Character Naming

As an Author naming your Character is an important step right after coming up with the plot. I am here to help you choose the right character name for you and your story.

Make sure your character name is Genre Appropriate. Make sure if it's a Historical Fiction novel or takes place in a real time period that the name was used then. Or if it's a fictionalized place then you can be as creative as you wish.

Just have fun with naming your character. It is after all your story.



Friday, September 27, 2013

Memphis

Meaning: (Established and Beautiful, City in the State of Tennessee also a ruined city in the country of Egypt. Greek form of Egyptian Men-nafer. One of the capitals of ancient Egypt, identified with the ruins at Mit Rahiney, about 23 km (14 mi) S of Cairo, on the W side of the Nile River. Memphis was for long the most important city in “Lower Egypt” (that is, the Delta region and a small section to the S thereof).)

Origin: (Greek)

Pronunciation: (m-EH-m-fuhs, MEM-fiss, Mem-phus)

Gender: Female, Possibly Uni-Sex

Now people are named Tennessee so I don’t see why a Tennessee city can’t be used but I have heard people say Memphis isn’t really a human’s name or they think so. I like the name Memphis Belle as a double barrel name. I asked about it on Yahoo Answers and found out it was the name of a bomber plane in WWII and the name of a movie about it. Still I love the name so I have added it to my Favorite Female Names list on this blog and now I am adding a post here about it. The meanings are lovely and beautiful. A cute nickname I think could be Mem or Memmy.

 

A few weeks ago I was in Wal Mart and I went past a lady who had a few kids and as I was passing I heard her call one of her daughters names which was Memphis.

Everly

Meaning: (Continually)

Origin: (English)

Pronunciation: (EVER-lee)

Gender: Female

Actors Chanting Tatum and Jenna Dewan- Tatum had a little girl recently and they named her Everly. I have the name Ever *See on list of posts* on my blog already but I wanted to add Everly as it is just as cute.

Aeria

Meaning: (A Genus of Butterfly, Name of an asteroid.)

Origin: (Latin, English Nature Name)

Pronunciation: (AIR-ee-a, ay-air’-ee-a, AIR-ee-uh)

Gender: Female

A friend has a character in one of her stories named Aeria; I hope she doesn’t mind that I post about it. I do love names that start in Ae, the only down fall for me is the pronunciation which I am not so thrilled about. It does look interesting and a bit foreign. A good nickname could be Aery pronounced like Airy.

Cadenza

Meaning: (With Rhythm, Variant of Cadence and Kadenza.)

Origin: (Italian, Latin)

Pronunciation: (cahh-den-sah, KEYDEHNZah)

Gender: Female

I saw a commercial for the car Cadenza. I think it is an exotically beautiful name. It has a decent meaning. I am not sure if I like this or the variant spelling Cadence better. A good nickname could be Caddy.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Lillia / Lilia

Meaning: (Lilies, Variant of Lillian, Lily, Lelia.)

Origin: (English, English Nature Name, Latin)

Pronunciation:  (LIL-ee-ah, lee-lee-ah)

Gender: Female

I had a friend who had a screen name that was Lilliana. I think Lilliana is a pretty name but I really liked the first part Lillia / Lilia. It is a bit prettier and rarer then Lilly. It also has an exotic look. I could see a petite mousy girl named this but maybe her looks and name are misleading as she is truly strong and fierce.

Lana

Meaning: (Rock, Precious, Little Rock, Light, Afloat, Calm as Still Waters, Variant of Alana or Helen. Short form of Svetlana. The name also resembles the romantic term for wool: “Laine” or “Lana”.)

Origin: (Old German, Irish, Gaelic, Greek, Hawaiian, Slavic)

Pronunciation: (LAN-ah, LAHN-ah)

Gender: Female

I was watching one of those ER stories shows and there was a lady they were talking about who was named Lana. It reminded me of the name of the character from the TV Series Smallville (About the early years of Superman / Clark Kent). I think the name is short but still really pretty and exotic in a way. I love the many meanings particularly Calm as Still Waters.

Maura

Meaning: (Moor, Star of the Sea, Of the Sea, Bitter, Derived from the word Maurus “Swarthy, Dark Skinned, Moor”. From the Roman nickname. Maura is the feminine form of the Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese Mauro. Form of Maire (Mary), Variant of Mary.)

Origin: (Irish, Latin)

Pronunciation: (MOHR-a, MOW-ra, MAW-ra, MAO-Raa)

Gender: Female

I have seen this name a lot lately. I like the meanings and the look is a nice alternative to Mary. It can fit in many genres and eras and it’s a name I could see on a nice strong heroine. I see a large manor house with a pretty heroine residing over it when I hear and see this name.

Elmira

Meaning: (Princess, Aristocratic Lady, Noble, Feminine form of Elmer. Shortened form of Edelmira. It appears in the play ‘Tartuffe’ (1664) by the French playwright Moliere.)

Origin: (Arabic)

Pronunciation: (el-MIR-uh, el-MY-ra)

Gender: Female

I heard this as a city name in the state of New York. It is a beautiful name with beautiful lovely meanings. This name isn’t a name heard too often but it has a long history to it which is nice and I like.

