Sorry for all the posts. I’m finished with my main characters but now I have to name their siblings or children.
Alright, I have high-class Torontonians, [name_m]Walter[/name_m] and [name_f]Paula[/name_f] Suggs. They have two children, a daughter and a son.
The Daughter was born in 2000. She is your typical teenager. She’s the outdoors type and is very social. She is also a straight A student.
The son was born in 2005. He loves sports but he struggles to be good at sports. He is more shy and struggles in school. He spends a lot of his time trying seeking attention from his father which usually leads to more disappointment.
For the daughter, I was thinking maybe; [name_f]Noelle[/name_f], [name_u]Whitney[/name_u], [name_f]Daisy[/name_f], [name_f]Trinity[/name_f] (NN. [name_f]Trini[/name_f]).
For the son, I really like [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m]. His dad calls him [name_m]Ben[/name_m], but he’s momma’s little boy and she calls him [name_m]Benjie[/name_m].
What sort of name are you trying to evoke? This is how I see each of them:
[name_f]Noelle[/name_f] - a bit tomboyish, like the parents might have wanted a boy, a pretty uncommon name with a common nickname ([name_f]Elle[/name_f]/[name_f]Ellie[/name_f] etc), I’d see her as a character with identity issues.
[name_u]Whitney[/name_u] - a bit preppy, maybe named after [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] [name_m]Houston[/name_m], I’d see her as a bit of a spoilt kid but with lots of friends.
[name_f]Daisy[/name_f] - a bit girly, a bit bookish too ([name_m]Gatsby[/name_m]), I’d see her as being given a cutesy name and maybe babied by her parents but trying to grow up and fight their restrictions
[name_f]Trinity[/name_f] - has religious connotations, maybe the daughter of Christians, nn [name_f]Trini[/name_f] is her trying to break away from the religious association of her name and be a bit more accessible with it.
I think [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m] nn [name_m]Ben[/name_m]/[name_m]Benjie[/name_m] works great for the brother, a keeper. With a classic name though, I’d give sister something fairly similar - [name_f]Daisy[/name_f]'s the closest fit out of all your options.
I’m sort going for between preppy and girly. She has the friends, she has the cell phone…the mother gives them everything, let’s them do pretty much anything…it’s the dad that steps in and tells them no…that starts a big fight because the daughter and mother don’t think the father has a right to parent because he’s locked away in his office all the time. I love [name_f]Daisy[/name_f]. I like [name_u]Whitney[/name_u], especially the idea of being named after [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] [name_m]Houston[/name_m].
I’m glad [name_m]Benjie[/name_m] is approved. It total fits the boy.
I like [name_u]Whitney[/name_u]… Going with the music theme, what about [name_f]Mariah[/name_f], [name_f]Janet[/name_f], [name_f]Nina[/name_f], [name_f]Dionne[/name_f], [name_f]Diana[/name_f], [name_f]Lauryn[/name_f], [name_f]Roberta[/name_f], or [name_f]Mary[/name_f]? [name_m]Just[/name_m] suggestions. [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] seems right on point with what you want.
I prefer [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] over all those names, roxanne33. [name_f]Janet[/name_f], [name_f]Dionne[/name_f], [name_f]Roberta[/name_f] sound a little too ‘old’.
So, it’s [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] or [name_f]Daisy[/name_f].
Something else too, I like [name_m]Walter[/name_m] for the father, but my other consideration was [name_m]Luther[/name_m]…if I used [name_m]Luther[/name_m] and then used [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] for the daughter the whole music thing stands again; as mentioned, [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] [name_m]Houston[/name_m], and now [name_m]Luther[/name_m] Vandross. [name_m]Luther[/name_m] and [name_m]Walter[/name_m] are so similar and their meanings are almost the same. What made me pick [name_m]Walter[/name_m] over [name_m]Luther[/name_m] was I have a very important character, named [name_m]Luke[/name_m] and I didn’t want to use another ‘L’ name. Paired up with Suggs, I think [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] flows better than [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] does?
Decisions. Decisions.
I’d be wary of using [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] and [name_m]Luther[/name_m] in the same family - it might not be intentional but people will pick up on it. [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] Suggs (I’m assuming that’s the surname - another musical reference there though) does sound better than [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] Suggs, I agree. But then you’ve got [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] and [name_m]Walter[/name_m] - two W names. You could switch [name_u]Whitney[/name_u] to [name_f]Brittany[/name_f] but then you’ve got two B names with [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m].
I like [name_f]Daisy[/name_f] [name_f]Francesca[/name_f]. I like both [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m] [name_m]Henry[/name_m] and [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m] [name_m]Milo[/name_m]. Ummmm…
What about maiden names? When you name a character who’s married, do give them a maiden name?
And what’s your advice on using a surname that is also a normal name? For example: I have a character named [name_f]Colleen[/name_f] Wakefield. Her maiden name is [name_f]Phillis[/name_f]. Now do I lose points for [name_f]Phyllis[/name_f] because it’s a regular women’s name? Sorry, I’m just trying to understand all these name rules.
Only if it’s important to the story. Two of my characters have maiden names. The first is [name_f]Queen[/name_f] Cashrin (deceased) and that’s only because I mentioned her cousin Madgelain [name_f]Juel[/name_f]-Westergaard who was married to the king before she was. The second is because that character can’t use her married name.
Is [name_f]Phillis[/name_f] used as a surname too? Some first names can be: [name_m]Thomas[/name_m], [name_m]William[/name_m], [name_m]Roger[/name_m] etc. If so, no problem. If not, I’d consider changing it.
Got it!