I need a few names for my story?

Writers' Corner
1

I need 4 names for my story. Please help me choose from the ones I already have, or suggest new ones :))

Note: I don’t like alliteration and rhyming for first names and last names.

  1. A first name for the main character, a Russian “femme fatale” esque girl in her mid-20s. It doesn’t have to be Russian, though it’s preferred, but I want it to sound pretty bada**, just like her.
    Her last name is Romanov.

My list (favorite to least favorite):
[name_f]Natalya[/name_f]
[name_u]Sasha[/name_u] (yes, I know it’s a boy name in [name_f]Russia[/name_f])
[name_f]Diana[/name_f]
[name_u]Vesper[/name_u]

  1. A fake first name for the character from #1, that sounds similar to her real name (Americanized?). The last name is [name_m]Cohen[/name_m].

  2. A name for an Italian Mafia boss, also in his mid-20s. Bit of a playboy-type guy, ruthless and cold.

My list (favorite to least favorite):
[name_u]Luca[/name_u]
[name_m]Alec[/name_m] ([name_m]Alessandro[/name_m])
[name_m]Dante[/name_m]

  1. An Italian last name for said Mafia boss from #3, preferably strong-sounding. It also can’t start with R, because I don’t want it to clash with the girl’s last name (Romanov). I’m completely blank for this one, help!!
2

I really like [name_f]Diana[/name_f] for your first character. Reminds me of Wonder Woman who is very badass. [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] is my second favorite; it’s used as a nickname for [name_f]Aleksandra[/name_f] as well as [name_m]Aleksandr[/name_m], at least according to what I just read on Behind the Name. [name_f]Natalya[/name_f] is okay, it just seems like a stereotypical Eastern European name.
Other ideas (I’ve starred my favorites):
[name_f]Anya[/name_f] (also pretty stereotypical Eastern European name but [name_f]Anya[/name_f] from [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f] is really badass, imo)
[name_f]Ariadna[/name_f] (nn [name_u]Ari[/name_u], [name_f]Ada[/name_f]?)
*[name_f]Darya[/name_f]
*[name_f]Dasha[/name_f] (similar to [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] but not unisex)
*[name_f]Ekaterina[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Kat[/name_f]?)
[name_f]Elena[/name_f]
[name_f]Elvira[/name_f]
[name_f]Ludmila[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Mila[/name_f]?)
[name_f]Marina[/name_f]
*[name_f]Masha[/name_f] (also similar to [name_u]Sasha[/name_u])
*[name_f]Milena[/name_f] (nn [name_f]Mila[/name_f], [name_f]Mia[/name_f]?)
[name_f]Sabina[/name_f]
*Valeriya/[name_f]Valeria[/name_f]
[name_f]Yulia[/name_f]/[name_f]Yuliya[/name_f]

