See the results of this poll: Pick your favorite name:
Respondents: 10 (This poll is closed)
- Jin-Eun Shojiru (Pronounced Jeen-Oon-Show-Jeer-Ooh) : 3 (30%)
- Jin-Eolin Yeong (Pronounced Jeen-Yoh-Lynn-Yung): 7 (70%)
In asian cultures, you can basicly name your kid whatever you want, provided you can write it in that cantries language. i’ve got a friend, who’s name translates as 'happy safe plum (yuet on lee). So if yo translated “evil”, you’d get “Waru” which is a name in japan, even if it’s a werid one.
Japanese culture also has all these addidtives on the end of names, like “san”(mr/ms/miss/mrs), “chan”(something you put on the end of a girls name or sometimes a boy to show that you are there friend, “sama”( which means theyre a little higher up then you in society), and “dono” (which means theyre lik your master)
You’d only really use someones’s first name if you knew them really well.
@Nobody –
Thank you. 
That’s really helpful. I’ll have to chew on that.
Oo, someone asking about Korea! I’m actually studying for a semester in Korea right now, and I love Korean language. Not a Korean myself, so I’m no expert, but I like to think I’ve picked up on some essential parts of the culture.
Korean names, like Japanese, are based on Chinese characters, though Korean names are a bit less flexible in pronunciations and all that. There are a few native Korean names out there, but the Chinese-based system is the norm. Jinhye (or [name_f]Jin[/name_f] [name_f]Hye[/name_f], as you spelled it) is definitely a feminine name, even if it’s a bit modern for your time period. Make sure you refer to her by both syllables, though; I noticed you just called her “[name_f]Jin[/name_f]” and left out the “[name_f]Hye[/name_f],” which isn’t how it works. Common mistake, easy fix. Given names are usually two syllables (though I’ve seen one-syllable names), meaning two Chinese characters, and surnames usually one syllable (though there are a few uncommon two-syllable ones). So in all, full names are three syllables. [name_m]Even[/name_m] people with two-syllable surnames often give their kids a one-syllable first name to balance it out. If you just google Korean surnames, Wikipedia has some lists. Lots of googling. Also, don’t trust all you see on baby-name websites, since the two-syllable system doesn’t work as well for these kinds of sites. Too much mixing and matching goes on in real life.
As for old Korean culture, it was very heavily based in Confucianism. Korea did invent its own alphabet in the 1500s (not sure if you’re basing your story before of after that era), but a good part of Korean language stems from old Chinese, and Chinese characters were used commonly by scholars and the like. A good way to get a sense of culture is to watch a good historical drama or two, but that might take up quite a bit of time, and you’re not focusing solely on Korea. But that would be a more entertaining way to go about researching, if you’re okay with the dramatized version.
There’s a hierarchy built into everyday life, and even the language (there are 8, count them, 8! levels of honorifics. Only four are still in common use today, but…8!) Collectivist society, rather than individualist. Lots of implied meaning rather than direct talk; the most obvious example is the lack of pronouns in common speech. Korean is a verb-oriented language, rather than noun-oriented like English.
Like the previous poster said, there are suffixes on names, and you don’t just call people by their first name (though in Korea, you don’t just call people by their surname either, since many are too widespread and generic). Often, instead of using the person’s name, you just call them by your relation to them, the same way you’d call your mom “Mom.” They just also do that with their teachers, bosses, other family members, etc. So if your book is in third person, you can just call them whatever you want your readers to think of them as, but think carefully about how your characters refer to each other. [name_m]Even[/name_m] “you” is seldom used, and they prefer to just address the person by name or relationship.
I could go on for a while trying to explain Korean culture, but I’ll leave it at that. I’d do some more research, especially for the cultures with which you are most unfamiliar. Since you’re only taking pieces of them, make sure you don’t just take some of the common surface-level stuff, and actually dig down for the true essence of the culture. If you ever need to know more about Korea or Korean names that your research can’t find, I can try to help. I find Korean language (and culture) really interesting, so I’d love to babble about it. Sorry if this was a bit long. Good luck!
@[name_u]Blue[/name_u] –
Thank you so much! That was really helpful. Seriously, I didn’t mind the babbling – that was just what I needed to know.
It’s set in a fictional world, so it can be any time-period I want it to be, it’s just most similar to the Dark Ages and Victorian era, but likely with a little bit of sci-fi. I haven’t worked it out yet, but I’m thinking they’re a very traditional culture and that’s why some parts have adopted more of the advanced technology than others.
So, how do these sound? (Which are your favorites?)
[name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Eun Kettei (I assume it would be pronounced [name_f]Gin[/name_f]-Yoon-Keh-tay. Kettei is the surname, and [name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Eun is the double-syllable first name.
[name_f]Jin[/name_f]-[name_f]Hye[/name_f] Shojiru (Shojiru is Japanese and means ‘Arise’.)
[name_f]Jin[/name_f]-[name_f]Sena[/name_f] Yeong ([name_f]Gin[/name_f]-[name_f]Senna[/name_f]-Yung)
[name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Eolin Sigan ([name_f]Gin[/name_f]-Yolin-Suh-Gahn)
And, am I pronouncing them correctly? And would you rearrange some to make them sound better, or would other names sound better? I’m thinking I might just call her Jin [insert surname here] because it’s fantasy and will be based on multiple cultures. The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson was inspired by a trip to Taiwan, and the protagonist is ShaiLu something, but they just call her Shai. However, ‘Jin’ also sounds like ‘Vin’ from Mistborn Trilogy, also by Brandon. /rubs chin/ The way names work in Korea and other cultures is also interesting, so I don’t want to completely give up on it. /rubs chin more/
[name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Eun would be pronounced more like “jeen-eun” (like, the ‘oo’ in ‘good’ or the ‘u’ in ‘put’). [name_f]Jin[/name_f]-hye is said how it sounds “jeen-hyeh” though Koreans would tend to gloss over the ‘y’ a bit, especially when speaking fast. But that’s mostly negligible since this is a fantasy book and not a Korean movie or something.
