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Naming Characters

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Surnames. Behind the Name: Meaning of Names, Baby Name Meanings. NamePlayground.com - the playground of first names - New! 2006 Name Statistics! 8 Tips for Naming Characters. Character Questionnaires - Get to Know Your Characters.

Receive more writing tips and advice (along with special offers and other Gotham news). One of the best ways to get to know your characters is to ask questions about them. Many writers do this as a kind of homework before they actually start writing a story. The more you know your characters, the fuller they will be. This might also make your story easier to write. The following questionnaires may be downloaded so you can work with the actual documents. Character Questionnaire 1 This questionnaire is found in Gotham Writers Workshops Writing Fiction. You might start with questions that address the basics about a character: What is your characters name?

What is your characters hair color? What kind of distinguishing facial features does your character have? Does your character have a birthmark? Who are your characters friends and family? Where was your character born? Where does your character go when hes angry? What is her biggest fear? Does she have a secret? Look at your characters feet. NamePlayground.com - the playground of first names - New! 2006 Name Statistics! NAME GENERATORS for your dog or pet from Chinaroad Lowchens of Australia -

HILLBILLY NAME GENERATOR Well, mine was Billie Jane Winchester CHARACTER NAME GENERATOR Produce names for all sorts of characters EVANGELIST NAME GENERATOR The first thing to realize is that an evangelist is a performer, and as such his name is his calling card. DARTH MAKER NAME GENERATOR When you absolutely need a villain for the Star Wars universe. ROCKET NAME GENERATOR Yes that's right, you too can get your own official Rocketname MECHA NAMER Generates "Super Robot" style names for robots, including their models.

TREE-BEING NAMER Call them Ents, Treants, Treemen, what you will, this generator gives you something specific to call individuals. WORD & NAME GENERATORS The generated names are fairly good, and very useable for role-playing fantasy games and such DRAGON NAME GENERATOR Can't think of a dragon name? ELF NAME GENERATOR This random name generator will output random names of a specified style DEMON NAME GENERATOR Angel or Demon names. MIDDLE-EARTH NAME GENERATORSimply wonderful! U.S. What's in a Name? How To Choose Character Names for Fiction. What’s the big deal about naming your character? I mean, a name is a name, right? Everybody has one. Some are long (think, Winnifred Patricia Hinkleberry), some short (Ty Cook), some rhyme (Larry Berry), some even have the same first and last name (Jeff Jeffries). In real life, you may chuckle at the names you hear but probably don't give names much thought.

Why should you take the time to choose a great name for your character? Whether you realize it or not, everyone associates names with people they know. What that means is that when they are introduced to your characters, your readers will immediately think of a person they know by the same name who is short, tall, heavy, thin, a class clown, conservative, outspoken, or obnoxious, and identify him or her with your fictional character.

To test this theory, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the following names? Names depend greatly on the era in which your story takes place. Surname Meanings and Origins - Find the Meaning of Your Last Name. Have you ever wondered about the meaning of your last name or where your family surname came from? What your ancestors did, how they looked or where they lived? Surname meanings can sometimes tell a story about your family, one handed down for hundreds of years. By tracing the possible origin of your last name, you can learn more about the medieval ancestors who first bore the surname and, ultimately, handed it down to you. Select a Letter to Find Your Surname Meaning To learn more about your last name meaning and ethnic origin, just browse to the appropriate letter in the Surname Meanings and Origins Glossary for your last name.

When searching for the origin or etymology of your surname it is also important to consider that your last name may not have always been spelled the way that it is today. Can't find your last name in the Surname Meanings Glossary? How to Pick Character Names: The 7 Rules of Choosing Names for Fictional Characters. Choosing a character name for your novel is as pressure-filled as picking a name for a baby. It has to suit the character’s personality, makes sense for the era and, most important, be super awesome (sorry friends, the awesome name of Brian A. Klems is already taken by this guy). Names like Harry Potter, Holden Caulfield and Stephanie Plum are memorable not just because of the amazing stories they navigate, but also because these names “fit” those characters so well.

You need a name that “fits” your character too. I stumbled upon these seven great rules for choosing character names offered up by popular mystery writer Elizabeth Sims (the Rita Farmer Mysteries). This guest post is by bestselling author and writing authority Elizabeth Sims. 1. It’s better to call a character Caleb, which means “faithful” or “faithful dog,” than to overkill it by naming him Loyal or Goodman—unless you want that for comic/ironic purposes. 2. 3. 4. Need an idea for a short story or novel? 5. 6. 7. Last Name Meanings Dictionary. 20,000+ Names from Around the World--baby names, pet, pets, sim, story character, meaning, origin, etymology, etymologies, meanings, origins.

How to Find Unique Names for Your Characters. Steps Method 1 of 2: Finding Your Own Unique Names 1Use a first name as a last name. Since first and last names usually sound very different, breaking this tradition would make your character stand ever so slightly apart. (Ex. Anna Joey, Robert Gideon.) This is a very subtle approach and would make the most sense for a story that unfolds in a time and place that’s similar to your own. 8Look up names. Method 2 of 2: Starting with a Letter (or Letters) You Like 1List letters that you must/want to have in the name. 4Add a few more letters. Tips Don't make too many different or strangely spelled names or your readers could end up confused and have less motivation to finish the story.Make sure it's pronounceable.

Ad Warnings Don't name your character after somebody who's already been invented, particularly if they have a similar personality. BabyNamesHub.com: Lists. History. Helpful Comments. Last Name Meanings Dictionary. 20,000+ Names from Around the World--baby names, pet, pets, sim, story character, meaning, origin, etymology, etymologies, meanings, origins. Fake Name Generator. Random Name Generator. Random Name Generator. Character Name Generator. Most Common US Surnames & Their Meanings - Common Last Names from the 2000 U.S. Census.

Smith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? The following list of the most commonly occurring surnames in America includes details on each name's origin and meaning. It's interesting to note, that since 1990, the only other time this surname report has been compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, two Hispanic surnames -- Garcia and Rodriguez -- have risen into the top 10. Population Count: 2,376,206 Smith is an occupational surname for a man who works with metal (smith or blacksmith), one of the earliest jobs for which specialist skills were required. Surname Meanings and Origins - Find the Meaning of Your Last Name. "Water" Names. Alfabette zoope name lists. Behind the Name: Meaning of Names, Baby Name Meanings. Beaufort National Cemetery - Beaufort County, South Carolina. Top names of the 1930s. Shawna's Genealogy Site.

Thousands of NAMES for your dog, horse, cat, pet or child from Chinaroad Lowchens of Australia -