Sometimes Naming Can Be Hard...

So you've just gotten this great idea for a book-- you know the plot, the story, the character quirks and voices, it's gravy. You have the genre all figured out: maybe it's going to be high fantasy, maybe science fiction, perhaps historical fiction, or maybe a combination thereof.

Wait a mintue now...there's a very precise detail being left out that can mean a lot more than you think. Names.

Yes, character names, place names, even street names in your book can be incredibly important details not only to your story but also to the pitch of your story. Things need to mesh up not only with the genre but also the proposed time period and feel of the book. But you can't go crazy: if you're writing high fantasy, the worst thing you could do in today's market is to name a character Behthoshefph the Dark. All you'll get is rolled eyes and a "Rejected" stamp on the top of the manuscript. No one will take it seriously. So what can a fantasy writer do other than mash letters or sounds together in their brain until it sounds cool (and believe me, I have been guilty of doing the same in the past). How do you research names that will be conceivable to your setting and time?

No matter what genre you're writing in, your characters need to be realistic and recognizable all in one, and their names are the introducing hand-shake to all of that. Most people don't have a dictionary of unique, convincing, and period-savvy names tucked away in their brains.

This is where a handy website I was introduced to this summer becomes useful: Nymbler is a baby naming website unlike many others. Lots of baby websites just give you lists of names that were most popular in certain years. That doesn't help someone writing about a land full of dragons, nor does that help someone who is writing about 1732. Names that were popular in 2005 are not going to be the same as those in the 18th century. Sorry to break it to you.

But Nymbler does so much more than this. Here's how it works. You can pick a name-- perhaps it's the name of your main character, or just a name you like. For example: Nathaniel. Nathaniel can be used in historical books and fictional books. You have a name like that to start with. You can even start with your name. Whatever you like.

You start out by typing that name into the box, pictured below. See that pull down on the right? That's where you can pick boy or girl names, or both. Even if the name you type in (such as your own) is not the gender of the names you're looking for, it will find related names for you. A girl's name can inspire a boy's name, and vice versa. For the example, I'll keep using Nathaniel.

After you've added the name to be searched, click "Find Names". The engine will then search for similar or inspired names to what you initially chose. As I kept the "Boys & Girls" option, there are names of both types in there. You can browse the names, think on them, or if they're not quite up to snuff, chose the "More Names..." at the bottom to search again. You can search as often as you like to get a new pool of names, change the gender of the names, even click the gold and white star image next to a name to add it to the inspiration box to affect the pool of names that will then pop up. I usually keep it to just one name in the top inspiration box, so if you add a name you can then go back up and remove the original name by clicking on the 'x'. However, you can of course use multiple names to inspire the search.

But here's the thing I like best about Nymbler. Pick a name and click on it: what will come up is an explanation/history of the name, including dates (if applicable), meaning, frequency, where it may have been used, and what it's national origin is. Nathaniel is a very Hebrew type name, so as you can see, lots of Hebrew names are popping up. If you're going for an English feel, you can go towards that leaning, or Gaelic, or Arabic, etc.

Whatever style your book has, you can make sure that all of the names are not only organic and unique in nature, but legitimate in detail, thereby avoiding the problems of having modern names in an antiquated setting, or an inappropriate mix of nationalities that would be unconvincing at that time (for example, Christian or Roman names in a Gaelic setting could make sense in the right time period, but if you have a very high fantasy genre, an overtly anything name is going to see strange). If all of your characters have names from a similar sphere or time period, your book will have an extra gold brick of solidity to it. For argument's sake, I typed in a different name that I already know has a Celtic origin to bring up that swing of names. You can see "Brian" there in the background. One of the names that came up in the pool of options was "Lachlan"-- a very uncommon, unique name that would sit well in a fantasy novel or a science fiction novel without drawing too much cliche attention to the genre (which a name like Azuulian the Dwarf would not accomplish). Personally, if it has the detail in the description that such-and-such a name has never been common in the United States, I like it all the more.

By using Nymbler you can select a cast of names that will add legitimate detail to your work not only in time, genre, and place, but also creativity. In the instance of high fantasy, the last thing you want to do is be like every other cliche writer who decided to come up with  names never before used. Half the time it just screams "FANTASY" to the potential publisher, which isn't a good thing. You want to be covert and alluring without seeming desperate. And names that have been used before, even if rarely or in such a way that no one remembers them, bring a sense of legitimacy to the work. Lachlan is more interesting and believable than Azuulian.

In short, you want your characters to be believable. Even if they do unbelievable things like work magic or control space ships or make watches, you want them to appeal and connect with the reader. Generally, names that can be pronounced help, but also those that have a real history behind them will draw the reader in, even unconsciously. Of course, if the meaning of the name matches up with the character, that's a nugget of gold you're leaving behind for someone to find. Your avid fans will do so, and will love you all the more for doing so.

Give Nymbler a go-- it's hard work, more than I ever had put into naming characters before, that's certain. I had never considered naming to be work, but it is just as important as creating a setting or a scene in your story. As long as it takes you to craft and weave that horizon upon which you set your characters, and as long as it takes you to discover who your characters are, you should spend a proportional amount of time in selecting their names and your cast. The devil is in the details, and if you let that slide, your work will slide too.