Do You Mind Unusual Names?

[skicoak]

I got a sharp rock in my shoe about EVEN genre naming conventions...

So many authors throw a f'n word scramble at the page and expect it to resonate... Princess Acagtradse of the realm Nhibopawqer... I ain't got TIME for that!

Give me Han Solo and Bilbo Baggins type names not crap that makes Google translate sound like it's having a seizure.

[Phantomlight]

xD Yeah, pronouncing names is already a tough thing for a lot people regardless xD I always like it when authors make a little footnote on how to pronounce the name though. And usually not in the way that most dictionaries do, but in kind of layman's terms do like "Beatriz" could be "Bee-Ah-Trees" instead of the way a dictionary writes it with upside down letters and such xD

[therosesword]

The Celtic are great (from the UK) and if you get some in the Germanic or more southerly they're tongue twisters, but not always.
When I finally found out how to spell Siobhan I just about fainted, no wonder I couldn't find it anywhere! Hahah.

I totally suck when it comes to pronouncing anything but the simplest Greek names. I'm a big fan of c-drama so I'm getting better with the Chinese names.

French names get interesting when you cross over into Corsica. And if you set a story in Switzerland the floodgates are open because they have three official languages. I used to watch a TV show from there and they'd switch from German to French to Italian.

One of my favorite things to do is find a name that has meaning to the character.

[Dysis]

unless you're writing high fantasy/sci-fi, don't use unusual names. Wherever you're writing for, use common names for that country. Readers don't like it when you use names that are unusual to them. If you're writing for a western audience you work should be full of Jacks, Pauls, Johns and Harrys etc. Typically western names.

Well, Hermione Granger is a likeable character from a normal world with very normal parents so I beg to differ...

[joannekwan]

I don't mind unusual names so long as they're pronounceable like skicoak said. No Xxyzzchrz's pls. Gotta put some vowels in there.

Not sure of the rest of the context the quote comes from, but from what's quoted at face value, it's kind of limiting since the examples in particular are so Anglo-western.

I usually name characters according to their background. Like I have two middle-eastern characters, and their names are Faiza and Hadi. They're unusual for most western readers, but I gotta stay true to their characters and heritage.

And then there will always be the case where something's unusual to one person but not to another. Like Beau is a totally normal name for me but lots of my readers had never heard it before.

[cherrystark]

It'@HGohwell Yeah, I saw that name on a post about weird names or weird spellings of names. The nerd in me recognizes those "normal weird" names so they aren't a big deal to pronounce or figure out phonetically.

Probably just a personal opinion but I tend to feel like that specific piece of advice tends towards potentially or actually ostracizing those with foreign or rather non-american names (jane, bette the usual colonized names) which is fine but I prefer those perceived unusual names.

I can see where you're coming from with perhaps ostracising people with foreign or non-English names. For me, that's why I appreciate knowing a person/character's culture heritage or at least being able to recognize it. If you have a character named Jiya or Omala, for example, who is a woman of Indian descent, I would want to learn how to pronounce her name correctly. It's the same type of respect I would want to give to a real-life person. Naming a character Xyler makes me go It's too weird for my taste.

Now there are some barriers for completely absurd names or nonsense names but if people can speak fictional languages from fictional locations i think they can at least try to learn names they're unfamiliar with and if a reader is struggling or a writer wants to make things easier for pronunciation or what have you a small phonetic guide in the description or something can be provided

Fully agree that pronunciation guides should be included more to give the reader a break.

[HGohwell]

The Celtic are great (from the UK) and if you get some in the Germanic or more southerly they're tongue twisters, but not always. When I finally found out how to spell Siobhan I just about fainted, no wonder I couldn't find it anywhere! Hahah

(Also from the UK) Yeah Siobhan is one of the worst, I'm always stunned by some of the Irish spellings. They can be as a bad if now worse than the Welsh. Pro-tip for fantasy writers: Irish names look fantasy and pronounce like "normal" names. Best of both worlds!

