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sing-you-fools · 8 months

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me: this is a background character who's in one scene, has two lines, and is completely irrelevant to the rest of the story. i am going to stop obsessing over what to name him and use the random name generator on behindthename.com. i am going to accept the first thing it gives me and move the fuck on.

behindthename.com:

#guess i can call him charlie #i'll know what it's short for #and maybe someday i'll have a Fandom and someone will deep dive this far and find out the truth #a bitch can dream #writing #writeblr #naming characters #behind the name #names #character names #my writing #charizard cockburn #pokemon #sing-you-fools #1k #5k #10k #25k

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writingwithcolor · 4 months

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Naming International POC Characters: Do Your Research.

This post is part of a double feature for the same ask. First check out Mod Colette's answer to OP's original question at: A Careful Balance: Portraying a Black Character's Relationship with their Hair. Below are notes on character naming from Mod Rina.

~ ~ ~

@writingraccoon said:

My character is black in a dungeons and dragons-like fantasy world. His name is Kazuki Haile (pronounced hay-lee), and his mother is this world's equivalent of Japanese, which is where his first name is from, while his father is this world's equivalent of Ethiopian, which is where his last name is from. He looks much more like his father, and has hair type 4a. [...]

Hold on a sec.

Haile (pronounced hay-lee), [...] [H]is father is this world’s equivalent of Ethiopian, which is where his last name is from.

OP, where did you get this name? Behindthename.com, perhaps?

Note how it says, “Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. Check marks indicate the level to which a name has been verified.” Do you see any check marks, OP?

What language is this, by the way? If we only count official languages, Ethiopia has 5: Afar, Amharic, Oromo, Somali, & Tigrinya. If we count everything native to that region? Over 90 languages. And I haven't even mentioned the dormant/extinct ones. Do you know which language this name comes from? Have you determined Kazuki’s father’s ethnic group, religion, and language(s)? Do you know just how ethnically diverse Ethiopia is?

~ ~ ~

To All Looking for Character Names on the Internet:

Skip the name aggregators and baby name lists. They often do not cite their sources, even if they’re pulling from credible ones, and often copy each other.

If you still wish to use a name website, find a second source that isn’t a name website.

Find at least one real life individual, living or dead, who has this given name or surname. Try Wikipedia’s lists of notable individuals under "List of [ethnicity] people." You can even try searching Facebook! Pay attention to when these people were born for chronological accuracy/believability.

Make sure you know the language the name comes from, and the ethnicity/culture/religion it’s associated with.

Make sure you understand the naming practices of that culture—how many names, where they come from, name order, and other conventions.

Make sure you have the correct pronunciation of the name. Don’t always trust Wikipedia or American pronunciation guides on Youtube. Try to find a native speaker or language lesson source, or review the phonology & orthography and parse out the string one phoneme at a time.

Suggestions for web sources:

Wikipedia! Look for: “List of [language] [masculine/feminine] given names,” “List of most common [language] family names,” “List of most common surnames in [continent],” and "List of [ethnicity] people."

Census data! Harder to find due to language barriers & what governments make public, but these can really nail period accuracy. This may sound obvious, but look at the year of the character's birth, not the year your story takes place.

Forums and Reddit. No really. Multicultural couples and expats will often ask around for what to name their children. There’s also r/namenerds, where so many folks have shared names in their language that they now have “International Name Threads.” These are all great first-hand sources for name connotations—what’s trendy vs. old-fashioned, preppy vs. nerdy, or classic vs. overused vs. obscure.

~ ~ ~

Luckily for OP, I got very curious and did some research. More on Ethiopian & Eritrean naming, plus mixed/intercultural naming and my recommendations for this character, under the cut. It's really interesting, I promise!

Ethiopian and Eritrean Naming Practices

Haile (IPA: /həjlə/ roughly “hy-luh.” Both a & e are /ə/, a central “uh” sound) is a phrase meaning “power of” in Ge’ez, sometimes known as Classical Ethiopic, which is an extinct/dormant Semitic language that is now used as a liturgical language in Ethiopian churches (think of how Latin & Sanskrit are used today). So it's a religious name, and was likely popularized by the regnal name of the last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie (“Power of the Trinity”). Ironically, for these reasons it is about as nationalistically “Ethiopian” as a name can get.

