Different Characters, Different names: But Are They Too Similar?

(This is going to be a bit of a long one, so buckle up)

I have two characters: a 45-year-old man named [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] Tamborello, and an 18-year-old boy named [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] [name_m]Beaumont[/name_m], each from a separate story. [name_f]My[/name_f] problem is, [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] is a major antagonist in my second story, but I feel like his name just isn’t what I’m looking for in a douchebag like him; ‘Giuseppe’ sounds a tad too cheery to me. Trouble is, I cannot, for the life of me, find an alternative that meets the criteria I have for finding a name for him. I’ve combed through website after website searching for the perfect alternative, but to no avail. I can’t use the name [name_m]Salvatore[/name_m] (the name of his older brother), [name_m]Domenico[/name_m] (the name of his younger brother), or [name_m]Valentino[/name_m] (the name of a character [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] is inspired by, plus I already have a character named [name_m]Valentin[/name_m]a). By my research, the only other Italian name I could see for him would be [name_m]Francesco[/name_m], but here lies the other issue of having another character with an extremely similar name, [name_m]Francisco[/name_m].

Info on [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] If You Want

[name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] was born to a Judeo-Italian family in [name_f]Brooklyn[/name_f], [name_m]New[/name_m] [name_m]York[/name_m], on [name_f]November[/name_f] 23rd, 1965. He grew up with three half-siblings and was raised Orthodox Jewish, although he later rejected his religion and became secular. From an early age, [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] displayed signs of an antisocial personality and idolized crime syndicates like the Italian mafia. He grew up in the era of 80s music and particularly loved the alternative rock genre, eventually starting a rock band with a few friends in his early 20s that achieved moderate success before [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] separated from them when his ego got too big for his bandmates to handle anymore. After leaving his band, [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] enrolled in academics to instead become a manager in the music industry instead of an actual musician. After completing his education, [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] moved to Los [name_f]Angeles[/name_f], [name_f]California[/name_f] to hang around likeminded people and seek young, starstruck clients eager for any opportunity at success. He eventually met a deeply troubled young girl named [name_f]Kierra[/name_f] who showed exceptional promise and, after gaining her trust and establishing a concrete bond, convinced her to work under him and share half of her profits with him if she were to make it big- and she did, in large part thanks to his tremendous effort is jumpstarting her career. Nowadays, [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] reaps the benefits of his efforts by parasitically abusing Kaminari (formerly Kierra) and his friends, lovers and employees to sustain his flamboyant lifestyle. If one plays a considerable part in Giuseppe’s life, they must be benefiting him in some way- otherwise, they’re gone. [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] is a narcissist in the truest sense- and one you’ll really wish to avoid pissing off, 'cause you won’t enjoy anything he’ll do in retaliation.

Info on [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] If You Want

[name_m]Francisco[/name_m] [name_m]Eduardo[/name_m] [name_m]Beaumont[/name_m] was born on [name_f]February[/name_f] 14th, 2002, to his fashionista parents: his father, a [name_f]French[/name_f] native named Jean-Pierre [name_m]Beaumont[/name_m], and his mother, [name_f]Carmelia[/name_f] [name_m]Beaumont[/name_m] (nee Evangelista), a native of [name_m]Brazil[/name_m]. [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] has multi-citizenship in [name_f]France[/name_f], [name_m]Brazil[/name_m], and the United States and is trilingual; he can fluently speak [name_f]French[/name_f] and [name_f]English[/name_f] and to a lesser extent speak Portuguese. The frequent switching between countries leaves [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] with a sense of cultural disconnect and social isolation, as he rarely has time to make friends with his lifestyle. At an early age, [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, further impeding his social issues, but it gave way to a few special interests that ignite an uncharacteristic amount of overwhelming glee within the otherwise stoic boy. These interests are fashion, theatre/stageplay, and scriptwriting. [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] eventually met a teenaged girl named [name_f]Bridgette[/name_f] online who was obsessed with her dream of falling in love with a [name_f]French[/name_f] boy, and [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] was that wish fulfillment. She’s his opposite in nearly every way, yet [name_f]Bridgette[/name_f] brings out the soft side of [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] he’d otherwise never show. [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] has promised [name_f]Bridgette[/name_f] that, once they finally meet in-person, he’ll take her to [name_m]Paris[/name_m]. But deep down, he doesn’t know how feasible that is.

I’m very conflicted about this. On one hand, I could see how it really wouldn’t matter, given how these are two very different characters from completely separate stories that will never meet, so who cares if they have near identical names? On the other hand, I don’t really want to have two characters with matching names due to the potential confusion or mix-up it might arouse if I were to officially release any of my stories, plus I just don’t like it. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve four options here:

  1. Keep Giuseppe’s name as it is and let the multicultural aspect of Fransico’s name remain intact.
  2. Suck it up and change Giuseppe’s name to [name_m]Francesco[/name_m] and keep [name_m]Francisco[/name_m] as is.
  3. Change Giuseppe’s name to [name_m]Francesco[/name_m] and seek a new name for [name_m]Francisco[/name_m].
  4. Keep searching for another Italian name For [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m].

What are your thoughts? Any suggestions? Please share if you do!

I would keep [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m], mainly because I don’t like changing character names at all. I think of him with that name, and I wouldn’t change it. With that said, if you feel that the vibe really doesn’t fit him, I’d change it if you feel like you can. I’ve run into an issue like that with my character [name_m]Arnold[/name_m], whose name I really don’t like, but I can’t change it now. I do think that the vibe fits though, if that helps! I’ve never noticed anything ‘weird’ in all of the times I’ve seen you talk about him. If you do change it, I would try to find a new name for [name_m]Francisco[/name_m], but I wouldn’t sweat it. I’ve got like three Junipers and it hasn’t caused me any problems, plus there’s a Sylfa and a [name_m]Sanya[/name_m] who are both blond and kind of annoying.

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I don’t like changing character names either (but I do it surprisingly often, usually with background/minor characters), so that’s why I’m reluctant to change either [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] or Francisco’s name. Problem is, I don’t find [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] to be a very intimidating name, given how dark his character is (seriously, the crap he does is on a whole other level compared to the rest of my antagonists).
I generally try to avoid giving characters the same names, but I know that’s just how it works out sometimes, particularly when you can’t find a suitable alternative. Plus, you encounter actual people who have same or similar names all the time, so if anything, it’s more realistic.

Three Junipers though!? I couldn’t imagine. :joy:

Why don’t you change it to one of his brothers’ names (Salvatore or Domenico)? I assume from your description that neither of them are as major characters as he is, so it would affect your story less if one of their names got switched. [name_m]Giordano[/name_m], [name_m]Giovanni[/name_m], [name_m]Giancarlo[/name_m], Gianpaolo are some other names that sound similar to Guiseppe and could work.

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You have a point there. [name_m]Salvatore[/name_m] in particular is a pretty cool name. I’ll research alternatives for him in the meantime. if I can find a new name for him, [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m] shall inherit Salvatore’s name.

Yeah, we’ve got [name_f]Juno[/name_f] [name_m]Calder[/name_m] (short for Juniper), [name_f]Juniper[/name_f] [name_m]Ingram[/name_m] (sometimes called Junie), and [name_f]Juniper[/name_f] of Idamere. The nicknames help but it does get weird sometimes lol.

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