For her fake name, I’ll use my favorites from your list and mine:
[name_u]Sasha[/name_u]- [name_u]Sydney[/name_u], [name_f]Sofia[/name_f]/[name_f]Sophia[/name_f]/[name_f]Sophie[/name_f], [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], [name_u]Shiloh[/name_u], [name_u]Sage[/name_u], [name_f]Serena[/name_f], [name_f]Ashlyn[/name_f], [name_u]Alex[/name_u]/[name_u]Lexi[/name_u]/[name_u]Alexis[/name_u]/some form of [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f], [name_f]Shayla[/name_f], [name_u]Sam[/name_u]
[name_f]Diana[/name_f]- [name_f]Dina[/name_f]/[name_f]Dinah[/name_f], [name_u]Dana[/name_u], [name_u]Devon[/name_u], [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Annabel[/name_f], [name_f]Annie[/name_f], [name_f]Daphne[/name_f], [name_f]Delilah[/name_f], [name_u]Darcy[/name_u], [name_f]Julianna[/name_f], [name_f]Ariana[/name_f], [name_f]Danielle[/name_f]/[name_f]Daniella[/name_f]
[name_f]Darya[/name_f]- any of the D names from [name_f]Diana[/name_f], [name_f]Aria[/name_f]/[name_u]Arya[/name_u], [name_f]Ariana[/name_f], [name_f]Arianne[/name_f], [name_u]Ari[/name_u], [name_u]Darby[/name_u]
[name_f]Dasha[/name_f]- any of the D names from [name_f]Diana[/name_f], and of the [name_u]Ash[/name_u] names from [name_u]Sasha[/name_u]
[name_f]Ekaterina[/name_f]- [name_f]Kat[/name_f], [name_f]Katie[/name_f], [name_f]Kathy[/name_f], [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], [name_f]Nina[/name_f], [name_f]Kate[/name_f], [name_f]Ria[/name_f], any form of [name_f]Katherine[/name_f]
[name_f]Masha[/name_f]- any of the [name_u]Ash[/name_u] names from [name_u]Sasha[/name_u], [name_f]Maria[/name_f], [name_f]Mary[/name_f], [name_f]Marie[/name_f], [name_u]Madison[/name_u], [name_f]Madeline[/name_f], [name_f]Maddie[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]Maggie[/name_f], [name_f]Margo[/name_f], [name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u], [name_f]McKenna[/name_f], [name_u]Morgan[/name_u], [name_f]Macy[/name_f]
[name_f]Milena[/name_f]- [name_f]Mila[/name_f], [name_f]Mia[/name_f], [name_f]Millie[/name_f], [name_f]Amelia[/name_f], [name_f]Lena[/name_f], [name_f]Lily[/name_f], [name_f]Maya[/name_f], [name_f]Miriam[/name_f]
[name_f]Valeria[/name_f]- [name_f]Victoria[/name_f], [name_u]Val[/name_u], [name_f]Valerie[/name_f], [name_u]Vivian[/name_u], [name_f]Violet[/name_f], [name_f]Viviana[/name_f], [name_f]Vera[/name_f], [name_u]Allie[/name_u], [name_f]Ria[/name_f], [name_f]Lara[/name_f]

For character 2, I like both [name_u]Luca[/name_u] and [name_m]Dante[/name_m]. [name_u]Luca[/name_u] is one of my favorite names, but I think [name_m]Dante[/name_m] could really fit the character too. I picture a [name_m]Dante[/name_m] being more of a quietly evil type, not to make a big scene but still get the job done. [name_u]Luca[/name_u] has a bit more finesse, and is a bit more of a drama queen.
Other ideas:
[name_m]Luciano[/name_m]
[name_m]Adriano[/name_m]
[name_m]Matteo[/name_m]
[name_m]Giovanni[/name_m]
[name_m]Giuliano[/name_m]
[name_m]Amedeo[/name_m]
[name_m]Cosimo[/name_m]
[name_m]Emilio[/name_m]
[name_m]Fabiano[/name_m]
[name_m]Leandro[/name_m]
[name_m]Lorenzo[/name_m]
[name_m]Marco[/name_m]
[name_m]Paolo[/name_m]
[name_m]Taddeo[/name_m]

As for a surname, Behind the Name surnames has over 700 Italian surnames in their database. I can pick out some of my favorites later but I have a chemistry final tomorrow and I’ve distracted myself for too long already.

3

1) Her description and last name remind me of [name_f]Marvel[/name_f]'s [name_m]Black[/name_m] Widow! Very cool.

I’d personally avoid [name_f]Natalya[/name_f] as, though I love it, the [name_m]Black[/name_m] Widow’s real name is [name_f]Natalia[/name_f] Romanova. It hits too close to me. I do love [name_u]Sasha[/name_u] and [name_f]Diana[/name_f]! I second all of @sparkleninja18’s suggestions, especially [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f] “[name_f]Anya[/name_f]” and [name_f]Ludmila[/name_f] “[name_f]Mila[/name_f]”. Some more:

  • [name_f]Tatyana[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Katya[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Veronika[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Irena[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Aleksandrina[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Nadezhda[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Viktoria[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Karolina[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Jelena[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Antonina[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Isidora[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Lidiya[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Lilya[/name_f]
  • Nikolina
  • [name_f]Sonya[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Sofya[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Olesya[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Varenka[/name_f]

Note: I do believe that Romanov would be feminized to Romanova for a female.