Haile is one of the most common “surnames” ever in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Why was that in quotes? Because Ethiopians and Eritreans don’t have surnames. Historically, when they needed to distinguish themselves from others with the same given name, they affixed their father’s given name, and then sometimes their grandfather’s. In modern Ethiopia and Eritrea, their given name is followed by a parent’s (usually father’s) name. First-generation diaspora abroad may solidify this name into a legal “surname” which is then consistently passed down to subsequent generations.

Intercultural Marriages and Naming

This means that Kazuki’s parents will have to figure out if there will be a “surname” going forward, and who it applies to. Your easiest and most likely option is that Kazuki’s dad would have chosen to make his second name (Kazuki’s grandpa’s name) the legal “surname.” The mom would have taken this name upon marriage, and Kazuki would inherit it also. Either moving abroad or the circumstances of the intercultural marriage would have motivated this. Thus “Haile” would be grandpa’s name, and Kazuki wouldn’t be taking his “surname” from his dad. This prevents the mom & Kazuki from having different “surnames.” But you will have to understand and explain where the names came from and the decisions dad made to get there. Otherwise, this will ring culturally hollow and indicate a lack of research.

Typically intercultural parents try to

come up with a first name that is pronounceable in both languages,

go with a name that is the dominant language of where they live, or

compromise and pick one parent’s language, depending on the circumstances.

Option 1 and possibly 3 requires figuring out which language is the father’s first language. Unfortunately, because of the aforementioned national ubiquity of Haile, you will have to start from scratch here and figure out his ethnic group, religion (most are Ethiopian Orthodox and some Sunni Muslim), and language(s).

But then again, writing these characters knowledgeably and respectfully also requires figuring out that information anyway.

~ ~ ~

Names and naming practices are so, so diverse. Do research into the culture and language before picking a name, and never go with only one source.

~ Mod Rina

#asks #language #languages #linguistics #east africa #african #immigration #ethiopian #names #naming #research #resources #writeblr #character names #character name ideas #rina says read under the cut. read it

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yeoldenews · 3 months

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Hi I was wondering if you know of any good resources to get good vintage names that aren’t typical and boring (Fred, Edward, Alfred etc)?

Some of the names in the Santa letters are certainly peculiar and it made me wonder what kind of names those “vintage baby names” lists are leaving out 😜

Thanks! And happy new year 🎊

One place to get a good general overview of what names were like in a certain era is the Social Security Administration's lists of popular names that go back to the 1880s. The further down the lists you go the less common they get. However these are still all names that had at least a few hundred occurrences, so you're not going to have any Gloyds etc..

I personally always try to find names from primary sources (newspapers, census, vital records, etc.) as you're more likely to come across unusual names that don't make the top 200 lists.

Also keep in mind that name popularity varied greatly by location. Just because there were a bunch of Juanitas in Tulsa in 1930 doesn't mean there were that many in Boston.

Honestly if anyone is working on a specific project and needs names from a certain location/era (i.e. you're writing a novel that takes place in London in 1627) feel free to message me and I'd be happy to work with you to compile a list from primary sources. I love this stuff and will use any valid excuse to spend an evening digging through 17th century baptismal records.

#if you buy me a coffee I might even make you a simple custom name generator #I do this for myself all the time because I'm a party person who really likes spreadsheets #names #history #historical fiction #writing resources #asks #@sir-sleepalot #writing reference #character names

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unboundprompts · 5 months

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Dark academia names for women?

Dark Academia Character Name Ideas

-> feel free to comment suggestions, I'll do my best to add them to the list.

