I’ve working on my Modern Apocalypse story again today…been working on it alot lately, and I’ve written a few chapters featuring one of my main male characters. He’s a tough bird to nail down because there are so many layers to him. Since I first begun this story, his name has been [name]Oren[/name] [name]Kodiak[/name]. I came up with [name]Oren[/name] because I love the meaning. And, [name]Kodiak[/name] fit well with [name]Oren[/name]. It had a nice flow to it. Now, I’m starting to have doubts. [name]Oren[/name] is a very uncommon first name, [name]Kodiak[/name] is a very uncommon last name…to have them together might be abit much.
At this stage I’m not entirely sure I want to change [name]Oren[/name]. I’m thinking maybe it would work better with a more common surname. I’d love some thoughts and suggestions on changing his last name.
I’ll tell you abit about this character so you all can get a better feeling if I go with a complete name chage.
He is 30 years old, very tall with a slim build. He is what I would call a gentle giant, but he’s not well-kept. He has long hair and a full beard. He often wears toques or hooded sweatshirts with the hood up. He smokes too much, drinks often. He’s quiet and very protective of those he cares about and that is a very short list. His daughter [name]Cassidy[/name] is his life now that his wife, [name]Penny[/name] is dead. At the beginning of the story he is on the edge of a bridge totally with the intention of jumping. A few weeks before the story begins, his wife was in a car accident and she was injured bad. And after taking her off life support he’s not sure he wants to go on even though he has [name]Cassidy[/name] to think about. He’s doubting his ability to be a father without [name]Penny[/name].
Other name I’m feeling for this character is [name]Christopher[/name] (nn. [name]Chris[/name]).
[name]Chris[/name] [name]Peale[/name]
[name]Chris[/name] [name]Keats[/name]
[name]Chris[/name] [name]Neil[/name]
Which do you prefer?
And, if anyone has any suggestions away from [name]Oren[/name] and [name]Christopher[/name], I’d love to hear them. And, if you want to toss a last name in the mix, I’d love to hear them also.
[name]One[/name] more thing. These names are already in use for this story…just so nobody suggests them.
[name]James[/name] “[name]Jimmy[/name]”
[name]Luke[/name]
[name]Raymond[/name] “[name]Ray[/name]”
[name]Seth[/name]
[name]Authur[/name]
[name]Mason[/name]
[name]Michael[/name]
It’s funny you should suggest [name]Owen[/name], renrose…I was tossing that around too. It’s a little more common.
I’m tossing around [name]Gareth[/name], [name]Lee[/name], and [name]Shawn[/name] as well. I really like [name]Myles[/name] too, but with a [name]Mason[/name] and a [name]Michael[/name] already that is too many M names.
Another name I’m considering for this character is [name]Ainsley[/name]. I’m in my 30’s and between public school and high school I knew of 4 boys named [name]Ainsley[/name]. It is a softer name for this character so I would have to pair it up with a strong last name.
[name]Oren[/name] is fine-- esp if your character is Jewish-- but [name]Kodiak[/name] is not. It’s very implausible, as it’s a place name, and island off the coast of Alaska, named for a word in the local Tlinglit language. No anglophone character would have the surname [name]Kodiak[/name].
[name]Owen[/name] or [name]Chris[/name] are both great. [name]Chris[/name] [name]Neil[/name] works; [name]Peale[/name] is too soft and [name]Keats[/name] way way too literary.
To me, as implausible as [name]Oren[/name] [name]Kodiak[/name] is, is how plausible [name]Oren[/name] [name]Fox[/name] is.
[name]Fox[/name] being a dead common Ashkenazi Jewish last name, which certainly helps. And still giving you the nature feel you’re looking for, if that was the draw of [name]Oren[/name] (“pine tree”) and [name]Kodiak[/name] (a kind of bear). [name]Fox[/name], Katz, [name]Green[/name], etc. all flow pretty well with [name]Oren[/name].
[name]Neil[/name] or [name]Keats[/name] aren’t bad but don’t feel terribly organic following [name]Oren[/name] and feel to me like maybe it happened at [name]Ellis[/name] Island, and great-granddad was really much more “ethnic” N or K name and they were just pleasantly Anglo place-holder replacements - which definitely DID happen, historically, and are therefore plausible in that sense…
[name]Christopher[/name] is a very different feel from [name]Oren[/name] to me. [name]Christopher[/name] doesn’t feel as nature-y but it does feel soft and easy-going and less of a “statement” name iykwim.
If you like the plant-quality of [name]Oren[/name] but not the cultural loading, maybe a name like [name]Heath[/name]?
I read 150 to 200 books a year, and if I didn’t read a book because I didn’t like the a characters name, I’d miss out on a lot of really good books. I’m just saying…
Thanks, blade and stripedsocks for the advice/pointers and the suggestions.
