I’m in a bit of a pickle. I don’t like to change names once I’ve got a good chunk of a novel written, but I think I need to in the case.
My book is set in the near future and takes place in north america with a apocalypse theme.
I have a 60ish year old man, [name]Raymond[/name] (nn. [name]Ray[/name]) [name]Valentine[/name]. He has a daughter named, [name]Christina[/name] [name]Valentine[/name]. She gave birth to a son when she was 17. The father is not in the picture, but she later got married and the man she married adopted her son. I did name her son [name]Shepherd[/name] McNamara, but now it’s conflicting with [name]Shep[/name]'s best friend, [name]Seth[/name] [name]Wylie[/name], who plays a big part of the story and I don’t want to change that name.
As much as I love [name]Shep[/name], I need a different name for him. [name]Shep[/name] is a jock, he’s into sports and all, but he’s a nice guy. He has lots of friends, he’s popular. He’s fair-haired with blue eyes.
The last name is McNamara. And the name needs to go well with [name]Raymond[/name], [name]Christina[/name], and [name]Seth[/name].
Other ideas already suggested to me, [name]Caleb[/name], [name]Coby[/name], [name]Curtis[/name], [name]Kyle[/name], [name]Timothy[/name], [name]Jordan[/name], [name]Dustin[/name].
[name]Do[/name] any of these work? If not, what do you suggest?
I agree, [name]Shep[/name] seems off-kilter. Of your suggestions, [name]Jordan[/name] seems closest to the mark.
If he is a hero, then you want his name to domain strong sounds, like Ks and Gs. It will contrast well with the softer supporting guy [name]Seth[/name]. You did this unconsciously with McNamara.
Thanks [name]Blade[/name]. [name]Seth[/name] and "[name]Shep[/name]’ are good guys. They have been friends since they were kids. [name]Seth[/name] has major problems…he’s the opposite of “[name]Shep[/name]”. He suffers from social anxiety disorder and at times severe angoraphoia. The world is falling apart and [name]Ray[/name] and “[name]Shep[/name]” are trying to get him out of his apartment.
I love the name [name]Luke[/name] and I wanted to use it, but it was used in the movie The Skulls.
I can’t use [name]Kirk[/name] because it is the surname of one of the main female characters.
I like [name]Gage[/name], but I just don’t feel it for this character.
I just don’t like [name]Paxton[/name].
[name]Love[/name] [name]Jackson[/name], but it’s too common.
[name]Alec[/name]…ummm. I don’t know about this one either.
[name]Jordan[/name] and [name]Caleb[/name] stood out to me.
I’ve been in this same situation. I changed my main character’s name three times before finally arriving at my current (and final!) choice. It isn’t uncommon. Good luck!
So it’s [name]Caleb[/name], [name]Jordan[/name], or [name]Kyle[/name].
I think [name]Caleb[/name] sounds the best with McNamara. It’s a pretty strong name so if I use it, I think I’ll have to add a few character traits to him to make him a little stronger; which is not a big deal because he’s one of the most likeable characters in this story.
I’d go for [name]Caleb[/name] too, and when I think of [name]Kirk[/name] I think of [name]Star[/name] Trek, so…yeah. You should totally use [name]Caleb[/name].