It's All in a Name

I was recently reading the blog of one of our favorite authors; Scott Westerfeld, {http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/} and I came across an interesting post. He talked about the importance of names in writing, and it really got me thinking about the impact of names in my own writing, and in the TV shows I watch.
Now, names aren’t everything in writing, or on TV. Character, personality, and attitude are all equally important. But names can sometimes establish these things. And they often provide information such as where someone is from, or which nationality they are. It’s important to put thought into names; I find myself not getting far in stories where the main character is Bob Smith.
In my personal experience I tend to take certain things into consideration when I name a character. These are usually the things that go through my head:

1) The first thing I do is decide what kind of story I am writing, so that I know whether to put more consideration into the first, or last, name. Let me explain. I usually write stories based off of the shows I watch. Cop dramas with a little bit of romance. As you know, cops are usually referred to by their last names, sometimes preceded by “Detective” or “Captain”. Let’s do a sample name. A good last name is…Denver. Detective Denver. Captain Denver. They both sound good.
2) Then, I think about the personality of my character. I usually have strong, tough characters, so a name like Priscilla just won’t do. Another thing to consider is balance. You shouldn’t have a character with a flashy first name and a flashy last name, unless that character is really flashy themselves. So, for the first name, how about Camryn?
3) Spelling can make an ordinary name extraordinary, even unique. So, instead of Camryn, why not Kamryn? Kamryn Denver. That’s a good name, in my opinion.
4) We didn’t really take this into consideration for Kamryn’s name, but you should take nationality into consideration. Trust me, it’s not stereotyping to name a Hispanic character Maria, or give her a last name Lopez, or to give an Irish character the last name McNeil, or O’Toole.
5) Another thing you want to think about is the time period of the story. You can’t really have a boy in the 1800s named Jake, or a boy in the 21st century named Bartholomew…unless you have some kind of unique plot.
6) Since my writing usually has a strong friendship or romance sense to it, nicknames are used a lot. I always find myself looking for names I can shorten, Kamryn can be Kam, and Elizabeth can be Liz, or Beth.
7) Research. The Internet is right there, don’t be afraid to Google “boys names” or “Irish girl names” or things like that.

Now, I’m not saying you have to go through this entire process every time you introduce a new character. This should be used for the main characters, the ones who you’ll be referring to throughout the whole story, not for the man at the desk who your character passes by once.
Anyway, that’s how I go about it. Now I’d like to mention characters’ names from a few TV shows and movies that I particularly like.
Cynthia Morales from “Chasing Liberty”-- Being a Secret Service Agent calls for a good last name, and Morales is an amazing last name. This movie is one of my favorites, as is the character herself.
Alexandra Eames from “Law and Order: Criminal Intent”--Eames is a cop in this drama, and her name is unique. It’s a good name for such a tough, no nonsense woman. She’s one of my favorite TV characters.
Abigail “Abby” Sciuto from “NCIS”--A unique name for a very unique character. A name like this wouldn’t work for just anyone, but Abby pulls it off.
Anthony “Tony” DiNozzo from “NCIS”--This character is Italian, just as his name suggests. A common first name and an uncommon last name work together well.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs from “NCIS”--The name is slightly old fashioned, just like the character himself.
Horatio Caine from “CSI: Miami”--Another unique name, though this one is…solid. Strong. Works well for this character.
Another thing I’d like to mention is that naming characters after times and places is okay. Me, I love names like Brooklyn, Liberty, April, and Summer. They aren’t that common, and they add diversity to stories.

I hope I’ve given you something to think about.
Until next time,
~Mila