Hopton

Meaning: (Habitational name from any of various places, for example in Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Straffordshire, Suffolk, and West Yorkshire, so named from Old English hop ‘Valley Among Hills’ + tun ‘Enclosure, Settlement’. Farmstead in a Small Enclosed Valley or Enclosed Plot of Land.)

Origin: (English)

Pronunciation: (HOP-tun, HOP-ton)

Gender: Male, Possibly Uni-Sex

I was reading The Watchtower and it mentioned Hopton Haynes was a bible scholar who used and acknowledged Gods name as Jehovah. In a 1797 book on the worship of God, Hopton Haynes began chapter 7: “Jehovah the proper name of God among the Jews; whom alone they worshiped; as also did Christ and his Apostles.” I think Hopton is an interesting name. It is a rare name but it has a long history. The meaning is decent as well.

Achaia

Meaning: (Prior to the Roman conquest in 146 B.C.E., Achaia properly referred only to a small region in the Peloponnesus, stretching across the southern coast of the Gulf of Corinth, in a position somewhat similar to that occupied today by the section of the same name.

In Homeric poetry Greeks in general are spoken of under the name of Achaians. Due to the prominence of the Achaean League, a confederacy of cities, as the most powerful political body in Greece at the time of its conquest, the Romans thereafter generally spoke of all Greece as Achaia.

In 27 B.C.E., when Caesar Augustus reorganized the two provinces of Greece, Macedonia and Achaia, the name Achaia then applied to all the Peloponnesus and to part of continental Greece. The province of Achaia was under the administration of the Roman Senate and was ruled through a proconsul from its capital, Corinth. (2Co 1:1) Other cities of the province of Achaia mentioned in the Christian Greek Scriptures were Athens and Cenchreae. Achaia and its neighboring province to the N, Macedonia, were often linked together in common usage.—Ac 18:1, 18; 19:21; Ro 15:26; 16:1; 1Th 1:7, 8.

In the year 15 C.E., in response to complaints over the severity of taxation, Tiberius placed Achaia and Macedonia under imperial control, to be governed from the province of Moesia. This continued until 44 C.E. when Emperor Claudius restored these provinces to senatorial control, thereby causing a proconsul again to take up governing powers in Corinth. Due to ignorance of these facts, in the past some critics objected to the Bible’s reference to Gallio as the “proconsul of Achaia,” before whom Paul was brought. (Ac 18:12) However, the discovery of an inscription at Delphi made it evident that there was indeed a proconsul at Achaia named Gallio at the time described by the historian Luke, writer of Acts.

At Romans 15:26 the apostle Paul speaks of the generosity of the Christians in the province of Achaia in providing help for their needy brothers in Jerusalem. During Paul’s second and third missionary journeys a considerable part of his time was spent in Achaia, and he expressed strong love for the brothers of that region.—2Co 11:10.)

Origin: (Greek, Hebrew, Biblical)

Pronunciation: (uh-KAY-uh, uh-KAY-yuh, uh-shay-uh)

Gender: Female, Possibly Uni-Sex

Again I was reading the bible and I saw the name Achaia. I think this is a unique and rare sounding name. It is actually kind of beautiful. It has a good history. I am seeing this name fitting well in a fantasy novel for some reason.

Benjamin

Meaning: (Son of the Right Hand, Son of the South, Son of my Old Age, Biblical: Benjamin was the 12th, youngest and most beloved son of the patriarch Jacob and Rachel, and was originally named Benoni (Son of my Mourning) The name given by Rachel to her second son as she was dying during the delivery. Jacob changed his name to Benjamin, meaning “Son of the Right Hand.” In the Middle Ages, it was often given to sons whose mothers had died in childbirth, though it has no such connotations today. Brought into use by the Puritans until the end of the 19th Century. After several decades of disuse, came back to great popularity by the 1970’s. Ben is the short form; Benjie, Bennie, and Benny are pet forms. Diplomat and Inventor Benjamin Franklin, American President Benjamin Harrison, Jazz Musician Benny Goodman, Pediatrician and Oracle Benjamin Spock, British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, Actor Benjamin Bratt.)

Origin: (Hebrew, Biblical)

Pronunciation: (BEN-ja-men, BEN-jah-min, ben-juh-men)

Gender: Male

It’s a lovely old name with wonderful history. I was just reading a bit of my bible at the part about Joseph. One of his brothers is named Benjamin and it was his only brother with the same father and mother. I also saw a commercial the other day that was funny that had a man named Benjamin, I think it was based off Benjamin Franklin. It is a fabulous old fashioned name that can fit in any era so it is a wonderful diverse character name.

Surnames

Daddario
Cahill
Devereaux
Ravenswood

I try to have the most accurate Meanings, Origin and Pronunciations for the names on this blog. It is best though to do research into the names you decide to use for your characters as there can be errors on my blog. Or meanings, origins, and pronunciations I have not seen thus not been able to add to this blog.





Try some of the leading Baby Name Sites and Baby Name or Character Naming books as well.


The baby name sites below are where I collect many of the Names, Origins, and Pronunciations I use on this blog.

Baby Names Sites:

http://www.thinkbabynames.com
http://www.babynamewizard.com
http://www.behindthename.com
http://www.babynamespedia.com