Male:

Crimson

Kane

Ambrose

Romero

Stoker

Tristan

Ashford

Felix

Atreus

Orion

Blake

Killian

Malachi

Edgar

Claude

Hyde

Dorian

Damon

Damian

Bram

Victor

Arthur

Caspian

Durant

Holmes

Julius

Phineas

Julian

Zoltan

Atlas

Alastair

James

Griffin

Charles

Grey

Female:

Lilith

Ebony

Eris

Victoria

Annabel

Naomi

Emberly

Narissa

Lorelei

Rowena

Elenor

Genevieve

Ivy

Trista

Ambrosia

Odessa

Wynona

Annalise

Meredith

Bronwyn

Enid

Amorette

Charlotte

Adeline

Daphne

Lenore

Blythe

Anya

Blair

Artemis

Juno

Ophelia

Rosalind

Elvira

Gender-Neutral:

Maude

Hecate

Circe

Salem

Hester

Demeter

Nimue

Wilhelmine

Xanthe

Tanith

Isolde

Fantine

Nicodem

Arden

Theodore "Theo"

Quinn

Raven

#character name ideas #character names #name list #name ideas #name suggestions #name help #oc name ideas #oc names #dark academia #dark academia name ideas

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creativepromptsforwriting · 8 months

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Character Names Masterpost

How to choose a first name

How to choose a last name

How to name a character

How to use nicknames

List of Names

#character names #masterpost #list of names #naming a character #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing advice #how to write

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wolflowers · 9 days

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🧼 하엘 ㅤㅤㅤ𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺ㅤㅤㅤㅤ namesㅤㅤㅤㅤ forㅤㅤuse

𝓲𝓼 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 "name" ꒰꒰ ❀

𝘁𝗵𝗲 "name" 𝓲𝓼 sunset ̷ 𓇼

𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 ت "name" angel ̫

𝖿𝗅𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝖾𝗂𝗀𝖺 𝓲𝓼 "name" 𑁍 꽃

𝗉𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗅 the 🦪پ "name" 𔗌

𓍼 tulips ❁ 황혼 "name"

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seraphinitegames · 3 months

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How did you go about naming characters? Did you have versions of them in your head before you named characters? And especially with the UB did you come up with female or make names first for some of them?

Just asking out of curiosity. Thank you!

Wayhaven was actually supposed to be a novel originally and the vampires were all male, and the love triangle between N and A was the only romance (which is why it's in the game, as I spent too many years planning it to not include it, hehe!)

All the names were set except Adam was originally called Bane, but Bane's character was too...well, not right. So it was changed to Adam.

But then I discovered interactive fiction, fell in love with the potential of it, and that was that, hehe! :D

Thank you so much for the ask! :)

#the wayhaven chronicles #asks #interactive fiction #unit bravo #game mechanics #writing #creative writing #backstory #personal #character names

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name-saken · 18 days

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Just a little Avatar theory, but I was listening to The Songcord when I decidedd to read the translations. And I found a navi word that kinda resembles Tsireya's name, called Tireya which means life. I wonder if Ronal and Tonowari gave her a name that involves something of life (not sure what the s or Tsi could mean by itself. It could be like 'Sweet Life' for example.) Overall, I think its cool that Tsireya's name might have an actual meaning to it that is in the Na'vi! AGGH, so cute too. Just to think that her name might have 'life' to it as a meaning.

LOOK AT HERZ LOOK AT MY SWEET GIRL

#avatar the way of water #atwow #avatar #avatar 2 #tsireya #theory #linguistics #na'vi #character names #jake sully #loak #neteyam

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vodkrubys · 1 month

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𖤓 ☁️🌞 𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦 🫙🥧 ࿔

☁️🥧 ⃔░ 𝗌𝖾𝗎 𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗲 . ✿☁️

⠀❘ ❙ 🥭 𝗦𝗘𝗨 ✴︎ 𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗘 🌞⡴

꫶⃨ ☁️🧺⠀ 𝗦𝗘𝗨 ★ 𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗘 ⃘ 🍙

ֹ🍵⠀͡꒱ 𝖲𝖤𝖴 𝖭𝖮𝖬𝖤 ✿ㅤׂ ⠀🥑

﹏ 🌀🐝 ᜔ 𓆇࣪ 𝗦𝗘𝗨 𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗘 ⃘ 🍏☁️ׅ

🫙🥧 ུུ̑̑⠀ 𝗦𝗘𝗨 ♬ 𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗘 ◌🪵🦜

se usar ou se inspirar, dê os devidos créditos para @vodkrubys no ig!! 🤍

#bios #cute bios #instagram bios #rpg #soft #soft icons #aesthetic bios #messy bios #rp bios #short bios #name suggestions #character names #forum rpg #oc rp

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the-reverii · 6 months

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▸ DARK ACADEMIA CHARACTER NAMES.

