Girls: Leona, Anneliese, Shoshanna (but I could never use it since it doesn't fit with my last name)
Boys: Iver, Kellen, Henry, Theo
I think that name Watson would seriously kick butt. I've thought about using names from my favorite books, but my last name is already weird, so I don't want to stick my kid with a truly unfortunate name.
I agree with the commenter who suggested the name Chester Cornelius for a book character. It sounds awesome!
I love the name Watson for a boy. I'm saving Charlie for a daughter, though I might not be allowed to use that as it's my father's name and my brother's so my brother technically gets to claim it first. With my story, the lead female was easy to name, but the lead male? That took some real time (and a trip overseas).
First time commenter! I found you on Bridget Hunt's blog comments :)My husband and I have always liked the name Atlas because it perfectly spells out our two names/ last name. I think it is such a strong name with a great meaning and strength behind it, but I'm not sure it would be good for a child. Unless your child ended up athletic and tough, they might get made fun of growing up!
Post a Comment