Best friends for October?

Writers' Corner
1

Hi! I’m looking for some names to flank my protagonist, [name_u]October[/name_u] [name_m]Jones[/name_m]!

This is a middle-grade story, but one that hopefully can be enjoyed by older kids and adults alike - think [name_u]Harry[/name_u] [name_m]Potter[/name_m]!

And yes, I am sticking to the [name_u]Harry[/name_u] [name_m]Potter[/name_m] vibe by giving my main character two best friends.

October is 12 years old and lives on [name_u]Mars[/name_u], where the story is set. Unlike most of the other children who were born there, [name_u]October[/name_u] is new to the settlement, where she will make friends with two other kids: one female, one male. Their appearance is not set, I am more fussed about getting their names right.

I want the names in this story to appear eclectic and random. I want a [name_f]Kodiak[/name_f] to exist alongside a [name_u]Chris[/name_u]. I want [name_f]Florence[/name_f] to exist alongside [name_u]Mercer[/name_u], to exist alongside [name_m]Rockwell[/name_m], to exist a Takio, to exist along [name_u]Midnight[/name_u], to exist along [name_u]Shiloh[/name_u], to exist along Redberry, to exist along [name_m]Keith[/name_m], to exist along [name_m]Aurelio[/name_m]. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you get what I mean? I don’t want there to feel like there is a name theme, I want to feel like all naming pretences are gone, like nobody would bat their eyelid at anything, and in a way that becomes the theme: a mishmash of time, of cultures, of style, of people.

So, my MC is [name_u]October[/name_u] [name_m]Jones[/name_m]. Who are her best friends? [name_f]My[/name_f] criteria:

  • I want them to flow when spoken together, so a mix of syllables is preferable.

  • I want the names to all have a distinct feel separate from each other. So any name that feels like it could match with [name_u]October[/name_u] is out.

  • The end sound is important to me, I don’t want any them to end with the same sound.

  • Id like one of them to be one syllable, but its not a dealbreaker.

  • I’m not at all against made up names

Here are some of my ideas so far that for one reason or another I have decided against:

October, [name_u]Kodi[/name_u] and [name_u]Van[/name_u]
[name_u]October[/name_u], Ashvi and [name_m]Niles[/name_m]
[name_u]October[/name_u], [name_f]Signy[/name_f] and [name_u]Beck[/name_u]
[name_u]October[/name_u], [name_f]Rozy[/name_f] and [name_u]Clem[/name_u]

My front runner at the moment is: [name_u]October[/name_u], [name_f]Marnie[/name_f] and [name_u]Rue[/name_u]

