# 'Otherworldly' Character Names...



## NAmbrose (Sep 1, 2009)

Okay... I have a 'Jenna-esque' question for y'all:

It seems that many authors on this board enjoy writing fantasy or scifi, and as part of that process it is often necessary to conjure up a character name, or many names, that one would probably not find in any earthly phone book.  My question is--what process do you use?  Do you begin with an actual name and play around with it, or do you create 'names' from scratch or pull them out of the ether?  One of my supporting characters is named 'Layasa', pronounced lay-AH-suh, and even that took me a while to come up with.  So whadaya say?  What's your method?

Nicolas


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## J.E.Johnson (Aug 5, 2009)

Hurray!!!!!!!!! I love this question . I'd have to say I do a little of each, but I most often start with a name that already exists, then I play around with it. Sometimes I'll use a surname I hear somewhere (I used to work at a store that kept a record of products bought - buy 10 get one free - and the files were kept by last name. Sometimes I'd hear or see a last name that sounded cool so I'd write it down and mess around with it). 
Other times I'll look up old Norse or English names (so far those are the cultures I've gone to) and see what they have listed. Depending on the series, I will completely change the name or keep it as is. If I'm naming a creature that exists in my world, I try to be a little more "literal" about it (I try to make the name match the creature). For example, I have a creature in my _Oescienne _ series called a draffyd (it has a dragon's body and an eagle's head and forelegs, thus it's a dragon/griffin = draffyd).
-Jenna


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## NAmbrose (Sep 1, 2009)

Hey, Jenna--that's very cool.  (Jenna-esque--thought I'd ride your coattails a little   )
My latest is set in 13th century Sicily, and you have no idea how many nights I spent poring over ancient texts and census records for Italy and Sicily, looking for interesting given and surnames for the 10 or so characters that needed to be named.  One of my favorites was for a really nasty farmer of immense girth--I named him Porcelli, the original translation of which is 'pig'.  Another man, a military leader and nobleman, I named General Marchese, which originally meant 'count' or person of noble birth.  I don't have any that are really 'out there' though.  Those I find fascinating...

Nicolas


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## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

I had to do a lot of this for my books, which are classic high fantasy. Language is very important in making an alternate world seem real to readers. One of my pet peeves, though, is a fantasy book that is too heavily populated with unpronounceable character and place names--I'll put that one down and not go back--I just don't want to work that hard. It's an interesting balance between readable and otherworldly.

If one looks at the glossary in the back of each of the books, one finds the following:
--Each character/place name listed,
--pronunciation of each (Man, I wish more books did that)
--derivation of each name from root words--some Gaelic (either Irish, Scottish, or Welsh); some Old English; even a few oddities like Sanskrit. A few of the roots are purely Alterran.  The names all make sense, as does the grammar in any Elvish phrases (there are a couple of full-length songs in Elvish, for example).

I had to create names with roots in several Alterran languages to accommodate the various races in that world; men, for example, tend to have names/roots derived from Teutonic and Icelandic sources unless, of course, they are desert folk. There I had some help from a native Indian friend, who provided me with intriguing and obscure roots from several Indian cultures. I have a lexicon of Alterran root words, just in case a reader wants to create his/her own name. I have also had fans write and request unique Alterran Elvish names--one was a mom whose daughter is an avid reader, loves Alterra, and wanted a special Alterran name for her birthday. I asked about her--for what is she known? What does she like to do? What does she want to be? (Folk in Alterra are sometimes named for their profession--obviously they had different names as children.) When I got the information, I consulted my sources and came up with a nice, pronounceable, melodic name that had significance to her.

The pronunciation is ALWAYS 'Anglicized' (sp?). One must remember that very few Welshmen or native speakers of Sanskrit will be reading the books (although one can hope, I suppose). I worry occasionally that my Irish friends will find them either hilarious or obnoxious (sort of like listening to Jar-Jar Binks).  No such feedback so far...

(...bites nails in dread of ever being compared with Jar-Jar Binks!)


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## J Dean (Feb 9, 2009)

J.E.Johnson said:


> Hurray!!!!!!!!! I love this question . I'd have to say I do a little of each, but I most often start with a name that already exists, then I play around with it. Sometimes I'll use a surname I hear somewhere (I used to work at a store that kept a record of products bought - buy 10 get one free - and the files were kept by last name. Sometimes I'd hear or see a last name that sounded cool so I'd write it down and mess around with it).
> Other times I'll look up old Norse or English names (so far those are the cultures I've gone to) and see what they have listed. Depending on the series, I will completely change the name or keep it as is. If I'm naming a creature that exists in my world, I try to be a little more "literal" about it (I try to make the name match the creature). For example, I have a creature in my _Oescienne _ series called a draffyd (it has a dragon's body and an eagle's head and forelegs, thus it's a dragon/griffin = draffyd).
> -Jenna


More or less, that's what I do. Sometimes, it's a tip of the hat to somebody I like. For example, the protagonist in my first book is named Clade Josso. The "Josso" is in deference to Joss Whedon, creator of FIREFLY. On occassion, I use regular names, like for Radha, a name of a female character I have-that's an actual name, but it's obscure enough to use in this case.