━━ ✰ masculine.

⭑ atlas

⭑ charles

⭑ dominique

⭑ edward

⭑ francis

⭑ dorian

⭑ henry

⭑ lucien

⭑ remus

⭑ reyes

⭑ rowan

⭑ vincent

━━ ✰ feminine.

⭑ adrienne

⭑ anastasia

⭑ adaline

⭑ anya

⭑ aurora

⭑ blair

⭑ carmine

⭑ charlotte

⭑ clementine

⭑ daphne

⭑ estelle

⭑ evangeline

⭑ evelyn

⭑ felicity

⭑ fleur

⭑ florence

⭑ josephine

⭑ lenora

⭑ lynette

⭑ lyra

⭑ madeleine

⭑ octavia

⭑ ophelia

⭑ pandora

⭑ penelope

⭑ selene

⭑ zephyra

some of the names may be used for either masculine, feminine, or androgynous characters, i just compiled them in the two categories. if you have any ideas to add, feel free to comment them and i'll do my best as to add them!

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neat-deadandlive-things · 2 months

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It's been a few years since my last one so here's a brand new list of nature inspired baby / pet / character names. (Oops, All Algae! edition).

Tessellaria

Cymbella

Alaria (Possible nicknames are brown rib weed, bladder locks, murlin, and winged kelp)

Lauderia

Stauroneis

Coloechaete

Amphora

Astasia

Eudorina

Chrysostephanosphaera (Great name for a girl, and she could go by Stephan for short)

#character names #baby names #pet names #algae #phytoplankton #science

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saraswritingtipps · 9 months

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Witch names Old/New

Old Witch Names:

- Morgana

- Agatha

- Rowena

- Endora

- Elspeth

- Seraphina

- Nimue

- Sybil

- Isolde

- Eudora

- Odessa

- Selene

- Vivienne

- Rosalind

New Witch Names:

- Astrid

- Emberlyn

- Luminara

- Sylara

- Elowen

- Marcella

- Zephyra

- Cassia

- Isadora

- Aurelia

- Lyra

- Solara

- Phoenixia

- Amara

- Willowyn

- Vespera

- Celestia

#writing #writing tips #writer on tumblr #writerscommunity #character development #writer tumblr #writblr #writing advice #oc character #writing help #name suggestions #character names #witch aesthetic #witch names #witchblr

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unboundprompts · 6 months

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Character Name Ideas

-> a masterpost of name ideas for your characters.

-> requests open for names with specific vibes.

If you like what I do and want to support me, please consider donating! I also offer editing services and other writing advice on my Ko-fi!

Alphabetical First Names:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Other Name Ideas:

Cottagecore Names

Dark Academia Names

Greek Mythology Names

#character names #character name ideas #name ideas #name suggestions #name list #character name analysis #oc names #ocs #oc name ideas #masterpost #writeblr #surname ideas #original character #creative writing #writing references #writing resource #writing tools #writing advice

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asmoshywrites · 3 months

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Unique Names for Your Protagonists

(Because finding good names is a tough job)

FANTASY

Feel free to mix and match the names to make it more personable for our characters!

Ezra Winters -Helper of the night (Female)

Aurelia -The golden/ chosen one (Female)

Nyx Elowen -Nyx refers to the Greek goddess of night and implies darkness and mystery. Elowen is associated with the Alm tree, meaning strength. (Female)

Niran- Little Fire of Hope. (Unisex)

Verena -To fear, to respect (usually for a warrior related with bravery and power) (Female)

Caligo- Darkness, dimness, gloom (Male)

Caelum -The Sky of Heaven (Male)

Elayne -A ray of light, signifying hope. (Female)

Ophelia- Little moon (Female)

Altair Nocturne- A name embodying pride and strength associated with the darkness of night. (Male)

Azure -meaning the colour blue bonded to a serene blue sky or ocean. (Unisex)

Zephyrine -the name refers to pure little wind, derived from the Greek god Zephyrus. (Female)

Reverie- Daydream (Female)

Just so you know, this post is made with research and the help of sources.

