Engineers, Medics, and Bounty Hunters, oh my!

Writers' Corner
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Generally, I’m really good at figuring out my character’s names, but I’ve been in a bit of a block lately and this one has got me stumped. Any ideas at all could help me get the ball rolling.

Anyways, I’ve got a pretty specific cast of characters that purposeful fit a certain ‘role,’ so I like to stick to names with meanings related to their character or profession. It’s a science-fiction survival epic, so try to stay clear of trendy or popular names like [name_m]Caleb[/name_m] or [name_f]Natalie[/name_f] or something, but I’m also not a fan of “made-up” names. One of the reigning themes of novel is that things are never as they seem, or the idea that there’s always more to the story than what’s being presented - meaning if you come up with something that has the direct opposite of a character, that could potentially work too. I’m picky, I know, but thank you guys so much for your help!

The Engineer - A male, he is the only character (possibly in the entire book) who is who he says he is. A secondary character and comic relief, he is also one of the few males. Name-wise, I’m looking for something rough and earthy. Italian heritage. Surname ideas are welcome.

The Medic - Male or female (preferably a male), he’s a bit aloof but is actually very good at his job. A bit paranoid, but that’s due to the fact that he’s a thief. I’m thinking something very elegant, borderline pretentious. Think long Greek mythology names. Surname ideas are welcome.

The Bounty [name_u]Hunter[/name_u] - A female, I’ve been leaning towards the name [name_f]Tasmine[/name_f]/[name_f]Tasmeen[/name_f]/Tasmyn. She initially appears as a random civilian, a traveler just passing through, but it eventually becomes clear she’s not. I’m thinking she’s either Egyptian or Hispanic. As for styles of names, I’m at a total loss. They just can’t start with an ‘A’ or ‘E,’ or end ‘-elle’ or ‘a.’

Also, if you can think of any prominent historical figures from their respective cultural background that have any relevance to their character or job, that could potentially work as well. I know this has been a long post, and for that I’m sorry, but I appreciate the help so much!

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Engineer:

Elenito- it’s Spanish, derived from [name_f]Elena[/name_f] which itself is another form of [name_f]Helen[/name_f]. Though the etymology behind the name is uncertain, it’s been linked to “torch”, “corposant” or “moon”

Alessander- Portuguese (Brazlian) form of [name_m]Alexander[/name_m] which I rather like; you could shorten it to [name_u]Sander[/name_u] or [name_m]Alec[/name_m]. [name_m]Alessandro[/name_m] is the Italian form which could be shortened to Alesso

[name_m]Bonaventura[/name_m]- means “good fortune” in Italian while [name_m]Bonifacio[/name_m] means “good fate”, both of which could be shortened to [name_f]Bonnie[/name_f] or Bon

[name_m]Zeno[/name_m]- comes from Greek [name_m]Zenon[/name_m] derived from the Greek god [name_m]Zeus[/name_m], possibly related to the meaning “sky” or “shine”

Medic:

The first thing that came to mind when I read your description was Autolycus (meaning “the wolf itself”) who was a prominent figure in Greek mythology. He was the son of the god [name_m]Hermes[/name_m], a cunning trickster and thief who was also the patron god of thieves; and Autolycus himself was a renowned thief described as cunning and tricky, and who was also the grandfather of another Greek hero, [name_m]Odysseus[/name_m].

Ruffio- it reminds me of ruffian

Rapha- I’ve seen it listed as either a variant of [name_m]Raphael[/name_m] or meaning “feeble, flaccid, weak” from Hebrew, although I’m not too sure of that etymology.

Apolex- means “fox” which is often portrayed as a cunning trickster. Ditto with [name_m]Reynard[/name_m] “[name_u]Rey[/name_u]”

Bounty hunter:

I actually like [name_f]Tasmine[/name_f] nicknamed “Tas/Taz”, “Tazzy” but if that still doesn’t do it for you than here are some other suggestions:

Nefertari- an Ancient Egyptian name meaning “the most beautiful” and the name of an Egyptian queen; you could shorten it to Nefret or [name_u]Tari[/name_u]

[name_f]Nefertiti[/name_f]- “the beautiful one has come”

[name_f]Dido[/name_f]- the founder and queen of Carthage, an ancient Phoenician kingdom in what is now model-day Tunisia before it was destroyed by the Romans

Ishtar- the Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian name of [name_f]Inanna[/name_f], an ancient Sumerian goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, and political power.

Ashtoreth and Astarte- variant forms of Ishtar

Zohardi- according to BTN it’s a Basque name meaning “clear sky”

[name_f]Noemi[/name_f]- Italian, [name_m]German[/name_m], and Czech form of [name_f]Naomi[/name_f]

I know you said you didn’t want names that ended with “a” but I thought I’d put down some of these names below. I don’t know why but they just seem to fit in with the character I’m imagining in my mind though I could be wrong.

