The power of names

bolodibuja 2024-11-03 18:49:53 UTC #61

For me, naming an original character is like naming a real child of my own, so I take a huge amount of time investigating and searching for the perfect name. Sometimes I coordinate the names if the story allows it.

One of my stories has all my characters named with a color theme; one more all the names are desserts; in another, animals. And in my latest comic all names have to do with deities and afterlife themes.

Ainé: It means "Brilliant; Happiness" and was the name of the Irish Celtic goddess of wealth and summer: Áine
Jennifer: "white shadow, white wave, fair lady". (ghost related)
Habrel: "God liberates the souls from pain" (Deity)

GumshoeComix 2024-11-03 21:07:07 UTC #62

i dont put any effort into names at all
i just think
"what sounds cool" "what will people remember if they say it outloud"
like, what the name means doesnt really matter to me at all
and I remember telling one of my other writer friends this and they were SHOCKED because they were asking my advice

Leyelle 2024-11-14 14:45:47 UTC #63

Louise's surname 'Small' was for sure just a stupid joke since she's 6'7.
here's an old pic of Louise from toward the beginning of my art journey:

and here's her newest one

Leyelle 2024-12-12 14:37:37 UTC #64

This is technically unrelated to anything, but I just realized a few things "Sketchy Business" has in common with the Carry Grant movie "Monkey Business."

Both about a male-female duo. The guy is definitely eccentric. It starts out seeming much more normal than it ends up being and a lot of chaos ensues revolving around people wanting a powerful object they believe the MC possesses.

beebutterbee 2024-12-16 17:55:35 UTC #65

@Leyelle Oh sketchy business changes to less slice of life and more a wacky comedy?? I’m curious to how it’s gonna pan out!

I love naming characters though, even when I give them weird names I still thought of how I wanted them to present. Some names have more research put into it, if they’re historical or something, but others are kinda silly like Knight Stella.

His dad’s name was Stellaris Kristof Solís and he named his first son Kristoferson, his daughter Kristofonie, and then he gave up on his last son and just named him Stella even though that should have been reserved for another daughter. Knight Stella is also a hobby astronomer and wears lots of celestial print yukata and kimono so it’s still on theme he just sort of embraced he has a girl’s name.

Leyelle 2024-12-16 18:02:40 UTC #66

it's already mostly wacky comedy, it just spirals even further into the wacky.

Did anyone tell his father that it was totally okay to not name your kids after yourself lol? Like there are millions of names out there

beebutterbee 2024-12-16 19:10:31 UTC #67

Ah yeah, I met like a more defined arc in the plot develops! I had assumed it was slice of life but I’m going along for the adventure lol

Someone definitely SHOULD have told him, but even then idk if he would listen, you see, he was a little too full of himself. He saw his children as little copies of him, and he wanted them all to be super successful. So maybe he was hoping if he gave them all his namesake they would all turn out like him. However that’s not the case… :0

Leyelle 2024-12-16 19:14:56 UTC #68

well yeah, it starts more slice of life-y, but it's a little too weird to be normal life because of things like their definitely sentient cat and total lack of a fourth wall lol. Then things get odder, and like you said, a more defined plot develops, but I can't spoil too much.
'

if he's full of himself it's probably good they didn't all end up like him. or do you mean not all of them became successful?

beebutterbee 2024-12-16 19:28:35 UTC #69

Oh dude I feel dumb I didn’t realize the cat was real I thought he was like a plushie that they were just super imposing words on. My brain was somehow trying to make it normal. But heck yeah, that is super wacky if he’s a real talking cat.

You know I said they weren’t like him, but maybe they are all a little like him but all his negative traits he doesn’t want to see in himself or reflected back. Because all three kids are a little full of themselves, but they weren’t his idea of successful

Although I think Stella does have self esteem issues despite the outward personality, man, I guess I do feel a little bad for my antagonists sometimes lol. I don’t hate him for somethings, sometimes his emotional struggles are more relatable than hateable. But don’t get it wrong, he is an awful person, for other reasons, and that’s why I don’t like his character.

Leyelle 2024-12-16 19:36:36 UTC #70

sadly, when you're trying to please someone who things they're "all that" even if you do become great, they probably will still think they're better than you. his poor kids need to learn to separate their identities from their father's expectations, maybe then they'd be less evil.

TBH, that's understandable because she really doesn't look like a real cat, but she is a real living, purple, floral cat. there just is nothing normal about her. she doesn't talk, but she does do things no cat should, like walk around on two legs, and draw pictures. My older brother says she's like Snoopy.

beebutterbee 2024-12-16 19:49:19 UTC #71

Yeah I’m sure all three have a bit of trauma surrounding that but other people in their situation could have grown away from that. But they don’t really work on themselves They really need to check themselves lol

You know that’s a pretty good comparison. Forreal the flowers on her were giving like a textile so I thought she was actually made of fabric but now I realize she’s just a little cute cat companion to the characters, that’s very much alive lol but cartoony like Snoopy is. So she can actually understand your conversations!! I think a lot of kids dreamt of having their pet be able to have conversations with them lol although sometimes it does feel like animals can listen.

Leyelle 2024-12-16 19:53:05 UTC #72

I personally think animals do listen, I'm just not sure they can understand our words as much as they understand the emotions behind them lol

yep, they can't blame anyone else for their actions. if their evil they for real need to get back in line lol

raym5 2025-01-22 14:05:27 UTC #73

Elio-named after his nonno on his dad's side and it means Sun.
Maximus-(Max)- His dad is a history professor and also he was a big baby when he was born so it fits him as a baby and as an adult because he is 6'1
Gia (Elio's little sister)- She is named after her nonna on the mom's side but they short formed it and call her Gia which means God is Gracious.

Montgomery- Gumarich's mountain/power- He is a hockey player so a name that means power or mountain fits and I like how it sounds like old money and fancy because he comes from a family with not a lot of money.
Wolfgang-means Wolf or traveling wolf/path, etc. He is half German and half Russian and because his last name is Russian his mom made him and his brothers first names German. And its a family name.-He is a figure skater.

Ezekiel (Zig)- means God's Strength- All his sibling are named after stories in the Bible because their dad is the preacher- He is called Zig because his older sister when he was born couldn't say Ezekiel and called him Zig and it stuck.
Sloane-means Warrior
June-means young
Zachary-means the Lord remembered/recalled

Juniper_dG 2025-01-23 05:16:22 UTC #74

When I name characters, I think about the people who named them--usually their parents--and imagine the reasons they had when they were choosing a name for their children.

My main character's name is Isambard. His father, an industrialist who wants to claw himself up the social ladder, named him after the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

His sister, Cassandra, their mother named. During her pregnancy, she was beginning to see their father's cruelty, abuse, and gaslighting. Cassandra's name is a reminder to value the truth, even if someone tries to take your truth away from you.