Hello! Last year I posted on here asking for help naming my characters for a different story and got lots of awesome feedback. Since I’ve had a lot of free time on my hands, I recently started writing a new story. I’m still developing everything, but I’ve found it easier to pick (tentative) names for my characters early on in the process as it affects how I envision them.
So, a description of my (unfinished) idea: The setting for the story is in the NE United Stated at the turn of the century (around 1900). [name_f]My[/name_f] main character is a young woman from a rich family who is fed up with her sheltered life and structured life. Her father owns many properties and is a respected businessman. I’m still working out the kinks, but our main character eventually flees from her family and finds herself struggling to survive. She ends up meeting a ringleader for a traveling circus and he invites her to join his caravan. She is trained as a performer and enjoys her new and exciting life. The people she meets in the circus are all outcasts from society (ex-criminals, homeless people, wanderers, people with disabilities, etc.) but they are like family. She is soon accepted into their family and finally begins to feel fulfilled. However, something about the circus and its mysterious leader is off and it isn’t long before she discovers the dark secrets that they are hiding.
Basically, it’s all kind of rough, but I’m excited to write this story and I’m looking for suggestions for the names of some characters! Right now I’m just starting with my two main characters: The young woman from a rich family and a young performer in the circus (he’s an acrobat).
Character 1: I imagine her to be 18 and on the tall and thin side. She has fair hair and skin. This character has very strong opinions and beliefs, but she is quiet and avoids confrontation. She’s curious and craves adventure. She dreams of living an independent life and doesn’t like to rely on others. She’s also loyal and trusts/forgives easily, which can get her into trouble. I like to think her parents were a bit innovative for the time and gave her a name that was a bit unusual for the time (unusual within reason, it’s still 1900). That’s not a requirement though, some of the names I like were popular at the time. I’d also like them to sound upper class and somewhat pompous/posh.
Names I’ve considered:
[name_f]Claudine[/name_f]
[name_f]Eustacia[/name_f]
[name_f]Evangeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Eloise[/name_f]
[name_f]Louisa[/name_f]
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f]
[name_f]Susannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Melora[/name_f]
[name_f]Amaranta[/name_f]
Thoughts on any of these or suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Character 2: This character is a young man around the same age as the previous character. He has dark hair and eyes. He performs as an acrobat with the circus. He’s polite but somewhat pretentious and definitely proud. He’s wary of new people (especially the upper class). He comes from a very poor family and was surrendered to the circus as a child because his parents could not provide for him. He’s a very talented acrobat and a key part of the circus. He also has a sort of dry sense of humor and can be a bit clueless. He’s extremely hardworking and stubborn. I imagine that he is foreign and comes from an immigrant family (I haven’t decided from where yet). I’ve been liking names that sound nickname-y or are 1 syllable for him. I haven’t looked too much into specific cultural backgrounds for the names since I’m not sure where he is from yet, but it’ll probably be somewhere in Europe.
Names I’ve considered:
[name_m]Claus[/name_m]
[name_m]Fitz[/name_m]
[name_m]Walt[/name_m]
[name_u]Rafe[/name_u]
[name_m]Franz[/name_m]
[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] (this one doesn’t quite fit the others but I really like the idea of using this. the first E would be pronounced with the long ‘ee’ sound as that’s the way it’s traditionally pronounced for boys)
Thank you for any and all suggestions! I apologize for the length of this post, I tried to reel myself in but it ended up being longer than I thought. If you get through it all, please leave me your suggestions and thoughts. Thanks again!
