Is naming a character after yourself a bad thing?

[Nataszadraws]

Okay, this has been bothering me for some time now and I would like to hear other people's opinion. Is it a bad thing to give a character a name similar/ or the same to yours?

So one of my characters in my comic is called Natasha. My name is the same, however it is spelt differently (you can see it in my username). The only thing me and my character share is the hair color . Other than that, we are different. Different eye color, different age and height, different personality. Do I see myself as this character, no. When I look at her, I see a different person. The reason I gave her that name was to have a name similar to her cousin, Tasha. So I went with Natasha.

Since the release of my comic, no one had a problem with this. My family, friends and a few people I kinda knew were fine, as long as I told them why my character's name is Natasha. But recently, while I was in town, I met up with friends and ran into a few classmates of ours. One of them ( who I never talked to) asked me,' Why was I being a Mary-Sue?' After a bit of clearance, they said that I shouldn't name a character after myself because it will make me look like narcissist, which I'm not trying to be.

So let me know what you guys think. If you seem bothered by my name choice, I'll be more than happy to change it

[Kaydreamer]

Given the context you described, no. She's nothing like you, so I don't think it's narcissistic that you share a name.

That said, Tasha is usually a shortening of Natasha, so I do think the fact that she and her cousin share a name is a bit odd. I think most families try not to do that.

But ultimately, you do you. If you like the name as it is, keep it!

[StoneGuardian]

I agree, in the context it definitely doesn't sound narcissistic.

And honestly I think it's not even a problem if someone does want to write a mary sue or self insert for fun so either way I don't think you should worry about other peoples opinions on the name if you like it

[Kelheor]

It's not bad, and definitely nothing egoistical in this It is understandable though why would people see it as "self-insert" and what not. So it would probably bother you at some point, especially if your relatives and friends are reading your stuff (you know how close people can be sometimes about stuff). But if it doesn't, leave it be, you don't own them anything, people can be annoying about stupid things and you should not care about it.

[fleurravenbooks]

Just naming them after you isn't egoistical, i myself dislike self inserts ( not saying this is self insert) but names, or some personality traits doesn't make you egoistical

[Nataszadraws]

Thanks for sharing! Makes me feel a bit better about the situation

As for cousins choice of names, it does sound a little strange, but there is a reasoning in the story for that, which I can't say cause it might spoil it for some people

[Nataszadraws]

I totally agree with you. Problem with me is that whenever someone tries to tell me they don't like something I do, it gets stuck in the back of my head and annoys me for days , I know that I shouldn't be doing that.

But I'm glad that it doesn't bother others

[coppermouflon]

I think your classmate needs to recheck the definition of a Mary Sue first.
A Mary Sue is a type of fictional character, usually a young woman, who is portrayed as unrealistically free of weaknesses. Originating in fan fiction, a Mary Sue is often an author's idealized self-insertion.

To me, it sounds like they are jealous
I don't mind self-inserts, they are bound to happen, but I think we all, or at least the majority of us, dislike Mary Sue characters.

Also for the naming thing, where I am from, it's actually common for cousins to have the same name if the families have a lot of kids and they maintain close relationships. At large family gatherings I attend, I am sure there are at least 4 Christophers on the dinner table. It was my grandfather's name. I see it less and less with the children my cousins are having (as in the next generation) but the generation before us did it often from my personal experience

[Nataszadraws]

Well, you got the jealous part right

This classmate was the type of person who would do anything to make themselves look better than everyone else. They are an art student, and they didn't like people who took their limelight ( especially other art students such as myself.)

As for the topic of names, I actually did the close relationship idea with Natasha and Tasha. They are extremely close, have each others back and do stuff together etc. They are almost like sisters.

[FafasMcMelt]

I wouldn't do it, to be honest. Even if you don't mean anything by it, you might give off the impression that you do, so I'd rather just avoid it altogether, save myself the trouble of explaining.

[Jenny-Toons]

I do have a few characters named after me. Though, I don't use the direct spelling.

In my eyes, all of my characters have a piece of me in some way. And if they don't, the events they go through and their stories' themes are somehow related to my beliefs and developments.

So a character sharing my name isn't really much to come off egotistical. I've already put myself out there on main before doing so.

[NickRowler]

I have seen it done before but sometimes it can be a bit odd.

There was a comic where the author and MC were named Frank. The character was a giant loser and he had a crush on a sexy woman. Stuff like that sounds like possible self interest to me. It can also be distracting and makes me question a author if the character does something questionable.

But then you have Star Wars created by Lucas with a MC called Luke. The two are very different but it is sort of funny how similar the names are.

For Adventure Time, Finn’s original name in the pilot was Penn, named after the creator Penn Ward. He had concerns how the character could be used down the line and decided it might be best to rename him.

[lumisullivan]

I mean do you, if you want to name a character after yourself then do it.

Honestly the thought of naming a character after myself has never crossed my mind but I personally would never do it thought. Just because I want to draw a clear line between my work and myself, but that's just me

[frgmnt]

I don't really reveal my real name online publicly so if I named a character after myself, (almost) no one online would know.
Still I'm not a fan of my real name so I probably would never want to use it for a character, lol.

I don't think there's anything wrong with giving your character your name, though! It's not even like it's a self-insert in this case, and even in cases where it is a self-insert, there's a place for those in fiction too, and no one should be shamed for writing things that some people might deem "cringe".

[crimson_mystery_cake]

I think more people need to be brave and need to start naming characters after themselves.

[joannekwan]

When you said a name similar to her cousins, I immediately thought of Tanya!
But Natasha is a pretty common name in some parts of the world, so if it works, then I don't think you need to change it.

Personally, I would never name a prominent character my name, mostly because I'm just lukewarm on my name. It's not a very common name too so it raises more of an eyebrow. I might use parts of it, like "Jo" or "Anne", but having it exact would just invite opinions from other people that I'd rather avoid entirely.

[WLHcomics]

I don't see anything wrong with it, in fact quite a few popular comic creators insert themselves in their own stories, some names include Adamtots and Litterbox Comics. Adamtots puts himself in his own comics from time to time and Litterbox Comics is literally based on the creators life as a mom, but her and her family are these fun cat characters. And if I remember correctly, even Stan Lee occasionally inserted himself in some of his works (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

Heck even I sorta did that for my comics since a lot of these creators inspired me I even based a few of my characters on people around me, as well as having a sorta persona of myself in the comic. so to me it just sounds kinda like they're just a little jealous, don't let it get to you, just keep working on your comic and ignore them. ️

[Nataszadraws]

Yeah, I see what you mean. When it came to naming my character, I didn't give her the version of my name cause I knew it would raise a few eyebrows. Since Natasza isn't as common as Natasha. And the mispronouncing of the name would also be a huge problem. Trust me, I know

[lomcia]

Is naming a character after yourself a bad thing? - NO I hope I helped hehehehe

[Nataszadraws]

I'm glad that there are others out there that do the same