I really like [name]Owen[/name] [name]Haines[/name] and [name]Chris[/name] [name]Neil[/name]. I don’t think I should use [name]Haines[/name] though. I have two other characters with H last names, Hawkins and [name]Harbor[/name]. Maybe too many H’s.
They’re fine but a little generic. [name]Haines[/name] is the most interesting but if you already have 2 H surnames it might be overkill. Ables is a little too allegorical for the hero.
[name]Owen[/name] is a more interesting name than [name]Chris[/name], so if you choose [name]Chris[/name] you need to have a more distinctive surname. With [name]Owen[/name] you can get away with something like [name]Graham[/name] (though I wouldn’t use a first name as a surname as it can confuse your readers).
It seems like you’re gravitating towards Irish/Anglo-[name]Saxon[/name] names and that’s the ethnicity you’d like your character to have. Ideas:
Thanks so much for the help, blade. I love writing, but I think I am the worst person in the world for naming characters.
I really like [name]Owen[/name] Trask.
About [name]Haines[/name], I could change the character with the lastname [name]Harbor[/name]. I’ve been up in the air about that characters last name also. However, Hawkins has to stay. It totally fits that character and I’ve never had any doubts about it.
If you liked any other surnames on the list above, you could swap out [name]Harbor[/name] for one. [name]Harbor[/name] is a tough name because it’s a little too word-namey to be taken seriously; it automtically reduces the character to a bit of a stereotype. Like you’re shouting at the audience “this character is good and safe! like a harbor!”
Name sterotypes are so tough. As you say, the last name [name]Harbor[/name] having a safe vibe to it. I don’t get how some names are pulled off. [name]One[/name] of the best t.v. shows ever is Lost and I always thought the charater [name]Ben[/name] [name]Linus[/name] had such a sterotypical name because [name]Linus[/name]…he was a character nobody could trust. Lie…[name]Linus[/name]…the last name was too obvious. Now, [name]John[/name] [name]Locke[/name]…that was a brilliant name. [name]John[/name] is a strong name, and [name]Locke[/name] sort of feels mysterious and [name]John[/name] [name]Locke[/name] was a character who was hard to figure out.
I’m going to go with [name]Owen[/name] Trask. It sounds harder with [name]Owen[/name] which has a soft sound to it. This character was a little bit of a rebel growing up and his wife is the one that keeps him in line. As much as I like [name]Owen[/name] [name]Hines[/name], [name]Owen[/name] Trask just sounds a little tougher.
Now, [name]Owen[/name]'s wife…I’ve been calling her [name]Penny[/name]. She just feels like a [name]Penny[/name]. However, their seven-year-old daughter, who I was calling [name]Cassidy[/name]; I think I’ll have to change it. [name]Cassidy[/name] Trask might be too much of a mouthful? Any suggestions?
I actually really, really like [name]Cassidy[/name] Trask! I think it sounds very nice, and really rolls off the tongue. But if you’re sure you want to change it, I think [name]Helena[/name] Trask sounds nice. Actually, I think you could pull off just about any first name that has that “uh” sound at the end. [name]Helena[/name] Trask, [name]Aurora[/name] Trask, [name]Annabella[/name] Trask, [name]Synthia[/name] Trask, [name]Adrianna[/name] Trask, [name]Laura[/name] Trask. They all sound great.
I think the consonance in [name]Cassidy[/name] Trask is really good.
For the wife-- [name]Penny[/name] is a rather sweet, upper-class name, esp in the US/[name]Canada[/name]. For the age group in question-- 30yo-- no one blue-collar was named [name]Penelope[/name]. Since the character is dead, I’d use a placeholder name, very popular in the late 70s, to demonstrate her ‘everyman’ appeal.
Wow…so [name]Cassidy[/name] works? I said it five or six times and I got a little tongue tied. LOL I love [name]Cassidy[/name] and really want to use it. I also like the suggestion [name]Annabella[/name] with the NN [name]Bella[/name]…it would be cute. Ummm…I struggle so much with names…I like [name]Cassidy[/name] and it works so I’m just gonna stick with it.
[name]Just[/name] a note: the wife is upperclass. Her and [name]Owen[/name] are pretty much a major case of opposites attract. However, I see what you mean. [name]Owen[/name] is so different from the wife, but one of the things that first attracted the wife to [name]Owen[/name] was how he made her feel safe. There is almost a foot difference in their height so hugging [name]Owen[/name] is like hugging a teddy bear.
I really want to thank my fellow berries for helping me nail down [name]Owen[/name] Trask. The name is really growing on me…actually it’s perfect for him. I really appreciate all the help.
