How to Name Your Characters

Having a character with a secret meaning in their name can be a great way to have a secret that your readers will be ecstatic when they discover.

"If only we had known his name meant betrayal in the beginning we would have known he was evil!" 

Does your novel have to have a character whose names are secret meanings?

No. 

The most important thing to keep in mind is that your character's name doesn't have to have some deep hidden meaning that your reader will only learn if they speak multiple languages or enjoys randomly searching up your character's name looking for it.

For example, Draco Malfoy in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. I wouldn't have known his last name translated in Old French meant "bad faith." How could I? It wasn't until seeing it in a Tumblr post that I learned this.

Is this a cool and exciting concept? 

Yes.

Though I personally think it's completely unnecessary.

The reader learns throughout the books (or movies) that Draco Malfoy has put his faith on the wrong side. His last name could have been Braclkhurtes and we still would have learned this.

The fact that his name has a secret meaning is a cool trivia fact to know, but taking the effort to run a bunch of phrases through Google Translate and hoping it comes out sounding like a decent last name to me is a bit ridiculous.

The only place I feel that this trend fits in is Fantasy novels where the names are sometimes unpronounceable to begin with so having a name such as Daemyn (constant and loyal) isn't a far stretch. 

How Do I Find First Names With Different Meanings

There is one tried and true place to pick your character's name with the meaning clearly beside it. Pages and pages that go on until you find the perfect name with the exact meaning that you want. Just type a few simple words in your search engine. 

Baby-names and meanings 

There are more sites than I can count sitting there ready to give you all that you could need for a character's name. 

This even works if you're going for a dark name for your character. Revise your search.

Gothic baby names and meanings. 

How Do I Find Last Names With Different Meanings

You can always use the names from the above as a last name for ease and simplicity, but I don't think you're going to find something meaning bad faith in the baby name list, but since the word is the translations of mal and foi you can come up with a name for your dark character using the similar method of plugging things into a translating software until it comes up with a name from a language that resonates with you. 

Death translated in Samoan=Oti

Child translated in Samoan= Tama

Now I have a character with the last name of Otitama, through a war he stands on the opposing side of his son. Can you guess what will happen? 

Keep in mind that the translation may not be perfect every time. If you truly want a last name with a special meaning in a different language reach out to a native speaker and ask them if the translation has any nuances you may be missing. 

If you want your character's name to have a symbolic meaning don't let my rant stop you. 

Names can be symbolic in your novel in an obvious manner or hidden for your dedicated readers to learn later.

It can even help with a scene if you're stuck for ideas. 

No matter what you wish to do it's your story and nobody can tell you what you can or can't name your characters. 

Keep writing. 

With love, 

B.K. xo

__

If you've liked what you read you can show your support by subscribing, pledging your support, or leaving me a tip that directly supports and aids me as a writer.

By joining Vocal+ you can earn more per read on every story you publish on Vocal.

Click my link to start your 7-day free trial today and start earning more for your stories.

_____________________________________________

This story was originally posted on Medium.

If you would like to experience Medium yourself, consider supporting me and thousands of other writers by signing up for a membership. It only costs $5 per month, it supports us writers, greatly, and you have the chance to make money with your own writing as well. By signing up with this link, you'll support me directly with a portion of your fee, it won't cost you more. If you do so, thank you a million times!

If you love what you've read you can also show your support by buying me a cup of coffee to fuel my writing. 

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/barbaraking