It seems like an obvious enough title. And it’s true, each character in a book does have a name that connects them to something.
In a previous post, I spoke about how I like to choose names for characters. One of biggest things I do is pick a name that has a meaning that matches how I see the character. This isn’t something I do 100% of the time, but the majority of the time. Sometimes a character comes to me with a name and I know that’s who they are.
While finding the appropriate name for characters is important, it is equally important that the names help with world building.
Think of a handful of names you know: friends, family, co-workers, classmates, etc. Now stop and consider the origin of their names. It is natural and normal that certain names do connect with languages and ethnic origins.
Consider the name John. It’s a common name for English speakers. It is common for Christians as it is a Biblical name. It also has roots in the following languages: Arabic, Celtic, Germanic, Romance, Slavic, Georgian, Lithuanian, Albanian, Maori, Armenian, and probably more. It is important to note that the way the name is spelled in these languages does vary, so John is the Anglicized (English) version. Yahya is the Arabic version while Hans is Germanic and Ivan is the Slavic from of the name.
How does this connect to naming characters in world building for novels? If the characters are from a specific region or area in the book, then their names need to hold some kind of ethnic connection. There are many approaches to this that authors take.
I write fantasy, so I’m speaking for a fantasy perspective, but the ideas can apply to other genres. If all the characters in the book are from the same region, then the easiest method would be to choose names that have the same ethnic origin.
If I’m choosing Slavic names for my characters, I would probably go with the spelling of Ivan rather than the Anglicized ‘John’ for a character in my book. Variations can be made of the name to make them unique to the fantasy world. So maybe I won’t stick with Ivan, but change a letter or add a letter. Whatever rule I apply, I do have to keep it consistent for all the characters that represent that region. For example, maybe Ivan becomes Ivaleth. For another character, the name Andrej is chosen, so the change might be Aldrej or Andrejeth or Aldrejeth. Remember to keep the name readable and easy to pronounce. Some readers might give up if there are too many unreadable and unpronounceable names in a book.
Another method for choosing names for world building, is to use words from another language. In one of my manuscripts, the names of the characters weren’t actual names but words that described the character. This made the names unique and they matched the character.
Choosing names is fun and having creativity with names adds to the enjoyment. Are you naming characters? What kind of world do you see your characters in? Is there a connection to a country or ethnic origin? Now has some fun and google some names with meaning from that language and see what you come up with.
K. M. Wray 