MAJI
Teh GM
Olympian
Posts: 963
ume kara no oishii senshi, sera amuhetoraite!
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Your character's name is one of the most important parts of your character and I don't need to explain why. However, I think it will come as a surprise to learn that the names you give your characters and their NPCs will carry some weight in the review and I've noticed a lot of odd names coming in for characters and NPCs and figured it might be a good idea to make some suggestions for everyone.
Although it was an anime series, Sailor Moon was based firmly in reality (pick up the Sailor Moon fan-made reference book Soldiers of Legend and you'll see what I mean)--at least, it was moreso than most other anime. Go Greek! Mythos takes that into account even more than Sailor Moon did, and although, yes, we do use some elements of anime (technicolor hair, special supernatural abilities), most other things should remain grounded in reality. One of those things is your character's name. Since we are not based in fantasy, you're not going to be seeing names like Serenity Doe, Mango Weatherwax or Kaoin Anwen.
In finding a name, you should make an honest effort to locate a name that is at least relevant to your chosen deity or their sphere of influence. This does not mean that you should type "Apollo" into behindthename.com and grab the first two names on that list that aren't "Apollo" and use them, though. Do some hunting and try to find something interesting that also makes sense for the character. Hoplite Hermes from Weirton, West Virginia is probably not going to have a Gaelic name.
The Given Name
Given names can really make or break a character. Never settle for something that you don't really like. You'll lose interest in the character and won't want to play them (as an example, Rosemary started out as Nina, Nina was quite abruptly trashed just before the game opened, and was re-written as Rose).
At the same time, don't become attached to strange and extravagent names like Rajani (unless your character is Indian) or Aingeal (unless your character's family is so completely Irish that they still speak Gaelic). People from foreign countries living or studying in the US will generally adopt a conventional Western name (especially if they are from an Asian country) or a spelling that makes sense in Standard American English (Aingeal becomes Angela) - it's a common cultural trend.
Don't give your character a name that is an epithet of your deity's name--even if it's a figure from another Mythology. The exception to this would be if said title were a commonly acceptable modern name, which usually they aren't; the only thing I can think of off the top of my head would be Cynthia for Artemis.
Having such a bizarre name doesn't compute well into modern times, and these names should be saved for use in the past life setting.
Please take your character's origin into consideration when making a name. Someone whose parents are Tolkeinites may very well name their daughter Elowynn, but you're not going to see someone from a lower class family running around with the name Sirende. A fifty year old man will probably be named Tom, George or Robert rather than Orlando or Rivers.
The Surname
It really bothers me when I see a character who has a last name that is so obviously not a real last name that I don't even have to look to know that there's maybe five people in the world, at most, who share it. PLEASE make an effort to find a surname that is an actual family name, or pick a name that actually SOUNDS like a last name (i.e. Gregory, George and Thomas all function as surnames, but Michael and Edward require some modification and "Tom" "John" and "Fred" don't make good surnames at all). Don't just slap a second given name onto the end and expect that to fly, because it won't.
There are a ton of geneological resources online that will help you to find out whether a surname is legit or not, and surnames.behindthename.com is a great place to find surname meanings. You could even do some research into your character's descended origin to construct your own surname if you think it'd sound legit (i.e. looking up how Polish surnames are formed and then putting words together to make a surname from that instruction).
Nicknames
Nicknames, in English, can come from almost anywhere--funny in-jokes, mispronounciations of names, shortenings of names, last names, initials -- but please be reasonable. Pay attention to how the name is actually pronounced; if your character's name is Kym, her parents are probably going to be calling her Kimmy, and not Ky, unless they are stupid.
Characters don't need a million nicknames. Usually, a real person has two or three nicknames, at most; anything ONE PERSON uses to address you once or twice in your life isn't actually a nickname worth listing.
Naming in the family unit
This is where I see the most problems. Let me put it this way: David and Quiana are not going to be brother and sister, but Darnell and Quiana might be. Most parents keep a theme in naming their children--not a literal one, but, once again, one that reflects their background. Oriana and and Tabitha can be sisters but it's doubtful that they will have a brother named Carlos, Sven or Jebediah.
Often twins are named in a way that is a literal pattern (Cara and Mia, Mary and Elizabeth, Grace and Hannah, Leon and Noel, Jacob and Delilah, Don and Marie, Matthew and Mark).
The only people who might not follow a naming theme would be husband and wife.
Naming your NPCs
I see a particular problem with parents. Please take your character's parents' ages into account when naming them. Fifty-year-olds from Appalachia aren't going to be running around with innovative names like Mackenzie or Joaquin.
Please also be careful that the name of your NPC is not already the name of another character (first or last) or NPC; it's reasonable to have several "Jennies" and "Thomases" running around, but you need to be careful.
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« Last Edit: December 19, 2006, 04:42:41 PM by Locutus of Borg »
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Logged
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Now, I may've been raised to kill, but baby, I was born to dance!
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