a question of names

[Penforhire]

Becca, that was Snow Crash. And I cringed when I first saw that name.

Archetype-style names for a human prince? Handsome, Regal, Royal, Worthy (pick only one, lol).

[BeccaPrice]

ah, I knew I'd read it somewhere. And yeah, it was a cringe moment.

I'm half tempted to use Sir Robin... and giggle every time I write it.

[crich70]

The book I remember where characters had such names is Pilgrim's Progress.

[BeccaPrice]

I'm thinking of the Monty Python sketch

[frahse]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

These are very short stories - 2500 words or less, usually. Not a lot of space for character development, although the one story I have in mind may wind up being maybe twice that. I just really hate coming up with names, when they're not really *people* but archetypes.

A "meaningful" name can be a big help in a short story.
The "too short Prince."
The "greedy Prince."

Saves a lot of description and explanation.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by frahse

A "meaningful" name can be a big help in a short story.
The "too short Prince."
The "greedy Prince."

Saves a lot of description and explanation.

And they don't have to be so obvious either. Prince Humperdink in the Princess Bride is an example. The reader gets the idea that this guy is no prince charming lookalike contestant just from the sound of his name.

[GrannyGrump]

And they don't have to be so obvious either. Prince Humperdink in the Princess Bride is an example. The reader gets the idea that this guy is no prince charming lookalike contestant just from the sound of his name.

Oh, I dunno. Englebert was a hottie back in the day!

[Katsunami]

What I do when I need a name for a role playing character, I think of something that describes the character in some way. Then I use Google Translate to translate it into another language. I'll adapt the word(s) that come out as I see fit, and then they form the name. Let's say, for the human prince has striking blond hair, and his description is "golden-haired".

Translate from English into Finnish:

Gold: Kulta
Hair: Hiukset

Change Hiukset to Hukset so it can be pronounced more easily.

There you have it. Prince Kulta Hukset.
Pronounciation: KUL-ta HUK-set.

Just an example, but this is the way I find names for my characters

Names that come out this way are by no means stranger, weirder, or more stupid than the ones the great fantasy authors think up.

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

I'm thinking of the Monty Python sketch

LOL. I love that sketch / movie. The part where the minstrel is cut of:

"And his bottom burned off, and his p..."
- "Ho! That's enough music for now, lads!"

It always reminds me of this scene from Star Trek TNG.

Data: "There was a young lady from Venus, who's body was shaped like a..."
Picard: "Captain to security, come in!"
Data: "Did I say something wrong?"

Cracks me up every time :P

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

What I do when I need a name for a role playing character, I think of something that describes the character in some way. Then I use Google Translate to translate it into another language. I'll adapt the word(s) that come out as I see fit, and then they form the name. Let's say, for the human prince has striking blond hair, and his description is "golden-haired".

Translate from English into Finnish:

Gold: Kulta
Hair: Hiukset

Change Hiukset to Hukset so it can be pronounced more easily.

There you have it. Prince Kulta Hukset.
Pronounciation: KUL-ta HUK-set.

Just an example, but this is the way I find names for my characters

Names that come out this way are by no means stranger, weirder, or more stupid than the ones the great fantasy authors think up.



LOL. I love that sketch / movie. The part where the minstrel is cut of:

"And his bottom burned off, and his p..."
- "Ho! That's enough music for now, lads!"

It always reminds me of this scene from Star Trek TNG.

Data: "There was a young lady from Venus, who's body was shaped like a..."
Picard: "Captain to security, come in!"
Data: "Did I say something wrong?"

Cracks me up every time :P

I remember that. It was from "The Naked Now" which used the same plot device as the Original Series episode "The Naked Time." As I recall Worf said that he didn't understand human humor either. lol.

[Katsunami]

You have an absurdly well developed memory for details, Sir.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

You have an absurdly well developed memory for details, Sir.

Long time fan of Star Trek. I grew up watching TOS in reruns on TV.

[Katsunami]

I think you watched the clip, looked up the episode, and are now pulling my leg.

As punishment, you must come up with another name scheme

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I think you watched the clip, looked up the episode, and are now pulling my leg.

As punishment, you must come up with another name scheme

I can quote back another line from the episode that fits.

"Data, I'm only going to say this once. It never happened."

I haven't seen the episode in years. I just have a very good memory. Poor Data looked a bit puzzled if I remember right. He did keep his word though.

[BeccaPrice]

It has been pointed out to me that, in general, the characters in my stories have no names. I always figured that this was because I'm lousy at finding good names for my characters, and since they're mostly archetypes anyway, they don't need names.

Then I picked up a copy of Bruno Bettlehein's book The Uses of Enchantment, which analyzes fairy tales, and their roles in children's lives.

He says (on page 40 in the 1976 hardback copy by Knopf)

The fairy tale, by contrast (with myths), makes clear that ittells about everyman, people very much like us... If names appear, it is quite clear that these are not proper names but general or descriptive ones....Even when the hero is given a name, as in the Jack stories, or in "Hansel and Gretel," the use of very common names makes themgeneric terms, standing for any boy or girl.

This is further stressed by the fact that in fairy tales nobody else has a name; the parents of the main figures in fairy tales remain nameless.... Fairies and witches, giants and godmothers remain equally unnamed, thus facilitating projections and identifications.

So having unnamed characters is not only a standard fairy tale trope, but it has valuable psychological effects.

Or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

It has been pointed out to me that, in general, the characters in my stories have no names. I always figured that this was because I'm lousy at finding good names for my characters, and since they're mostly archetypes anyway, they don't need names.

Then I picked up a copy of Bruno Bettlehein's book The Uses of Enchantment, which analyzes fairy tales, and their roles in children's lives.

He says (on page 40 in the 1976 hardback copy by Knopf)



So having unnamed characters is not only a standard fairy tale trope, but it has valuable psychological effects.

Or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Yep. Pilgrim's Progress did that. Characters had names like Piliable, Faithful, Mr. Legality & Mr. Worldly Wiseman just to name a few. They weren't meant to represent actual people but ideas which were part of the journey that the main character was going on.