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Jul 2021

Hey if you can reply this I would be really grateful.
The problem is that I don't know what name use for my MC, and i would like to see different opinions.
I need you to choose between Ascian and Cassiam for a male MC.

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    Jul '21
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    Jul '21
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We might need some more info on the character to decide which might fit better. (Though it will always be a subjective choice.)

How are you able to post something so short as a reply?

I kept getting the warning that the post cant be less than 20 characters.

Also, Ascian.

I'll like it to be a secret (because I'm mean.).
But I sent you a DM on how to do it. :thumbsup:

I feel that Cassiam would be better. May I know what's the meaning of those two names?

I agree with the other posters we need more info about the character and meaning behind the names, but if you ask me straight of the bat I would choose Cassiam!

Cassiam! It looks really nice written out and the C adds to the flavor.

How's Ascian pronounced? I defaulted to "a$$-cian" and that's a primary reason I opted for Cassiam. :sweat_smile: I'm one of those who sees a lot of different nouns in names.

Another trick I use to determine if a name is a good fit, is to imagine yelling it aloud in a forest. Perhaps you're calling out to them, and they're lost. Does it sound ridiculous yelled out? Does it sound ridiculous when you try to say it in a serious tone, talking to them about serious subject matter? Nope? Then :+1: all good. While Ascian looks nice, Cassiam is easier to hear when yelled out. Ascian loses some clarity (but again, this really depends on how it's supposed to be pronounced, as I can see 3 different ways).

Need more context on what sort of personality he's got. Even for fantasy names, the sounds used to construct the name will give a 'flavor' if you will. Think of, say, Cersei Lannister; lots of 'S' sounds with nothing to really break them up makes just saying her name sound like you're trying to speak parceltongue.
Lots of H, M, N, Y, and S sounds in conjunction with long vowels can give a musical tone to a name, making a character sound like they're either beautiful or a gentle caregiver.
Hard G, K, Z, and P sounds make a character sound aggressive or short-tempered, often useful for villains. A guy with the last name 'Gallagher' sounds like he should be a mob boss or a corporate billionaire, while a guy named Anderson sounds about as unthreatening as possible (though, of course, that can be subverted and used to your advantage if you want a character to appear harmless at first glance.)

Additionally, think about naming conventions: People aren't going to name their children random conjunctions of syllables, many modern english names are derived from old greek, latin, or hebrew words that actively meant something, and we have modern names that do the same: Hope, Faith, Lyric, Winter... mostly girl names, now that I think about that, but we also have names like Gustav, which descends from 'Augustus', which derives from 'August', meaning 'respected or impressive'.

The obvious recommendation would be Tolkien (he was a linguist, after all), but I posit that Brandon Sanderson is the best modern example of using fantasy naming conventions; in the Stormlight Archives you can tell who's from where just by the sort of sounds that make up their name: Kalladin, Adolin, Elokhar, and Dalinar are all from the the country of Alethkar, while Rysn, Tvlakov, Rnamdi, and Tozbek are from Thaylenah.
Alethi names like to end with a vowel and a soft consonant ('in' and 'ar'), while Thaylen names tend to have conjunctions of consonants right next to each other ('zb', 'vl', 'sn', and 'rn').

Additionally, Alethi names tend to be divided by class; nobles and rich people get the multi-syllable names with lots of 'L's, 'D's, and 'N's, while lower-class peasants get names like Teft, Moash, Dunny, and Jost. This is actually used as a plot-point in the story, as Kalladin resents his father for giving him such a noble-sounding name (preferring to go by 'Kal' when he can), because it made all the other kids dislike him growing up, while his father gave him that name in the hopes it would inspire him to rise above his station and possibly join the nobility.

So it's really a matter of what sort of 'first impression' you want your character to give off: is he a tough, no-nonsense, battle-hardened warrior? 'T', 'P', and 'K' are likely to be your friends. Is he a big softie? 'S' and 'H' sounds, but broken up with lots of long vowel sounds so he doesn't come across as deceitful or snake-like. Is he a hot-blooded shounen action hero? 'G', 'Z', 'J', and 'K' will make him seem active and feisty. It's a really subtle and small thing, and doesn't actually matter much in the face of a long-running story with good characterization, but it can help start your story off on the right foot.

There are multiple Name generators you can find through google, Idk if you want meaning to your character's name but I'll link you to a site!

Hi, I personally like Ascian too since I like the "cian" sound. When I think of names I also like to consider what it may sound like in other languages I want to publish my story in.