2) I suppose I’ll just alter some of my above suggestions so that they sound vaguely similar.

  • [name_f]Tatyana[/name_f] : [name_f]Tanya[/name_f], [name_f]Ana[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Katya[/name_f] : [name_f]Kate[/name_f] (and variations)
  • [name_f]Veronika[/name_f] : [name_f]Veronica[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Irena[/name_f] : [name_f]Irene[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Aleksandrina[/name_f] : [name_u]Alex[/name_u]- variations
  • [name_f]Nadezhda[/name_f] : [name_f]Nadia[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Viktoria[/name_f] : [name_f]Victoria[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Karolina[/name_f] : [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], [name_f]Lina[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Jelena[/name_f] : [name_f]Elena[/name_f], [name_f]Helena[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Antonina[/name_f] : [name_f]Antonia[/name_f], [name_f]Nina[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Isidora[/name_f] : [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], [name_f]Dora[/name_f] (and variations)
  • [name_f]Lidiya[/name_f] : [name_f]Lydia[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Lilya[/name_f] : [name_f]Lily[/name_f] (and variations)
  • Nikolina : [name_f]Nina[/name_f], [name_f]Nicole[/name_f], [name_u]Nikki[/name_u], [name_f]Lina[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Sonya[/name_f] : [name_f]Sonia[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Sofya[/name_f] : [name_f]Sophia[/name_f], [name_f]Sophie[/name_f], [name_f]Fia[/name_f]
  • [name_f]Olesya[/name_f] : [name_u]Sasha[/name_u]
  • [name_f]Varenka[/name_f] : [name_f]Veronica[/name_f]

3&4) I don’t really have many suggestions for this character; sorry! @sparkleninja18’s are all wonderful and I can’t think of any more.[u]Here[/u] is NB’s page on Italian names. Once again, apologies!

4

  1. My favourite is [name_f]Natalya[/name_f] and my second favourite is [name_f]Diana[/name_f].

  2. If you choose [name_f]Natalya[/name_f]…
    [name_u]Nat[/name_u]
    [name_f]Natasha[/name_f]
    [name_f]Natalie[/name_f]
    [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]
    [name_f]Thalia[/name_f]

If you choose [name_f]Diana[/name_f]…
[name_u]Dana[/name_u]
[name_f]Dinah[/name_f]
[name_u]Danya[/name_u]
[name_f]Dayna[/name_f]
[name_f]Diane[/name_f]

  1. [name_m]Dante[/name_m] is definitely my favourite from this list, it suits the character’s personality very well.

  2. I can’t think of anything of the top of my head for this as I’ve never actually known any Italians. I’d use the lists that @books_and_tea and @sparkleninja18 suggested.

5

There are so many great suggestions!

Here are my thoughts …

Question 1 and Question 2 (The Female Protagonist)

[name_f]Diana[/name_f] is my favorite followed by [name_u]Sasha[/name_u]. [name_f]Natalya[/name_f] and [name_u]Vesper[/name_u] are cool, but do fit pretty directly into existing stories (i.e. [name_f]Marvel[/name_f] and [name_u]James[/name_u] [name_m]Bond[/name_m] canon).

Some other names I really liked (Russian // American) from above (with some new Americanized ideas) were …

[name_f]Ekaterina[/name_f] // [name_f]Carly[/name_f], [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], [name_f]Catherine[/name_f], [name_f]Chloe[/name_f], [name_f]Claire[/name_f], [name_f]Katherine[/name_f], [name_f]Katrina[/name_f]
[name_f]Jelena[/name_f] // [name_f]Gillian[/name_f], [name_f]Ginger[/name_f] [name_f]Jasmine[/name_f], [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f], [name_f]Jillian[/name_f], [name_f]Jocelyn[/name_f], [name_f]Jolene[/name_f]
[name_f]Masha[/name_f] // [name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u], [name_f]Madelyn[/name_f], [name_u]Madison[/name_u], [name_u]Marian[/name_u], [name_u]Marion[/name_u]
Oleysa // [name_f]Alyssa[/name_f], [name_f]Celia[/name_f], [name_f]Claudia[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_u]Lisa[/name_u], [name_f]Lisabet[/name_f], [name_u]London[/name_u], [name_f]Lydia[/name_f], [name_f]Lyra[/name_f], [name_f]Odette[/name_f], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]

