Do You Mind Unusual Names?

[Kiweevil]

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[Phantomlight]

I feel that way too, sometimes if names are too similar it can be confusing, but as you said that could just be a personal issue xD I am guilty of making characters with similar name in my earlier years too xD And I go back and read it and wonder why I didn't name them differently.

[aqua03]

@nathanKmcwilliams

Kltpzyxm. There, I did it.

[kmlangleyauthor]

Oh, good! It’s not just me!

@Kiweevil my whole family (including extended) has different ish names. Not straight up weird, just slightly abnormal or lesser known. So, reading a story with all currently trending names seems more strange to me than a variety

[rizamasuyama]

I mean, when it comes to fiction, names aren't just names: i.e they usually say something about the character. So for my writing process, I actually dedicate a good portion of time trying to find a name that fits the character I'm writing. More often times than not I lean toward more unusual names because my characters might be unusual in the context/setting I'm putting them in.

As a reader, I also enjoy unique or "strange" names because it adds to the intrigue. Like "Why did the author name their character this? What does it mean?" However, if it's clear this character is from a certain place, let's say China, I would blink twice at a more Western name, unless it's a part of their heritage which the author explains.

All this to say: it's up to what the name means for the character and the story. Readers can follow all kinds of "strange" things as long as the author gives them enough to connect the dots.

Hope this helps

[Kiweevil]

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[HGohwell]

Make your character names unique enough to each other for me to keep up with my 85 ongoing stories with ease

This is even worse for me when character's don't have last names either. They're just all just Jack or something. And we'll be talking about one and it's like but which one so you have to start going the redhead Tom or series X Chris. (Ok Chris is a really bad one I've got so many Chris characters in series I'm a fan of and they all have the same colour scheme it's like bitchy Chris, cute dumb Chris, the only guy Chris ect).

[Phantomlight]

That's Mexican names in a nutshell in real life. There's 14,000 Jesus's but they're all a bit different with their second part of their first name, so it's like Jesus Gerardo Jimenez versus Jesus Hugo Jimenez. But guess what? They just go by Jesus xD so they both go by "Jesus Jimenez" and I'm like..."WHICH ONE!?" xD It's always a great laugh though. I just see it as comedic when I see it in real life, but it can get super frustrating.

[Cavechan]

lol That's like my mother-in-law who told me about how she was one of like 5 Christine's in her school so they had to come up with various "Chris" nicknames to differentiate. XD

I don't mind unusual names as long as they fit the scenario. Like in one of my comics, my aliens just use random Earth names that they like so they can be from anywhere and mean anything. So it would be perfectly normal to have "John" next to "Mxyzptlk". They probably wouldn't go much for the "John" name though since they prefer more unique names.

In my other comic, again people have names that make sense for where they are from. Like my main characters, Shion and Senri, are Japanese so they have Japanese names. Then most of the other characters on the main ship are American so they have various names like Orion, Nicholas, Catherine, Farah, etc. Then there's Matteo who is Italian so he gets an Italian name, etc.

Then there are the aliens who have perfectly normal names for their country but are unusual to us. Like Sezdri, Zakril and Nazdriz if I'm spelling that right. lol

[nathanKmcwilliams]

That was part of the joke. Me misspelling it. I swear.
I didn't put a lot of thought into it. Okay?
runs out of thread crying

[Leverance]

I take names from Pinrest and Twitter, sometimes from conversations I've irl or that I find in places.

I generally write across many genres, and normally the names have weight in my story regarding meaning. I will always go for the name that "feels" right for the character. I usually research name meanings as well and plant small clues with them. It's like easter eggs for those who pay attention.

For example, Tyrell Wellick in my Fanfic (he isn't my character nor is Christian Grey) shows that he is from Swedish origin, I also hint at that fact by his sometimes slipping off the tongue of Swedish swearing. The names are important and show what kind of person they're, how they're identified by others etcetera.

I'm, however, very picky with any names I chose of main characters or important side characters. After all, in certain cases they will be followed for several books.

