Bella Swan, Sookie Stackhouse. Crafting Your Characters Name

A characters name can either make or brake a book. A warrior hero called Fred or Cyril would definitely lose your readers interest. Or maybe even stop them picking up your book. A characters name can reveal not only their gender but also his or hers nationality,ethnicity, social status and sometimes religion.

An example of a name revealing a characters social status is that of Fitzwilliam Darcy in Jane Austins Pride and Prejudice. Here is a pic to sigh over

You could not imagine a male with that name working down the coal mines in eighteenth century England. The name projects an image of high status, education and wealth.

Names an also be used to conjure a picture of their appearance and personality in the readers mind. In Louisa May Alcotts novel Little women the character Josephine March goes by the nickname Jo. This masculine name emphasize her tomboy nature.

The writer Charles Dickens was a genius at creating names for his heroes, heroines and villains. Take a look at this list of his fictional characters.

http://uk.ask.com/wiki/List_of_Dickensian_characters 

If you are having trouble thinking of a suitable surname just pick up your nearest phonebook!

In today's modern world author J R Ward uses dark, dangerous sounding monikers for her heroes in her Black Dagger Brothers series. The names she uses suggests the characters personalities and even the direction of the story. For example the character Rhage battles his emotions and when angered turns into an attacking beast. The character of Vishous? Well, lets just say he is an S & M fan.

The author Stephenie Meyer`s choice of “Bella Swan” for the name of her awkward, plain, depressive heroin reminds of the children's story of The Ugly Duckling. In the tale the sad ugly duckling who is an outcast in his world grows into a beautiful swan. A clever play on words.

Think very carefully when choosing your characters names. Avoid androgynous names as they would just confuse the reader. Avoid weird or cute spellings as they would just irritate.Avoid names that are too popular or belong to a famous person as again it would just irritate and distract from the story. Make sure the name reflects the time period. But most importantly remember that names can reflect the character and make or break a story.

Here are some websites that I hope are helpful

List of Jane Austin Characters 

List of Stephen King Characters 

List of Kresley Cole Characters 

List of J R Ward Characters 

List of Sherrilyn Kenyon Characters 

Fun Character Name Generator !! 

Behind The Name. Names And Their Meanings 

Baby Names And Tips For Writers 

Name That Character! Article For Further Reading