Interestingly enough, in the second book of the Vein project, the characters have a "blessed" name, a titular prefix given to them when they come of age, based on observances by others in their family. So the protagonist of the second book is named Old Velt, because when he came of age, his family thought he acted well beyond his years.


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## J.E.Johnson (Aug 5, 2009)

Archer, 
You probably would have trouble with _Oescienne_ then . Unfortunately, most of the names are near impossible to pronounce, or they don't sound the way I've spelled them (sorry, that's just how they came to me and I invented them before I went to the writers' conference where I was warned not to make hard to pronounce names (don't worry, I've learned my lesson. The other books, outside of _The Legend of Oescienne_ of course, will have easier to pronounce names ). I do have a pronunciation guide on my website and I plan on putting one in the next edition of my book, so I'm hoping that helps. 
I LOVE your idea of creating an Alterran name for people . Perhaps you should start a new thread and offer to give us names . . . . 
This discussion is making me wonder if I should start a " Language Makers' " thread for those of us who have created a language or semi-language for our books . . . 
-Jenna


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

For me, how I go about creating invented names depends on the story and the situation. Although I sometimes invent names on a whimsy, like Archer, I prefer to base my names in realistic linguistic structures. Sometimes I do such a good job at linguistically constructing my names that I discover that the name already really exists!

This happened to me with my character Zyra Zanr from


Spoiler



_Rogue Hunter_


. My intention was to come up with a futuristic sounding name for a woman. I have always thought that the letter Z sounds otherworldy and was inspired by ancient Middle-Eastern names like Zarathustra, Zabel, and Zaahir and settled with the name Zyra. To my surprise, I discovered later on that Zyra is a Hebrew name which means "Brightness of the morning". I also found out that Zanr is not an original invention either. But don't ask me what it means. My guess is its probably Slavic.

With that said, the most important thing to me is that the name fits the character. Orson Scott Card once wrote in one of his books about the importance of names and challenged the reader to imagine what it would be like if Dracula's name was Cuthbert. Still doesn't roll off the tongue right.

Like Archer, I despise unpronounceable names and will quite often give up on a book if I am bombarded with them. I love being able to speak character's names aloud. If a name looks more like syntax than a functional word, it jars me out of the story and I find myself spending more time trying to pronounce the name than read the story.



J.E.Johnson said:


> Archer,
> You probably would have trouble with _Oescienne_ then . Unfortunately, most of the names are near impossible to pronounce, or they don't sound the way I've spelled them


I don't mind reading non-anglicized names so long as the author includes a pronunciation guide in his/her book. Besides, if you can get through all the Celtic names in _The Mabinogion_, the Old Norse names in the _Eddas_, or worse the Elvish names in _The Silmarillion_, you can read just about any kind of non-anglicized names.


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

archer said:


> I worry occasionally that my Irish friends will find them either hilarious or obnoxious (sort of like listening to Jar-Jar Binks). No such feedback so far...
> 
> (...bites nails in dread of ever being compared with Jar-Jar Binks!)


What? Yousa no likin' Jar-Jar Binks? Why yousa no likin' him? Hesa bombad Gungan! Well, exqueeze me!!!


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## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

Kevis:

AAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Thank you SO much for reminding me of the appalling abomination who is Binks.

(And, give me ONE example of an Elvish name in the Silmarillion that was difficult to pronounce!
...Oh, right.  Maedhros.) 

You need to finish Ravenshade, young man! Your reward is sitting here on my desk--a little pewter Dwarf of your very own!


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## J Dean (Feb 9, 2009)

You really walk a fine line when you make up names, in part because you run the risk of either a cheesy name or something too complex and difficult for the reader to remember.  It's a balancing act.


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## Christopher L. Hughes (Sep 12, 2009)

All my Grinzles (the Elvin creatures) have long names that have four or five syllables .... and they are almost always referred to in the shortened version, unless, of course, they are being scolded which requires the full and emphasized name ... and many exclamation points!!! The three main characters of Grinzleville, (the grulling's), are Named Jipilostian, Peltilista and Saymonbolit .... and are addressed as Jip, Pelt and Saymon ....

Same thing with the cave trolls, Groywanter is Groy, Cretildin is Cret ... well you get the picture .... and none of them have any meaning whatsoever other than what I conjured up in my head ....

Have a Great Day!!


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## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

Jenna:  By all means, challenge me!
I'll give you an Alterran Elvish name if you give me a little information.
(profession? distinguishing characteristics? Things you love or enjoy? Accomplishment?)