One of my favorite things to do is find a name that has meaning to the character.

Yeah, doing fantasy I can do a lot of this. I spend so much time on baby name sites finding the perfect name.

Not sure of the rest of the context the quote comes from, but from what's quoted at face value, it's kind of limiting since the examples in particular are so Anglo-western.

To be clear, the reason I use the phrase "basically goes" is because it's something I've seen on numerous "advice on how to do character" articles and videos and tutorials ect. It's a summation. But those are generally the sort of names they give for American/English speaking marketed book. The same way, for example, a Japanese manga would usually have an all Japanese cast with "normal"/common Japanese names, nothing older or uncommon or from another language despite that being an upcoming trend over there are much as it is in the west.

Like Beau is a totally normal name for me but lots of my readers had never heard it before.

This is blasphemy. Beau is a lovely name. It's one of my favourites.

[Zino]

I don't mind unusual names but if they are very foreign and long I'm gonna have a hard time learning them :'D like with some korean names in webtoons, they are often a bit similar, so I end up being confused a lot, when I'm not sure who is being talked about lol

[therosesword]

There's a great book: The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook by Sherrilyn Kenyon. There's a glossary in the back with the names listed in alphabetical order but then you go to the page listed for them and you can find out where the name comes from and its meaning. The version I have is from 1994 so I'm sure there's a newer version but it's like the best book ever for names from all over the world.

[joannekwan]

I feel the same! Especially when they have similar vowel patterns.

[WillowTree]

Like Beau is a totally normal name for me

Funny story!! I had only ever heard that word pronounced separately from seeing it spelled. I thought 'Beau' would've been spelled as 'Bo.' So when I adopted one of my dogs, his name at the shelter was 'Beau'... Which I pronounced like 'Beau'-tiful...... We now call him Beauller because it took a year and a half for someone to correct me so it was too late to change it to 'Bo'. I had read so many books set back when people would use the term 'beau' for significant other and I had always pronounced it in my head like 'beau'-tiful.

[nathanKmcwilliams]

@skicoak Zzzax would like a word or two with you

[joannekwan]

LOL that was one of the points of confusion for some of my readers. I had to keep replying to them in the comments that it's like 'bow tie'.

Beau's originally short for Beauregard. Darn French and their confusing spellings. Don't even ask me to spell hors d'oeuvres (thanks spell check).

[WillowTree]

My sixth grade english teacher had a good laugh when she wrote 'Hors d'oeuvres' on the board and told us to pronounce it... The whole class said 'Whore's do-er-vers.'

[DiegoPalacios]

I have no problem with unusual names or made up ones, as long as they are fitting and/or sound good.

However: If you name your character something like "Shabadaba Shabadoo" i will find it ridiculous....(this can be a deliberate move too for some comedic cases)

[skicoak]

@skicoak Zzzax would like a word or two with you

Lol! I think Zzzax is safe... Unless we're supposed to pronounce the ZZZ part differently than a bee buzzing past your ear! 🤣

[nathanKmcwilliams]

Then in that case...howabout this guy?

[joannekwan]

Cursed. Get rid of him.

[Phantomlight]

This sort of conversation should be brought to the attention of the scientists who name prescription drugs. Like...how am I ever going to pronounce that to anyone, including my doctors? And how the heck do I spell them on a form when they ask "what medications are you allergic to?" I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SPELL THEM SO I AM GONNA GIVE IT MY BEST SHOT AND HOPE I DON'T ACCIDENTLY SPELL SOME OTHER DRUG.

[artamazon]

Usually I don't mind weird, silly or unusual names. The only time I stopped reading a book due to the names was while reading one of the Dragonriders of Pern books. They all had apostrophes in their names and I couldn't tell anyone apart and I just got frustrated and stopped reading, lol. If I can't say the name in my head or tell the characters apart then that's too much for me. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if it was one or two characters, but it seemed like every character's name was like that. I could have also been too lazy to bother and am currently remembering it wrong, lol.