Here are some of my suggestions (Russian // American) …

[name_f]Agata[/name_f] // [name_f]Agatha[/name_f], [name_f]Agnes[/name_f], [name_f]Maggie[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]Marguerite[/name_f], [name_f]Octavia[/name_f], [name_f]Opal[/name_f]
Anfisa // [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Annaleigh[/name_f], [name_f]Annalie[/name_f], [name_f]Annaliese[/name_f], [name_f]Elisabeth[/name_f], [name_f]Felicity[/name_f], [name_f]Fidella[/name_f], [name_f]Freya[/name_f], [name_u]Lisa[/name_u]
Avdotya // [name_f]Ava[/name_f], [name_f]Dora[/name_f], [name_f]Doris[/name_f], [name_f]Dorothea[/name_f], [name_f]Dorothy[/name_f], [name_f]Dot[/name_f], [name_f]Dottie[/name_f]
[name_f]Irina[/name_f] // [name_f]Erica[/name_f], [name_f]Irene[/name_f], [name_f]Iris[/name_f], [name_f]Katrina[/name_f], [name_f]Trinity[/name_f]
[name_f]Mariya[/name_f] // [name_f]Maren[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]Maria[/name_f], [name_f]Marin[/name_f], [name_f]Martha[/name_f], [name_f]Martina[/name_f], Merit
[name_f]Marya[/name_f] // [name_f]Maren[/name_f], [name_f]Margaret[/name_f], [name_f]Maria[/name_f], [name_f]Marin[/name_f], [name_f]Martha[/name_f], [name_f]Martina[/name_f], Merit
[name_f]Oksana[/name_f] // [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f], [name_f]Hana[/name_f], [name_f]Hannah[/name_f], [name_u]Oakley[/name_u], [name_f]Olive[/name_f], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Samara[/name_f], [name_f]Sarah[/name_f], [name_f]Savannah[/name_f], [name_f]Sienna[/name_f]
[name_f]Olga[/name_f] // [name_u]Gale[/name_u], [name_f]Gayle[/name_f], [name_f]Olive[/name_f], [name_f]Olivia[/name_f], [name_f]Olympia[/name_f]
[name_f]Raisa[/name_f] // [name_f]Rachel[/name_f], [name_u]Rain[/name_u], [name_f]Raina[/name_f], [name_f]Ramona[/name_f]
[name_f]Susanna[/name_f] // [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f], [name_f]Hana[/name_f], [name_f]Hannah[/name_f], [name_f]Samantha[/name_f], [name_f]Susan[/name_f], [name_f]Sybil[/name_f], [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]
[name_f]Svetlana[/name_f] // [name_f]Anna[/name_f], [name_f]Anne[/name_f], [name_f]Hana[/name_f], [name_f]Hannah[/name_f], [name_f]Lana[/name_f], [name_f]Lara[/name_f], [name_f]Sally[/name_f], [name_f]Samantha[/name_f], [name_f]Sybil[/name_f], [name_f]Sylvia[/name_f]
[name_f]Tamara[/name_f] // [name_f]Mara[/name_f], [name_f]Marnie[/name_f], [name_f]Matilda[/name_f], [name_u]Talley[/name_u], [name_f]Tamsin[/name_f], [name_f]Tasmine[/name_f],
[name_m]Vaska[/name_m] // [name_f]Valerie[/name_f], [name_f]Vanessa[/name_f]
Zhenya // [name_f]Susan[/name_f], [name_u]Yael[/name_u], [name_f]Zahra[/name_f], [name_f]Zara[/name_f]
[name_f]Zinaida[/name_f] // [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f], [name_f]Aida[/name_f], [name_f]Alaina[/name_f], [name_f]Ava[/name_f], [name_f]Nadia[/name_f], [name_f]Nadine[/name_f], [name_f]Zahra[/name_f], [name_f]Zara[/name_f]

Question 3 and Question 4 (The Male Antagonist)

[name_m]Dante[/name_m] is my favorite of your picks. I also like how your other choices can be easily Americanized, though I think these names are too familiar to seem menacing.