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cometomecosette · 7 months

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Number of Times Each Major "Les Misérables" Character’s Name is Spoken in the Musical (Stage Version) and By Whom

I posted this long ago, but I thought I'd share it again.

1. Cosette - 56

By whom: Valjean - 23

Marius - 15

Fantine - 6

Cosette and Éponine - 4 each

Thénardier - 3

Mme. Thénardier - 1

2. Éponine - 28

By whom: Marius - 19

Mmé. Thénardier - 3

Thénardier - 2

Éponine, Gavroche, Babet and Montparnasse - 1 each

3. Javert - 18

By whom: Valjean - 7

Javert - 6

Enjolras, Gavroche, Éponine, Bamatabois and Combeferre - 1 each

4. Jean Valjean - 16

By whom: Javert - 7

Valjean - 6

Marius - 2

Thénardier - 1

5. Marius - 11

By whom: Enjolras - 3

Marius, Cosette and Éponine - 2 each

Valjean and Grantaire - 1 each

6. Fantine - 10

By whom: Valjean - 4

Assorted factory women - 4

Thénardier and the Foreman - 1 each

7. Thénardier and Gavroche (a tie) - 4

By whom (Thénardier): Thénardier, Gavroche, Marius and a random inn customer - 1 each

By whom (Gavroche): Gavroche - 2

Grantaire and Lesgles - 1 each

8. Courfeyrac and Feuilly (a tie) - 2 each

By whom: Enjolras

9. Combeferre - 1

By whom: Enjolras

10. Grantaire - 1

By whom: Enjolras

11. Enjolras - 1 or 0

By whom: Combeferre (optional)

#les mis #les miserables #musical #character names

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writing-with-sophia · 5 months

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20 Victorian-era names for boys

Arthur: Derived from the Celtic name Artorius, meaning "bear-like" or "courageous."

Benjamin: Derived from the Hebrew name Binyamin, meaning "son of the right hand" or "son of the south."

Charles: Derived from the Germanic name Karl, meaning "free man" or "manly."

Edward: Derived from the Old English name Eadweard, meaning "wealthy guardian" or "prosperous protector."

Frederick: Derived from the Old Germanic name Frithuric, meaning "peaceful ruler" or "peaceful king."

George: Derived from the Greek name Georgios, meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker."

Henry: Derived from the Germanic name Heinrich, meaning "ruler of the home" or "estate ruler."

Isaac: Derived from the Hebrew name Yitzhak, meaning "he will laugh" or "laughter."

Jasper: Derived from the Persian name Caspar, meaning "treasurer" or "keeper of the treasure."

Leo: Derived from the Latin word leo, meaning "lion."

Nathaniel: Derived from the Hebrew name Netanel, meaning "gift of God" or "given by God."

Oliver: Derived from the Old French name Olivier, meaning "olive tree" or "olive branch."

Patrick: Derived from the Latin name Patricius, meaning "noble" or "patrician."

Reginald: Derived from the Old Norse name Ragnvaldr, meaning "ruler's advisor" or "counsel of the ruler."

Samuel: Derived from the Hebrew name Shemu'el, meaning "heard by God" or "name of God."

Theodore: Derived from the Greek name Theodoros, meaning "gift of God" or "God's gift."

Victor: Derived from the Latin word victor, meaning "victor" or "conqueror."

William: Derived from the Old High German name Willahelm, meaning "willful protector" or "resolute protector."

Xavier: Derived from the Basque place name Etxaberri, meaning "new house" or "bright house."

Zachary: Derived from the Hebrew name Zechariah, meaning "remembered by God" or "God has remembered."

More names

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