[name_f]Cleopatra[/name_f]- the name of several queens of Ancient [name_u]Egypt[/name_u], this name actually comes from Ancient Greek meaning “glory of the father”. [name_f]Cleo[/name_f] is an obvious nickname

Kahina- comes from Arabic meaning “diviner, fortune-teller”. It was a title given to a Berber queen because she could allegedly see the future after she led a resistance against Arab invaders.

Dihya- the real name of Kahina, meaning unknown

Amala- means “clean, pure” in Sanskrit. I know you said no “A” names for this character but this name just has a certain feel about it that I like

[name_f]Josefina[/name_f]- the Spanish, Portuguese, and Swedish form of [name_m]Joseph[/name_m]

[name_f]Julia[/name_f]- a mulit-cultural name, the feminine form of [name_m]Julius[/name_m] of unknown meaning though it could have roots in [name_m]Roman[/name_m] and Greek mythology possibly meaning “sky father” or “downy-bearded”

As for surnames:

Alcantar
Siracusa
Gault
Benrubi
Santorum
[name_f]Evangelista[/name_f]
Medici
Perrault
Nicastro
Rigmaiden

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Engineer: [name_m]Abramo[/name_m], [name_m]Alberto[/name_m], [name_m]Vito[/name_m]/[name_m]Vitale[/name_m], [name_m]Tore[/name_m], [name_m]Teodoro[/name_m]/[name_m]Teodosio[/name_m]/[name_m]Teofilo[/name_m], [name_m]Serafino[/name_m], Savio, [name_m]Piero[/name_m]/[name_m]Pietro[/name_m], Palmiro, [name_m]Nunzio[/name_m], Mirko, [name_m]Leandro[/name_m], [name_m]Casimiro[/name_m], [name_m]Celio[/name_m], [name_m]Demetrio[/name_m]

Medic: [name_m]Achilleus[/name_m], Agamemnon, Apollon, Chryses, [name_m]Dionysos[/name_m], Epimetheus, Hyperion, [name_m]Ikaros[/name_m], Menelaos, Neoptolemos, Polydeukes, [name_m]Xanthos[/name_m]

Bounty [name_u]Hunter[/name_u]: I like [name_f]Tasmine[/name_f], which made me think of [name_f]Tamsin[/name_f], similar but could also work.
Other suggestions: [name_u]Leone[/name_u], [name_f]Rion[/name_f], [name_u]Hollis[/name_u], [name_f]Romilly[/name_f], [name_f]Lethe[/name_f], [name_f]Clotilde[/name_f]/[name_f]Matilde[/name_f], [name_f]Undine[/name_f], [name_f]Kelis[/name_f], [name_f]Corine[/name_f], [name_u]Carmen[/name_u]/[name_u]Carmin[/name_u]

Surnames: Parri, [name_m]Armando[/name_m], Bassani, Espina, Pavesi, Alemagna, Aguado, Sordi, Ibarra, [name_f]Siena[/name_f], Michelakos, [name_m]Fuentes[/name_m]

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@weaverblue, oh those are good! I’m definitely looking into Alessander and [name_m]Reynard[/name_m]. I’ve never heard of Kahina, but it’s pretty interesting. And thank you for the list of surnames (Santorum, Medici, and Perrault will come in handy), they’ve been stumping me for a while now.

@greythereadaholic, [name_m]Piero[/name_m] and [name_m]Leandro[/name_m] ring a nice bell, I’ll have to look those up. I love the way Bassani and Pavesi sound, so thank you for the suggestions!

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The Engineer - [name_u]Cato[/name_u], [name_m]Brandon[/name_m], [name_m]Dominic[/name_m], [name_m]Marcus[/name_m], [name_m]Giovanni[/name_m], [name_m]Giuseppe[/name_m], [name_m]Pietro[/name_m], [name_m]Petro[/name_m], [name_m]Paolo[/name_m]
The Medic - [name_m]Apollo[/name_m], [name_m]Magnus[/name_m], Agamemnon, [name_m]Alec[/name_m], [name_m]Alastair[/name_m], [name_m]Atticus[/name_m], Corinthian
The Bounty [name_u]Hunter[/name_u] - [name_f]Blanca[/name_f], [name_f]Cleo[/name_f], [name_f]Marigold[/name_f], [name_f]Rosamund[/name_f], [name_f]Rosa[/name_f], [name_f]Raquel[/name_f], [name_f]Margarida[/name_f], [name_f]Yasmin[/name_f], [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f], Jazmín (en español)

Good luck!