2

I love this chaotic approach to character names! It makes them a lot more interesting.
[name_u]October[/name_u], [name_f]Marnie[/name_f] and [name_u]Rue[/name_u] are great stylistically, but I think saying them together there are too many R sounds.
OctoBER MARnie RUE.
So, to go well with [name_u]October[/name_u], we want to avoid obvious word names, O names and names with -er endings.
Some obvious styles that differ from [name_u]October[/name_u]
Classic: [name_f]Ada[/name_f], [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], [name_f]Bridget[/name_f], [name_f]Clara[/name_f], [name_f]Daphne[/name_f], [name_f]Estelle[/name_f], [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Molly[/name_f], [name_f]Maud[/name_f], [name_u]June[/name_u], [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Flora[/name_f], [name_f]Laura[/name_f], [name_f]Lara[/name_f], [name_f]Helen[/name_f], [name_f]May[/name_f], [name_f]Vera[/name_f] // [name_u]August[/name_u], [name_m]Alfred[/name_m], [name_m]Conrad[/name_m], [name_u]Dorian[/name_u], [name_m]Desmond[/name_m], [name_u]Drew[/name_u], [name_m]Edmund[/name_m], [name_m]Edward[/name_m], [name_m]Edgar[/name_m], [name_u]Francis[/name_u], [name_u]George[/name_u], [name_m]Grant[/name_m], [name_u]Gus[/name_u], [name_m]Louis[/name_m], [name_m]Leon[/name_m], [name_u]Lawrence[/name_u], [name_u]Maxime[/name_u], [name_m]Phillip[/name_m], [name_m]Rufus[/name_m], [name_m]Robert[/name_m], [name_m]Simon[/name_m], [name_u]Toby[/name_u], [name_m]Vincent[/name_m], [name_m]Will[/name_m]
Vintage: [name_f]Winnie[/name_f] [name_f]Edie[/name_f], [name_f]Etta[/name_f], [name_f]Elsie[/name_f], [name_f]Greta[/name_f], [name_u]Penny[/name_u], [name_f]Maisie[/name_f], [name_f]Ida[/name_f], [name_f]Esme[/name_f], [name_f]Maxine[/name_f], [name_f]Nina[/name_f], [name_u]Sunny[/name_u], [name_f]Sukey[/name_f], [name_f]Willa[/name_f], [name_f]Zelda[/name_f], [name_f]Joy[/name_f], [name_f]Ruthie[/name_f], [name_f]Mae[/name_f], [name_f]Tess[/name_f] // [name_m]Archie[/name_m], [name_m]Angus[/name_m], [name_u]Alfie[/name_u], [name_m]Clark[/name_m], [name_m]Clyde[/name_m], [name_m]Cecil[/name_m], [name_m]Franklin[/name_m], [name_m]Joel[/name_m], [name_m]Linus[/name_m], [name_m]Monty[/name_m], [name_u]Noel[/name_u], [name_u]Percy[/name_u], [name_u]Pip[/name_u], [name_m]Rupert[/name_m], [name_u]Teddy[/name_u], [name_m]Victor[/name_m], [name_u]Ira[/name_u]
Unusual: [name_f]Aster[/name_f], [name_f]Astra[/name_f], [name_f]Adele[/name_f], [name_f]Bruna[/name_f], [name_f]Cosette[/name_f], [name_f]Celeste[/name_f], [name_u]Dune[/name_u], [name_f]Duna[/name_f], [name_f]Dinah[/name_f], [name_f]Delphine[/name_f], [name_f]Dagmar[/name_f], [name_f]Elka[/name_f], [name_u]Echo[/name_u], [name_f]Ffion[/name_f], [name_u]Fiore[/name_u], [name_u]Hero[/name_u], [name_f]Iona[/name_f], [name_f]Inez[/name_f], [name_u]Jorie[/name_u], [name_f]Katrin[/name_f], [name_f]Liv[/name_f], [name_f]Lilac[/name_f], [name_f]Lilou[/name_f], [name_u]Lumen[/name_u], [name_f]Lillith[/name_f], [name_u]Lux[/name_u], [name_u]Lior[/name_u], [name_f]Lowri[/name_f], [name_f]Lumi[/name_f], [name_f]Magda[/name_f], [name_f]Milou[/name_f], [name_f]Maren[/name_f], [name_f]Mira[/name_f], [name_f]Myra[/name_f], [name_f]Maelle[/name_f], [name_f]Mabry[/name_f], [name_f]Nica[/name_f], [name_f]Niley[/name_f], [name_u]Phaedra[/name_u], [name_f]Rhea[/name_f], [name_f]Roxy[/name_f], [name_f]Runa[/name_f], [name_f]Saga[/name_f], [name_f]Saskia[/name_f], [name_f]Soleil[/name_f], [name_u]Seren[/name_u], [name_f]Svea[/name_f], [name_f]Thora[/name_f], [name_f]Theda[/name_f], [name_f]Taura[/name_f], [name_f]Tetra[/name_f], [name_f]Oona[/name_f], [name_f]Ursa[/name_f], [name_u]Vida[/name_u], [name_f]Xanthe[/name_f], [name_f]Zara[/name_f], [name_f]Zelie[/name_f] // [name_m]Arno[/name_m], Arben, [name_m]Boone[/name_m], [name_m]Caio[/name_m], [name_m]Cianan[/name_m], [name_m]Castor[/name_m], [name_u]Clancy[/name_u], Cygnus, [name_m]Faust[/name_m], [name_m]Fitz[/name_m], [name_m]Finlo[/name_m], [name_m]Fintan[/name_m], [name_m]Ferris[/name_m], [name_m]Gatsby[/name_m], [name_m]Huck[/name_m], [name_m]Hannes[/name_m], [name_m]Hakon[/name_m], [name_m]Ike[/name_m], [name_m]Ivo[/name_m], [name_u]Lyle[/name_u], [name_m]Laszlo[/name_m], [name_m]Lars[/name_m], [name_m]Maxence[/name_m], [name_m]Nestor[/name_m], [name_u]Niall[/name_u], [name_m]Piers[/name_m], [name_m]Pascal[/name_m], [name_m]Rhodes[/name_m], [name_m]Stellan[/name_m], [name_m]Truett[/name_m], [name_u]True[/name_u], [name_u]Vaughn[/name_u], [name_u]Wylie[/name_u], [name_u]Zen[/name_u]