From the suggestions I like [name_m]Emilio[/name_m] and [name_m]Marco[/name_m], though these are pretty similar to your already listed options.

Here are my suggested first and last name suggestions. Select and mix and match whatever works for you!

[name_m]Abramo[/name_m] …Silvestri
[name_m]Angelo[/name_m] … Piraino
[name_m]Arturo[/name_m] … Notoriano
[name_m]Bello[/name_m] … Salvaggi
[name_m]Bravo[/name_m] … Voltolini
[name_m]Ceasario[/name_m] … Barsotti
[name_m]Damone[/name_m] … [name_m]Gabrielli[/name_m]
[name_m]Duran[/name_m] … Aquino
[name_m]Faro[/name_m] … [name_m]Durante[/name_m]
[name_m]Gerome[/name_m] … Calabresse
[name_m]Gian[/name_m] … Acardi
[name_m]Ilario[/name_m] … Nascinmebi
[name_m]Orlando[/name_m] … Carnevale
[name_m]Orsino[/name_m] … de Laurentis
[name_m]Silvio[/name_m] … Rotolo
[name_m]Tasso[/name_m] … Gagliardi
[name_m]Vesuvio[/name_m] … [name_u]Tivoli[/name_u]
[name_m]Vittorio[/name_m] … Taverna

–

Good luck writing!

6

I think you have a huge amount of suggestions for your female character so I won’t suggest names but I would probably advise avoiding anything too typical Russian, so while I love the names [name_f]Natalya[/name_f] and [name_f]Anastasia[/name_f], if I was reading about a [name_f]Natalya[/name_f]/[name_f]Anya[/name_f] Romanov I would just think that it’s not very imaginative because they’re kind of the go-to Russian names.

For that same reason I wouldn’t use [name_m]Dante[/name_m], I really truly love the name (between that and [name_m]Devante[/name_m] it was what I named every male sim I made for years) but it has a dark/bad/evil association with it (probably due to [name_m]Dante[/name_m]'s Inferno) but once again, if I’m reading that book I’m thinking, “Really?! The big bad mafia dude is [name_m]Dante[/name_m]?” but then those dark associations work for some authors - look at J.K Rowling!

I do like [name_u]Luca[/name_u] and [name_m]Alessandro[/name_m] ([name_m]Alec[/name_m])
I think there have been some really great names suggested.
[name_m]Angelo[/name_m] - kind of ironic due to the ‘angel’ meaning but also unexpected because of that. Angels aren’t supposed to be all sweet and lovely like they are in pop culture so I wouldn’t worry about it being too soft.
[name_m]Leandro[/name_m] - lion! Emanates strength.
[name_m]Salvatore[/name_m] - I’ve loved this name for a while but have decided I could never use it because it’s too Italian (I’m not Italian at all) but it’s not so typically Italian that I would role my eyes at a character with the name. It also means ‘saviour’ so there’s the irony again which I personally think is great!

For surnames my first thought was Carbone (I’ve met so many unrelated Italian Carbone’s). Also means ‘coal’ so you know, subtle dark theme there.
Leggio
Vizzini
Calderone

I suggest you google members of the Italian/Sicilian mafia, find a surname you like and then Google the name on it’s own, if it comes up with a specific mafia member then find another - ‘Bontade’ for example comes up with [name_m]Stefano[/name_m] Bontade so I’d avoid it because it’s too obvious.

Personally I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_m]Angelo[/name_m] Carbone - it has subtle light/dark connotations, is clearly Italian without being ridiculous and I just think it sounds cool.