[NickRowler]

I don't mind unusual names, as long as they are easy to remember. I think growing up with Dragon Ball Z, I just got used to character named after random things. I also don't think we should discourage non-english names, because not everyone has an English name.

If you're writing for a western audience you work should be full of Jacks, Pauls, Johns and Harrys ect. Typically western names.

What an awful xenophobic view to have. It reminds me of those people who try to anglicize foreigners names because someone named Jorge or Ahmad makes them uncomfortable. It reminds me of when the school board tried to Anglicize my siblings names because they were not the English version of the name. F off with this mind set, I hate it. Not everyone is a white English speaker, get over it!

[DiegoPalacios]

he advice basically goes:

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 ect. Typically western names.

Now, my opinion on this specific advice is that its pretty impractical and doesnt apply to today's reality.

Depending of the diversity of your cast and the setting, there are chances are that it will be unrealistic to come with names from just one country. (specially if the names are not from the country where the story happens)

[HGohwell]

It reminds me of those people who try to anglicize foreigners names because someone named Jorge or Ahmad makes them uncomfortable.

It reminds me of back in the early days of dub anime when children couldn't handle Japanese names (or Japanese anything and also heavy censoring because all cartoons are for kids) and Shinji is now Shaun. (I say early days like this isn't still happening constantly)

[Phantomlight]

Like the "donuts" in the dubbed season 1 of Pokemon that were origini? xD This really confused me back then. I didn't know what origini was obviously, but I was really confused why it was called a donut. It bothered me FOR YEARS.

[NickRowler]

Doraemon and Yokai Watch are two recent examples of shows which were heavily edited to the point where they try to convince you they takes place in America. It is embarrassing and it sort of messed up the English translation of the 3rd Yokai Watch game where the MC goes to the US.

However, I think it is worse when the mindset bleeds into how we treat real people. Here is an animation based on something someone had to deal with growing up in the 1950s.

This also will sometimes put pressure on foreigners as well. I grew up in an area where Korean students would have a 2nd Americanized name which they wanted everyone to call them. And my latino grandpa usually had people call him Bob.

[nostalgicroxas]

I think it depends on your audience and if they will accept it. If you're aiming for an "everybody" audience, then you need to use more generic names: Ron, Harry, Edmund, Lucy. And then have them adjust to accepting the odder names as they're introduced into the world: Severus, Chiron, Dumbledoor.

I try to follow the rule personally that only made-up names or out of place names are reserved for special people in special cirumstances. Rhys, odd but kind of normal, but again odd that it's placed on a minor character. All in a high fantasy world. Just because it's high fantasy doesn't mean I need to use entirely odd names.
One of my oddest is probably Phyte, because it's a shortened nickname of his full name Neo Phyte, which is an actual word "neophyte", which is a cruel comment on what kind of person he is (and then you pronounce it as Fight, which just makes him sound combative). It all plays off each other. Then he has a naming convention of his servants are all named after birds except one: Dove, Crow, Raven, ect.

[kmlangleyauthor]

It seems like everyone in stories today are named things like Vincent or Oliver. Or is that just me?

I mean, despite my whole post... my two main characters have REALLLLLLY normal names just like that so, no, you’re not wrong at all

This is even worse for me when character's don't have last names either. They're just all just Jack or something. And we'll be talking about one and it's like but which one so you have to start going the redhead Tom or series X Chris.

That’s so funny to me I legit just had a funny mix-up last week where I was mentally in the wrong story but it had the same-name character and my brain was just like

I do try to give all my (important) characters last names, at least

[rizamasuyama]

I always give last names, even to minor characters because if I didn't, even I would get confused lol

[kmlangleyauthor]

I always give last names, even to minor characters because if I didn't, even I would get confused lol

I finally charted out a family tree (for a really big, extended family) a few weeks ago and half of them still don’t have last names but most of them barely even show up side characters, so it’s all good. At least they have names and I’m clear on how they’re all related