If you want to just call your character [name_f]Jin[/name_f], it’s a name in both Japanese and Chinese if I am not mistaken (though I might be), and I think it leans masculine in those cases. You can do what you want with that, though, since it’s a fantasy culture. Make it a nickname or something. People are too lazy to say her full name, so she just goes by the first part. I dunno.
As for favorites from your bunch, I do like [name_f]Jin[/name_f]-[name_f]Hye[/name_f] Shojiru. I think it’s an interesting blend of Korean and Japanese sounds. Kettei looks too made-up compared to the very real Korean name that is [name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Eun (I know, it’s real, but it has an invented feel). And I like [name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Eolin as a combination, but not with Sigan. I mean, it’s okay, but at first read it looks kind of…clunky? (Sigan, by the way, would be the romanization for the Korean word for “time” “shi-gahn”, which would be way cool as a hidden meaning if it didn’t look so awkward written out.) To mix and match, [name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Eolin Yeong would be interesting, maybe? I’m no good at suggesting names. Whatever feels right for the character and the setting, go for it!
But you’re definitely on the right track! I’m not sure how names work in the many other countries you listed (besides Korea, Japan, and [name_f]China[/name_f]), but even if it’s not for the main character, incorporating some of those cultures’ naming customs as well could make your world really diverse and colorful, fictional as it may be.
@[name_u]Blue[/name_u] –
Thank you! Personally, I prefer the pronunciation [name_f]Gin[/name_f]/Jihn, but since they’ll probably have [name_f]Asian[/name_f] accents in the book, they would probably pronounce it like [name_u]Jean[/name_u]/Jeen anyway, but the Americans who read the non-dialogue parts would probably, being Western and the narrators of the book (you tend to use your own voice and dialect when reading), pronounce it Jihn/[name_f]Gin[/name_f].
So, did I pronounce Eolin right? Yoh-[name_f]Lin[/name_f]? Or would it be more like Yoh-[name_u]Lynn[/name_u], or Eelin? I kind of like [name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Eolin Yeong. It has a nice sound to it in both accents. Jeen-Yoh-[name_u]Lynn[/name_u] Yung, and [name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Yolin Yung both sound cool. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you think, both realistically and fictitiously, that people who were close to her would just call her [name_f]Jin[/name_f] as a nickname, or would even best friends and family and lovers would be formal towards one another?
I also actually kind of like [name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Eun Shojiru (Jeen-Oon-Show-Jeer-Ooh). It’s like two Chinese/Japanese names, but with on Korean one in the middle, and it all just rolls off the tongue and fits together.
This is a description of her appearance I jotted down. I kind of picture her looking more Japanese, but as I said, I really need to study [name_f]Asia[/name_f] more to be accurate:
[name_f]Jin[/name_f] is of [name_f]Asian[/name_f] descent. She is 5’5, 110 lbs, female, and has a—although thin—curvy figure. She has high cheekbones resembling apples, and a round/heart-shaped face, with a narrow (though round), prominent chin, and dimples when she smiles. She has long, wavy, ink-black hair, with sapphire highlights and a slight widow’s-peak. Her hair is slightly frizzy/tousled. Her lower-lip is full and red. She has low, straight eyebrows that arc slightly near the temples (but the hairs get thinner at that point) and are lower and thicker near the bridge of her nose (kind of like [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] Hepburn’s, for a more accurate image). Her eyes are very large and round, wide-set (not very deep-set and therefore not very shadowed by her eyebrows) and honey/gold/amber in color, and she has a round nose. Her skin is pale—stark, milky white—with a florid complexion. Her fingers and neck are slender. She has light freckles on her cheeks and nose.
This is a description of her appearance I jotted down. I kind of picture her looking more Japanese, but as I said, I really need to study [name_f]Asia[/name_f] more to be accurate:
[name_f]Jin[/name_f] is of [name_f]Asian[/name_f] descent. She is 5’5, 110 lbs, female, and has a—although thin—curvy figure. She has high cheekbones resembling apples, and a round/heart-shaped face, with a narrow (though round), prominent chin, and dimples when she smiles. She has long, wavy, ink-black hair, with sapphire highlights and a slight widow’s-peak. Her hair is slightly frizzy/tousled. Her lower-lip is full and red. She has low, straight eyebrows that arc slightly near the temples (but the hairs get thinner at that point) and are lower and thicker near the bridge of her nose (kind of like [name_f]Audrey[/name_f] Hepburn’s, for a more accurate image). Her eyes are very large and round, wide-set (not very deep-set and therefore not very shadowed by her eyebrows) and honey/gold/amber in color, and she has a round nose. Her skin is pale—stark, milky white—with a florid complexion. Her fingers and neck are slender. She has light freckles on her cheeks and nose due to her fair complexion/sensitive skin.
But yes, I have quite a quandary here. Jeen-Yoh-[name_u]Lynn[/name_u] Yung ([name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Eolin Yeong) or Jeen-Oon Show-Jeer-Ooh ([name_f]Jin[/name_f]-Eun Shojiru), or a combination of the two.
I just realized. Jeen-Yoh-[name_u]Lynn[/name_u] sounds like [name_f]Anne[/name_f] Bolelyn.
Cool.
Helloooo… ?
I am bumping this post up.