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## Solarraven (Dec 25, 2008)

Might I also suggest  that one  check to see if the invented name has a potentially troublesome meaning in another existing language or cultural subset .
In one book I read, a character from a Chinese minority group  had a real name from her cultural group which was an extreme vulgarity in  Spanish ( Mexican dialect). One  belly dancer I met told me that she  spent a fortune  on advertising materials  before discovering that her chosen name  meant  as---le in  a Middle Eastern Language. Another person was concerned about strange e-mails  she was getting  at her new holistic health business, the e-mailers presumed she was offering  an unusual sexual service because  of the business name.
Celestial Seasonings  pulled an ad for one of their herbal teas  after receiving several complaints ( tongue in cheek I presume) all from  the San Francisco area because  the tea did not  provide  the particular oral pleasure "promised' by a wordplay in the ad.


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## Christopher L. Hughes (Sep 12, 2009)

You are exactly right Solarraven ...!!  The original name of my trilogy was going to be GRINDLEVILLE instead of Grinzleville ... and the race was to be called Grindles .... after doing a search and finding the plethora of information in what they call "the urban dictionary" I quickly discarded grindles! .... I won't tell you what their definition was, but it's certainly not appropriate for Elves in a MG fantasy novel!!  

Have a Great Day!!


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## J.E.Johnson (Aug 5, 2009)

Hey Christopher, I do the same with my characters (a few have long names, especially the dragons, and go by shorter names).  For example, Hroombramantu - goes by Hroombra, and Raejaaxorix - goes by Jaax.

    Archer, here goes   : I work as a teacher's aid at the elementary school level.  I also consider myself a writer and an artist.  Distinguishing characteristics: blond hair, blue eyes, pretty much Scandinavian looking - I used to be a shot put and discus thrower.  I love lots of things: reading, writing, drawing, gardening, hiking, camping, birdwatching, quilting, crossword puzzles.  Accomplishments: well, let's see, I graduated from college and still hold a few throwing records at my old junior high and high school.  I think that's about it.  Can't wait to see what you come up with  .

-Jenna


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

In _The Dragon's Pool _ (the 3rd Jade Owl Book), I name a fat-cat Chinese official, Gou P'i which in Chinese means


Spoiler



Pig Farts


, but is the expletive in mandarin for


Spoiler



Bull-shit


. I also physically base him on Mao Tse-tung, so I was having a lot of fun that day.

I often wonder how my readers pronounce the Chinese character names. I often give them an alternative like Old grandmother, the Jackal, and Little Cricket. But characters like Chen Hui-ni (Chen Hwei-knee) and Li K'ai-men (Lee Kai-mun) must sound as other worldly as _Aragorn_. One reader told me that in _The Academician _ she referred to Li K'ai-men as Leaky Man. The _K'ai-men _ part means _Open the Door_, and is a term I use for a paranormal activity called a _Triangulation _ (a K'ai-men). The name _Li K'ai-men _ goes back to a novel called _Vagrants Hollow_, which I wrote and never published in 1979. _The Academician _ took over 30 years to write, and only one of the four books is published so far.

Edward C. Patterson


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> The _K'ai-men _ part means _Open the Door_, and is a term I use for a paranormal activity called a _Triangulation _ (a K'ai-men).
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


Ah HA! (Tiny little lightbulb going on as I'm only a small way into the second part of The Third Peregrination.)


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## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

Jenna:

'Calistenne' or 'Calisten'--from Gaelic roots. If you were a male, it would be 'Calistor'.

Combines 'strong/agile' and 'expert'

The strength and agility refers to athletic prowess; the 'expert' to artistic diversity.
I prefer shorter names to longer ones--probably the longest ones in the trilogy are four syllables. 

Examples of other names: 
Galador--from Gal-valor(m) 
Orogond--from Oro-(treasure) and gondas (stone) 
Gaelen--from Gael-valor(f) 
Ri-Elathan--prefix Ri-ruler, Elathas-knowledge or wisdom


Now, just don't ask me for one that means 'pig flatulence'. (Ed!)


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## NAmbrose (Sep 1, 2009)

Christopher L. Hughes said:


> after doing a search and finding the plethora of information in what they call "the urban dictionary" I quickly discarded grindles! .... I won't tell you what their definition was, but it's certainly not appropriate for Elves in a MG fantasy novel!!


Well, you just HAD to make me go look it up. God, how funny is that? I think you should have left the name intact--could have given a whole new meaning to the term 'Elves'...


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## J.E.Johnson (Aug 5, 2009)

Cool, thanks Archer  
-Jenna, er, Calistenne


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## NAmbrose (Sep 1, 2009)

archer said:


> 'Calistenne' or 'Calisten'--from Gaelic roots. If you were a male, it would be 'Calistor'.
> 
> Combines 'strong/agile' and 'expert'
> 
> ...





J.E.Johnson said:


> Cool, thanks Archer
> -Jenna, er, Calistenne


I think that is just plain awesome...


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## J.E.Johnson (Aug 5, 2009)

Ooooooooooh, sudden epiphany .  This actually relates to your other thread Nicolas . . .  Perhaps I shall use my new Alterran name as the surname for my pen name?  What do you think Archer? 

-Jenna/Calistenne


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## Archer (Apr 25, 2009)

I say, Let 'er rip!
It's a pretty name.  
You will understand the meaning of it, but few others will, which is cool.


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