Analyzing Your Character
List your character’s qualities. To find an appropriate name, start by listing the character's qualities, from most- to least-dominant. Ideally, your character’s name should sound at some level fitting to who they are, so keep this list on hand to help you decide between potential names.
Research those qualities. Once you have your list of qualities, start doing some research into what historical, mythical, or literary figures have been closely associated with some or all of the character’s dominant qualities. Look into not only the history, myths, and literature of your own culture but of others as well. Try to look into cultures that have some form of connection to the characters, places, or events of your story.
Make creative references. When you’ve found an element that relates to your character, take inspiration from that element in naming the character. Try not to be overly obvious. If your inspiration is relatively familiar or well-known, avoid naming your character overtly after whatever historical, mythical, or literary element you’ve chosen. So, for example, don’t name a character modeled after Gandolf “Dolf” or “Randolf” or something equally derivative. Take inspiration from more subtle associations, or create a name that’s more inventively tied to its inspiration. For example, you might name your character after a little-known monster from Norse mythology. Or you might use a word from another language that evokes an important quality in the character. But try to avoid commonly recognizable foreign-language words, like “Belle” or “Loco.”
Analyzing the Setting
Think about your character’s relation to the setting. Carefully consider the setting of the story and how the character figures into it. Is the character a native? A foreigner? Upper class? Lower class? The name should reflect their position in the world you’ve created. For example, if the character is a lower-class laborer who’s always lived in the same place, choose a name that seems relatively common and unremarkable. Giving the character an extravagant name or a name that would seem “exotic” by comparison will seem incongruous and risk pulling your reader out of the story.
Keep names consistent. Decide whether you’ll be using modern-style names or more archaic- or fantastical-sounding ones. Once you’ve made that choice, stick to it and stay consistent. Be mindful that characters who are supposed to share a common ethnic background should have congruent sounding names. Otherwise it may detract from the believability of the characters in the story. For example, if your story is set in Arthurian-era Wales, your characters should have recognizably old Welsh names, unless they’re specifically from a different place or background. Particularly if you’re using names typical of or popular among a particular group, don’t randomly mix and match culturally specific names unless you have a good explanation for your logic.
Research the setting. If your story is set in an historically specific time and place, do your due diligence in researching names appropriate to that setting. For example, if your story is set in antebellum America, choose a name that would fit in with the time. Avoid obviously incongruous names like “Brooklyn” or “Kimberley.” Similarly, be sure the name is age-appropriate. If the character is elderly, look into names that were popular at the time they would have been born, not at the time in which they’re currently living.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Research the name. Put the character’s potential name through a search engine and make sure it doesn’t have any unforeseen, and possibly unfortunate, associations or connotations. If a character’s name may be somewhat common, double-check that it’s not attached to something or someone you didn’t expect.
Make sure the name is pronounceable. Assuming you want people to feel comfortable saying the character’s name in their head and potentially talking about it with others, shoot for a name that readers will be able to pronounce. If there’s anything tricky or unexpected about how the character’s name should be pronounced, include a subtle reference in the text to how it should be pronounced.
Say the name aloud. Sometimes the way things seem or sound in your head is different than how it will seem or sound when said out loud. Before you commit to a name, make sure it doesn’t sound like anything you don’t want it to and that it doesn’t sound grating or comical.
Don’t be too obvious. Avoid choosing names that transparently communicate goodness or badness, etc. It’s an overused and overly obvious trope. For example, don’t name a good character something like “Angel Goodman,” and don’t name a bad character “Damon Blacksoul.”
Avoid using apostrophes in your characters’ names. It’s broadly believed within the fantasy fiction community that inserting apostrophes into a name is overused, trite, and generally frowned upon. Unless you’re taking inspiration from a specific culture that uses apostrophes in given or surnames in a specific way, don’t drop them in just to make a character seem “different” or “exotic.”
Don’t make names too similar. Avoid using names that are too similar either in style, quality, or sound. It will make it difficult for the reader to distinguish between the characters. For example, don’t name all of your main characters using the same initial, like Mary, Mike, Mark, and Molly. Also watch out for names that rhyme or sound quite similar, like Jake, Drake, and Blake or Mary Loo and Anna Marie. One thing about fantasy is that every cliche, every trope has been done. So when you take that on into your writing, you have to make a twist and make it unique. You need not avoid cliches. Instead, repurpose them.
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